Flee Idolatry: The Table of Demons and the Table of the Lord, 9/20/26

Bibles with me to the book of 1 Corinthians and

chapter 10. 1 Corinthians chapter 10. We're going

1 Corinthians 10 · chapter mention

to be turning and we're looking at verses 14

through 22. The title of the sermon today is

this, Flee Idolatry, the Table of Demons and

the Table of the Lord. Let's read this passage

of scripture beginning in verse 14. Therefore,

my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to

wise men. Judge for yourselves what I say. The

cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the

communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which

we break, is it not the communion of the body

of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread

and one body. For we all partake of that one

bread. Observe Israel after the flesh. Are not

those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of

the altar? What am I saying then? That an idol

is anything? Or what is offered to idols is anything?

Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice,

they sacrifice to demons and not to God. And

I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the

cup of demons. You cannot partake of the Lord's

table and of the table of demons. Or do we provoke

the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

Let's pray. Father, we come before you, Lord,

with this incredible passage of scripture. And

we pray for your illumination, Lord, as it is

preached and heard. We ask, Lord, for your blessing

and for the power of your spirit. to understand

what you are saying here. Lord, we need your

help, and we ask for your guidance and your wisdom

by your Holy Spirit. Please bless this time,

and may the words that I say be right and acceptable

in your sight. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

The scripture text before us today begins with

a very strong and direct command. Therefore,

my brethren, flee from idolatry. Now, in light

of what Paul wrote in the preceding chapters

on this subject, and especially in light of the

example of Israel in the Exodus, he begins a

strong exhortation to his beloved brethren in

Corinth. The context appears to be that the Corinthian

Christians were exercising what they thought

was their Christian liberty to go into temples

of idols and to feast at the celebrations. In

many celebrations in Corinth, both family get

-togethers and in civic celebrations, much like

a July 4th or Memorial Day, the citizens and

the people of Corinth would gather together in

an assembly, but it was at the fellowship hall

of the temple of one of the idols. the idols

of Aphrodite or Apollo or Poseidon or Demeter

or Persephone, as well as the imperial cult of

Rome. There was many shrines and temples dedicated

to these various gods or to the Roman emperors.

Now at these celebrations and meals, sacrifices

to the idols always took place as part of the

celebration. Now some of these Christians probably

reasoned something like this. I'm not worshiping

this idol, this idol of Aphrodite or Apollo or

whatever. They're nothing. They're no gods. But

I want to be part of these celebrations as a

family member or as a friend or a citizen. I'll

enjoy the good food and be a good witness for

Christ or simply just enjoy the celebration.

What's wrong with that? After all, the food belongs

to God and I worship him. So it does not matter.

But in order to make his point in giving his

corrective on this matter, Paul points back.

To the exodus of Israel and to their wandering

in the wilderness. He began this in chapter 10

with baptism. How that they, that is the children

of Israel, were delivered. They were baptized

unto Moses and thus the God of Moses. They were

fed. They were accompanied by Christ. And yet

most fell in the wilderness. And Paul then gives

a strong exhortation to the Corinthians to profit

from their example. We spoke of this last week.

In many ways, the church in Corinth and in the

world were standing in the same story. It was,

in that way, a new exodus. Israel's exodus and

wilderness journey were a type of the church's

present life and journey. The Corinthians also

were being brought out of a life of paganism

in many ways, like Israel out of Egypt. And they

had a baptism. They had spiritual food and drink.

They had privileges and dangers. And their sins

were similar. In the wilderness, there was the

sin of idolatry. The golden calf and other times

of idolatry. In Corinth, there was the idolatrous

temples. And now there were temple meals and

so -called Christian liberty at these idol feasts.

In the wilderness, there was sexual immorality

at the time of Belpior and of others when Balaam

encouraged Balak to send seducers into the camp

and to seduce them into immorality. In Corinth,

there was the city's sexual culture and the church's

failures in that regard. In the wilderness, it

says they tempted Christ back in 10 verse 9.

