1 Corinthians 10

Tuesday, 7 October 2014

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

In the preceding verse, Paul gave those at Corinth a warning when he said, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” Now he gives them a note of up-building and encouragement. The temptations that they faced in seeking divisions or facing decisions concerning eating or not eating certain foods, etc, are regular temptations that “are common to man.” In other words, they are a part of the human experience, just like the temptations of those in the wilderness. There was nothing supernatural about their temptations and they could have resisted rebelling, but instead, they lacked faith in God’s provision and fell into weakness.

Those at Corinth were following this same human pattern, but they had the power to prevail if they so chose. They had the truth of the gospel and they possessed the knowledge that “God is faithful.” From those Old Testament passages, they saw that God never abandoned His people, even if they may have thought that He did. The Corinthians had the surer foundation, which is the word of God, to look into and see this.

As a further encouragement, Paul instructs them with the happy thought that God “will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able.” God is not in the business of “causing” His people to fall. Rather, He has placed us in the stream of humanity and our experiences are those which humans can and should expect. In those experiences, temptations are a natural part of what occur. This was seen in the Garden of Eden, this was seen at the time of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife, and it was seen when David saw the beautiful Bathsheba and desired her.

These and other examples show us that some failed and some prevailed. When Joshua and Caleb set out with the other spies to investigate the land of Canaan, they held fast to their faith in the Lord while the other ten weakened. It was a common human experience and each had the ability to stand fast in their convictions or to waffle in them.

As a continuation of his encouraging words, Paul then tells those in Corinth (and thus us) that with whatever temptation we face God “will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” As noted above, God is not in the business of trapping us in our weakness. Because we are humans and share what is common to humanity, then the weaknesses we face are merely human experiences and thus can be overcome, even from a human perspective. With the surer word of God and the sealing of the Holy Spirit, how much stronger should we be in the face of these things? There is never a scenario that we will face where defeat is inevitable. Rather, when we are pulled away by our own lusts, we voluntarily give way to sin.

This is why it is so important to follow the three avenues of spiritual strengthening that we have available at all times – 1) Praying to God. We can simply talk to Him about our needs continuously. Every moment can be a moment of prayer if it is a conversation with Him. 2) Knowing the Bible. If we read and apply the Bible to our lives, we will have that sure foundation on which we can stand when temptations arise. We can draw from the well and be reinvigorated with the lessons it has taught us. 3) Fellowshipping with other believers. In our weaknesses, we can be strengthened and encouraged through communion with others. They can provide us the “pat on the back” that we need and they can often give us additional perspectives into the word of God that we may have missed.

Life application: Pray without ceasing, read and meditate upon God’s word, and fellowship with other believers. In doing these three things, you will be strengthened and built up in your faith and in your walk with God.

Heavenly Father, I love that Your word tells me that You are faithful and that You will not allow me to be tempted beyond what I am able. Your word goes on to say that with any temptation You will make the way of escape for me. I thank You that through this promise I will be able to bear up under any test or trial that comes my way. I know that You are not in the business of causing us to fail, but instead You allow temptations to come our way in order to teach us and to strengthen us in our walk. Thank You for Your kind hand upon me and thank You for Your word which instructs and encourages me! Amen.

Monday, 6 October 2014

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 1 Corinthians 10:12

There is no reason at all to assume that Paul is speaking about a “loss of salvation” here. He has been using lessons from the exodus and the wilderness wanderings to show that the people lacked faith in God’s continued hand of support for them. They failed to trust that what He started He would also see to its completion.

They had Moses to lead them, and yet they failed to trust him. They had the cloud and the pillar of fire there as a display of God’s glory and they failed to acknowledge that He was there with them. When they became needful, they were given manna, water, and quail and yet they failed to trust that God would continue to meet their needs as time passed. They had seen the destruction of the armies of Egypt, and yet they feared going in to possess the land of Canaan. On and on it went, a lack of faith leading to times of judgment. Even Moses, because of His actions, was excluded from entering the land of promise.

These people, with the evidence right before their eyes, fell into disbelief time and time again. Paul admonishes us to be more stout and steadfast in our faith and practice. We have the truth that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. We have the complete Bible given to us for our instruction and growth. We have promises in the word which show us that even death cannot separate us from the love of God which is found in Christ Jesus. And yet, we allow our faith to become weakened through temptation, through privation, and through neglect of meditating on His word.

