Thursday,
July 16 –
My
friend told me yesterday that he gets his daily assurance of what day of the
week it is because I begin these posts with whatever day of the week it is. So,
it’s Thursday, and we continue our reading of the New Testament in a year in 1
Corinthians 10:1 – 33. I invite you to return to what I’ve written after you
read the Scripture first.
Paul
has been dealing with problems within the church in Corinth. Problems...we all
have them – problems within, problems without. They come in all sorts of
circumstances. Some we make on our own, some get handed to us, but they don’t
leave willingly. Sometimes the best way to solve a problem is not by trying to
figure out the future, but to look back at the past and see what has happened
to teach us today. That’s what the Apostle Paul does as he brings this long
section writing to the Corinthians about freedom, responsibility towards
others, and humility to a conclusion. Borrowing from Old Testament stories,
Paul created examples that serve as analogies to the present issues in the
Corinthian church.
First,
Paul gave them a good news example: “For I do not want you to be unaware,
brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the
sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate
the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank
from the spiritual Rock that followed them and the Rock was Christ”
(10:1-4).
The
first analogy is from the Exodus story, where God provided everything they
needed to escape from slavery to freedom, and how God provided water for them
in the desert from a rock. This rock, Paul said, was Christ himself. They were
blessed by God’s provisions, protection, and deliverance. It was an act of
God’s grace and demonstrated that they could trust God for everything they
needed in life. Paul used this story to remind them that they also had received
everything they needed from God. The good news is that Christ had come to their
slavery in sin and delivered them, and they had a new life in Christ to live
out together as Christ’s community.
Then,
He adds the not-so-good news example: “Nevertheless, with most of them God
was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness” (10:5). After
all of the miraculous provisions, they never made a clear break from their
slavery and ended up wandering around for forty years, dying off one person at
a time. The generation delivered from slavery kept acting like slaves. They
grumbled and complained returning again and again to Egypt’s lifestyle of
idolatry and immorality. Nevertheless, God fed them in the wilderness. You
might recall that God provided water for them in the desert twice. The first
time Moses and the people celebrated God’s provision. The second time, Moses
was so angry with the constant grumbling and complaining that he disobeyed God,
and though water came from the rock, Moses was denied entrance into the
promised land. “With most of them, God was not pleased.” It had all
started so well, but in the end, it turned out poorly.
Why?
Presumptuousness! “Now these things took place as examples for us, that we
might not desire evil as they did” (10:6). The Israelites partied and
danced their way into judgment – Paul reminds them that 23,000 died in one day!
(10:8). Similarly, the Corinthian church
had become an arrogant, argumentative, carnal group of Christians. They
presumed upon God’s grace and reveled in their freedom. Now Paul wants to make
a point – “These are all warning markers—DANGER!—in our history books,
written down so that we don't repeat their mistakes. Our positions in the story
are parallel—they at the beginning, we at the end—and we are just as capable of
messing it up as they were. Don't be so naive and self-confident. You're
not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget
about self-confidence; it's useless. Cultivate God-confidence” (10:11-12, The
Message). It is a clear warning by Paul that they should not presume that because
God had redeemed them that he will not discipline their divisive, idolatrous,
immoral behavior.”
“They
were overthrown in the wilderness” (10:5); “they fell” (10:8); “they were
destroyed...by the destroyer” (10:9-10). The Israelites in the wilderness lost
sight of what God had done for them, and Paul warns the Corinthians that they
are losing sight of what God had done for them. They had the opportunity to
build a Christian community in Corinth and instead they had returned to
division, grumbling, and accusation against those in authority.
“Now these things happened to them
as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end
of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed
lest he fall” (10:11-12).
The
examples from the past serve to give warning in the present – “take heed”, i.e,
“take a long look at what you’re doing”. It is a time of testing for their
faith. The problem is not God, the
problem is within their choices. God is not the unfaithful one in this
relationship, and there is a way forward:
“No temptation has overtaken you
that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted
beyond your ability, but with the temptation, he will also provide the way of
escape, that you may be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from
idolatry (10:13-14).
