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For the Corinthian passages on the Lord’s Supper, I wanted to move this to a different thread so as not to confuse these texts with the synoptic accounts of the institution. I pray that it is beneficial for those who wish to participate.
1 Corinthians 11:23-25: egô gar parelabon apo tou kuriou o kai paredôka umin oti o kurios iêsous en tê nukti ê a paredideto tsb paredidoto elaben arton kai eucharistêsas eklasen kai eipen tsb labete tsb phagete touto mou estin to sôma to uper umôn tsb klômenon touto poieite eis tên emên anamnêsin ôsautôs kai to potêrion meta to deipnêsai legôn touto to potêrion ê kainê diathêkê estin en tô emô aimati touto poieite osakis a ean tsb an pinête eis tên emên anamnêsin
(For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” - NIV)
Paul’s account matches up almost perfectly with Luke’s. In verse 25 Paul records Jesus as saying, “Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
1 Corinthians 10:16: to potêrion tês eulogias o eulogoumen ouchi koinônia a estin tou aimatos tou christou tsb estin ton arton on klômen ouchi koinônia tou sômatos tou christou estin
(Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? – NASB)
For the context, 1 Corinthians 10 begins with a warning against falling into the sins we see in Israelite history. Paul draws the section to a close with this famous verse:
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. (v. 13)
In the next section he narrows his focus to one temptation the Corinthian Christians are
struggling with: participating in pagan sacrifices. Paul tells the Corinthians that to participate in pagan sacrifices is to participate with demons.
to potêrion tês eulogias: The cup of blessing was a technical Jewish term used for the cup of wine drunk at the end of a meal. The most honored guest at the table took the cup, lifted it up and said the benediction.
koinônia: Obviously this is the key word in the sentence. It does not have an article because the vocable meaning is stressed. The fourth definition listed in BAG3 is: “participation, sharing in something” (electronic edition). BAG3 later states: “But perhaps here (1 Corinthians 10:16) koinônia w. genitive means the common possession or enjoyment of something (electronic edition). 1 Corinthians 10:16 is listed under this section as are others. Three of them are:
Philemon 6 I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.
Philippians 3:10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.
2 Corinthians 13:13-14 All the saints send their greetings. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Paul then makes highly significant use of koinônia for the fellowship which arises
in the Lord’s Supper. Participation in Christ, which is known basically and perfectly in faith, is achieved and experienced in enhanced form, with no dogmatic implication, in the sacrament. In the first instance Paul classifies the Lord’s Supper with Jewish and pagan festivals. In terms of the common belief of antiquity it is self-evident for him that those who partake of the cultic meal become companions of the god… It is equally self-evident for him that those who partake of pagan feasts become koinônous tôn daimoniôn (v. 20). By analogy, those who partake of the Lord’s Supper are Christ’s companions. The real fellowship which arises here entails for Christians the very natural religious conclusion that they should avoid the cultic meals of alien deities (v. 21). Thus the nature of the Lord’s Supper is expounded by Paul in terms of fellowship with the person of Christ, namely, koinônia with His body and blood. For Paul the bread and wine are vehicles of the presence of Christ, just as the Jewish altar is a pledge of the presence of God. Partaking of bread and wine is union (sharing) with the heavenly Christ. To Paul the exalted Christ is identical with the earthly and historical Christ who had body and blood. koinônia is here expressive of an inner union. This is for Paul the important thing in the celebration. It is self-evident that for Paul real union with the exalted Lord should include the blessing of forgiveness which He won by His death. How this union takes place in the cultic meal Paul does not tell us either in respect of demonic or of Christian fellowship. The point that matters for Paul is the fact, not the nature, of this close communion. In the interjected statement in v. 17 Paul declares that at the Lord’s Supper, as at sacrificial feasts, there is also fellowship between the participants. This is not apart from Christ. It arises out of common union with Him, as Christ is represented by the one loaf.
1 Corinthians 11:23-25: egô gar parelabon apo tou kuriou o kai paredôka umin oti o kurios iêsous en tê nukti ê a paredideto tsb paredidoto elaben arton kai eucharistêsas eklasen kai eipen tsb labete tsb phagete touto mou estin to sôma to uper umôn tsb klômenon touto poieite eis tên emên anamnêsin ôsautôs kai to potêrion meta to deipnêsai legôn touto to potêrion ê kainê diathêkê estin en tô emô aimati touto poieite osakis a ean tsb an pinête eis tên emên anamnêsin
(For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” - NIV)
Paul’s account matches up almost perfectly with Luke’s. In verse 25 Paul records Jesus as saying, “Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
1 Corinthians 10:16: to potêrion tês eulogias o eulogoumen ouchi koinônia a estin tou aimatos tou christou tsb estin ton arton on klômen ouchi koinônia tou sômatos tou christou estin
(Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? – NASB)
For the context, 1 Corinthians 10 begins with a warning against falling into the sins we see in Israelite history. Paul draws the section to a close with this famous verse:
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. (v. 13)
In the next section he narrows his focus to one temptation the Corinthian Christians are
struggling with: participating in pagan sacrifices. Paul tells the Corinthians that to participate in pagan sacrifices is to participate with demons.
to potêrion tês eulogias: The cup of blessing was a technical Jewish term used for the cup of wine drunk at the end of a meal. The most honored guest at the table took the cup, lifted it up and said the benediction.
koinônia: Obviously this is the key word in the sentence. It does not have an article because the vocable meaning is stressed. The fourth definition listed in BAG3 is: “participation, sharing in something” (electronic edition). BAG3 later states: “But perhaps here (1 Corinthians 10:16) koinônia w. genitive means the common possession or enjoyment of something (electronic edition). 1 Corinthians 10:16 is listed under this section as are others. Three of them are:
Philemon 6 I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.
Philippians 3:10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.
2 Corinthians 13:13-14 All the saints send their greetings. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Paul then makes highly significant use of koinônia for the fellowship which arises
in the Lord’s Supper. Participation in Christ, which is known basically and perfectly in faith, is achieved and experienced in enhanced form, with no dogmatic implication, in the sacrament. In the first instance Paul classifies the Lord’s Supper with Jewish and pagan festivals. In terms of the common belief of antiquity it is self-evident for him that those who partake of the cultic meal become companions of the god… It is equally self-evident for him that those who partake of pagan feasts become koinônous tôn daimoniôn (v. 20). By analogy, those who partake of the Lord’s Supper are Christ’s companions. The real fellowship which arises here entails for Christians the very natural religious conclusion that they should avoid the cultic meals of alien deities (v. 21). Thus the nature of the Lord’s Supper is expounded by Paul in terms of fellowship with the person of Christ, namely, koinônia with His body and blood. For Paul the bread and wine are vehicles of the presence of Christ, just as the Jewish altar is a pledge of the presence of God. Partaking of bread and wine is union (sharing) with the heavenly Christ. To Paul the exalted Christ is identical with the earthly and historical Christ who had body and blood. koinônia is here expressive of an inner union. This is for Paul the important thing in the celebration. It is self-evident that for Paul real union with the exalted Lord should include the blessing of forgiveness which He won by His death. How this union takes place in the cultic meal Paul does not tell us either in respect of demonic or of Christian fellowship. The point that matters for Paul is the fact, not the nature, of this close communion. In the interjected statement in v. 17 Paul declares that at the Lord’s Supper, as at sacrificial feasts, there is also fellowship between the participants. This is not apart from Christ. It arises out of common union with Him, as Christ is represented by the one loaf.
