Sunday LinkUp – March 23, 2025 – 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Does the world seem broken beyond repair? It seems every generation at one point or another feels this way.  In smaller ways, we also have times of brokenness in our personal lives when we realize there is little we can do to make things right.  Whether looking at the world at large or dealing with a personal crisis, we often come to a place where we feel powerless.  Maybe you feel that way today!

Consider this! If a small child is playing with a toy that becomes broken beyond their ability to fix, what do you think most children would naturally do?  I think most would not hesitate to take the toy to a parent to fix.  I’ve had numerous broken toys brought to me to fix and I’m sure most parents and grandparents have logged many hours fixing broken toys for children.

Today is a good day to remember that we have a heavenly Father who is able and willing to receive and repair all the brokenness in our lives.  Feeling powerless can remind us of our need to approach our Father in prayer, bringing him all that is broken in us and in our world.  Not only is he more than able to deliver and save us from all brokenness, but he has already done so in Jesus Christ.  This means when we pray, we are not asking the Father to intervene in something he is unaware of.  We are also not twisting his arm to do something he is not willing to do. We are participating in the Father’s sure deliverance from evil and brokenness.  Like the child who brings a broken toy to a parent to fix, the most powerful and effective thing we can do in the face of worldwide brokenness is to bring it to our heavenly Father in prayer.

David concludes with a powerful reminder of the Father’s heart, which is turned towards his children who seek him in prayer:

“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

The righteous person may have many troubles,
but the Lord delivers him from them all;
he protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.

Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
The Lord will rescue his servants;
no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.”
Psalm 34:17-22

For our own sakes and for the sake of our world, the Lord invites us into his prayer to the Father as the most powerful way to participate in Jesus’ deliverance and restoration of all brokenness.  It’s never too late to start praying for deliverance from our brokenness.

I’m Greg Williams, Speaking of Life.

I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea,  ² and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,  ³ and all ate the same spiritual food,  ⁴ and all drank the same spiritual drink.   For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.   ⁵ Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.

⁶ Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did.  ⁷ Do not become idolaters as some of them did, as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.”   ⁸ We must not engage in sexual immorality, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.   ⁹ We must not put Christ^[d] to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents.   ¹⁰ And do not complain, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.   ¹¹ These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come.   ¹² So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall.   ¹³ No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone.   God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.  

SPECIAL MUSIC

MAIN MESSAGE (Interactive Sermon)

• 1 Corinthians 10 carries on the subject introduced in 1 Corinthians 8, and continued in chapter 9: what should the Corinthian Christians think and do in regard to meat which has been sacrificed to idols?
  • In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul established two principles. First, an idol really is nothing, and it was fine for Corinthian Christians who understood this to act according to this knowledge, in regard to themselves. Second, for Christians love is more important than knowledge. So even though I may “know” eating meat sacrificed to an idol is all right for myself, if it causes my brother to stumble, I won’t do it, because it isn’t the loving thing to do. (Guzik)
  • In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul showed how important it is for Christians to give up their “rights.” Just as Paul gave up his “right” to be supported by his own preaching of the gospel, so some of the Corinthian Christians must sometimes give up their “right” to eat meat sacrificed to idols, based on the principle of love towards a weaker brother. In the end of chapter 9, Paul showed how a Christian must be willing to give up some things – even “good” things – for the sake of winning the race God has set before us, otherwise we will become disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:27) in the competition of the Christian life. (Guzik)

1 Corinthians 10:1-13   I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 

• • The cloud of Shekinah glory overshadowed Israel throughout their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. During the day, the cloud sheltered them from the brutal desert sun, and during the night, it burned as a pillar of fire. It was a constant, ready reminder of God’s glory and presence (Exodus 13:21-22).

² and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 

• • All Israel came through the Red Sea and saw God’s incredible power in holding up the walls of the sea so they could cross over on dry ground. Then they saw God send the water back to drown the Egyptian army (Exodus 14:21-31). This was not only an amazing demonstration of God’s love and power, but also a picture of baptism – by “passing through water,” all of Israel was identified with Moses, even as by “passing through water,” a Christian is identified with Jesus Christ (Romans 6:3-4).

³ and all ate the same spiritual food,  ⁴ and all drank the same spiritual drink.   For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.   

• • All of Israel was sustained by God’s miraculous provision of food and drink during their time in the wilderness (Exodus 16:35 and 17:6). This was a remarkable display of God’s love and power for Israel, and a pre-figuring of the spiritual food and drink we receive at the Lord’s table (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). (Guzik)
  • Israel even had ancient versions of the two Christian sacraments we receive to this day: baptism and communion. The word sacrament was used for the oath of allegiance that the soldiers of the Roman legion took to their emperor. The early Christians considered communion and baptism to be an “oath of allegiance” unto Jesus Christ. (Guzik)
  • Israel even had the presence of Jesus Christ with them in the wilderness! Here, in identifying the Rock that followed them, Paul builds on a rabbinical tradition that said Israel was supplied with water by the same rock all through the wilderness, a rock that followed them. (Guzik)
  • Jesus Christ was present with Israel in the wilderness, providing for their needs miraculously.  What blessing, what privilege! (Guzik)

⁵ Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.  

