Vv 1-14: Warning of Israel's example: baptized, separated, but
seduced.
UNDER THE CLOUD: Exo 14:19-22: the cloud protected them
from the Egyptians as they crossed the Red Sea.
1Co 10:4
Cp Joh 19:34: water out of Christ's side. "Is the LORD among
us or not?" (Exo 17:7).
1Co 10:5
SCATTERED: Lit "strewn about". Sw "slain" (Num 14:16
LXX). A wilderness littered with dead bodies of disobedient people (Num
14:28-34; Heb 4).
1Co 10:6
Were the "wise" Corinthians going to idol temples (1Co 8:10)
just to prove a point, or perhaps because they secretly desired the evil
festivities?
TYPES: "Tupos" (vv 6,11), used 14 other times in NT:
Joh 20:25 (twice), Act 7:43,44; 23:25; Rom 5:14; 6:17; Phi 3:17; 1Th 1:7; 2Th
3:9; 1Ti 4:12; Tit 2:7; Heb 8:5; 1Pe 5:3. In Amo 5:26 (LXX), tzelem (ie "image"
of Gen 1:26, etc) = Gr tupos. In Exo 25:40 (LXX), tavneeth (sig form, likeness)
= tupos. Cp Act 7:44; Heb 8:5. Thus, tupos = "adequate or appropriate
representation", either prospective or retrospective, ie memorial or shadow.
1Co 10:7
The "harmless" eating and drinking of 1Co 8 might lead to
immorality -- as with temple prostitutes.
1Co 10:8
TWENTY-THREE THOUSAND: Num 25:9 has "24,000". But
either (1) 23,000 "in one day" (here), and 24,000 overall, or (2) 23,000
Israelites along with 1,000 Moabitesses.
FULFILLMENT OF THE AGES: "Revenue", Gr "telos",
translated "revenue" in Rom 13:7; "duty" in Mat 17:25.
1Co 10:12
SO, IF YOU THINK YOU ARE STANDING FIRM, BE CAREFUL THAT YOU
DON'T FALL!: "Brother, beware of the smooth places of the way; if you are
treading them, or if the way be rough, thank God for it. If God should always
rock us in the cradle of prosperity; if we were always dandled on the knees of
fortune; if we had not some stain on the alabaster pillar; if there were not a
few clouds in the sky; if we had not some bitter drops in the wine of this life,
we should become intoxicated with pleasure, we should dream 'we stand'; and
stand we should, but it would be upon a pinnacle; like the man asleep upon the
mast, each moment we should be in jeopardy" (CHS).
1Co 10:13
"I am not going to try to convince you that you should relish,
enjoy or otherwise celebrate adversity, but simply to realize that it is good
for you. Because we grow in our faith and develop our characters, therefore we
can have a sense of joy in adversity. In a way, each trial we go through is a
gift from God -- a gift of adversity. Some of these are small gifts while others
are big gifts. They are all gifts in that God is working with us...
"What we are promised in the Bible is that we can get through
the trial. Maybe we will not get through it with our life, our sanity, our
wealth or our family, but we can make it through with our salvation. We are
promised that 'No trial has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God
is faithful, who will not allow you to be tested beyond what you are able, but
with the trial will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to
endure it.' What does this mean? Can we survive all trials? Yes and no.
Eventually, one trial is going to take each of our lives. The promise is not
that we can survive physically or emotionally, but spiritually. During the first
century, as the Apostles were being murdered one by one, they did have a way of
escape from their torturers. Their escape was death. Perhaps we long for a
little better escape path than death, but in some cases, that is all that is
provided. The promise is that each trial will be conquerable from the point of
view of our salvation -- period. 'And fear not them which kill the body, but are
not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both
soul and body in hell' (Mat 10:28)" (KT).
When temptations come in the normal course of life, God can be
relied upon to deliver His children. But if the "wise", who suppose themselves
"strong", go out of their way to test themselves, they cannot expect such
deliverance. It is better to flee away from idols as far as possible.
EXCEPT WHAT IS COMMON TO MAN: "But such as man can
bear" (ASV).
A WAY OUT: Gr "exodus".
1Co 10:16
The Lord's Supper: a memorial of Christ (Mat 26:26,27); a
feast of remembrance (1Co 11:24); a banquet of victory (Act 20:7); a token of
fellowship (1Co 10:16); and a confession of hope (1Co 11:26).
1Co 10:17
'Seeing there is one bread, we -- the many -- MUST BE one
body!'
"Partakers" / "sharers": of root and fatness of olive tree
(Rom 11:17), of spiritual things (Rom 15:27), of one bread (1Co 10:17), of
sufferings and consolation (2Co 1:7), of God's promise in Christ (Eph 3:6), of
inheritance of saints (Col 1:12), of heavenly calling (Heb 3:1), of Christ (Heb
3:14), of the benefit (1Ti 6:2), of the glory (1Pe 5:1), and of the divine
nature (2Pe 1:4).
1Co 10:20
Vv 20,21: Have no fellowship with: teachers of false doctrines
(2Jo 1:10); workers of false deeds (Eph 5:11); worshipers of false gods (1Co
10:20,21).
Demons // Rev 9:20.
1Co 10:26
From Exo 9:29...
1Co 10:28
THE EARTH IS THE LORD'S, AND EVERYTHING IN IT: This
repetition of Psa 24:1a (vv 26,28): "The earth is the Lord's and the fulness
thereof", is disallowed (in 1Co 10:28) by most modern texts. Yet the supporting
evidence for both occurrences is good. Assuming that the disputed words belong
in both places, the argument: Food in the shops has been earlier dedicated to an
idol. Do not let this trouble you. You have a right to eat it because: (1) the
idol is nothing; (2) all creatures were made by the Lord (the earth is the
Lord's); and (3) as heirs of his kingdom, saints in Christ share his lordship
over the lower creation. Therefore it is the right of anyone in Christ to eat
such food. (On this, cp 1Ti 4:4,5.) But suppose a brother (eg a Jewish convert)
protests that this food, lately dedicated to an idol, is unclean; then his
fellow-believer should abstain from eating -- with the comforting assurance that
the earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof. In other words, in God's world
there is such a wide diversity of good things to eat, so it can be only a small
hardship to deny oneself in this instance for the sake of a beloved brother's
sensitive conscience.
1Co 10:31
DO IT ALL FOR THE GLORY OF GOD: "We must unify our
lives with one central motive: the glory of God. Everything we think, say or do
must be for this purpose. Everything that does not contribute to it, or that
detracts from it, must be put away. This alone is joy and peace"
(GVG).
1Co 10:32
DO NOT CAUSE ANYONE TO STUMBLE: "Regardless of how
'lawful' a thing may be for us, if it is not a necessity but just a matter of
our pleasure and desire, and if we know that it will distress our brethren and
sisters, and weaken the ecclesia, and perhaps even divide it; and if we ignore
the tears and pleadings of those who implore us to put the love of God and the
peace and welfare of the ecclesia ahead of our own selfishness -- and if we
still go ahead with our willful course, then we have committed a serious sin
before God. We have brazenly declared that our own present pleasure and
satisfaction is more important to us than the love of God or the ecclesia's
wellbeing. We have declared that we neither have nor understand the beautiful,
self-sacrificing spirit of Christ, and that we are, therefore, none of his. We
may argue all too truly that few indeed have this. That's beside the point. The
point is: do WE have it? Can we face Christ without it?" (GVG).