1 Corinthians 10:16

Contextual Overview

¹⁵I speak to reasonable people; judge for yourselves what I say. ¹⁵ I am speaking to you as people who have enough sense to know what I am talking about. ¹⁵ I speak to you as sensible people; judge for yourselves what I am saying. ¹⁵ I speak as to intelligent [persons]: do *ye* judge what I say. ¹⁵ You are intelligent people. Judge for yourselves the truth of what I say now. ¹⁵ I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say. ¹⁵ What I am saying is for wise men, do you be the judges of it. ¹⁵ I speake as vnto them which haue vnderstanding: iugde ye what I say. ¹⁵ I speak as to wise men: you are able to judge what I say. ¹⁵ I speak as to wise men. Judge what I say.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

cup: 1 Corinthians 10:21, 1 Corinthians 11:23-29, Matthew 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-25, Luke 22:19, Luke 22:20

the communion of the blood: 1 Corinthians 10:20, 1 Corinthians 1:9, 1 Corinthians 12:13, John 6:53-58, Hebrews 3:14, 1 John 1:3, 1 John 1:7

The bread: 1 Corinthians 11:23, 1 Corinthians 11:24, Acts 2:42, Acts 2:46, Acts 20:7, Acts 20:11

Reciprocal: Exodus 24:11 - did eat Psalms 23:5 - my cup Psalms 116:13 - I will take Ezekiel 40:39 - tables on that Matthew 14:19 - he blessed Matthew 26:27 - Drink Mark 14:23 - when Mark 14:24 - This John 6:35 - I am John 6:48 - General John 15:5 - vine Romans 5:11 - by whom Romans 7:4 - the body 1 Corinthians 11:21 - in Colossians 2:19 - knit

Cross-References

Judges 1:21
The Benjamites, however, failed to drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. And to this day the Jebusites dwell among the Benjamites in Jerusalem.

Judges 1:21
The Jebusites were living in Jerusalem, and the Benjamin tribe did not defeat them or capture the town. That's why Jebusites still live in Jerusalem along with the people of Benjamin.

Judges 1:21
The people of Binyamin did not drive out the Y'vusi who inhabited Yerushalayim; rather, the Y'vusi continued living with the people of Binyamin in Yerushalayim, as they do to this day.

Judges 1:21
And the children of Benjamin did not dispossess the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

Judges 1:21
The tribe of Benjamin could not force the Jebusites to leave Jerusalem. So even today, the Jebusites live with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem.

Judges 1:21
And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day.

Judges 1:21
And the children of Judah did not make the Jebusites who were living in Jerusalem go out; the Jebusites are still living with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem.

Judges 1:21
And the children of Beniamin did not cast out the Iebusites that inhabited Hierusalem: but the Iebusites dwell with the children of Beniamin in Hierusalem vnto this day.

Judges 1:21
But the children of Beniamin did not cast out the Iebusites, that inhabited Ierusalem: therefore the Iebusites dwell with the children of Beniamin in Ierusalem vnto this day.

Judges 1:21
But the children of Benjamin did not destroy the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The cup of blessing, which we bless,.... Meaning the cup of wine used in the Lord's supper, which being set apart for that service, is taken up, and the name of the Lord called upon over it; and he is blessed and praised for his wondrous love and grace, in the gift and mission of his Son, to shed his precious blood for us, for the remission of our sins; the whole church joining with the administrator, both in the act of blessing and praise over the cup, and in the participation of it. This cup is so called in allusion to the cup of wine used at common meals, or at the passover among the Jews, which they used to take and bless God with, and give him thanks for their mercies, and was commonly called כוס של ברכה, "the cup of blessing" c.

"Three things (says R. Judah d) shorten a man's days and years; when they give him the book of the law to read, and he does not read, כוס של ברכה לברך, "the cup of blessing to bless with", and he does not bless, and when he accustoms himself to government.''

Again, so they comment on Genesis 21:8 e

"what is the meaning "of the day that Isaac was weaned?" the holy blessed God will make a feast for the righteous, in the day that he weans the people of the seed of Isaac, and after they eat and drink, they give to Abraham

כוס של ברכה לברך, "the cup of blessing to bless with"; he says to them, I will not bless, because Ishmael sprung from me; they give it to Isaac, he says to them, I am not fit to bless, for Esau came from me; they give it to Jacob, he says unto them I will not bless, for I married two sisters in their lifetime, which the law forbids me; they say to Moses, take it and bless, he says to them I will not bless, for I was not worthy to enter into the land of Israel, neither in life nor in death; they say to Joshua, take it and bless, he says I cannot bless, for I am not worthy of a son, as it is written, Nun his son, Joshua his son; they say to David, take thou it and bless, he saith unto them I will bless, and it is comely for me to bless; as it is said, "I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord".''

