Recognizing Idolatry

And the Complete Provision

of Life in Jesus Christ

by

John Juneman

Recognizing Idolatry

Copyright © John Juneman

LifeMessage International, 2009

Unless noted otherwise, all scripture references are from the New King James Version

LifeMessage International, Inc.

P. O. Box 806

Lebanon, TN 37088-0806

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www.lifemessageinternational.org

Table of Contents

Preface

A Brief Introduction to 1 Corinthians

The Heritage of Idolatry

The Heart of Idolatry

The Sacramental Life

Imprints

The Process of Worship

The Heritage of Purity

Instant Replay

Grumbling

A Contrast of Manner

The Savior from Idolatry

Epilogue

“The earth is the Lord’s,

and everything in it,

the world, and all who live in it;

for He founded it upon the seas

and established it upon the waters.

Who may ascend the hill of the Lord?

Who may stand in His holy place?

He who has clean hands

and a pure heart,

who does not lift up his soul

to an idol

or swear by what is false.

He will receive blessing

from the Lord

and vindication

from God his Savior.

Such is the generation

of those who seek Him,

who seek Your face,

O God of Jacob.”

Psalms 24:1-6 (NIV)

Preface

Perhaps one good way to begin this discussion of idolatry is with a riddle.  If you already know the answer to the riddle, please feel free to skip ahead and please do not ruin the answer for someone else!  Here is the riddle.

One day a man left home jogging.  He jogged a little way and turned left.  He jogged a little way further and turned left.  He jogged even further and turned left, and then jogged back home.  When he arrived back home, there were two masked men waiting for him.  Two questions: First, why did the man leave home jogging?  Secondly, who were the two masked men?

If you are like me, your mind envisioned something when you first read the riddle.  You acquired a picture in your mind.  This picture now serves as the basis --- the worldview --- from which you will attempt to answer the questions.  We really do this with everything in our lives.  Our worldview or “paradigm” of thinking is what serves as our compass for life.  It is the starting point for all thought processes and decisions we make in our lives.  When someone asks me a question (“Why did the man leave home jogging?”), I go back to my worldview or paradigm to give me the parameters for my answer.  It makes complete sense that if my paradigm is incorrect, then my answers will be incorrect also.  One cannot begin with a false or inaccurate worldview and paradigm and end up at the correct conclusion.  It was when Christopher Columbus embraced a new worldview that the decision could then be made to sail continuously west across the Atlantic from Europe.  No sane person believing in square worlds would have done so.  The paradigm of understanding is the beginning point of our process of thinking and how we see everything.  To be off at the beginning is to fairly ensure being further and further off the more one progresses. As painful as it is to discuss, it is much like my golf game.  When my wicked slice takes its usual effect on the golf ball as I hit it off of the tee, the ball only sails further and further out into the rough or the trees as it makes “progress” down the course.

When I first heard the riddle, I could not help the first image that came to my mind.  It may sound silly to you, but I pictured a guy in a jogging suit coming down the steps of his apartment building in the city, and turning left onto the sidewalk.  In my mind’s eye, I could see him running around the large city block or a group of city blocks.  I was completely content with this picture until it came to the questions at the end.  I could not even fit the two masked men into my picture I had conceived, let alone begin to answer the question of why he left home jogging.  As it turns out, I had begun with a wrong picture, understanding, starting point, or paradigm.  My wrong paradigm of thinking was the blockade to me seeing the simplest of things, as is so often the case with me on riddles and puzzles.  When one little word was added to the riddle, it immediately opened for me a whole new world of seeing --- a new paradigm --- that made everything absolutely and unmistakably clear.

One day a man left home plate  jogging.  He jogged a little way and turned left.  He jogged a little way further and turned left.  He jogged even further and turned left, and then jogged back home.  When he arrived back home, there were two masked men waiting for him.

With the addition of this one little word, I could see the whole picture.  The man left home jogging because he had hit a home run.  The two masked men who were waiting for him at home were obviously the catcher and the umpire.  To be honest, I felt silly that I had missed something so simple.  However, it drove a point home for me.  I had missed the truth because of an incorrect worldview.  I had not seen things as they really were.

