"Whether then you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God!" (I Corinthians 10:31)
Last week, in our lesson on I Corinthians 10:1-13, the apostle Paul gave a heart-rendering reminder to the Corinthian believers of how the Israelites of old--"their fathers"--were miraculously delivered from bondage in Egypt, when God parted the waters of the Red Sea and led through on dry land! And he reminded them of how "they were all under the cloud"--the cloud which guided them on their journey through the wilderness by day, and with a fire by night! And how "they were all baptized into Moses, who led them in solidarity! And how "they all ate the same spiritual food"--the manna (which Psalm78:25 calls "the bread of angels," coming down from heaven! And how "they all drank the same spiritual drink, from the rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ"! (The pre-incarnate Christ appearing in Old Testament times, providing "life-giving water," as only He could give, to sustain them on their wilderness journey!)
"Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased (Paul writes); for they were laid low in the wilderness"! And he goes on to say that "all these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they craved"!
Then, beginning in verse 7, he gives them (and us!) some solemn warnings! "Do not be idolators, as some of them were; as it is written, how 'the people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play'! Nor act immorally, as some of them did," resulting in 23,000 dying in one day! Nor try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents! Nor grumble and complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer!" And Paul says again to them (and to us!) that "these things happened as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come"! (Wow! Sounds like the things that Paul mentions are only worse in our day--which may be a sure sign of the "last days"!)
And just in case we think that these things could never happen to us, Paul adds, "let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall" But then adds some comforting words to close out last week's lesson, with a verse that we're all challenged to take along with us wherever we go! And to put to memory! And here's what he writes, in I Corinthians 10:13 (and I'm quoting from the KJV, where I learned it many years ago, through my exposure to Navigators), "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!"
And that set the scene for our lesson last night, on I Corinthians 10:14-33, where the apostle Paul continues to focus on sins which are a particular abomination to God--and for which the Christian, who otherwise has "freedom in Christ," has no liberty to engage: idolatry, immorality, and grumbling and complaining to God!
And he begins with a specific warning, which he addresses to "his beloved brothers" (and that would include us!): "Flee from idolatry! I speak to you as wise men!" (The Phillips translation says, "the lesson we must learn, my brothers, is for you, at all cost, to avoid worshipping a false god. I am speaking to you as intelligent men; think over what I am saying!")
Paul wants first to assure the Corinthian believers that he loves and cares for them, in spite of their grumbling and many spiritual failures, and so addresses them "as to the wise"--probably because Corinthians took special pride in considering themselves wise; and so Paul, realizing that as believers they had the Holy Spirit to guide them, felt confident that, if they listened, they would understand and open their hearts to the truths that he was about to give to them! "And so, my beloved brothers, flee from idolatry...!
And so, for us (as to "wise MOBters"!), what exactly is "idolatry"?
MacArthur notes that "it's more than bowing down or burning incense to a physical image! It's having any false god--any object, idea, philosophy, habit, occupation, sport, or whatever has one's primary concern and loyalty, or that to any degree deceases one's trust in, or loyalty to, the Lord! And because it's worshiping something other than the true God in the true way, it's the most serious and contaminating of sins! Why? Because it strikes at the very character of God and says, if effect, that He's not the only true God and that other so-called gods are worthy to share His glory and honor; it declares that the Lord is somehow deficient, that He is not all-wise, all-powerful, and all-sufficient! And a "Pandora's Box" is opened to other loyalties and other moral and spiritual standards!" (Wow! And that casts "a wide net"! As Rod Turk noted last night!)
And so, it's not by accident that the first two commandments are prohibitions that have to do with idolatry! (Exodus 20:1-6 says, "Then God spake all these words, saying, 'I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other god before Me! You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments!" Wow!
But ever since the fall in Eden, men have wanted to make God over into their own image and likening! Romans 1:21-23 says, "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculation, and their foolish heart was darkened! Professing to be wise (there it is again!), they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures!"
MacArthur notes that when God revealed Himself to the Israelites, He was not represented in any visible form; there was no physical representation of God, and that's true of God through all of Scripture! And why? Because God can't be, and doesn't want to, be reduced to any image! Worshiping any image is idolatry! Even statutes or other images of Christ are not to be revered or worshiped! John 4:24 says, "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth!"