• • Only two men from the adult generation that left Egypt came into the Promised Land (Joshua and Caleb). Most indeed! (Guzik)
  • The displeasure of God with the Israelites was evident because they never entered into the Promised Land, but died in the wilderness instead. For all their blessings and spiritual experiences, they never entered into what God really had for them. (Guzik)

⁶ Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. 

• • We can, and should, learn from Israel’s failure in the wilderness. How did Israel fail? (Guzik)
  • Paul’s point hits hard: the Corinthian Christians were probably taking all sorts of liberties (like feasting in pagan temples, stumbling their brothers), thinking that they were “safe” because of past blessings and spiritual experiences (especially baptism and communion). So Paul warns them to beware, because just as Israel was blessed and had spiritual experiences, they still perished – and so some of the Corinthian Christians might also! (Guzik)
  • “It seems as if the Corinthians had supposed that their being made partakers of the ordinances of the Gospel, such as baptism and the Lord’s Supper, would secure their salvation, notwithstanding, they might be found partaking of idolatrous feasts; as long, at least, as they considered an idol to be nothing in the world.” (Clarke)
  • They failed in that they could not say “no” to their desires, and so we must not lust after evil things as they also lusted. The Corinthian Christians who insisted on eating meat sacrificed to idols, even though they led other Christians into sin, just couldn’t say “no.” They said, “the meat is so good” or “it is such a bargain” but they could not say “no” out of love for God and love for a brother. (Guzik)

⁷ Do not become idolaters as some of them did, as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.”   

• • Israel failed to keep their focus on God, and they started giving themselves to idolatry (as in Exodus 32:1-6 and Numbers 25:1-3). Some of the Corinthian Christians not only got too close in their association with idols; they also made an idol out of their own “knowledge” and their own “rights.” (Guzik)

⁸ We must not engage in sexual immorality, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.   

• • Israel, in their idolatry, surrendered to the temptation of sexual immorality.  Rose up to play (quoted from Exodus 32:6) is a tasteful way to refer to gross immorality among the people of Israel. We know the Corinthian Christians were having trouble with sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18-20), and the context here suggests it is connected with their selfish desire to please themselves, expressed in insisting on the “right” to eat meat sacrificed to idols. (Guzik)
  •  Exodus 32:6 sets the context there, and in Exodus 32:28 tells us about three thousand men of the people fell that day. Perhaps there were more that died which the Scriptures do not record, or there were 20,000 women who died in the aftermath of the golden-calf incident, or some think Paul has jumped ahead to another time when Israel’s sexual immorality during the Exodus brought God’s judgment upon them (Numbers 25:9). In the Numbers passage, we are told that 24,000 died from the judgment of God, but perhaps it was 23,000 who died in one day. (Guzik)

⁹ We must not put Christ^[d] to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents.   

• •  Numbers 21:4-9 describes the incident where, in response to the complaining of the people, God sent fiery serpents among the people. Again, their complaining hearts show them to be self-focused and more concerned with their own desires than God’s glory – the same issues causing trouble with the Corinthian Christians, who will not yield their right to eat meat sacrificed to idols for the sake of another brother. (Guzik)

¹⁰ And do not complain, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.   

• • destroyed by the destroyer: Because of the warning in 1 Corinthians 10:1-5, it seems the Corinthian Christians believed they were “safe” from the danger of being destroyed (as the Israelites were destroyed) because of past spiritual experiences or accomplishments. But Paul’s warning stands: “If it happened to Israel, it can happen to you. Be on guard.” (Guzik)
  • The Corinthian Christians seem to have regarded this issue of eating meat sacrificed to idols and thereby stumbling their brother as a “small” issue. Paul wants them and us to know that it reflects a selfish, self-focused heart, which is the kind of heart God destroyed among the Israelites in the wilderness. It may have been a relatively small symptom, but it was a symptom of a great and dangerous disease. (Guzik)

¹¹ These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come.   

• • Since we are those upon whom the ends of the ages have come, we can and should take warning from the bad example of Israel. We have a greater responsibility, because we can learn from Israel’s mistakes. (Guzik)

¹² So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall.   

• • For the Corinthian Christians to resist the temptation to be selfish and self-focused, they must first understand they are vulnerable. The one who thinks he stands will not stay on guard against temptation, so he may easily fall. (Guzik)
  • Temptation works like rocks in a harbor; when the tide is low, everybody sees the danger and avoids it. But Satan’s strategy in temptation is to raise the tide, and to cover over the dangers of temptation. Then he likes to crash you upon the covered rocks. (Guzik)

¹³ No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone.   God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.  