The
final word heightens the severity of the Corinthian situation. They are not
simply making mistakes, they are practicing idolatrous sins. They lived in a
pagan environment and yet did not recognize the influence the Roman/Greek
values, ethical choices, and lifestyle - which was ungodly - was having upon
them! We have lost a sense of what idolatry means to our faith. Idolatry occurs
anytime a person is willing to put anything, or anyone ahead of the truth of
God and His word. It is something Paul saw when he entered Athens in Acts
17:16, where Luke records that Paul was “provoked” (ESV), “greatly distressed
(NIV) because of the idolatry he witnessed. Paul did not seek compromise with
the values and beliefs of the philosophers in Athens so that he might fit in;
instead, he stood up and declared the truth of the Gospel to them. They
ridiculed him and called him foolish. Paul said to the Corinthians that “God
made foolish the wisdom of the wise”. God will not be reduced to something
we can control to get what we want. The
world’s wisdom is on display daily in all areas of our world and embracing any
wisdom that denies God’s truth is nothing more than idolatry.
“I speak as to sensible people;
judge for yourselves what I say” (10:15). Paul holds up a warning sign – “caution”, “slow down, watch what
you’re doing”. The danger of any form of idolatry is that it is destructive to
both faith and fellowship. “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? Because there is one bread, we who are
many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider the people of
Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar?
(10:16-18). Three times he used the word “participation”. What they had received was the fellowship
they have in Christ. The Lord’s Table, Communion, is a reminder that we have
been bought by the blood of Christ. It should remind us that we belong to
Christ. He adds: “Consider...Israel”. Israel had the blessings of God’s
providential care. In both deliverance and their wanderings the Israelites had
God’s presence and protection. Yet, they
didn’t comprehend the gift they had, and instead kept acting like slaves in
Egypt.
The
Corinthian believers had “oneness” in Christ that transcended their troubled
fellowship. That was the heart of the problem, and Paul makes clear the
contrast. If the Corinthian believers ignore the warnings of Paul they will
also forget that God does not share in their idolatry – idolatry motivated by
the demonic – “What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything,
or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer
to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 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. Shall we provoke the Lord to
jealousy? Are we stronger than he? (10:19-22). The presumptuous,
complacent, divisive selfish pride is demonically driven and it will destroy
them.
Paul
ends where he began – “‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things are
helpful. ‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things build up.” It’s not
that difficult to comprehend, and he makes that clear in summary form – “Let
no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. Eat whatever is sold in
the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. For
‘the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.’ If one of the unbelievers
invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before
you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. But if someone
says to you, ‘This has been offered in sacrifice,’ then do not eat it, for the
sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience — I do not
mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by
someone else’s conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced
because of that for which I give thanks? (10:23-30).
The
formula is not difficult to comprehend. If it is not beneficial, avoid it; if
it is not in people’s best interests, walk away; and if does not serve to
glorify God, then why even consider it? Paul ends this long section with a
principle that can serve as a life-long prescription for every Christian to
preserve them from presumption – “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever
you do, do all to the glory of God” (10:31).
It
makes no difference, in the end, with what we individually believe if our
actions do not lead to Christ-like community. Reading the Corinthian letter to
this point at times has been exasperating. The childishness is appalling. Why
could they not see what they were doing? Well, the fact is, they really were
children in the faith, and if we are honest, at times our fellowship is not any
different. They acted more like the natural, unredeemed people that populated
the city of Corinth than the Christ-like people they were supposed to be. Why
do we do that? Why do we, like the children of Israel, slip back into “Egypt” –
living out of our past slave-like identity instead of living like the redeemed
people of God? It seemed clear – the Corinthian believers were not getting the
big picture – perhaps neither do we. Paul reminded them that their purpose had
to be focused – “...I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking
my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved” (10:33). That
is a focused purpose we also need.
Peace
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