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Have you ever thought that the Lord was far away and perhaps has left you? You sense a spiritual void in your life and can’t place your finger on it. You pray and nothing happens. Eventually you come around to asking the question, “Why doesn’t God answer me?” or “Where is God?” Too often we come around to blaming God for things that happen to us in spite of the fact that God always has our best interest at heart. Let’s look at this verse in 1 Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 10:21 “Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.”
I think of the “cup of the Lord” and “the Lord’s table” as gifts we receive from the Lord. Certainly, those who are not in the good favor of God would not receive His blessings. I notice for Christians this verse does not say we cannot sit at the table of devils or that we cannot drink from the cup of devils. God has given us the free will to do as we please. Just keep in mind that if we choose to go there, we cannot at the same time expect to receive blessings from the bounty of God.
There’s an expression for someone to “have their cake and eat it too.” Sometimes Christians are like this. We want to live like the world, dress like the world, and do things contrary to the Will of God, AND we want God to give us nice things also! When we have sin in our life, and God doesn’t bless us as He once did, like I referenced before, who do we blame? We blame God instead of ourselves. If the blessings from heaven have shut off and you’re wondering what’s up, take an introspective look and draw yourself closer to God. Make sure you are in His good graces. I assure you that God will be faithful and He will be there for you.
Several times throughout the Bible we are told to be separate from the world. The gospel of John in chapter 15 says that we are not of the world even though we are in the world. In 1 Corinthians 10:18-20, Paul says we should not have fellowship with “devils”.
1 Corinthians 10:18-20 “Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? But I say , that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.”
Exactly what does Paul mean when he says not to have fellowship?
First of all, fellowship in the original Greek which Paul wrote is koinonos, which is like a partner or an associate. This is more than living among the lost world. We rub shoulders with the world on a daily basis by necessity. In fact, there are probably people in your church who are not Christian but you don’t quit the church because of that individual. Paul gives us an example in verse 18. Those of Israel who ate of the sacrifices were koinonos of the altar. They were not merely standing by; they actively participated. This is given to us as a guide to our lives.
We also look at our Example Jesus Christ. He lived among sinners and stayed in their houses. But He was not a participant in the sinfulness of their lives.
In my line of work, I work among people who happen to use what is politely called “colorful” language. It is rough language and there is a lot of it. I work among them but do not say the things they do. My heart belongs to God. If I were to use the same kind of bad language which the others use, you could say I was a participant or an associate of theirs as it relates to the language. Working among them is one thing. Using foul language would make me a partner with them.
When Paul says we are not to have fellowship with evil, he’s referring to participating in things of the world which would be displeasing to God. We are on the Lord’s side as Christians, not on the devil’s side.
To learn more about 1 Corinthians 10, follow this link.
Paul speaks of Christian unity in 1 Corinthians 10:14-17. As I was reading this passage, it occurred to me that he’s not writing about church unity so much as he does elsewhere. He uses the word “we” a lot in these passages, as in me and you. We together are united by Jesus Christ. It doesn’t matter what church you belong to. If you are a Christian, you are united with like-minded Christians of other churches.
1 Corinthians 10:14-17 “Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say. 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? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.”
It is Jesus Christ who unites us. This is symbolized by our partaking of communion: the bread and the cup which represent the body and blood of Jesus. In spite of all the things that makes us different, and in spite of some disagreements over minor doctrine, we are in the same family with other Christians. And we being united make up the body of Christ. Without our voice, Jesus has no voice in the world.
There are many people today who profess to be Christian, but live a life that is contrary. I will not judge them because only they and the Lord knows their heart. My point for saying that is that we should be skeptical of those who say one thing with their mouth, and another thing with their feet. By saying they are Christian, they say that they are of the same bones and blood of Jesus Christ, and of you. The way they live expresses to the world a picture of Jesus Christ which they portray. We ought to be concerned about what kind of picture is presented of Jesus, and of us. Likewise, we should be concerned by the image we portray to the world of who Jesus really is. When the world sees us, let them see who Jesus really is.
To learn more about 1 Corinthians 10, follow this link.
The devil does not have free reign to tempt you with whatever he wants. The devil is limited by God to what and how much he can tempt you. If God feels the temptation is too steep for you to handle, He will not allow it. Paul makes this point in 1 Corinthians 10:13. This verse has some great thoughts for us to keep in mind when we are going through a difficult time or are tempted to sin.
1 Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
Let’s divide the verse into two parts: past and present. Paul begins by mentioning what God has done for us in the past.
1 Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:…”
Paul is speaking of things done in the past here. “No temptation taken” (in the past). The temptations you have experienced in your life up until now are all things which other people have experienced. As Paul referred to in verse 11, some examples of these can be found in the Bible. God gives us lots of examples of people being tempted, how they dealt with them and how they succeeded.
Then, Paul turns to our present and the future temptations we may face.
1 Corinthians 10:13 “…but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
Thank the Lord that He is faithful. What He’s done for others in the past He will do for us. God will look at each temptation the devil wants to hit us with and judge whether or not we can bear it. If He feels it is too much for us, then He will not allow the devil to tempt us with it. As Paul phrases it, God makes sure with each temptation we face, that we have a “way to escape.”