I had never thought of myself as an idolater.  The concept of me as an idolater just did not fit into my worldview or paradigm.  If I ever heard or read the word “idolatry,” I had a clear picture in my mind that I had formed.  It had something to do with people worshiping statues made of wood or stone or building little altars to some false god.  I remember seeing the little altars that the locals would build up in the hills outside Honolulu.  They would build a little pile of rocks and then place a piece of fruit or something on top as a sacrifice to their god.  There were dozens of these little piles all over those hills.  This along with the image of the statue was my picture of idolatry, and it certainly was not taking place in my life.  I certainly did not worship any gods or goddesses, let alone sacrifice to them.  So I thought.

One year, while we were living in Illinois, my wife had heard a speaker named Norm Wakefield at the annual homeschool conference she attended.  It was an annual ritual for her to come home from this conference and tell me with great excitement and in great details about this or that speaker that I just “had to” hear.  I eventually remedied this phenomenon by simply attending with her every year!  At one of these conferences I did get to hear Norm Wakefield for myself.  We were really impacted by his teaching from the Word, and picked up some of his materials for further study at home and with our church.  A video series called “Equipping Men” had a session called “Equipped to Love,” and there was a book of the same title which presented the same material.  This truth from the Word forever changed my paradigm of idolatry.  Norm studied Exodus and presented the truth that idolatry is the opposite of love, for it is the attempt to get what we want from someone or something.  Instead of finding what we need in Jesus Christ alone, we attempt to “carve” on people (manipulate them), using our well-practiced “carving tools,” in order to get them to give in to us.  We look to people and things for our needs, and we hate them when they do not provide for us what only Jesus can.  Through this and other sessions in that series my entire worldview regarding idolatry was smashed to bits.  I began to see a whole new picture --- the true picture --- of what idolatry really is.  It really has nothing to do with actual physical statues or altars with fruit on top.  Idolatry is really about the motive and intent of the heart to look to someone or something else besides Jesus to meet my needs.  In light of this new paradigm of idolatry, I was faced with one inescapable conclusion:  I am an idolater.  In fact, once the light of the Word came to bear on this matter in my life, the prevalence of idolatry become more and more evident all around me --- in my family, in the world, and in the church.  Most importantly, however, I could see it in me and how I had been practicing idolatry.  I owe my deepest thanks to Norm Wakefield for allowing the Lord to bring to light this truth of the Word through his life.  I strongly recommend any of his teaching resources, and they can be found at www.spiritofelijah.com.

This biblical understanding of idolatry really brought to light some of the issues Paul is addressing in 1 Corinthians, and especially in chapter 10 regarding idolatry.  In the Introduction we will briefly attempt to set the stage of how Paul arrived at this issue in the letter to the Corinthians, and it will be further explained in the succeeding chapters.  But suffice it to say that it was a real issue that they faced in their culture and it was a real danger to them.  The heart of the first thirteen verses of 1 Corinthians 10 is to warn the Corinthians of the danger of idolatry.  Verse 12 of chapter 10 is a good summary of the heart of this warning.  “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”  The Corinthians were so arrogant as to believe themselves to be somewhat impervious or insusceptible to the dangers of idolatry.  It was a game to them and they played life close to the edge.  As Paul explains throughout chapter 10, they did not realize the full extent of the spiritual danger to which they were exposing themselves and others.  Their worldview was wrong, and this “wicked slice” was going to take them increasingly further off of the fairway.  This is the reason for the strong warning from Israel’s history in verses 1-13, which will serve as the content for this work.

The question is to what degree I will accept the warning for myself.  How arrogant will I be in considering myself impervious, insusceptible or not even connected in any way to idolatry?  I, for one, had a clear picture in my mind of idolatry and I was not it!  But, through the Word, the Holy Spirit brought to light the idolatry in my own life --- how I have made idols of family, friends, mentors, jobs, ministry, the church and countless other things and people.  I have been caught with the carving tools in my hand, attempting to make them into what I needed and hating them when they failed me.  All the time Jesus has been the only real answer to all my needs, desiring to produce His love in my life instead of the works of the flesh resulting from my idolatry.  My prayer is that you would allow the Holy Spirit to reveal your idolatry, and that you would allow me to kneel beside you in repentance for how we have participated in it.  I pray that you and I will both allow Jesus to be the complete answer and supply for our lives, and that the fruit of His Spirit will pour over our world to show a different way than what they have known.  That is a legacy worth leaving.

