Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf.
Parallel translations
- WEB Because there is one loaf of bread, we, who are many, are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf of bread.
- KJV For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.
- NKJV For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.
- NASB Since there is one loaf, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf.
- NLT And though we are many, we all eat from one loaf of bread, showing that we are one body.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Because believers share one loaf, they are united as one body. The Supper both signifies and strengthens the unity of the church.
Overview
Paul moves from communion with Christ to communion among believers: partaking of the one bread expresses and forms the church's oneness. The Lord's Supper is therefore not merely individual but corporate, binding the many into one body in Christ. This unity rebukes the Corinthians' divisions and flows from their shared participation in the one Savior.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Rom 12:5so in Christ we who are many are one body, and each member belongs to one another.
- Col 3:15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, for to this you were called as members of one body. And be thankful.
- 1 Cor 12:12The body is a unit, though it is composed of many parts. And although its parts are many, they all form one body. So it is with Christ.
- 1 Cor 12:27Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a member of it.
- Eph 4:4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called;
- Eph 4:12–13to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ,
- Eph 4:25Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another.
- Eph 4:16From Him the whole body, fitted and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love through the work of each individual part.
- Gal 3:26–28You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
- Eph 2:15–16by abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments and decrees. He did this to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace
- Eph 3:6This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.
- Col 3:11Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.
- 1 Cor 10:3–4They all ate the same spiritual food
- 1 Cor 11:26–28For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
- 1 Cor 10:21You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot partake in the table of the Lord and the table of demons too.
- Col 2:19He has lost connection to the head, from whom the whole body, supported and knit together by its joints and ligaments, grows as God causes it to grow.
- Eph 1:22–23And God put everything under His feet and made Him head over everything for the church,
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Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 10:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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