1 Corinthians 10
Lipscomb1 Corinthians 10:1
For—Paul had just shown them, by his own example, the necessity for watchfulness and untiring effort, lest they should be unapproved, and now he continues this same thought by reference to the history of Israel that the possession of great privileges is no safeguard, and that the seductions of idolatry must not be consciously despised.
I would not, brethren, have you ignorant,—By this he does not mean their being ignorant of the bare facts of the narrative, for they were the most striking in the Old Testament, but of their spiritual significance. This practical application is found in the fact that the fleshly kingdom of Israel was the type of the spiritual kingdom, the church of Jesus Christ. The earthly Canaan, the type of the heavenly. The rewards, the conflicts, the weapons of the one were earthly and carnal; in the other, heavenly and spiritual. The conduct of the people under the law of God and his dealings with them were recorded for our instruction and warning. Paul introduces the dealing of God with them here for the instruction and warning of the church at Corinth and for all Christians, as the letter is addressed “unto the church of God which is at Corinth, even them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, their Lord and ours.” (1 Corinthians 1:2). So after telling them in the preceding paragraph how he labored to keep under his body lest he should be rejected, he pleads with them to be guarded and careful, and introduces these dealings of God with Israel to warn and help them by these examples.
that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;—[The cloud betokened the immediate presence of the angel of God; “And the angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud removed from before them, and stood behind them: and it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel; and there was the cloud and the darkness, yet gave it light by night: and the one came not near the other all the night.” (Exodus 14:19-20). And immediately after this, trusting themselves to Moses as a medium of God’s power, they passed through the dried-up bed of the sea so that] the cloud was over them and the sea stood as a wall on each side of them, thus were they covered and overwhelmed with the two.
1 Corinthians 10:2
and were all baptized unto Moses—It brought them into a relationship to Moses they had never sustained before. That is, into his undisputed control over their movements. Up to the very moment of that baptism this control was still disputed by Pharaoh. They were saved by that baptism from his hands and passed under the leadership of Moses. True they were baptized figuratively in the cloud and in the sea; yet at the same time, by a like figure, passed out of Pharaoh into Moses. They were committed to his leadership as men now by baptism are consecrated to the leadership of Jesus Christ, and this transition into Moses by an act quite similar to baptism.
in the cloud and in the sea;—Those who passed through the sea did not have water sprinkled or poured upon them. The cloud was not a rain cloud, but one of smoke, that presented at night an appearance of fire and by day a cloud to guide them. (see Exodus 13:21-22). The water from the sea did not wet them, for a strong east wind blew the waters back and congealed them, and they went over on dry land. (Exodus 15:8). In this passage the whole body of people were hidden, enclosed, covered by the sea and the cloud, [prefiguring the double process of submersion and emersion in baptism]. They were baptized in these. “The waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. Thus Jehovah saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians.” (Exodus 14:29-30).
1 Corinthians 10:3
and did all eat the same spiritual food;—They ate of the food that God gave them—the manna and the quails. [Spiritual is to be taken in contrast with natural, not as regards the nature of the food, but of its source, which was supernatural and miraculous.] The manna given by God is contrasted by Jesus with himself as the true bread that came down from heaven. (See John 6:31-35). As the Israelites ate of the manna and were preserved alive, so the disciples ate of the true bread, Jesus Christ. The disciples ate of him by making him their Lord and doing his will. Jesus said: “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to accomplish his work.” (John 4:34). So it is the meat of his disciples to do the will of Jesus and to finish the work he has given them to do. To do his will strengthens the soul as bread does the body.