God will not box us into a room with no door. When we are experiencing temptation and we aren’t sure if we can hold out, look for the door. God has promised us a door to escape through when we face any temptation from the devil. If you are heavily tempted and not sure if you can withstand the temptation, remember this verse in 1 Corinthians where it says that God “will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able.” We can have victory over every sin in our life. We need to recognize the temptation when we experience it; then we need to look for that door to escape through.
To learn more about 1 Corinthians 10, follow this link.
Paul, in 1 Corinthians 10:12, not to think so highly of their spiritual position that they take for granted the danger of sin. This is a fairly well-known verse. Let’s look at it to begin with because there’s something we can learn from it.
1 Corinthians 10:12 “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”
One of the first things I recognized was that the person Paul is talking to is already standing. This is not a person who thinks he stands but actually isn’t. This is a person who stands but is in danger of falling. Another thing I recognized was the context in which Paul is writing this. Remember that in the first 11 verses Paul tells us to read the Old Testament and discover what happened to those people; because it happened for our example, and for our learning. Just something to keep in mind when we study this verse. Finally, I ask myself when I study the Bible, and specifically today, this verse:
“What can I learn from this verse to apply to my life today?”
That should be your focus, too, as you read the Bible. It is more than a collection of stories but lessons from God to us on how to live our life (and how not to live our lives).
The person who doesn’t take heed is the person today who says “I would never do that.” Think of the worst sin you can imagine committing. Don’t say to yourself that you would never do that. When you say “I would never”, you’re not “taking heed” as Paul phrases it and you are in danger of falling. I attended a Holiness Conference a number of years ago and a preacher named R.B. Ouellette spoke about this. He said at one point, “I might become a homosexual.” He wasn’t saying he intended to; on the contrary. He was saying that he would never let his guard down on that because then he may fall into that sin.
I thought of Peter in the New Testament regarding this verse. Recall this conversation he had with Jesus:
Mark 14:27-31 And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee. But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I. And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all.”
I’m sure Peter couldn’t imagine himself denying Christ at any time. It was out of the question. But Peter thought he was not in any danger of this and he fell shortly thereafter.
It’s important to always be on guard of what sin the devil will tempt you with. Never think that any sin is beyond you. When you begin to think, “I’ll never do ______” that is when you are in the most danger.
To learn more about 1 Corinthians 10, follow this link.
How important it is for us to please God. We should live our lives every day to please Him even if it doesn’t please us all the time. In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul addresses “Pleasing God” to the Corinthian church. Specifically, he’s pointed his finger to the Old Testament and told us to “learn from them.” “They are our examples.” The things that happened to them happened so that we today could learn from them; and in learning from the things they did which displeased God, we can learn to please God. Now, in verses 9 and 10, Paul refers specifically to “tempting” Christ. You may say, “I would never tempt Christ.” Let’s read those two verses.
1 Corinthians 10:9,10 “Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.”
When I think of the phrase “tempting Christ” I think of the devil and how he tempted Christ in the wilderness. The devil was bold in his temptations, casting doubt to Christ whether He was God’s Son or not. But we can do things other than this which tempt Christ. The passage of the Old Testament which Paul refers to, where people were destroyed by serpents is found in Numbers 21:5. Let’s read it to get some clarification about what Paul was referring to.
Numbers 21:5,6 “And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.”
God had provided manna to feed the people while they were in the wilderness. Instead of being thankful for the plenty which God had given, they said to God how sick and tired they were of it. How many times has God provided so many good things to us only to have us complain to Him because we don’t have what we want? God has given most of us plenty of food, shelter, water, money, family and on and on. Yet, so many times our prayers contain not a thanks in them, but a recitation of a latest wish list of things we want. That’s not to say we can’t go to God with our requests. On the contrary, we ought to go to God with things we want. God expects us to. But we should do so not because we’re unhappy for the things he’s given us. We should not test the patience of God with complaining to Him for bigger and better things after He’s been so good to us already.
Compare the two situations in the Old Testament where one party tempted God and the other party didn’t, and God’s response to each:
Numbers 21:5,6 “…and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.”
2 Kings 6:17 “And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”
Don’t test the long-suffering nature of God. Let’s remember to be more thankful for all He’s done for us, and all He will continue to do for us. When we want to complain, take a step back and read in the Old Testament of those examples which God has given us.
To learn more about 1 Corinthians 10, follow this link.
The Lord expects us to be all His. He doesn’t want our loyalties divided between Him and other things. In 1 Corinthians 10:8, Paul talks about fornication — specifically spiritual fornication. He quotes a number of 23,000 who died because of their fornication. He is referring to a passage in Numbers 25. Let’s read that passage first, with the backdrop that he says these events happened to them to be our example.
Numbers 25:1-3 “And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.”