Galatians 5:19-20 says, "Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, enmity, strife, jealousy, outburst of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!" And so idolatry is listed among the vilest of sins, since it is "a sacrifice to demons," and involves worshiping demons, and "drinking the cup of demons," instead of "the cup of blessing"!
Exodus 34:14 says, "You shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name if 'Jealous,' is a jealous God!'" And in Isaiah 48:11 God says, "my glory I will not give to another!'
And so, in verse 16, the apostle Paul speaks of the "cup of blessing which we bless as a sharing in the blood of Christ." and the bread which we break as a sharing in the body of Christ..." referring back to Luke 22:14-23! You know the story of how on Christ gathered with His disciples "in the upper room" on the Sabbath to celebrate, and institute, what became known as "the Last Supper"! And verse 17 (of Luke 22) says that when He (Jesus) had taken the cup (the "cup of blessing"!) and given thanks, He said, "Take and share it among yourselves; for I say I will not drink of the fruit of the wine from now until the kingdom of God comes! And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them saying, "This is My Body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me! And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, 'This cup (the cup of blessing!) which is poured out for you is the New Covenant of My blood...!"
And so Paul is reiterating (in I Corinthians 10) that when we participate in the Lord's Supper and "take the cup blessing, we are sharing together (figuratively speaking) in the blood of Christ; and when we are partaking together of the bread, we are sharing in the body of Christ"! Celebrating together as a church (the "body of Christ") in a sacred act of worship, in remembrance of what Christ accomplished for us by going to the Cross! What a wonderful reminder of His sacrificial atonement, and of the unity and "oneness" we have with Him, and with our fellow believers! And we can better understand why celebrating the Lord's Supper is sometimes referred to as a "Communion Service," where we come together to "commune" with the Lord and His people, our brothers and sisters in Christ, in unity and love!
Then we see the contrast Paul makes, in verses 19-22, between the believer's participation in the Lord's Supper and the pagan's "sacrifice to demons, and not to God"! And Paul makes it clear that believers are not "to become sharers to demons," by sharing in their feasts (even if only to get a "free lunch"!) "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! Do you want to provoke the Lord to jealousy," Paul asks? (Jeremiah 25:6 says, "And do not go after other gods to serve them and to worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm!"
Then Paul, in verse 23, returns to the principle that that determines how a Christian should exercise his "liberty in Christ"! "All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable; all things are lawful, but not all things edify (or build up!)" And he reminds us all again that while there's nothing wrong with the meat itself which is offered to idols (speaking of the meat left over from the sacrifices), but if eating it somehow injures the conscience of other believers, and might cause them to "stumble" (and particularly those new believers who have been saved out of a life of pagan worship), don't go there! Give it up! "Limit your liberty out of love for your brother!"
Philippians 2:3-7 says, "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond servant, and being made in the likeness of man..."!
And so Paul closes with this great admonition, which fully sums up the last several passages which we have studied about how the Christian is to exercise his (or her) "Christian freedom": "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do (and that includes 'everything'!), do all to the glory of God!"
Then the apostle Paul adds this, in verses 32-33, "Give no offense either to Jews or Greeks or to the church of God (and that includes everyone!); just as I also ("try to," I think he must have in mind here!) please all men, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved!" (Phillips puts it this way, "I (Paul) try to adapt myself to all men without considering my own advantage, but their advantage, that if possible they may be saved!" Then follows up in verse 1 of chapter 11 with something that seems to fit better as a closing to this lesson!), "Be imitators of me, as I also am of Christ!"
Wow, that's so great! Thank you, Lord; and thank you, Paul, for being such an example for all of us! And thank you, Rod, forf so deftly explaining these wonderful words to live by! I want to be more like that!
And so with all that, we're finished with the section of I Corinthians that has to do, basically, with the principles of "Christian freedom"! And I particularly like the way Rod summed up the last four chapters on how we should "balance" that freedom! The "liberty" we have in Christ!
On to I Corinthians 11!
Have a great week, men!