In Corinth, they were presuming on grace. while

flirting with idols. And in the wilderness, they

were grumbling and complaining, Numbers 14 and

16. And in Corinth, there was factionalism and

discontent. Very, very similar situations. But

just like the children of Israel were baptized

into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, thus

initiated and brought into the assembly. of god

so we and our children are baptized into christ

we belong to him we eat the spiritual food and

we drink of christ but instead of imitating the

israelites who fell in the wilderness because

of their idolatry and sexual immorality unbelief

and complaining we are most emphatically called

in the teaching of this chapter to see and learn

from their example to flee idolatry and all of

its false worship, and to believe in God and

the Lord Jesus Christ being joined unto him with

all of our heart and our soul and our mind and

our strength. We are to flee idolatry and all

of its false worship and immorality and disordered

loves and be joined. to christ we have the greater

food and drink which is christ himself we have

the promise of a way of escape back in verse

13 that the lord would not tempt us above that

which we are he would not allow temptation or

tempt us in beyond what we could handle and so

by god's grace this generation unlike the first

may actually enter the inheritance And so now

today we have the same call to flee idolatry.

And why is this? Because the table of the Lord

and the table of demons cannot be shared. They

cannot be shared. This is a war of the one true

God against all other false gods. And so with

this in mind, let's read and understand Paul's

reasoning, his teaching, and his exhortation

in this passage. Our first point is in verse

14 and 15. Christian believers must flee from

idolatry. He says, therefore, my beloved, flee

from idolatry. I speak as to wise men. Judge

for yourselves what I say. now he says therefore

which is looking back to the Israelites which

result which we have already done in the introduction

he says my beloved this is an endearing term

which is why the authorized version translates

it my dearly beloved my dearly beloved it shows

the intense love and the affection that Paul

has for these people Despite their issues and

their problems and their sins and their shortcomings,

he does not treat them harshly or hold them at

arm's length. Though speaking plainly, he does

not treat them in a condescending way. He rather

expresses his love for them. He says, my dearly

beloved. He loves them as his own brethren. This

is a good lesson for us for how quick are we

as Christians to judge one another or to hold

at arm's length those who would have the problems

that this church had. But that was not the stand

of the apostle. Then he gives, though, this urgent

command and yet it's with such a pastoral heart.

Oh, may we profit from his example. In fact,

he even appeals to them to judge for themselves

what he says. Look at the next verse. He says,

I speak as to wise men. You judge for yourselves

what I'm saying. And in this, he acknowledges

the wisdom and the understanding that they do

have. And he asks them to judge, or that is to

distinguish what he is saying and to pronounce

an opinion concerning the rightness and the truth

of it. But then he says, Flee. Flee. This is

a most urgent and compelling word. He does not

say negotiate, reason with, sample, or even be

careful. No, he says flee. And in so doing, he

calls for an urgent and active obedience in running

away. The tense of this word is a present continuous.

It's like flee and keep fleeing. Flee idolatry.

Seek safety by flight. Shun it. Avoid it. Escape

out of danger. What are we to flee from? Flee

from idolatry. The worship of idols or false

gods. This underscores the deep and exclusive

devotion and worship that God's people are to

have to our creator. To God alone. Exclusive.

No other gods. And with complete devotion. That

is with all of our heart. According to Romans

Romans 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1. It is what happens when God's creation

do not glorify him as God. Nor were they thankful.

but they came futile in their thoughts. Professing

to be wise, they became fools and changed the

glory of the incorruptible God into an image

made like corruptible men. They worship the creature

rather than the creator who is blessed forevermore.

And this really is the sum of idolatry. Worshiping

the creature, that which is created by God, rather

than... the creator. Idolatry strikes at the

heart of the first two commandments on the two

tables of the law, as well as that which Jesus

calls the greatest commandment. What are those?

Number one, you are not to worship other gods.

God says, I am the Lord your God who brought

you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house

of bondage. You shall have no other gods before

me. Exodus 20 verse 2 and 3. So we are not to

Exodus 20:2

worship any other. And furthermore, we are to

worship God in the right way. That is the second

commandment. You are not to make a likeness or

carved image of God, nor bound to them or serve

them. In other words, you don't make a representation

of the one true God with some physical image

and then bow down to it. You shall not make for

yourself a carved image. Any likeness of anything

that is in heaven above. Or that is in the earth

beneath. Or that is in the water under the earth.

