Oneness in the Lord

by Tom Elseroad
In First Corinthians 10, lodged in the midst of Paul's discussion of idolatry and eating food offered to idols, is a crucial, yet often neglected teaching on the Lord's Supper. The truths contained in that chapter have tremendous ramifications for our churches today. Unfortunately, it appears that in most of today's churches this teaching has not yet been discovered. The benefits associated with this teaching are still lodged within the pages of Scripture waiting to be dug out and applied. The following arguments for this particular aspect of the Lord's Supper would have little meaning if its truths were not being applied by this writer. My desire is for others to experience the same blessings we receive each week as we apply these truths in our assembly.

1 Corinthians 10:15-17 Paul uses the Lord's Supper as his main example to support his teaching against idolatry. In idolatry as well as in the Lord's Supper there is an association with the object worshipped; hence, Paul uses the Lord's Supper as an example because of this parallel truth. Careful attention should be given to verses 16 and 17; Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.

Notice Paul's use of we in verses 16 and 17. He uses it four times in these two verses. From this usage at least two truths are borne out. First, all believer are involved in the physical act of breaking the bread each for himself. This brings out the idea that each believer is significant in the body of Christ. The Lord's Supper has a strong aspect of oneness to it. The idea here is that as a body of believers we are one. The Lord's Supper pictures this unity in that it utilizes one loaf of bread, and one cup of wine. Second, the participation of one loaf of bread and one cup of wine was standard practice for the early church. Paul assumes the Corinthians were consistent in practicing this aspect of oneness in the Lord's Supper. It is difficult to see how Paul could argue in this way if the early church was not consistent in this practice. Furthermore, to use it as an illustration in support of his argument against idolatry would hardly have been convincing to the Corinthians had they not actually been practicing it on a regular basis.

Moving back to the first point, notice that Paul makes reference to the cup. The singularity of the cup is what is stressed here. Clearly there was but one cup at the assembly of which all partook. Whether all drank from this one cup or merely distributed the contents to each one's own individual drinking cup is not clear. What is clear is that every member in some way partook of the one cup; that is, there was no division of the cup until each individual member divided his own portion for himself.

Also notice that the bread is likewise singular in verse 16. Paul explains this singularity of the bread in verse 17 by saying, Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf. In this verse we begin to understand why he stresses the oneness motif of the cup and loaf of bread. The one cup and one loaf together represent the oneness of the body of Christ. Thus, it is important that these elements are undivided before the body. Neither the cup of wine nor the loaf of bread must be divided ahead of time even for the sake of convenience. To do so destroys the picture of unity that Paul paints in this passage. Each believer must see the loaf as one loaf, not many pieces; for many pieces pictures not unity but division. The believer himself is to pour his part from the cup and to break off his part from the loaf. As he takes his part, he is individually represented in that loaf. What a blessing it is in our assembly to see the one cup and one loaf before us as a picture of unity before we divide them individually.

In most churches today, the aspect of unity is lost in the Lord's Supper. This is because the one loaf and one cup are replaced by crackers and grape juice which are already broken and divided-up for the body, thus portraying disunity. If this passage is to have any meaning for us today, we likewise must use one cup and one loaf of bread otherwise the picture of unity will remain lost.

This raises the question of how this aspect of the Lord's Supper can be restored in today's church. The New Testament believers were able to maintain this picture of unity because they met in a small-group house-church setting. As these believers saw the one cup of wine and one loaf of bread, they saw each other as one in Christ. If this passage is to have any meaning in today's churches, we must strive for smaller assemblies. The larger the setting the more difficult it is to have only one cup and one loaf of bread, since, clearly, the more people per assembly the larger the loaf of bread and cup of wine must be! It is not impossible to have this in the larger setting, but it becomes increasingly difficult to handle.

It is not enough merely to incorporate the practice of using one cup and one loaf of bread the aspect of unity must be evident. The practice without the meaning is an empty tradition, just as the meaning without the corresponding practice is an empty doctrine--both practice and meaning are essential. In order for our churches today to harmonize with Paul's teaching of unity in the Lord's Supper, we must strive to keep the aspect of unity, the practice (using one cup and one loaf), and the setting of the first century believers. In order to accomplish this we must work toward at least three things. First, we must emphasize the unity of the body as we partake of the Lord's Supper. Second, we must maintain the picture of unity by using one cup and one loaf of bread. This loaf must not be divided before the actual partaking of the Lord's Supper itself. The individual believer must be the one to break his own portion from the loaf. The same, of course, holds true of the cup. Third, and perhaps prerequisite to the other two, the setting must be small enough to be practical in performing these objectives.

Let us not allow this aspect of the Lord's Supper to be buried any longer. The blessings that come from applying these truths need to be available for all believers to enjoy. Our concern is that these truths not remain forever lodged in the annuls of history and thus remain limited to the first century believers, but rather that today's churches will chisel through to the joys which accompany their application.