Lowell
Last week, in our lesson on I Corinthians 10:1-13, the apostle Paul gave a heart-rendering reminder to the Corinthian believers of how the Israelites of old--"their fathers"--were miraculously delivered from bondage in Egypt, when God parted the waters of the Red Sea and led through on dry land! And he reminded them of how "they were all under the cloud"--the cloud which guided them on their journey through the wilderness by day, and with a fire by night! And how "they were all baptized into Moses, who led them in solidarity! And how "they all ate the same spiritual food"--the manna (which Psalm78:25 calls "the bread of angels," coming down from heaven! And how "they all drank the same spiritual drink, from the rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ"! (The pre-incarnate Christ appearing in Old Testament times, providing "life-giving water," as only He could give, to sustain them on their wilderness journey!)
"Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased (Paul writes); for they were laid low in the wilderness"! And he goes on to say that "all these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they craved"!
Then, beginning in verse 7, he gives them (and us!) some solemn warnings! "Do not be idolators, as some of them were; as it is written, how 'the people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play'! Nor act immorally, as some of them did," resulting in 23,000 dying in one day! Nor try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents! Nor grumble and complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer!" And Paul says again to them (and to us!) that "these things happened as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come"! (Wow! Sounds like the things that Paul mentions are only worse in our day--which may be a sure sign of the "last days"!)
And just in case we think that these things could never happen to us, Paul adds, "let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall" But then adds some comforting words to close out last week's lesson, with a verse that we're all challenged to take along with us wherever we go! And to put to memory! And here's what he writes, in I Corinthians 10:13 (and I'm quoting from the KJV, where I learned it many years ago, through my exposure to Navigators), "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!"
And that set the scene for our lesson last night, on I Corinthians 10:14-33, where the apostle Paul continues to focus on sins which are a particular abomination to God--and for which the Christian, who otherwise has "freedom in Christ," has no liberty to engage: idolatry, immorality, and grumbling and complaining to God!
And he begins with a specific warning, which he addresses to "his beloved brothers" (and that would include us!): "Flee from idolatry! I speak to you as wise men!" (The Phillips translation says, "the lesson we must learn, my brothers, is for you, at all cost, to avoid worshipping a false god. I am speaking to you as intelligent men; think over what I am saying!")
Paul wants first to assure the Corinthian believers that he loves and cares for them, in spite of their grumbling and many spiritual failures, and so addresses them "as to the wise"--probably because Corinthians took special pride in considering themselves wise; and so Paul, realizing that as believers they had the Holy Spirit to guide them, felt confident that, if they listened, they would understand and open their hearts to the truths that he was about to give to them! "And so, my beloved brothers, flee from idolatry...!
And so, for us (as to "wise MOBters"!), what exactly is "idolatry"?
MacArthur notes that "it's more than bowing down or burning incense to a physical image! It's having any false god--any object, idea, philosophy, habit, occupation, sport, or whatever has one's primary concern and loyalty, or that to any degree deceases one's trust in, or loyalty to, the Lord! And because it's worshiping something other than the true God in the true way, it's the most serious and contaminating of sins! Why? Because it strikes at the very character of God and says, if effect, that He's not the only true God and that other so-called gods are worthy to share His glory and honor; it declares that the Lord is somehow deficient, that He is not all-wise, all-powerful, and all-sufficient! And a "Pandora's Box" is opened to other loyalties and other moral and spiritual standards!" (Wow! And that casts "a wide net"! As Rod Turk noted last night!)
And so, it's not by accident that the first two commandments are prohibitions that have to do with idolatry! (Exodus 20:1-6 says, "Then God spake all these words, saying, 'I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other god before Me! You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments!" Wow!
But ever since the fall in Eden, men have wanted to make God over into their own image and likening! Romans 1:21-23 says, "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculation, and their foolish heart was darkened! Professing to be wise (there it is again!), they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures!"
MacArthur notes that when God revealed Himself to the Israelites, He was not represented in any visible form; there was no physical representation of God, and that's true of God through all of Scripture! And why? Because God can't be, and doesn't want to, be reduced to any image! Worshiping any image is idolatry! Even statutes or other images of Christ are not to be revered or worshiped! John 4:24 says, "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth!"