You shall not bow down to them nor serve them.

For I the Lord your God am a jealous God. Visiting

the iniquity of the fathers upon the children.

To the third and fourth generations of those

who hate me. But showing mercy to thousands.

To those who love me and keep my commandments.

Exodus 20 verses 4 to 6. And then there's the

Exodus 20:4–6

great command. The one that Jesus says is the

greatest of all. And that is Deuteronomy 6 verse

Deuteronomy 6:4

4. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord

is one. You shall love the Lord your God with

all your heart, with all your soul, and with

all your strength. And these words which I command

you today shall be in your heart. from within,

deep within. It's part of the fiber of your very

being that you love God more than anything, more

than anything of creation, more than anything

that attempts to resemble or represent God. No,

we worship him alone. And this is what it means

to worship him in spirit and in truth. God is

the spirit. We worship God, not... the created

order, and we do so with the gift of the Holy

Spirit and in truth. Idolatry is not only the

worship of idols of wood, earth, and stone, but

it can be anything that replaces God or takes

precedence over him. Anything that replaces God

or takes precedence over him. Jesus himself said

in Luke 16 and verse 13, no servant can serve

two masters, for either he will hate the one,

and love the other, or else he will be loyal

to the one and despise the other. You cannot

serve God and mammon, any kind of created thing.

You cannot serve that and God at the same time.

Worship of God is exclusive. So maybe you have

something that you're holding back from the lordship

of Christ. Some pet sin that you're not willing

to give up. Or affections that are disordered.

Or something that you actually just simply love

more than God himself. That love is not hidden

from him. And he calls you most urgently to repent

of it. And to love him above all others. God

is a jealous God. And he tells us so many times.

We just read that in the second commandment.

as well as in Exodus 34, verse 13 to 14. It says,

Exodus 34:13–14

but you shall destroy their altars, break their

sacred pillars, cut down the wooden images, for

you shall worship no other God for the Lord,

whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. And

so, beloved brethren, let us flee from idolatry.

Let us flee like Joseph did from committing adultery

with Potiphar's wife where he even left his cloak

or his garment in her hand as she reached out

to take him and to pull him to her and he fled

from her leaving his cloak behind him. Flee like

Timothy did from youthful lust. Same type of

command there. Flee from youthful lust, Paul

said to him. Let us flee like Moses did after

killing the Israelite who was beating another

man. And then he fled to the wilderness after

Pharaoh heard of it because he was running for

his life from Pharaoh, the Egyptian. This is

how we are to flee from all forms of idolatry.

The apostle John ends his wonderful first epistle,

1 John, with these words in chapter 5, verse

21. He ends, this is his final word to the people

that he's writing and to us today. Little children,

keep yourselves from idols. Amen. Now from this,

Paul then shows... that eating and drinking the

food and drink at the temple of an idol and at

the Lord's table is partaking of the God or the

gods of the temple. He begins with the Lord's

supper. So in other words, participation in the

feast where this worship is occurring, both in

the Lord's house as well as in the temple, is

then partaking of... the God that that ceremony

is pointing to. And he's going to explain this

further as we go through this passage. But secondly,

he then shows this, first of all, that participation

of the Lord's table is partaking of Christ himself.

This is verse 16 to 18. When we take the Lord's

Supper, I'm just going to say this right at the

beginning and I'm going to speak of this a couple

times. We're not just remembering Christ. No,

we are partaking of Christ himself. Hear these

words. Now, we in this congregation, we're so

used to hearing these words because we say them

every week when we observe the Lord's Supper.

But just stop and consider the depth and the

meaning of what these words say. The cup of blessing

which we bless. Is it not the communion of the

blood of Christ? The bread which we break. Is

it not the communion of the body of Christ? For

we, though many, are one bread and one body.