1 Corinthians 10:4
and did all drink the same spiritual drink:—When they were in the wilderness they were thirsty; Jehovah told Moses to smite the rock; he did so; the water gushed out; they drank of it, and were refreshed. Jesus compares the life he gives to living water, of which if a man drinks, he shall never die: “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up unto eternal life.” (John 4:14).
for they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them:— [They habitually made use of the source which was always at hand. In drinking from the smitten rock the Israelites were drinking at the same time of a “spiritual rock”—and not supplying them once alone, but following them throughout their history. So that looking back on the entire journey, it might very naturally be said that the rock had followed them, not meaning that wherever they went they had the same source to draw from, but that throughout their journey they were supplied with water in places and ways as unexpectedly and unlikely.]
and the rock was Christ.—The object of the two epithets— “followed” and “spiritual”—is certainly to distinguish exactly the invisible and spiritual rock, of which he himself speaks, from the material rock spoken of in Exodus, that of which Jehovah said to Moses the first time: “Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink” (Exodus 17:6), and the second time in the Wilderness of Sin: “Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes, that it give forth its water; and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock” (Numbers 20:8). These two rocks already stood there when Israel arrived in these two localities, and remained there when Israel left them. Paul, therefore, can only mean that, behind these material, immovable rocks, there was one invisible and movable, the true giver of the water, to wit, the Christ himself.
[This is plainly the meaning of the passage in the light of the numerous sayings of Moses in which the Lord is called the Rock of Israel: “The Rock, his work is perfect.” “And lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.” “Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful.” (Deuteronomy 32:4; Deuteronomy 32:15; Deuteronomy 32:18). And by similar ones in Isaiah: “For thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength.” (Isaiah 17:10). “Trust ye in Jehovah for ever; for in Jehovah, even Jehovah, is an everlasting rock.” (Isaiah 26:4). Only what is special in the passage under consideration is that this title “Rock” during the journey through the wilderness is ascribed here, not to Jehovah, but to Christ. The passage forms an analogy to the words in John 12:41, where the apostle applies to Jesus the vision in which Isaiah beholds Jehovah in the temple of his glory. (Isaiah 6:1-13). Christ is represented in the passages by Paul and John as pre-existent before coming to the earth, and presiding over the Israelites in their journey through the wilderness. In chapter 8:6, Paul had spoken of Christ as the one “through whom are all things.” Here he designates him as the one who accompanied Israel in the cloud through the wilderness, and gave them deliverances when they needed.]
1 Corinthians 10:5
Howbeit with most of them God was not well pleased:— [In the course of these opening verses the emphatic word all occurs five times, the more emphatically to make the sad contrast between the commencement and the close of the journey. They all without exception stood on the same level of divine favor. In his marvelous dealings with them he was one and the same to them all: to the standing and the falling he was gracious alike, for as “all were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea,” so in the wilderness the same food was common to them all and the same drink to all, both of divine origin, and had they but remained steadfast in the covenant, the same prospect of reaching Canaan was before them all.] But notwithstanding the deliverance he had given them from bondage, and the many works he did in their behalf, most of them forgot his goodness, turned from following Moses, and with them God was not well pleased.
for they were overthrown in the wilderness.—All of the generation that left Egypt, except Joshua and Caleb, were disqualified by their misconduct. They were overthrown by the pestilence, by wars, or by natural and unusual diseases, so that they did not reach the land of Canaan. [So now notwithstanding Jesus has delivered us from the slavery of sin, he has provided blessings and favors at every step of the way, we murmur and complain at his dealings and rebel against his law and displease him, and as the Israelites were overthrown in the wilderness, so we fall from our steadfastness and are overthrown by the way, fail to reach the promised land.]
1 Corinthians 10:6
Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.—The Israelites and the facts of their history are examples to us. The same Lord directs our affairs that ordered theirs; and if we sin as they did, we also must expect to be punished and excluded from his favors and from heaven. [In the case of Israel, the punishment was directly and visibly connected with the sin, and it is recorded so that their history might be used to instruct future generations; for in this life punishment is not, as a rule, summarily and immediately meted out to sinners. In fact, if we judge by appearances only, we might sometimes even think that God rewarded crime and set a premium on sin. The Scripture records show that such appearances are deceptive, and that God’s punishments are sure, though they may be long delayed. Israel lusted after flesh, and God granted them their desires, and the consequence was a plague, and the destruction of multitudes. (Numbers 11:4; Numbers 11:33-34). This is a perpetual warning against the indulgence of inordinate desires for forbidden things. It was especially appropriate as a warning to the Corinthians not to desire participation in the sacrificial feasts of the heathen in which they had been accustomed to indulge.]
