The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a communion of the body of Christ? seeing that we, who are many, are one bread, one body: for we are all partake of the one bread. (1Co 10:16-17 ASV)
A careful and patient meditation of the verse from which our theme has been taken will reveal to us the mystery in the body. When we hold a loaf of bread in hand, we don’t argue its oneness. We are very sure it is just one. Then we cut the loaf into many smaller pieces, becoming the same loaf in smaller pieces. Do we need to argue about the oneness of the loaf, though now in smaller pieces? I believe a reasonable person will have no reason to argue. Then why do we argue about the oneness of all saints of Christ? Why do we have problem understanding the concept of we being the Body of Christ? I think the reason is not far-fetched, American Standard version says “…seeing that we, who are many, are one bread, one body: for we are all partake of the one bread.” (1Co 10:16-17 ASV). No man can comprehend or understand these things except the Holy Spirit has made him see, and he must be helped to continue seeing it! This is our dilemma!
The cup of blessing [of wine at the Lord’s Supper] upon which we ask [God’s] blessing, does it not mean [that in drinking it] we participate in and share a fellowship (a communion) in the blood of Christ (the Messiah)? The bread which we break, does it not mean [that in eating it] we participate in and share a fellowship (a communion) in the body of Christ? For we [no matter how] numerous we are, are one body, because we all partake of the one Bread [the One Whom the communion bread represents]. (1Co 10:16-17 AMP)
The cup we use in the Lord’s Supper and for which we give thanks to God: when we drink from it, we are sharing in the blood of Christ. And the bread we break: when we eat it, we are sharing in the body of Christ. Because there is the one loaf of bread, all of us, though many, are one body, for we all share the same loaf. (1Co 10:16-17 GNB)
The cup of blessing that we bless is a sign of our sharing in the blood of Christ, isn’t it? The bread that we break is a sign of our sharing in the body of Christ, isn’t it? Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body, because all of us partake of the one loaf. (1Co 10:17 ISV)
When we drink the cup of blessing, aren’t we taking into ourselves the blood, the very life, of Christ? And isn’t it the same with the loaf of bread we break and eat? Don’t we take into ourselves the body, the very life, of Christ? Because there is one loaf, our many-ness becomes one-ness, Christ doesn’t become fragmented in us. Rather, we become unified in him. We don’t reduce Christ to what we are; he raises us to what he is. (1Co 10:16-17 MSG)
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 being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. (1Co 10:16-17 KJV)