For we all partake of that one bread. Observe

Israel after the flesh. Are not those who eat

of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? As

we take this closer look, we're going to look

at the contrast and we're going to draw some

conclusions about the nature of the sacrament

of the Lord's Supper. First, there is the cup

of blessing. That is the cup of wine, for Jesus

instituted this at the celebration of the Passover

before his crucifixion. Now note, in this passage,

Paul first lists the wine first, or the cup first,

and then the bread. Although Jesus did the bread

first and then the cup, and that's also the way

Paul describes it in chapter 11. There's likely

no significance in that it's mentioned first

here, but I just want to point it out. In the

Passover observance, there were four cups of

wine that were shared as part of the Passover

meal. Four cups corresponding to four expressions

of redemption in Exodus 6, verses 6 to 7. Now,

Exodus 6:6–7

these four cups were not specified in the original

commandment. This, however, became the practice

during the second temple period, the time from

the exile when the temple was rebuilt and on

through the time of Jesus until its destruction

in AD 70. So the first cup was a cup of sanctification,

remembering the fact that I will bring you out.

God speaks that I will bring you out. This was

drunk at the beginning with the blessing over

the day. The second cup was that of the deliverance

from Egypt and from the plagues where God said,

I will deliver you. This was drunk after telling

of the Exodus story and the first part of the

halal. Third cup was the cup of redemption and

blessing. I will redeem you. This was drunk after

the meal with praying the grace after meals.

And then there was a fourth cup of praise and

acceptance. I will take you as my people and

that God accepts us and brings us in. Now the

cup identified with the blood of Christ was the

cup after supper that Jesus took in which he

instituted then the Lord's Supper. This was the

cup of redemption and the cup of blessing. Redemption

and blessing. And notice how that ties in with

Christ our Redeemer. And it's why Paul here calls

it the cup of blessing. It is a cup where God

is blessed and thanked for the prayer as a cup

of thanksgiving like Jesus did. It's also a cup

of blessing in that we receive a blessing in

the drinking of it. So it's both ways. Is it

a blessing? This cup is the communion, it says,

of the blood of Christ. Now, communion is the

word koinonia. That is, it's a fellowship, association,

and a joint participation together with. Let

me say that again. It's koinonia. It's fellowship,

association, and a participation with, jointly.

And thus... It is with the blood of Christ, that

blood that was shed for us on the cruel cross.

The word has the connotation of fellowship both

with Christ, that is vertical, but also with

the others around us who are also drinking it,

that of horizontal. Now, I think that the vertical

is mostly in mind here in which Paul is speaking

of, that we are partaking of Christ in the Lord's

Supper. Not only do we remember him, but we're

made partakers of his blood, and thus we have

fellowship with him. This is really a deep truth,

and there's some mystery in this. And as we go

through this, we're going to be unpacking some

of that mystery. But at the same time, at the

very end, we're going to say, there's a mystery

here. There's a glorious mystery in this service.

Then Paul writes of the bread, the bread which

we break, is it not the communion of the body

of Christ? Again, the bread, which was the unleavened

loaf of bread from the Passover meal, Jesus takes,

he prays a prayer of thanksgiving, and then he

breaks it and he gives it to all those who are

gathered with him, all of his disciples that

were with him. By the way, it included Judas.

He gives it to them all. And Paul says, he teaches

that this bread, like the cup, is koinonia, fellowship

and participation of the body of Christ. Then

he adds yet more on top of this. He says that

we, though many, are one bread and one body,

for we all partake of that one bread or one loaf.

We as many are, by virtue of our union to Christ,

manifested by our communion with him, we are

one bread with him who is the bread of life.

Now, what's bread made of? You take grain, you

grind it up into real fine flour, and then you

put some yeast in and some water or oil or whatever

else it is, and you salt and you put it together,

and that is a loaf of bread. So just as bread

consists of many grains that have been crushed

and ground up and kneaded together to make one

loaf, so also we as the people of God are many,

and yet one loaf together and one body with him

who is our head. Then Paul illustrates what he

is saying from Israel. Those who eat of the sacrifices

in the temple. It's not just a simple sacrifice.