1 Corinthians 10:7
Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them;—Some of them had a fondness for idolatry and were drawn into it. When Moses went up into the mountain to receive the law, the people induced Aaron to make them the golden calf, “and they said, These are thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 32:4).
as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.—[To play here refers to those lively dances which occurred at heathen festivals (Exodus 32:3-6; Exodus 32:18-19; Exodus 32:25), in which the Corinthians, who, before they became Christians, had indulged. Here lay their peril. They had been released from the superstitions of idolatry (1 Corinthians 8:4), and were still attracted by the feasting and gaiety, which were directly designed to provoke the most licentious passions—dances of which those now practiced are the direct lineal descendants. Hence the close connection between idolatry and fornication, which appears all through this epistle.]
1 Corinthians 10:8
Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed,—They were guilty of fornication with the daughters of Moab, and by them led into idolatry and three and twenty thousand were destroyed. This is held up as a warning to Christians to avoid associations that lead to idolatry. [The danger of fornication was always connected with idolatry. At Corinth, therefore, it might easily follow participation in sacrificial feasts.]
and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.—In Numbers 25:1-9, it is said that there were four and twenty thousand. Why this discrepancy I am not able to explain.
1 Corinthians 10:9
Neither, let us make trial of the Lord, as some of them made trial,—When difficulties presented themselves in the way, the Israelites often tried the Lord by their distrust of him and readiness to turn back and follow him no more.
[The word, try, when applied to man, means to present motives or inducements to sin; when used in reference to the Lord, it means to try his patience, to provoke his anger to act in such a way as to see how much he will bear and how long he will endure the wickedness of men. The Israelites tried his patience by rebellion, by murmuring, by impatience, and dissatisfaction with his dealings. The Corinthians tried him when they exposed themselves to temptations in idol temples, and thus needlessly trying the strength of his religion, and making the experiment on the grace of the Lord, as if he were bound to keep them even in the midst of danger into which they needlessly ran. They had the promise of grace to keep them only when they were in the way of duty, and were using all proper precautions against sin. To go beyond this would be to try him, and to provoke him to leave them.]
and perished by the serpents.—”And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. 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, and there is no water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And Jehovah sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, because we have spoken against Jehovah, and against thee; pray unto Jehovah, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a standard: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he seeth it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and set it upon the standard: and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked unto the serpent of brass, he lived.” (Numbers 21:4-9).
1 Corinthians 10:10
Neither murmur ye,—To murmur is to complain in a discontented rebellious spirit.
as some of them murmured,—The fact here recited is that of the revolt of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram who murdered because they were not permitted to serve in the priestly office. They envied others who were entrusted with higher trusts than they. [In quoting this example, Paul possibly had in view the irritation felt by a party among the Corinthians against himself and his fellow laborers who disapproved of their taking part in heathen rejoicings. This party chafed at their severity, which gave rise to so painful a situation for Christians in relation to their idolatrous friends.]
and perished by the destroyer.—Korah, Dathan, and Abiram were swallowed up by the earth. (Numbers 16:1-35). [The destroyer means the pestilence which destroyed fourteen thousand and seven hundred persons. (Numbers 16:49). The pestilence in David’s day was administered by a destroying angel. (2 Samuel 24:16-17). The angel in Exodus 12:23 is called the destroyer. It should be noted, (1) that in all the sins specified in the foregoing, Paul says, “some of them,” showing that it was not true of all the Israelites of that day; (2) that he regards all these sins as connected with and growing out of lusting. (Compare James 1:14-15; 1 John 2:16-17).]