Galatians 5:19-20 says, "Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, enmity, strife, jealousy, outburst of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!" And so idolatry is listed among the vilest of sins, since it is "a sacrifice to demons," and involves worshiping demons, and "drinking the cup of demons," instead of "the cup of blessing"!
Exodus 34:14 says, "You shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name if 'Jealous,' is a jealous God!'" And in Isaiah 48:11 God says, "my glory I will not give to another!'
And so, in verse 16, the apostle Paul speaks of the "cup of blessing which we bless as a sharing in the blood of Christ." and the bread which we break as a sharing in the body of Christ..." referring back to Luke 22:14-23! You know the story of how on Christ gathered with His disciples "in the upper room" on the Sabbath to celebrate, and institute, what became known as "the Last Supper"! And verse 17 (of Luke 22) says that when He (Jesus) had taken the cup (the "cup of blessing"!) and given thanks, He said, "Take and share it among yourselves; for I say I will not drink of the fruit of the wine from now until the kingdom of God comes! And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them saying, "This is My Body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me! And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, 'This cup (the cup of blessing!) which is poured out for you is the New Covenant of My blood...!"
And so Paul is reiterating (in I Corinthians 10) that when we participate in the Lord's Supper and "take the cup blessing, we are sharing together (figuratively speaking) in the blood of Christ; and when we are partaking together of the bread, we are sharing in the body of Christ"! Celebrating together as a church (the "body of Christ") in a sacred act of worship, in remembrance of what Christ accomplished for us by going to the Cross! What a wonderful reminder of His sacrificial atonement, and of the unity and "oneness" we have with Him, and with our fellow believers! And we can better understand why celebrating the Lord's Supper is sometimes referred to as a "Communion Service," where we come together to "commune" with the Lord and His people, our brothers and sisters in Christ, in unity and love!
Then we see the contrast Paul makes, in verses 19-22, between the believer's participation in the Lord's Supper and the pagan's "sacrifice to demons, and not to God"! And Paul makes it clear that believers are not "to become sharers to demons," by sharing in their feasts (even if only to get a "free lunch"!) "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! Do you want to provoke the Lord to jealousy," Paul asks? (Jeremiah 25:6 says, "And do not go after other gods to serve them and to worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm!"
Then Paul, in verse 23, returns to the principle that that determines how a Christian should exercise his "liberty in Christ"! "All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable; all things are lawful, but not all things edify (or build up!)" And he reminds us all again that while there's nothing wrong with the meat itself which is offered to idols (speaking of the meat left over from the sacrifices), but if eating it somehow injures the conscience of other believers, and might cause them to "stumble" (and particularly those new believers who have been saved out of a life of pagan worship), don't go there! Give it up! "Limit your liberty out of love for your brother!"
Philippians 2:3-7 says, "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond servant, and being made in the likeness of man..."!
And so Paul closes with this great admonition, which fully sums up the last several passages which we have studied about how the Christian is to exercise his (or her) "Christian freedom": "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do (and that includes 'everything'!), do all to the glory of God!"
Then the apostle Paul adds this, in verses 32-33, "Give no offense either to Jews or Greeks or to the church of God (and that includes everyone!); just as I also ("try to," I think he must have in mind here!) please all men, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved!" (Phillips puts it this way, "I (Paul) try to adapt myself to all men without considering my own advantage, but their advantage, that if possible they may be saved!" Then follows up in verse 1 of chapter 11 with something that seems to fit better as a closing to this lesson!), "Be imitators of me, as I also am of Christ!"
Wow, that's so great! Thank you, Lord; and thank you, Paul, for being such an example for all of us! And thank you, Rod, forf so deftly explaining these wonderful words to live by! I want to be more like that!
And so with all that, we're finished with the section of I Corinthians that has to do, basically, with the principles of "Christian freedom"! And I particularly like the way Rod summed up the last four chapters on how we should "balance" that freedom! The "liberty" we have in Christ!
- Balance your knowledge with love (chapter 8)!
- Balance your authority with discipline (chapter 9)!
- Balance your experience with caution (chapter 10:1-22)!
- Balance your freedom with responsibility (chapter 10:23-33)!
On to I Corinthians 11!
Have a great week, men!
Lowell