No, they're partaking of the altar. It's part

of worship, and they are receiving a blessing.

They were in fellowship with God, received strength

from the food, and from partaking with God and

worshiping him. And this shows the communal aspect

of the table of the Lord. The Lord's Supper,

also known, there's a number of different words

for it. It's known as the Eucharist. or sacrament

of the body and blood, or communion, or the Lord's

table, or the Lord's meal. All of this, it's

all referring to the same thing. It's corporate

in its very nature. It's done in the local body

of believers where we have this fellowship, this

koinonia with one another and with Jesus. I will

say this, the Lord's Supper is not It is not

a private memorial or remembrance of Christ done

in the privacy of your own study or house or

family. It is the church. It belongs to the gathered

people. That was one of the problems of the whole

COVID shutdowns and how that disrupted the fellowship

with God's people. Having fellowship with the

church of the Lord Jesus Christ, we then are

personally partaking in Christ and the fellowship

of him together with all who partake in faith.

So then we ask the question, is the bread we

eat and the cup that we drink, is this the body

and blood of Christ? Is this the body and blood

of Christ? How can this be? Well, what did Jesus

say? He said, First Corinthians 11 verse 24.

1 Corinthians 11:24

When he had given thanks, he broke it and said,

take, eat. This is my body, which is broken for

you. Do this in remembrance of me. And so we

must answer. Yes, it is. And herein is mystery

and wonder. This communion. is koinonia we mentioned

it's fellowship and participation with christ

fellowship and participation in the blood of

christ and as we eat the bread and we drink the

cup of blessing we have fellowship with him we

are associating with him and we have communal

participation with jesus keith matheson puts

it this way communion with the body and blood

of christ signifies an active common sharing

in the life the death, the resurrection, and

the presence of Jesus Christ. This is not a one

-way fellowship. We worship him and he feeds

and nourishes us. This is the spiritual nourishment

that happens as we eat the physical bread and

drink the physical wine. There is union with

Christ by means of participation in the Lord's

Supper. However, lest you get all scared here,

I am not advocating The Roman Catholic teaching

of transubstantiation. That the physical bread

and wine are actually changed into the body and

blood of Christ so that they are in reality the

DNA of the body of Christ in our stomachs. So

then we must ask, in what way is the bread and

wine the body and blood of Christ? There must

be another way where these words are true. and

yet the bread and wine remained bread and wine.

How does this happen? Well, to answer this question,

we need to first look at what was happening in

the temple of the idols. So I will answer it,

but first of all, Paul goes on and shows us from

what was happening in the temple of the idols

how this is. It brings me to my third point.

are representations of demons. That is of evil

spirits and devils. Verse 19 and 20. What am

I saying then? That an idol is anything? Or what

is offered to idols is anything? Rather that

the things which the Gentiles sacrifice. That

is what they're sacrificing to idols. They are

sacrificing to demons and not to God. And I do

not want you to have fellowship with demons.

Paul gives a clarification. He says, what am

I saying then? He sees the need to clarify what

he's saying, lest he is misunderstood. Is he

going back on his prior statement in chapter

8, verse 4? We know that an idol is nothing in

the world and that there is no other God but

one. But he quickly makes it clear. And that

is that the reality behind pagan sacrifices to

idols is not that the idol in and of itself is

anything. For it's only wood or stone or whatever

it was created out of. But it is that when pagans

sacrifice to them, they are in reality sacrificing

to demons, to devils, to evil spirits and not

to God. That is, there is a false spiritual element

in the idolatry. in which they are offering and

communing with and partaking with demons when

they worship the idol, the thing of a creature.

He says, he's pointing out, if you eat at their

table in their house of worship, you are having

fellowship with demons. You are sharing in their

worship. by eating with them. You cannot claim

to serve God and have fellowship with demons.

This is the very essence of false and idolatrous

worship. A Christian cannot be a participant

in false or idolatrous worship. You might eat

in the house of your neighbor who would be a

Hindu or a Shinto or something else, but you

cannot go with them to their worship service

and partake with them or eat of the food at their

worship. You cannot bow down to their idols.