Israel had fallen into sin. Beyond their committing “whoredom” with the daughters of Moab (Moab was the son of Lot from his incestuous relationship with his daughter), Israel had bowed down to the Moabite gods, and joined themselves unto a false god named Baalpeor. Moses commanded those who had done this be executed; Moses reports 24,000 died. Paul reports 23,000 in 1 Corinthians. The number was probably somewhere in between, with each Moses and Paul rounding to the nearest thousand in different directions. Nevertheless, the number is not as important as to why so many people died.
Let’s look at Paul’s quote in 1 Corinthians 10:8,11.
1 Corinthians 10:8,11 “Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”
When we are looking to others in the Old Testament as our example, we should ask questions. Why? What? Who? Why was God’s anger kindled against Israel? What did Israel do to cause God to be unhappy with them? What did Moses do to restore their good will with the Lord? Israel was co-mingling with the world. It wasn’t till the sinners (and the sin) was purged from Israel that Israel was allowed back into God’s good graces.
We can learn from this. We should not put things in our lives which takes away our time from God. We should now allow sin to creep into our lives. If we do, God’s wrath will be kindled and we won’t be back in God’s good graces will that sin is purged from us. It won’t be gone till we confess it to Jesus and ask His forgiveness. When reading passages in the Old Testament, look at those people and events as an example to learn from.
To learn more about 1 Corinthians 10, follow this link.
In 1 Corinthians 10:7, Paul quotes a verse from Exodus 32. Let’s look at that verse and a couple preceding verse first.
Exodus 32:4-6 “And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.”
Now, let’s look at the verse in 1 Corinthians 10:
1 Corinthians 10:7 “Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.”
We might think that in today’s world that we don’t make golden calves or images of stone to worship. Aaron had made an object that took the place of God in his life. He had built the idol and said that it WAS god (“these be thy gods”). God was displaced in the lives of Israel and the golden calf was brought in in God’s place. Further, the feast the next day was a feast to the LORD. When Aaron said the feast was to the Lord, he was no longer talking about God; he was talking about this idol. This calf has become god in the eyes of the Israelites.
Getting back to Paul’s main point for bringing this up, this happened to Israel as an example for us today. Paul restates his purpose for mentioning this in verse 11.
1 Corinthians 10:11 “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
Exodus 32 is there to be an example for us, and to teach us. It is for us to learn by of what not to do, in this case. We’re not to have anything in our lives which God comes second place to. We’re also not to have anything in our lives which we give credit for when God deserves the credit. Aaron proclaimed to Israel that this idol had brought them out of Egypt. He gave the idol the credit for something that God had done. When God works in your life, don’t place the praise on something inanimate; give God the praise. Let’s do an inventory of the things and responsibilities in our lives, and make sure that God comes before it all to us.
To learn more about 1 Corinthians 10, follow this link.
Have you ever gone through a dark time in your life, and wondered if God were there with you? Perhaps you have lost your job, or even have lost your home in the bad economy. Or maybe you’ve wandered from God and are not happy with the way your life is going. When we’re going through these times, it’s good to remember that God will not send you into a wilderness without giving you the subsistence you need to make it through. In the Old Testament, we read many stories of people who have done great things, and others who have done evil things. These were written for us to be our example. Paul talks about them and the wilderness in our life in 1 Corinthians 10.
1 Corinthians 10:1-6 “Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.”
When we begin to wonder if God is there for us, remember that God has provided His Son Jesus Christ to be our Spring of living water as we go through the wilderness. Sometimes when we fall away from God, we will go through a wilderness to bring us closer to Him. After the children of Israel worshiped the golden calf, they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. But throughout that time, God provided them with food, water and Himself. He was always there for them, and He’ll always be there for us.
As you read some of the Old Testament chapters, look at it more than a Bible story, but as a map of how and how not to live our lives. Learn from their example and stay close to God.
To learn more about 1 Corinthians 10, follow this link.
Spiritual discipline does not come natural. Although Christians have been forgiven of their sins, we still have the old sinful nature which we must constantly monitor and “stay on top of”. Paul addresses spiritual discipline in the final two verses of 1 Corinthians chapter 9.
1 Corinthians 9:26,27 “I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
First of all, we have a goal laid out before us in the Bible. Like Paul says in verse 26, he knows the goal which he runs to attain — he doesn’t have to go through life not knowing his purpose in life. He’s not a fighter blindfolded, swinging wildly hoping to hit something — anything. He has the Bible and God’s guidance to show him the way. When we are confused about what direction we should go in our life, let God’s Word be the lamp to your feet. Let it shine to show you God’s direction for your life.
Also, I notice that Paul says about his spiritual body that he must “bring it into subjection.” Your spiritual body must be brought into subjection because it’s not going to naturally be there. What happens when you neglect the reading and studying of the Bible? Your spirit will wander away from God and way from discipline. When Paul says he brings his body “into subjection”, he’s using the Greek word doulagogeo, which means to lead into slavery. One must implement rigid discipline in their spiritual life or they will have a tendency to become spiritually unfit.
These two verses drive home the importance of a daily devotion, and a time alone with God. It is important to maintain that close relationship with God throughout the day, and to set a proper example for other Christians and the lost world.
To learn more about 1 Corinthians 9, follow this link.
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