• • So, you can be victorious – in the strength of Jesus, not in your own strength. We fight temptation with Jesus’ power, like the girl who explained what she did when Satan came with temptation at the door of her heart: “I send Jesus to answer the door. When Satan sees Jesus, he says, ‘Oops!  Sorry, I must have the wrong house.’” (Guzik)
    • 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NET)  No trial has overtaken you that is not faced by others.^[a]  And God is faithful: He^[b] will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear,^[c]  but with the trial will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it.
    • 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT)  The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience.  And God is faithful.  He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand.  When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.
    • 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NKJV)  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 [a]bear it.  
  • God has promised to supervise all temptation that comes at us through the world, the flesh or the devil. He promises to limit it according to our capability to endure it – according to our capability as we rely on Him, not our capability as we rely only on ourselves. (Guzik)
  • Satan would destroy us in a minute if God would let him, even as he wanted to destroy Job (Job 1:6-12) and Peter (Luke 22:31), but God will not let him.  Like a mom who keeps her child from the candy aisle in a store, knowing the child couldn’t handle that temptation, God keeps us from things we can’t handle.  But what we can and can’t handle changes over the years. (Guzik)
  • God has promised to not only limit our temptation, but also to provide a way of escape in tempting times. He will never force us to use the way of escape, but he will make the way of escape  available.  It’s up to us to take God’s way of escape. (Guzik)
  • The way of escape isn’t the same as mere “relief” from the pressure of temptation, which some people find by giving in to the temptation! There is often a wrong way to relieve a temptation, and we will often face the same temptations over and over again until we show Satan and our flesh we are able to bear it. (Guzik)
  • Barclay says the word for a way of escape is really a mountain pass, with the idea of an army being surrounded by the enemy, and then suddenly seeing an escape route to safety.  Like a mountain pass, the way of escape isn’t necessarily an easy way. (Guzik)f. Make the way of escape: The way of escape does not lead us to a place where we escape all temptation (that is heaven alone). The way of escape leads us to the place where we may be able to bear it. (Guzik)i. We are reminded that to be tempted is not sin, but to entertain temptation or surrender to temptation is sin. When we bear temptation, Satan often condemns us for being tempted, but that is condemnation from Satan the Christian does not need to accept. (Guzik)

As we wind up … a quotation from the GCI Equipper …

The encouragement to be vigilant

The New Testament church had its share of problems, the same problems we face today, but the Bible doesn’t attempt to whitewash them or diminish reporting their effects on the congregations of that era. But more importantly, our inability to be faithful has had no effect on God’s faithfulness and grace toward us. 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells of God’s faithfulness when we are challenged with our egoic tendencies:

No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 NRSVUE

Some mistakenly assume that the “testing” comes from God. However, James reminds us that God does not tempt us:

No one, when tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one. 14 But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it; 15 then, when desire has conceived, it engenders sin, and sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death. James 1:13–15 NRSVUE

We are more than capable of deluding ourselves to believe we deserve what we want or desire. This requires us to focus on self-awareness and self-examination, two important Easter Prep practices, but useful for any time of the year.

Professor of New Testament Carla Works summarizes Paul’s solution in this way:

At the end of this larger argument on whether or not it is acceptable to eat food that has been sacrificed to idols, Paul will give a guiding principle: “do [everything] to the glory of God” (10:31). Like their ancestors in the faith, this predominantly Gentile Corinthian church is called to live in a manner that is faithful to the one who is the very source of their life and existence. Living faithfully to this God includes considering one’s witness to others for whom Christ also died.  

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit offer us grace when we trip on our fragile and self-centered egos. They are constant companions and deliver us from our arrogance.  When we aren’t faithful, we can rely on God’s faithfulness and grace.  God “will also provide the way out;” Jesus is the way out. 

CONCLUSION 

What can/should we take away …?

• God is faithful … all the time.

2 Timothy 2:8-14a  Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David — that is my gospel, ⁹ for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal.  But the word of God is not chained.   ¹⁰ Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.   ¹¹ The saying is sure:

¹⁴ Remind them of this ….

• God is faithful … God will always be faithful … because He is faithful to us … to His word … to His promises.
  • • Jesus said He will never leave us (Matt.8:20; Heb.13:5)
    • Jesus implied … we would be with Him forever (John 14:2-3)
• God is faithful … and will always be faithful … because His love is steadfast (Lamentations 3:22-23; Psalm 136:1)
  • • Interesting sidenote … The phrase “steadfast love” is mentioned 179 times in the NRSV … Of those 179 times, it is mentioned 120 times in the Psalms alone.)
    • Obviously, God’s steadfast love meant a lot to David … as it should to us … because that is the basis of His great faithfulness.

CLOSING SONG