1 Corinthians 10:11
Now these things happened unto them by way of example;—In the days of the patriarchs and of Moses, God gave the law, and then applied the law to the facts and conditions as they arose in the workings of human affairs.
and they were written for our admonition,—They were written for examples and instruction to the world for all succeeding time, to teach how God deals with man and how he applies his own law. No man can have a clear knowledge of how God will apply his law without studying the lessons he has given in the Old Testament Scriptures. All his dealings with men are instructive to us, and help in learning our duty and how God will regard our actions under his law. God’s dealings with the unfaithful are just as much for our good as his dealings with the righteous. With both it has been impossible to keep man long in the strait and narrow way. So it behooves us in questions of God’s dealings with men to go to these examples in which God applies his law to learn the conditions required.
upon whom the ends of the ages are come.—[The ages are the ages of the world’s history, and the apostle means that we belong to the last dispensation, or the gospel era. In Hebrews 9:26, Christ’s manifestation as the Messiah is said to mark the end or completion of the ages. The Christian dispensation is called “the end of the ages” because it is the last and final dispensation. (1 John 2:18; 1 Peter 4:7). The church is the heir of all the past—history culminates in it, and the lessons taught by the past are for its admonition.]
1 Corinthians 10:12
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.—When one feels most confidence in himself, then there is the greatest danger that he will be presumptuous and commit the greatest sin. Poor in spirit, contrite and humble in heart are qualities that God loves in man. [Distrust of self leads to trust in God, and God loves not him who thanked God that he was not as other men are, and felt that his good deeds and holy life entitled him to the high privileges of divine favor; but loved him who in humility smote upon his breast and cried, “Be merciful to me a sinner.” Self-confidence leads to reliance on self instead of God.]
1 Corinthians 10:13
There hath no temptation taken you—[Seized upon you, or assailed you, as when an enemy grasps one and attempts to hold him fast.]
but such as man can bear:—Temptations come to all men to test, prove them, and show their fitness to enter the kingdom of heaven, and their worthiness to stand before God in the immortal state. [In verse 10 was a warning; this is an encouragement. Having just heard what efforts even Paul had to make in order to run successfully the Christian race, and how terribly the Israelites in the wilderness had failed, they might be inclined to throw up every effort in despair. Paul, therefore, reminds them that these temptations were not superhuman, but such as man had resisted, and such as they could resist.]
but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able;—[This was the only source of security, and this was enough. If they looked only to themselves, they would fall. If they depended on the faithfulness of God, they would be secure. Not that God would keep them without any effort of their own; not that he would secure them if they plunged voluntarily into the temptation, but if they used the proper precautions to avoid it, if they resisted temptation, if they sought his aid, and depended upon his promises, then he would certainly perform his part of the covenant. This is everywhere implied in the Scriptures; and to depend on the faithfulness of God otherwise than in the proper use of the means, and avoiding the places of temptation, is to tempt him, and provoke him to wrath.]
but will with the temptation make also the way of escape, that ye may be able to endure it.—God permits those whom he loves to be tempted to test, prove them, and show their worthiness to stand before him in the immortal state. If we do not escape, pass through the temptation without sin, we may know that we are not true to God as we should be. God is faithful and never fails to provide the way of escape if we have the fidelity to resist and escape. Men are given to excuse themselves for their wrongs because they are not able to bear temptations. [As temptations vary, so the means of escape also vary. We have in this verse, perhaps, the most practical and therefore the clearest exposition in the scriptures of free will in relation to God’s overruling power. God makes an open road, but then man must walk in it: God controls circumstances, but man must use them. This is where man’s responsibility lies.]
1 Corinthians 10:14
Wherefore,—[This appeal is made in view of all that has been said of the severe judgments that came upon the idolatrous Israelites, and the danger that Christians may fall into the same sins and thus incur God’s displeasure.]
my beloved,—While Paul reproves them very sharply, he speaks to them in much love and tenderness.
flee from idolatry.—Avoid idolatry by fleeing from it. This is the only safe method of escaping its coils. We are subject to idolatry, not so gross in form, but more insidious and deceptive. We serve what we worship. [We should avoid all that approaches the confines of sin, and keep at a distance from everything which excites evil passions or which tends to ensnare the soul.]