You cannot make a gesture of worship like kissing

the feet or genuflecting before their gods because

in doing so, even in eating where the sacrifices

are done, you are fellowshipping with demons.

This is very, very important. So what does this

mean then? He goes on in verse 21 and 22. You

cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup

of demons. You cannot partake of the Lord's table

and the table of demons. Or do we provoke the

Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? The

point number four is the two tables cannot be

shared. So in this teaching, Paul is arguing

that as you eat and drink at the pagan temple's

table, you are participating and partaking with

the demons. Pillar Commentary puts it like this.

Paul's argument. with its emphasis on participation

in the blood and the body of Christ, seeks to

stress that where God is, or where false gods

are, where they are invoked as the host of the

meal, the fellowship is not merely with the men

and women gathered around the table, but with

the deity as well. And thus, through our fellowship

with Christ, we are participating in the fellowship,

in the benefits, of his sacrifice, which serves

to establish or renew our covenantal relationship

with God. To sit down at the table in the temple

and eat the food offered to idols is to participate

in demonic worship and to commit idolatry and

break the first and second commandment. But in

the same way, To partake of the physical cup

of wine and eating the bread by faith is to have

fellowship with Christ's body and blood. And

this is the mystery of the Lord's Supper. And

this is how Christ could say as we eat, take,

eat. This is my body which is broken for you.

Do this in remembrance of me. So what is this

then? Let's sum this up. As we eat the physical

bread and drink the physical wine, the actual,

the real, the bread right here before us, the

bread and the wine, which we will partake of

in a bit. We are truly and really spiritually

partaking of the body and blood of Christ. Now

notice I inserted the word spiritually there.

And that is to explain this as to how this happens.

Because the bread and the wine or the juice,

they remain the same. And yet when we partake

of them, we are spiritually partaking of Christ.

We are receiving grace from him. The Lord's Supper

is much more. than only a memorial of remembering

Christ. It is that, but so much more. Yes, we

remember Christ. Yes, we think about Him. But

we are also partaking of Him. We are feeding

upon Him in a spiritual way as we eat the Lord's

Supper. It is essential. It is meaningful. It

is a means of grace in which we both worship

Christ and we receive from Him. It's one of the

reasons why I think it is wise, as we practice

here, to observe the Lord's Supper weekly. It's

the pattern of the early church. It's been the

pattern of many throughout the centuries, and

I believe it's a good and wise one. In summary

then, we affirm the real presence of Christ,

but this presence is not physical. It is spiritual.

In other words, it is the Holy Spirit which enables

believers on earth to have real communion with

Christ in heaven. We are drawn to Christ in his

heavenly presence. And at the table, believers

commune with the exalted Christ and are fed and

nourished by him. Christ meets us in the Lord's

Supper and he gives himself to us, nourishing

our faith. The bread and the wine remain bread

and wine, but there is a real relation. between

the signs of the bread and wine with the life

-giving virtue of Christ's body and blood, which

we eat and drink in faith. Again, I quote Keith

Matheson. He has done some great work on this,

has written some things for Ligonier and has

a couple of books. I really recommend them. And

one of them is called Given for You. And so he

kind of really lays out a lot of what I'm talking

about here. But he says this, presence is real.

but spiritual, that is affected by the Holy Spirit,

not by a descent of Christ's flesh into the bread.

The Spirit is the bond of union with the ascended

Christ. What the minister does on earth, distributing

the bread and the wine, the Spirit does spiritually.

He lifts believers to communion with the whole

Christ in heaven and conveys the life of his

body and blood to them. Spiritual eating does

not mean eating only Christ's spirit or merely

thinking about him. It means by faith, truly

partaking of his body and blood through the spirit.

Faith is the instrument of reception, not a synonym

for the eating of itself. He gives this example

and I give this to you just as one way of thinking

about this. This is an analogy and all analogies

fall short in some ways, but I think it's a good

one. We can say that the body of Christ, which

is locally present in heaven, is seated at the

right hand of God, is analogous to the power

plant or an electrical generator. God is analogous

to the source that powers the generator. The

divine life of God is analogous to the electricity.