Once more they ask f,

"what is a beautiful cup? כוס של ברכה, "the cup of blessing";''

and which, they g observe, ought to hold the fourth part of a log of wine. These instances clearly show from whence the apostle borrowed this expression, and which he chooses to make use of because well known to the Jews, and as being very appropriate to the cup in the Lord's supper, he is speaking of:

is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? it is; that is, it is a sign, symbol, and token of fellowship with Christ in his death; it is a means of having communion with him, and of enjoying the blessings of grace which come through his blood; such as righteousness, peace, pardon, and atonement; all which true believers are made partakers of; and this part of the Lord's supper, the cup being drank of, is a testimony and an indication of the same: "the bread which we break"; which is the other part of the ordinance, which, though performed first, is mentioned last, because of the argument the apostle pursues upon it. The act of breaking the bread does not only design the distribution and eating of it, but the manner also in which it is prepared for distribution and eating, namely by breaking it into pieces; and which is aptly expressive of the body of Christ, which was wounded, bruised, and broken for us:

is it not the communion of the body of Christ? it is; for not only believers by this act have communion with his mystical body, the church, but with his natural body, which was broken for them they in a spiritual sense and by faith eat his flesh, as well as drink his blood, and partake of him, of his sufferings and death, endured in his body, and of all the blessings of grace consequent thereon. The apostle's view in this instance, and his argument upon it, is this, that if believers, by eating the bread and drinking the wine in the Lord's supper, spiritually partake of Christ, of his body and of his blood, and have communion with him; then such who eat of things sacrificed unto idols, have in so doing communion with them, and partake of the table of devils, and so are guilty of idolatry, which he would have them avoid.

c T. Hieros. Beracot, fol. 11. 3, 4. T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 51. 1, 2. & 52. 1. Pesachim, fol. 105. 2. 106. 1. 109. 2. d T. Bab. Berncot, fol. 55. 1. e Capthor, fol. 47. 1. f T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 76. 2. & Erubin, fol. 29. 2. g Piske Tosephot in Sabbat, art. 287. & Erubin, art. 46. 157. Vid. Zohar in Exod. fol. 57. 3. & 59. 2, 3. & 65. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The cup of blessing which we bless - The design of this verse and the following verses seems to be, to prove that Christians, by partaking of the Lord’s Supper, are solemnly set apart to the service of the Lord Jesus; that they acknowledge Him as their Lord, and dedicate themselves to him, and that as they could not and ought not to be devoted to idols and to the Lord Jesus at the same time, so they ought not to participate in the feasts in honor of idols, or in the celebrations in which idolaters would be engaged; see 1 Corinthians 10:21. He states, therefore:

(1) That Christians are “united” and dedicated to Christ in the communion; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17.

(2) That this was true of the Israelites, that they were one people, devoted by the service of the altar to the same God, 1 Corinthians 10:18.

(3) That though an idol was nothing, yet the pagan actually sacrificed to devils, and Christians ought not to partake with them; 1 Corinthians 10:19-21. The phrase “cup of blessing” evidently refers to the wine used in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. it is called “the cup of blessing” because over it Christians praise or bless God for his mercy in providing redemption. It is not because it is the means of conveying a blessing to the souls of those who partake of it - though that is true - but because thanksgiving, blessing, and praise were rendered to God in the celebration, for the benefits of redemption; see Note, Matthew 26:26. Or it may mean, in accordance with a well known Hebraism, “the blessed cup;” the cup that is blessed. This is the more literal interpretation; and it is adopted by Calvin, Beza, Doddridge, and others.

Which we bless - Grotius, Macknight, Vatablus, Bloomfield, and many of the early church fathers suppose that this means, “over which we bless God;” or, “for which we bless God.” But this is to do violence to the passage. The more obvious signification is, that there is a sense in which it may be said that the cup is blessed, and that by prayer and praise it is set apart and rendered in some sense sacred to the purposes of religion. it cannot mean that the cup has undergone any physical change, or that the wine is anything but wine; but that it has been solemnly set apart to the service of religion, and by prayer and praise designated to be used for the purpose of commemorating the Saviour’s love. That may be said to be blessed which is set apart to a sacred use (Genesis 2:3; Exodus 20:11); and in this sense the cup may be said to be blessed; see Luke 9:16, “And he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven he blessed them,” etc.; compare Genesis 14:9; Genesis 27:23, Genesis 27:33, Genesis 27:41; Genesis 28:1; Lev 9:22-23; 2 Samuel 6:18; 1 Kings 8:41.

Is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? - Is it not the emblem by which the blood of Christ is exhibited, and the means by which our union through that blood is exhibited? Is it not the means by which we express our attachment to him as Christians; showing our union to him and to each other; and showing that we partake in common of the benefits of his blood? The main idea is, that by partaking of this cup they showed that they were united to him and to each other; and that they should regard themselves as set apart to him. We have communion with one κοινωνία koinōnia,) that which is in “common,” that which pertains to all, that which evinces fellowship) when we partake together; when all have an equal right, and all share alike; when the same benefits or the same obligations are extended to all. And the sense here is, that Christians “partake alike” in the benefits of the blood of Christ; they share the same blessings; and they express this together, and in common, when they partake of the communion.

The bread ... - In the communion. It shows, since we all partake of it. that we share alike in the benefits which are imparted by means of the body of the Redeemer. In like manner it is implied that if Christians should partake with idolaters in the feasts offered in honor of idols, that they would be regarded as partaking with them in the services of idols, or as united to them, and therefore such participation was improper.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Corinthians 10:16. The cup of blessing — The apostle speaks here of the Eucharist, which he illustrates by the כוס הברכה cos habberacah, cup of blessing, over which thanks were expressed at the conclusion of the passover. See this largely explained at the conclusion of Clarke's notes on "Matthew 26:75", and in my Discourse upon the Eucharist, 8vo. 2d edit. 1814.

The communion of the blood of Christ? — We who partake of this sacred cup, in commemoration of the death of Christ, are made partakers of his body and blood, and thus have fellowship with him; as those who partake of an idol feast, thereby, as much as they can, participate with the idol, to whom the sacrifice was offered. This I have proved at large in the above tract, to which I must refer the reader, as the subject is too voluminous to be inserted here.