1 Corinthians 10:15
I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say.—[It is a matter requiring judgment and discrimination. They were wise men, and could, out of an abundant personal knowledge, judge as to the wisdom of his counsel when he thus told them to shun all that pertained to idolatry. For idolatry was so interwoven with drunkenness, revelling, and licentiousness that it practically included them, and was not to be dallied with.]
1 Corinthians 10:16
The cup of blessing—He now directs their attention to the Lord’s Supper which they had greatly perverted. The cup of blessing is the cup that was blessed (Matthew 26:26-27) and consecrated as a means of blessings to those who properly observed it. [The word “blessing” is used interchangeably with “gave thanks.” That is, the same act is sometimes expressed by the one form and sometimes by the other. In Matthew 26:26, Mark 14:22, what is expressed by “blessed” and “had blessed” in Luke 22:17; Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24 is expressed by saying, “had given thanks.” And in the account of the Lord’s Supper as given by Matthew and Mark, the one expression is used in reference to the bread, and the other in reference to the cup. They therefore mean the same thing, or rather express the same act, for that act was both a benediction and thanksgiving; that is, it is addressed to God, acknowledging his mercy and imploring his blessing, and therefore may be expressed either by the words “had blessed” or “had given thanks.”]
which we bless,— [This is the explanation of the preceding clause. The cup of blessing is the cup which we bless; which can only mean the cup on which we implore a blessing; that is, which we pray may be a blessing to the end for which it was appointed.]
is it not a communion of the blood of Christ?—In partaking of it we become partakers of the benefits of the blood of Christ. The blood is the life, and in partaking of it, we declare that we partake of the life of Christ, we live the life of Christ.
The bread which we break, is it not a communion of the body of Christ?—This is but a repetition of the thought contained in the preceding clause. We partake of the benefits of the blood and body of Christ in the observance of this ordinance.
1 Corinthians 10:17
Seeing that we, who are many, are one bread, one body: for we all partake of the one bread.—[This is in confirmation of the preceding statement that in the Lord’s Supper there is a fellowship with the body and blood of Christ—with his death.] We who partake are members individually, but we constitute one body of Christ, because we all draw our life from the blood and partake of one bread, the body of Christ. So we are one body in Christ.
1 Corinthians 10:18
Behold Israel after the flesh:—This refers to fleshly Israel as distinguished from spiritual Israel, the church. (Romans 2:28-29; Galatians 4:29; Galatians 6:16).
have not they that eat the sacrifices communion with the altar?—They participate with the altar in partaking of the sacrifice offered. A part of the sacrifice was consumed upon the altar; the remainder was divided between the priest and the offerer. (See Leviticus 7:15-19; Leviticus 8:31; Deuteronomy 12:18). [To eat of the sacrifices in the way prescribed by the law of Moses was to take part in the whole sacrificial service. Therefore Paul says that those who eat the sacrifices are in communion with the altar. They become worshipers of the God to whom the altar is dedicated. This is the import and effect of joining in those sacrificial feasts. The question is not as to the intention of the actor, but as to the import of the act, and as to the interpretation universally put upon it.
To partake of a Jewish sacrifice as a sacrifice in a holy place was an act of Jewish worship. Therefore to partake of a heathen sacrifice as a sacrifice, and in a holy place, was of necessity an act of heathen worship.]
1 Corinthians 10:19
What say I then? that a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?—He does not mean to say that the idol is anything or that which is offered to the idol is anything. [This however does not alter the case. For although there are no such beings as those whom the heathen conceive their gods to be, and though their sacrifices - are not what they consider them, still their worship is real idolatry, and has a destructive influence on the soul.]