The Holy Spirit is analogous to the power lines

that transmit the electricity and connect the

power plant to millions of individual homes.

while the sacramental signs are analogous to

the individual light switches in those homes.

The individual communicants in the church are

analogous to the millions of light bulbs that

receive the electricity from the plant, and the

individual communicant's faith, or lack thereof,

is analogous to the filament in the light bulb,

either broken or whole. In other words, we receive

from Christ in a spiritual way as we eat. The

Lord's Supper. But remember what the converse

was. And that is, by partaking at the table of

false worship, you are attempting the same thing.

You are commuting with demons. And God is a jealous

God. And so this is why Paul is so insistent

on this. You cannot eat at both the table of

demons and the table of the Lord. I hope this

understanding has been helpful to you. This avoids

superstition and secularism. We acknowledge the

mystery that is the presence of Christ and that

we really and truly do feed upon him, but not

in a sacrilegious or an idolatrous way. We do

not strip away all the mystery of what really

happens. Paul then closes this. This portion

where he reminds us again that God is a jealous

God. A jealous God. He will not give his glory

to another. And we as Christian believers may

not do things that provoke him to jealousy. For

he is our God and we are his sheep, his people,

his chosen ones. And we are not to give his glory

to another. Let's make a few applications here

before we close. This whole portion of scripture

shows that Christian liberty in being taken too

far can lead, even inadvertently or unintentionally,

to false worship, even to those who unwittingly

participate in the worship of demons. Good intentions

do not nullify the reality of what is actually

happening. They might say, oh, this was not my

intent. But it's what you're doing. That's what

was happening. We must have nothing to do with

the idolatrous religious rites of false religions.

Do not think, well, I'm just going to be a good

witness. The Corinthians thought that they were

extending... social interaction and graces. But

in reality, they were participating in the table

of demons, although they didn't know it. This

requires much wisdom and evaluation, especially

as we see more paganism within the United States

of America or even around us. And so this requires

wisdom. For example, when we attend weddings,

because some of the weddings might be kind of

so to speak, neutral. Notice it's not a religious

ceremony. Others, though, are. They're religious

rites with invocations to idols and to false

gods. Hindu weddings are like that, for example.

And so if America continues on her current path,

this will become more of an issue that we have

to consider. let's say that you have Hindu neighbors

and they invite you to the wedding of their daughter

and you have to evaluate this. And I just use

that as one example. It's real clear and plain.

But there's many other ways in which we need

to evaluate and consider this. And I offer that

to you as for your consideration. Secondly, I

will be preaching and teaching more on the Lord's

Supper, especially when we get to chapter 11,

for there is much more there, especially from

verses 17 to 34. But remember this, the Lord's

Supper is not simply a memorial, a time of remembrance.

It is a participation with Christ and eating

of the body and blood of the Lord from which

you receive sustenance, strength, and grace.

Do not take it lightly. Do not miss it whenever

you feel like it. No, this is something that

is important for us. Do not take it lightly.

But at the same time, don't be morbid about it.

It is a feast. to which Christ invites all of

his children to participate, to delight in, and

to rejoice in the good and great provision that

he has made. So we remember Christ, but we also

delight in him. Thirdly, do not privatize the

Lord's Supper, that it is just between you and

God. No, it is a participation with Jesus, but

it's also with his people. It's corporate in

nature. It's not individual. Together as a body.

Number four. Why would we be satisfied or hunger?

For the dregs of depravity or of false worship.

Of bondage, demonic possession or oppression.

When we can feed on Christ. When we are united

together with him by the Holy Spirit. And we

rejoice with him and we are united with him in

the sacraments through faith and experience and

wonderful fellowship and koinonia with him and

with his people. So let us then rejoice in this

great salvation that Christ has wrought in us.

Let us rejoice in the means of grace and let

us feed on him spiritually and receive all of

his benefits. May the grace of our Lord Jesus

Christ and the love of God and the communion

of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. And

let's pray.