* The Jews' Passover, by James Tissot (1836-1902).
>1. Whose spiritual forefathers does Paul use as an example? (1-4; Exodus 14:21-22, 16:11-12, 17:6, 19:5-9)
* 1 Corinthians 10:1-4 "For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ."
* 1 Corinthians Chapter 10 Overview.
Chapter 10 is a conclusion of Paul's comments in the previous 2 chapters. Paul is still answering the question is it right to eat meat offered to idols. I read about what took place in ancient temples built for various idols. It helps in understanding this question and Paul's answer.
Idol worship started with slaughtering animals at the idol. The offering blood would pour out on the idol. Some would drink the blood. The meat would be prepared and the gatherers would eat. If any food was left over it would be sold in the marketplace. The food was paid for by the worshippers. The more money spent, the better meat choices and seats.
While they ate they would be entertained with dance usually very provocative and seductive. Again the more money spent the better performance and seats. After they ate and were entertained the worshipers would partake in dance and reverie. Idolatry included wild sensual parties and orgies. Many prostitutes were there. For the right price, an idol worshiper could purchase a prostitute. One temple in Corinth had 1,000 prostitutes.
Paul told the Christians in Corinth that they could eat the meat at the temple and that which was sold at the marketplace. However, he said that they should not partake in prostitution that included idol worship. Instead, they should stay true to their wives and husbands.
Paul uses ancient Israel as an example and a warning to the Corinthian congregation and me. Israel was lead out of Egypt by the grace of God. God gave Israel all kinds of gifts including mana, meat, protection, water, and promises. They were baptized when they went through the Red Sea. They were under the cloud canopy when they received the Old Covenant. Even though Israel received all this they fell from grace for various reasons including the same type of idolatry practiced in Corinth.
The church and I are in parallel with ancient Israel. I have received all kinds of gifts similar if not the same or better than Israel. I should take heed and learn not to grumble and complain nor give up and indulge in modern idolatry. I should not set my heart on evil things as Israel did. I should not test Christ.
Yet I need not fear for "he will not let me be tempted beyond what I can bear. But when I am tempted, he will also provide a way out so that I can endure it."
* Exodus 14:21-22 "Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left."
* Exodus 16:11-12 "The LORD said to Moses, "I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, 'At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.'"
* Exodus 17:6 "I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink." So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel."
* Exodus 19:5-9 "Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites." So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the LORD had commanded him to speak. The people all responded together, "We will do everything the LORD has said." So Moses brought their answer back to the LORD. The LORD said to Moses, "I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you." Then Moses told the LORD what the people had said."
* "that our forefathers"
>How does this equate with the Christian experience? (Jer. 31:31; Rom. 5:5, Matt. 28:19-20; Luke 22:19-20; John 6:56-58)
* Jeremiah 31:31 "The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah."
* Romans 5:5 "And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."
* Matthew 28:19-20 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
* Luke 22:19-20 "And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you."
* John 6:56-58 "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.""
* "were all under the cloud"
* "baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea"
* "ate the same spiritual food"
* "drank the same spiritual drink"
* "drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them"
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>2. Who is Israel's true leader? (2b; Gen. 49:24-25; Deut. 32:3-4, 15-18)
* Genesis 49:24-25 "But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, because of your father's God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breast and womb."
* Deuteronomy 32:3-4 "I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he."
* Deuteronomy 32:15-18 "Jeshurun (Israel) grew fat and kicked; filled with food, he became heavy and sleek. He abandoned the God who made him and rejected the Rock his Savior. They made him jealous with their foreign gods and angered him with their detestable idols. They sacrificed to demons, which are not God-- gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your fathers did not fear. You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth."
* "and that rock was Christ"
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>Even though he rescued and provided for them, what happened to most? (5; Exodus 32:33-34; Num. 11:1, 14:20-24)
* 1 Corinthians 10:5 "Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert."
* Exodus 32:33-34 "The LORD replied to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin."
* Numbers 11:1 "Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp."
* Numbers 14:20-24 "The LORD replied, "I have forgiven them, as you asked. Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the LORD fills the whole earth, not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times-- not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it."
