36. But with whom primarily are they sharing, and of what things? And how is this true of divine enlightenment also?

³⁶ But is that all? Is that as far as the apostle Paul’s argument goes here? No! Because we are also sharing with Jehovah God, and primarily with him. Just as partaking worshipfully of sacrifices offered to idols means to “become sharers with the demons,” so our partaking of the one great sacrifice to Jehovah, Christ’s sacrifice once for all, means to become sharers with Jehovah, to have communion with him. We accept as a sacrifice for us Christ’s sacrifice that was offered to Jehovah. Of course, Jehovah does not share in the literal loaf of unleavened bread and in the literal cup of wine at the Lord’s evening meal, but he shares in the real flesh and blood of which the loaf and cup are mere emblems. By jointly partaking of this one and only acceptable sacrifice to God, the benefits of which he makes available to us, we and He are parties to one new covenant. Yes, and we are having a sharing together, a communion, a partnership with him, just as we do in the matter of divine enlightenment. On this it is written: “That which we have seen and heard we are reporting also to you, that you, too, may be having partnership [koi.no.niʹa] with us. Furthermore, this partnership [koi.no.niʹa] of ours is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. If we make the statement, ‘We are having partnership [koi.no.niʹa] with him,’ and yet we go on walking in the darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth. However, if we are walking in the light as he himself is in the light, we do have partnership [koi.no.niʹa] with one another and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”—1 John 1:3, 6, 7, NW.

37. So the eaters of the Lord’s evening meal must be all for whom, and why so?

³⁷ The choice, then, is between Jehovah God and the demons. No course of compromise, no being lukewarm, no limping upon two different opinions, like crutches, can be acceptable. There must be a full, undivided worship of the one true God Jehovah or of the false demon gods. If those Christians in the new covenant come together to “eat the Lord’s evening meal,” doing so in remembrance of him, and they then partake of the emblems, the loaf and the cup of wine, then they are declaring that they are partaking of “the table of Jehovah” and that they are “sharers with the altar” of Jehovah. For this reason they have to be all for him. They cannot divide their worship and service. They cannot also participate in the sacrifices that the nations of this world (including Christendom) are offering to the many idols of various kinds in this modern age.

38. How could partaking of the emblems of the Lord’s evening meal be acting a lie, and to what would it be inciting Jehovah, to what consequences?

³⁸ At one and the same time, you celebrators of the Lord’s evening meal, “you cannot be drinking the cup of Jehovah and the cup of demons; you cannot be partaking of ‘the table of Jehovah’ and the table of demons.” So the apostle Paul says. “Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. For . . . what fellowship [koi.no.niʹa] does light have with darkness? . . . And what agreement does God’s temple have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God.” (2 Cor. 6:14-16, NW) By trying to divide up your love, your devotion, your worship and your service between Jehovah God and the demons, you are acting out a lie if then you attend the Lord’s evening meal and partake of the emblems. By that you pretend to have fellowship with the God of light or to share with him, but you are not actually doing so at all. You are fooling yourself. You are acting hypocritically. You are “walking in the darkness, . . . are lying and are not practicing the truth.” You are “inciting Jehovah to jealousy,” for “he is a God exacting exclusive devotion.” He will not accept a divided love. (Ex. 34:14, NW) Such inciting of Him leads to serious consequences. Why? Because, as Paul asks, “we are not stronger than he is, are we?” (1 Cor. 10:22, NW) No, we are not. So we have no measure of strength able to withstand and overpower the destruction that he brings upon us for inciting him to jealousy.—Ps. 78:58-64.

“One Body” of Partakers

1. How should eaters of the Lord’s evening meal be in their worship and service of Jehovah, and to what “one body” does Paul refer in arguing for this?

THOSE Christian spiritual Israelites who are in the new covenant should be undivided in their worship and service of Jehovah both individually and as a congregation. That is why, after speaking of the cup and loaf of the Lord’s evening meal, the apostle says to such ones: “Because there is one loaf, we, although many, are one body, for we are all partaking [eating] of that one loaf.” (1 Cor. 10:17, NW) To which body does Paul here refer by the words “one body”? Not to the personal, fleshly body of Jesus which is symbolized by the loaf of unleavened bread. No, but to the entire congregation of spiritual Israelites of which Jesus Christ is the spiritual Head. This congregation under him is later spoken of in this same letter of Paul as Christ’s body: “Now you are Christ’s body, and members individually. And God has set the respective ones in the congregation.”—1 Cor. 12:27, 28, NW.