1 Corinthians 10:17

For we being many are one bread and one body; for we are all partakers of that one bread.

The first sentences are in the nature of a transition between the two sections of the chapter. The sad fate of the Israelites in the wilderness, the resemblance between their trials and those of the Corinthian Christians, the possibility of offering effective resistance to all temptations, and the certain relief which we may expect from our faithful God: all these facts combine to give weight and emphasis to the appeal to flee from idolatry, which is at the basis of all sinning. Paul is deeply moved, and he intends his appeal to make a deep impression upon his readers since he addresses them as his "beloved. " But he now leads over to the other thought, that of the necessity of keeping the Holy Communion unpolluted. Like a challenge his words ring out: As to men of sense I speak; judge yourselves what I say. He has warned them against a security based upon false knowledge; he here asks them to apply their spiritual wisdom in the proper way, since the matter which he is about to broach pertains to those things which the spiritual person may well judge, chap. 2:15. They are intelligent, they are clever, they are shrewd: therefore he has unlimited faith in his being able to entrust such a palpable truth to their decision.

The mystery of the Eucharist: The cup of blessing which we bless, which we, in the Holy Communion, set apart by prayer for a holy use, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break (after likewise pronouncing the prayer of praise and thanksgiving over it), is it not the communion of the body of Christ? The entire passage breathes the consciousness, the certainty, of Christian fellowship, first with Christ, in whom they participate through the wine and the bread, and secondly with the other communicants, who partake of the same bread and of the same cup. We have here the essence of the Lord's Supper in one sentence: There are the earthly, visible elements, bread and wine; there are the invisible blessings, the real presence of the body and blood of Christ; the heavenly gifts are present in, with, and under the earthly elements, for there is a communion of the two, in either case, and nothing is said of a change or transubstantiation; the communion is with Christ, as the Author and Finisher of our salvation. There is no sacramental presence outside of the Sacrament; it is necessary that bread and wine be blessed and then partaken of in accordance with Christ's institution in order that the real presence be effective; he that partakes of the bread partakes of the body of Christ; and he that partakes of the cup partakes of the blood of Christ. "As regards transubstantiation, we care nothing about the sophistical subtlety by which they teach that bread and wine leave or lose their own natural substance, and that there remain only the appearance and color of bread, and not true bread. For it is in perfect agreement with Holy Scriptures that there is, and remains, bread. We believe, teach, and confess that the body and blood of Christ are received with the bread and wine, not only spiritually by faith, but also orally; yet not in a Capernaitic, but in a supernatural, heavenly mode, by reason of the sacramental union; as the words of Christ clearly show."

The communion, the oneness, of the believers with Christ, through the Eucharist, is brought out: For one bread, one body, we many are, for of the one bread we partake. It is the very closest relationship, the most vital fellowship which Paul here states to be existing. All communicants partake of that one bread which is the communion of the body of Christ, and therefore they are most intimately united, not only with Christ, but also with one another; the fellowship of the believers is brought out with the greatest emphasis by the words of Paul. At the same time it may be noted that the hypocrites and unbelievers that come to the table of the Lord, unknown to the congregation as such, partake of the body and blood of Christ in and with the bread and wine, but they do not really partake of the Holy Communion, for their unbelief excludes them from the communion of saints, and they receive the body of Christ as their Judge and the Sacrament unto their damnation, 1 Corinthians 11:29.