1 Corinthians 10:20
But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God:—The sacrifice made at the altar of the idol is sacrificed to demons, and the demon is a participator in that sacrifice. If Christians partake of that sacrifice they commune with demons to whom the sacrifice is made.
and I would not that ye should have communion with demons.—We are said to be in communion with those between whom and us there is congeniality of mind, community of interest, and friendly intercourse. In this sense we are in communion with our fellow Christians, with God, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And in this sense the worshipers of idols have fellowship with evil spirits. They are united to them so as to form one community, with a common character and a common destiny. Into this state of communion they are brought by sacrificing to them. It was of great importance for the Corinthians to know that it did not depend on their intention whether they came into communion with demons.
The heathen did not intend to worship demons, and yet they did it; what would it avail to the reckless Corinthians, who attended the sacrificial feasts of the heathen, to say they did not intend to worship the idols? The question was not what they meant to do, but what was the import and effect of their conduct. A man may not intend to pollute his soul when he frequents the haunts of vice. The effect is altogether independent of his intention.
This principle also applies with all its force to the compliance of professed Christians with the religious services of churches that are using mechanical instruments of music in the worship of God. Whatever their intention may be, by the force of the act they become one with those in whose worship they join. We constitute with them and with the methods of their worship one communion.
1 Corinthians 10:21
Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord,—[The cup of the Lord is that cup which brings into communion with the Lord.]
and the cup of demons:—[The cup of demons is the cup which brings into communion with demons.]
ye cannot partake of the table of the Lord,—[The table of the Lord is the Lord’s Supper at which the Lord presides and at which his people are his guests.]
and of the table of demons.—This would be to make them one. [The table of demons is the table at which demons preside, and at which all present are their guests. Here the apostle teaches that there is not merely an incongruity and inconsistency in a man’s being the friend and guest of Christ and in being a guest and friend of demons, but the thing is impossible. A man cannot eat at the table of demons without being brought under their power and influence; nor can he eat at the Lord’s table, without being brought into contact with him, either to his salvation or to his condemnation. If he should come thoughtlessly; without any desire to commune with Christ, he eats and drinks judgment to himself. But if he comes in faith with an humble desire to obey his Master and to seek his presence, he cannot fail to be welcomed and blessed.]
1 Corinthians 10:22
Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?—The comparison here is to a wife who would provoke her husband to jealousy by showing her affection for another man. Can we afford thus to treat Christ? [This illustration is the most effective that can be borrowed from human relations, and is often employed in Scripture to set forth the heinousness of the sin of idolatry.]
are we stronger than he?—If we arouse his jealousy, he will destroy us. [As he has threatened to punish such transgressors, it is therefore madness and folly to expose ourselves to the fury of his indignation.]
1 Corinthians 10:23
all things are lawful;—[This is limited to things indifferent, not having a moral quality.] The reference here is to chapter eight, where he insisted that, as the idol was nothing, he who could eat without offense to others was at liberty to do so.
but not all things are expedient.—Here he is referring to the sacrifices made at the altars of the false gods, and as the gods are nothing the altars are nothing, and a man might eat at them without injury to himself; but it was not expedient for Christians to do so, lest weak Christians and the heathen world should be encouraged to worship the idol.
All things are lawful; but not all things edify.—Eating meat at the altar of an idol may be lawful, but will not build up or strengthen the weak, which is the chief concern of the Christian. When we lead a weak brother into sin, or encourage one in sin to remain in it, we sin against Christ who died to save the weak and lost.
1 Corinthians 10:24
Let no man seek his own, but each his neighbor’s good. —Spiritual good is under consideration, and he warns them to let no man seek his own good to the disregard of his neighbor’s good. In neglecting his neighbor’s good, he destroys his own. Spiritual good is unlike material good, the more we seek the good of others, the more we promote our own. The more we look to our own good to the neglect of others, the more we destroy our own good. The more we divide our blessings with others, the more our own blessings grow.