At these times, we aren’t going to lose our salvation. We “have” been forgiven; past tense. We “have” been sealed with the Holy Spirit; past tense. We “are” seated with Christ in the heavenly places; done deal. These things are told to us to remind us of this and to keep us from falling. And yet, from time to time, we hear of a great preacher, teacher, or Christian professor falling into sin; maybe adultery. We see people neurotically worrying about whether they will be raptured along with the rest of the church because they failed to cross a “t” or dot an “i”.

Likewise, people come to Christ, but never grow in the knowledge of the word and they flounder about in a state of theological confusion. Others forget that they have been saved at all (see 2 Peter 1:9). We are asked to not only ensure our salvation by calling out to Christ for His unmerited favor, but to walk in our salvation, getting ever-closer to Him. If we do this, we will be firm and fixed upon the Rock and filled with the Water of life in those times when difficulties arise.

Life application: In the morning, read your Bible and think on Christ. During the day, meditate on the word and think on Christ. In the evening, pick up your Bible and read it again and think on Christ. Be firm, fast, and secure in your walk with Christ and you won’t fall.

Oh my precious Lord. Help me never to think of myself more confidently than I ought to, but rather, help me to rest in You and not in my own strength. Help me Lord to not be prideful of the things I own or the knowledge I possess. But rather, help me to remember that everything I have is temporary and can fly away in a moment and that all of my knowledge came from You. In all things, help me to walk humbly and with humility all my days, ever-thankful for Your kind hand of grace upon me. Amen.

Sunday, 5 October 2014

Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 1 Corinthians 10:11

“Now all these things” is referring to the examples that Paul has cited from verse1-10. But it is also certainly referring to all of the body of Scripture which comprises the age of the law. God chose examples from the life of Joshua, Samson, David, and others as well as from the time during the captivity with Esther and Mordecai, from the post-exilic times with Nehemiah and Ezra, and so many more examples for our learning and instruction. Ellicott notes that, “The verb “happened” is plural, referring to the multiplied occurrences which the Apostle has just mentioned; but ‘written’ is singular, referring to the sacred record in which the historical facts are handed down.”

The lessons to be found in the Old Testament serve “as examples” for our instruction and edification, and “they were written for our admonition.” We are to read them and learn from them, not simply ignore the Old Testament nor to read it as a mere curiosity of times gone by. God selectively chose these stories to teach us. It needs to be understood though that this was not the sole purpose of why “these things happened to them.” Rather, they literally happened to the people as they lived out their own lives. A zillion other things happened to them as well, but these were selectively chosen for our learning. Therefore, there is the reality that God used the events of real people’s lives to assist later people in how to conduct their own lives.

The word “happened” is in the imperfect tense to show the slow and successive unfolding of those events in history in order to reveal exactly what God determined we should know. And there is another, unstated, reason for these selected moments. They are given to reveal Christ. Paul alluded to that earlier and Jesus says it explicitly in John 5:39 –

“You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.”

Lastly Paul notes that these things occurred and were then recorded and given to us “upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” This phrase shows us that the Church Age is the last age before the end times will be ushered in. The previous dispensations were leading to Christ; Christ has been revealed; and now that He has been revealed, we are living in His age of grace. Everything has worked in the past to bring us to this point in history, after which will come the tribulation period. Paul goes to great lengths in the book of 2 Thessalonians to show us this is true.

The sequence of events then is 1) the rapture which ends the church age; 2) the tribulation period where the world will be judged for rejecting the grace of Christ; and 3) the millennial reign of Christ. The fact that the church age has lasted 2000 years shows us the great harvest which has been on-going during all of that time. When it ends, the world will be ripe for judgment. Why? Because they have rejected the very words that we are looking at now – examples for our learning and admonition.

Life application: Don’t just pick up the Bible and flip through the pages for something curious to read. Rather, pick it up and read it with fervent desire to know Christ and to learn from the past!

Lord, You have chosen specific people and events of the past and recorded the details of their lives in order to instruct us on how to live rightly and how to avoid the terrible pitfalls of being outside of Your favor. Help me Lord to think on these wonderful passages and to apply them to my life, looking for Christ in every detail and also looking for the moral lessons that You would have me to learn. What a great God You are for having given us such a precious word! Praises be to You. Amen.

Saturday, 4 October 2014

…nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 1 Corinthians 10:10

The word used by Paul for “complain” is the Greek word gogguzó. It means to whisper, murmur, or grumble. He is asking his readers to not engage in this type of activity, which they clearly had been as they divided into factions. Rather than building one another up, factions that arise inevitably work to tear one another down. In the case of those in the wilderness, there were complaints against Moses. Because he was the one chosen by God to lead them, it was an indirect complaint against the Lord. This is evident because they “were destroyed by the destroyer.”