John Juneman

Watertown, TN

April 2009

A Brief Introduction to 1 Corinthians

Ms. Jaffke’s fourth grade classroom was a wondrous place to me.  I am embarrassed to say that I do not remember a good deal of what I learned in my education.  But Ms. Jaffke’s unit on Greek mythology is still vivid in mind.  She had pictures of all the main Greek gods and goddesses hanging as a border on the top of the wall around one side of the room.  I can still see them today: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hephaestus, Apollo, Athena, Aphrodite, and my personal favorite, Hermes (the winged-footed guy that I liked to imitate as I leaped in the air, much to my mother’s dissatisfaction), among many others.  It was the most fun of projects for me.  What I could not have possibly conceived at the age of 9 was the reality of an ancient culture that was represented in those pictures on the wall.  Only in recent years, upon studying Corinth and ancient Greece, have I come to realize the amazing and real culture that existed during that epoch.  To the people who lived on the streets of Corinth or Athens in the time around when Jesus was here, those gods and goddesses were more than pictures on a wall.  To them it was a belief system and a way of life.

From the point of view of the world, Corinth was a spectacular place.  Its location on the Isthmus of Corinth (a narrow strip of land between the Adriatic and Aegean Seas) made Corinth a major seaport city for two main bodies of water and a main traffic route for commerce and culture in that day.  Anything and everything “under the sun” could be found in Corinth.  In The New International Commentary on the New Testament, Gordon Fee observes that “Corinth was at once the New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas of the ancient world (p. 3).”  This is the city that Paul visited on his second missionary journey sometime around A.D. 51-52.  Acts chapter 18 records how Paul first went to the synagogue to present the gospel, and then went next door to begin the church after he was rejected at the synagogue.  Acts 18:11 tells us, “And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them,” before continuing on to complete his second missionary journey (Acts 15:39 through 18:22).  For outstanding background, context and understanding of ancient Corinth and Greece, I would highly recommend Dave Stott’s excellent video series entitled “Drive Thru History,” particularly the volume on “Greece and the Word” for the purposes of this study.  It is most informative and entertaining all at the same time.  My family is used to hearing me laugh out loud while watching it.

Paul continued in some form of communication or correspondence with the Corinthian church in the years following his stay with them.  The letter of 1 Corinthians is Paul’s response to one such letter that he received from this body of believers.  Indications are that several years, perhaps as much as three or four, have elapsed since that eighteen-month visit.  This letter to the Corinthians attempts to answer the compilation of questions they had sent to him in their letter regarding several issues.  Paul’s approach and focus in answering these questions is extremely important for us in understanding the truth presented in this letter.  This background must serve as the context for understanding any of the particular answers that he is giving to particular issues.  Without such context and understanding, we can easily become lost in the “trees” of 1 Corinthians without “seeing the forest.”  Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is not a Christian “how-to” manual for dealing with the issues they face.  It is not intended to be a policy book.  It is a letter saturated with love, tears and desperate prayer.  Paul knew, as we must, that this is the inspired Word of God, not simply to provide “truths,” but to point these beloved Christians to THE “Truth,” which is Jesus Christ.

In seeking to understand the truth in any part of 1 Corinthians, it is good to keep in mind three overarching themes of the book.

