Limbs and Organs
We are limbs and organs of Christ’s body. Each one is a individual unit of the complex and complete unit. We are in Him, He is in us. We are one with Christ, so what we do with our bodies Christ participates in.
It happens at the communion table. Paul contrasted two types of participation when it comes to eating and drinking.
“The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16). The participation is a sharing, a unity, an all-togetherness.
Paul illustrated with the Israelite sacrifices. When they ate the meat from the altar they were participating in the sacrifice.
The contrast was with another offering. When pagans offered meat to idols, to eat that meat was to participate with demons. But Paul wrote, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons” (1 Corinthians 10:21). The two are mutually exclusive, one or the other. We shouldn’t eat at more than one table.
Mediate on what this communion meal does to all of your associations. Remember Christ’s blood, shed to cover unrighteousness, and receive the blessing of the cup. Remember Christ’s body, given to reconcile rebels to God and enemies to one another, and partake of the oneness. We eat and drink here who we are, the body of Christ. And when we leave we take the body with us.