There is no one incident which involved this complaining, but a series of complaints which seemed to arise any time that things got a little bit tough. Instead of seeing the tough times as a chance for God to reveal His glory, they saw them as chance to complain. When they did, the destroyer would reveal God’s glory in another way. This destroyer is certainly the same one who killed the firstborn at the Passover and who continued to destroy pockets of resistance throughout their wanderings.

He further brought destruction to Israel and against Israel’s enemies after they entered Canaan. This is recorded time and time again throughout the Bible. Paul’s words show that this hard and unrepentant attitude against God is not just some “Old Testament” concept, but something that we need to watch out for as well. Were it not so, he would not have included the words here in 1 Corinthians. His words in the next verse will confirm this.

Life application: There is a difference between idle grumbling and calling out erroneous doctrine. Just because we don’t particularly like a precept from the Bible or a teacher of the Bible, this no excuse for grumbling against them. However, if someone is actively teaching a falsehood, they need to be called out for it. Too often, followers of an unsound Bible teacher will accuse his detractors of attempting to “divide Christ.” This terminology is used to get the detractors to remain quiet, as if they have done something wrong when the opposite is true. The teacher of false doctrine is the divider of Christ. Never be afraid to uphold the purity of God’s word above all else.

The Bible is precious and altogether pure
It gives us guidance for our daily walk
And so on it’s precepts I remain confident and sure
And of it’s doctrines I will constantly talk

When someone teaches it in a way which is not right
I know it is my duty to ensure their error is noted
It is too precious to be treated with contempt or spite
And it should never be mishandled or misquoted

It is our guide and the book which is given to instruct us
It is the wondrous gift of God to reveal His heart in Jesus

Lord, too often people attempt to defend the indefensible. When a famous teacher or preacher goes against Your word, they need to be corrected for it. And yet, because of the fame of a name or out of being star-struck, Your word is ignored and bad doctrine is allowed to take root. Which is more important to me? Lord, give me wisdom to rightly handle Your word and the strong will and desire to defend it, even above all else. It is far too wonderful to be treated with scorn. I will always stand on what I believe is the truth of Your word. Amen.

Friday, 3 October 2014

…nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; 1 Corinthians 10:9

The words in this verse continue to refer the wilderness wanderings of the Old Testament between the exodus and the arrival of the Israelites in Canaan. During that time, this is recorded in Numbers 21 –

“Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way. ⁵ And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.” ⁶ So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.” Numbers 21:4-6

God had time and again provided for the people and demonstrated His care of them. He had sent the Angel of the Lord before them to lead the way and to ensure their care. However, the people “spoke against God and against Moses.” In this they were showing a willful disregard of God’s care for them. Paul’s words though tie this account to Christ. “Nor let us tempt Christ.” It is another implicit reference to the deity of Jesus. His presence was there with Israel in the wilderness. If this was Jehovah, and yet Paul now identifies Him as Christ, then the connection is obvious – Jesus is Jehovah incarnate.

Paul uses two different words for “tempt” here, the first being ekpeirazōmen. It is an important compound which means “to tempt out.” In other words, “to try to the utmost.” It is used only three other times in the Bible – in Matthew 4:7, Luke 4:12, and Luke 10:25. Each of these was a tempting related to Christ, twice it is quoted by Jesus during Satan’s tempting of Him and once by a lawyer of the law.

To “tempt” when applied to man involves inducing him to sin. When it is applied to God, it carries a different signification, that of trying his patience and provoking Him to anger. This is what is being conveyed here by Paul. The people tried the Angel of the Lord’s (Christ’s) patience and suffered the consequences of their attitudes. We are instructed to not so tempt the Lord’s patience now. He is the same Lord, eternal and unchanging. Our rebellion can only be met with His hand of discipline.

Life application: The warnings of the New Testament aren’t given for us to ignore. How often do we hear Christian friends around us complain about how their life is going and yet we see that they have not been faithfully following the Lord. Should discipline be unexpected in such a case? Of course not. Our acts of disobedience will suffer consequences. Let us learn from those times and resolve in our hearts to be obedient to the word God.

Lord, how often trials come my way. When they do, I wonder “Why is this happening to me.” And then I hear a preacher instructing me from Your word and showing me that the wounds were actually self-inflicted. In my failure to adhere to Your word, I walked down my own path of disobedience and right into Your needed correction. When I think it’s Your lack of care for me, I find it’s actually my lack of attention to Your word. Help me in this Lord. Give me wisdom to stick to Your wonderful blueprint for my life. I know that things will go so much better when I do. Amen.