1 Corinthians 10:25
Whatsoever is sold in the shambles,—[In the public meat market.] Of the sacrifices made to idols, the part given to the officiating priest was sometimes sold in the meat market; the devotees bought this meat. Sometimes an animal was consecrated to a certain god when slaughtered that it might be sold to the devotees of that god. Certain stalls in the market place were consecrated to a certain god, and its devotees patronized that stall. [But with the Christian it was different. If he merely bought his meat in the open market, no one could suspect him of meaning thereby to connive at or show favor to idolatry. It would, therefore, be needless for him to entertain fantastic scruples about matters purely indifferent; for when thus sold it was wholly disassociated from the rites of idolatrous sacrifice, and one so using it could not be suspected of doing so as an act of worship.]
eat, asking no question for conscience’ sake;—[He was not to trouble his conscience by scruples arising from needless investigation about the food.]
1 Corinthians 10:26
for the earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof.—”For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it be received with thanksgiving.” (1 Timothy 4:4). The intelligent Christian, then, may eat of it as the Lord’s.
1 Corinthians 10:27
If one of them that believe not biddeth you to a feast,— The Christian was not forbidden to retain his friendship among the heathen, nor was he forbidden association with them.
and ye are disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience’ sake.—[If a heathen friend should ask him to a meal in a private house and not in a sacrificial feast in an idol temple, he was not to trouble himself to ask whether the meat that was served was a part of the idol sacrifice, for such a dining was in no sense an act of worship.]
1 Corinthians 10:28
But if any man say unto you, This hath been offered in sacrifice, eat not, for his sake that showed it, and for conscience’ sake:—If a fellow Christian, one of the weak brethren, being scrupulous himself about such things, thinks that he ought to warn the other of what he chances to know, he is not to eat.
1 Corinthians 10:29
conscience, I say, not thine own, but the other’s;—Not for the sake of his own conscience, which could eat without injury, knowing that the idol is nothing; but for the sake of the weak brother or the unbeliever who sits at meat with him. He is not to eat lest the weak brother be encouraged to eat in worship to the idol.
for why is my liberty judged by another conscience?—Why should he make such a use of his liberty as to give offense when no good end will be served by his eating?
1 Corinthians 10:30
If I partake with thankfulness, why am I evil spoken of for that for which I give thanks?—In this Paul seeks to induce the strong to respect the scruples of the weak. They might eat of sacrificial meat at private tables with freedom, so far as they themselves were concerned; but why, he asks, should they do it so as to give offense, and cause the weak to stumble and speak evil of them?
1 Corinthians 10:31
Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.—All that Christians do should be done to the glory of God, and his glory is never enhanced by our destroying his weak children to gratify ourselves. Jesus pleased not himself, but gave up all to save men and so glorify God. He is our great exemplar. We must glorify God by sacrificing self for the good of others.
1 Corinthians 10:32
Give no occasion of stumbling, either to Jews, or to Greeks, or to the church of God:—The Christian is to do nothing that encourages a Jew or Gentile to remain in sin, and to stay away from God, or that would lead the weakest member of the household of faith to stumble or go into sin. [Love to God and love to men should govern all our conduct.]
1 Corinthians 10:33
even as I also please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of the many,—As showing how far this method of action may rightly be carried, Paul’s own course is given as an example for them to follow. [He sacrificed his personal comfort, and personal liberty of action; but he never sacrificed any important principle, or compromised the liberty of others. (Galatians 2:5). With him to please others is what he chose in love to do instead of pleasing himself; he did not sacrifice to it the pleasing of God. We may also be liberal with that which is our own to give. When Peter, in becoming as a Jew to the Jews (Galatians 2:11-14), abandoned his previous habit of eating with Gentile converts, he both made a serious compromise of principle and went far to impose the burden of the law upon those who were free from it. Hence Paul’s rebuke.]
that they may be saved.—The chief consideration with Paul was to save men and honor God. In this he was following in the footsteps of Jesus, who gave up heaven with the glory he had with the Father, and came to earth, and suffered and died to save men. Paul drank of the same spirit, was willing to suffer the loss of all things of earth, and make himself the servant of all if thereby he might save men.