• 1 Corinthians Outline:
  • Chapter 1 Ungodly divisions result from man's wisdom.
  • Chapter 2 Carnal man cannot understand our Spiritual God.
  • Chapter 3 All Christians will have their labors tried by fire.
  • Chapter 4 Boasting in our leaders puffs up and destroys fellowship.
  • Chapter 5 Maintain the purity of the Church.
  • Chapter 6 Do not dispute before the world and do not partake in sexual immorality.
  • Chapter 7 Principles of marriage
  • Chapter 8 The responsibility of liberty
  • Chapter 9 Those who preach the Gospel should live from the Gospel
  • Chapter 10 You cannot partake of the Lord's table and the table of demons.
• 1 Corinthians 10:1-22
• Introduction & Review

In the previous chapter Paul concluded with an explanation of why he would forego using his right to receive compensation from the Corinthians. He would do it so that he could preach the gospel to them without any hindrance. He moved on and articulated how he regularly gives up the liberty which is his in Christ so that he might win some. This attitude of giving up your rights for the advancement of the kingdom is a demonstration of maturity and spiritual growth.

He finishes by encouraging them to do these things and by doing so they would be like an athlete who is welled trained. In this chapter he will continue with the same encouragement by comparing the ancient Israelites with the New Testament Church.

• Exposition

1 Corinthians 10:1-22

Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea,² all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,³ all ate the same spiritual food,⁴ and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.⁵ But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

• As you may recall, the New Testament Church was in her wilderness experience when Paul was writing this epistle. He uses the example of the Israelites when they had been brought out of the bondage of Egypt but had not yet entered the promised land. In front of them was the wilderness experience and Paul warns the people of Corinth not to perform in their situation like Israel did in hers.
• There was an initiation of the Jews in the desert in that they passed through the sea and they were under the protective covering of the cloud and the leading of the cloud. These initiations were the first experiences of the wilderness experience for the nation of Israel. In addition, God sustained them by giving them spiritual food and drink. They ate and drank a spiritual food but notice that God was not pleased with most of them. In other words, they were communicants in that they ate the food and drink, yet although they were partakers of the baptism and the communion, they were not automatically right with God. It also reveals that it is possible to abuse baptism and communion and displeased God.

⁶ Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.⁷ And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play."⁸ Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell;⁹ nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents;¹⁰ nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer.¹¹ Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

• In two verses here Paul equates the situation of Israel with the NT church. During this time Israel received the law of God, the NT Church received the New Testament. Both had wilderness experiences of about 40 years. After the wilderness the Jews conquered Cannan and after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, the church expanded throughout the world. Israel did not do well during their wilderness and Paul wants his disciples to do better than they did.
• Paul is referring to the situation where Aaron built a golden calf and the people worshipped his creation. Notice that the description of the sin of Israel is that they sat down to eat and drink. Where did they do this? At another table. Instead of sustaining themselves of the table of the Lord they ate from a different table, the table of demons. In addition, they rose from the table to partake in revelry and sexual immorality. These actions are referred to as a tempting of Christ. That is, after partaking in His table and then the table of demons, their actions declared a false lack of efficacy of Christ's provision.
• To our holy God, sin is an important thing. For this reason, people also die today because of sexual immorality. God's judgment is poured out because of sexual immorality even today. Notice also , they were guilty of grumbling and as a result many of them were destroyed. Many times, grumbling is one of our favorite sins yet with God His wrath gets poured out on those who declare that His provision is not sufficient.
• Notice that the idolatry was accompanied by the sexual immorality. The worship of things other than God, although itself is a sin, is always followed by ungodly behavior. The type of idolatry is irrelevant in that if you are not worshipping God then you are worshipping a created thing, and this idolatrous worship will always bring immoral behavior.

¹² Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.¹³ No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

• Commonly, people will attempt to justify sin by declaring that their situation is unique and no one else could understand their situation. We know this to be false. Across the globe our temptations are common to man and not only for all those living today but to all of those who have lived.
• Godliness in temptation is dependent on God's faithfulness, not ours. We are not told to create a way out or to endure temptation by resisting with our flesh. Rather, we are told to flee from immorality and to flee by means of the way out that the Lord provides.

¹⁴ Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.¹⁵ I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say.¹⁶ The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?¹⁷ For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.

• Paul is pointing out the hypocrisy of partaking in immorality and partaking in the table of the Lord. We cannot have communion with Christ and with Satan. Not only would doing so be an abomination of Christ because we partake as one body, the other members of the body are defiled as well.

¹⁸ Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar?¹⁹ What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything?²⁰ Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.²¹ You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons.²² Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? NKJV

• This is clearly the primary points of this chapter. Paul is warning them and us that we must not attempt to eat at both tables. We cannot call ourselves followers of Christ when our actions declare that we are idol worshippers. We cannot have it both ways and why would we want to?