* Calvin wrote, "Beware of glorying in any peculiar privilege, as if you were in higher esteem than they were in the sight of God. For they were favored with the same benefits as we at this day enjoy; there was a Church of God among them, as there is at this day among us; they had the same sacraments, to be tokens to them of the grace of God; but, on their abusing their privileges, they did not escape the judgment of God. Be afraid, therefore; for the same thing is impending over you. Jude makes use of the same argument in his Epistle. (Jude 1:5.) (Calvin's Commentaries.)
* From The Picture Bible (aka The Bible in Pictures) by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1794-1872), published by Georg Wigandin in Leipzig, Germany in 1850 (in English in 1861).
>3. What can we learn not to do? (6)
* 1 Corinthians 10:6 "Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did."
* "setting our hearts on evil things"
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>How can a Christian "sit down and indulge in pagan revelry"?
* 1 Corinthians 10:7 "Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry."
* Exodus 32:5-6 "When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, "Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD." So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry."
* "Do not be idolaters"
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>How is sexual immorality wrong in all ages? (8)
* 1 Corinthians 10:8 "We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did--and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died."
* Exodus 32:28 'The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died."
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>What does it mean to "test the Lord"? (9; Num. 21:4-6)
* 1 Corinthians 10:9 "We should not test the Lord, as some of them did--and were killed by snakes."
* Numbers 21:4-6 "They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!" Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died."
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>When are we tempted to grumble? (10)
* 1 Corinthians 10:10 "And do not grumble, as some of them did--and were killed by the destroying angel."
* Numbers 14:26-29 "The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: "How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. So tell them, 'As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very things I heard you say: In this desert your bodies will fall--every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me."
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>4. Why does God remind and so warns us?
* 1 Corinthians 10:11 "These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come."
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>What does "the fulfillment of the ages has come"?
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>What is a common misconception of some who heard the gospel, believed it, but did not act upon it? (12)
* 1 Corinthians 10:12 "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!"
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>5. Does God test our faith as he tested the Israelites? (13)
* 1 Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
* 1 Thessalonians 2:4 "On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts."
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>Why? (Luke 16:10-12)
* Luke 16:10-12 "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?"
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>If we fail a test can we blame God?
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>What should we do if we do fail when we are tested?
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II. Feasts and the Lord's Supper (10:14-22)
* From The Picture Bible (aka The Bible in Pictures) by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1794-1872), published by Georg Wigandin in Leipzig, Germany in 1850 (in English in 1861).
>6. What remembrance given by Jesus does Paul mention? (14-17)
* 1 Corinthians 10:14-17 "Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf."
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>What is Paul referring to in verse 18?
* 1 Corinthians 10:18 "Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar?"
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>An idol is not a god, however, what is a hidden truth of offering to one? (19-20)
* 1 Corinthians 10:19-20 "Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons."
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* From The Picture Bible (aka The Bible in Pictures) by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1794-1872), published by Georg Wigandin in Leipzig, Germany in 1850 (in English in 1861).
>7. What then are we not to do? (21)
* 1 Corinthians 10:21 "You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons."
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>What is this actually doing? (22)
* 1 Corinthians 10:22 "Are we trying to arouse the Lord's jealousy? Are we stronger than he?"
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>How does some of our modern day practices and acts equal the sacrifice of pagans?
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III. The Believer's Freedom (10:23-11:1)
>8. What common Corinthian Christian phrase does Paul repeat and counter? (23)
* 1 Corinthians 10:23 "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is constructive."
* 1 Corinthians 6:12 "Everything is permissible for me"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"--but I will not be mastered by anything."
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>Whose benefit should we work for? (24)
* 1 Corinthians 10:24 "Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others."
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>Could a selfish Christian be equal the sacrifice of pagans?
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>9. Where did some of the meat in the market place come from in their society? (25-26)
* 1 Corinthians 10:25-26 "Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, for, "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it."
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>What apparently was some of the Corinthian Christians concerned about? (27)
* 1 Corinthians 10:27 "If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience."
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>If the source was made known why would it be best for them not to eat it? (28-30)
* 1 Corinthians 10:28-30 "But if anyone says to you, "This has been offered in sacrifice," then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience' sake-- the other man's conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my freedom be judged by another's conscience? If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?"
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>10. What should be our motivation? (31)
* 1 Corinthians 10:31 "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."
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>Who should we keep in mind? (32)
* 1 Corinthians 10:32 "Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God--"
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>Why? (10:33-11:1)
* 1 Corinthians 10:33 "even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ."