Jesus is the answer

In speech class we were taught the simple and basic steps that any speech-giver should be sure to execute.  First, tell then what you are going to say (introduction).  Then, tell them what you want to say (body).  Finally, tell them what you said (conclusion).  Paul seems to follow at least the first part of this advice (perhaps it is an ancient concept) in his “introduction” to 1 Corinthians.  In the opening verses of the letter, Paul is telling them “what he is going to say” for the entire letter.  It is as if he is setting the anchor and the boundaries for the entire discussion.  He boldly states that this will be the basis of his answer to every issue and question they have raised.  How important this is for all of us.  Issues can easily confuse us, blow us off course, or lead us down rabbit trails.  If we are not securely anchored in something ---in truth --- we can become lost in the issues.  What, then, is the “anchor” which Paul sets forth in opening his letter to the Corinthians?  We have learned that repetition is a favorite tool of biblical writers for the purpose of emphasis (it was for my mother also!).  When we see something repeated over and over again, we know it is being emphasized.  Note that Paul mentions the actual name of Jesus or Christ no less than ten times in the first ten verses of chapter 1.  This is emphasis indeed!  Paul’s unmistakable point is that Jesus is the anchor of this letter.  In fact, He is the answer to every issue and question that is raised.  It does not matter what the problem may be; Jesus is the answer.  Whether it be church division, sexual immorality, lawsuits among believers, marriage and family relationships, treatment of one another in the body of Christ, how to conduct oneself in worship services, the use of spiritual gifts or any other thing --- the answer is Jesus.  Paul will stick unswervingly to this point.  It must be seen and returned to again and again as the anchor of this letter.  He does not spend the first ten verses of this letter making this point for no reason.  If we forget this point, we will get lost in the “trees” of these very complicated issues.  But in the light of truth, the answer to every issue is made simple.  Seek Jesus and respond to Him.  It is the answer for absolutely everything, both for the Corinthians and for us.

Pride is the blockade

If Jesus is always the answer, Paul’s consistent point, tone, and observation throughout 1 Corinthians is that the single problem is their pride, or “arrogance.”  Paul’s references to this through the letter are stunningly regular.  One comes away from 1 Corinthians not with the understanding that Paul is a mean and unreasonable “spiritual father (1 Cor. 4:15),” but that the Corinthians truly were arrogant people.  Much of this can be attributed to the culture of ancient Greece and the city of Corinth.  Not far different from our own culture, the Greeks prided themselves on knowledge, ability, and status.  It was the manner in which this attitude carried into the church which was at issue, and Paul is willing to call it out.  We will refer to several of Paul’s allusions to this later in this book, and 1 Corinthians 10:12 was already quoted in the Preface.  All of it is a constant reminder of the pride and arrogance of the Corinthians.  They did not have a multitude of problems.  They only had one problem, and it was their pride.  Pride is the essence of the carnal mind.  The carnal mind is the root of all spiritual immaturity, and spiritual immaturity will produce the “fruit” of all manner of the same kind of behavior that was being exhibited among the Corinthians.  All of the different issues with which they are dealing go back to the same root --- their pride.  Pride will always be the blockade which prevents me from realizing all that Jesus can be in my life.  He is the answer for everything.  As we will learn more in 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, He is the complete provision for my life in every way.  His dream is to fill me and flow through me to the world around me.  But pride is the incapacitating “build-up” in the “plumbing” of my spiritual life that is blocking the flow of Jesus in me.  The message of 1 Corinthians is the same for all the issues.  Jesus is the answer; pride is the blockade.  Will I allow pride to keep me from realizing the fullness of Jesus in my life, or am I willing to give up pride and respond to Him so that He can be all that I need in my life?

The physical and the spiritual

After five chapters of making the emphasis that Jesus is the answer and that pride is the blockade, in chapter 6 the Apostle Paul begins to expand on this and to clarify what may be the most defining concept of 1 Corinthians.  We learn in chapter six that men were visiting harlots and that the church did not regard it as much of an issue.  The underlying philosophy behind this thinking of the Corinthians is identified especially in the second half of chapter 6.  This was another of the “carry-over” concepts from the Greek culture which had taken root in the church.  The basic attitude was that this behavior did not matter because, in the mind of the Greeks, the physical life and the spiritual life had no connection.  The Greeks saw the physical and spiritual realms as having little or no influence or bearing on one another.  One conclusion of this, for them, is that one could live as he or she wished in the physical life with no consequences for the spiritual life.  The adaptation of this in the church at Corinth was that men could visit harlots during the week (or participate in any variety of other vices) and still be “right” in their spiritual lives.  The thinking went, “I may do those things in my physical life, but that has nothing to do with my spiritual life.”

This, of course, was and is an apostasy to the truth of Christianity, and Paul is not afraid to address it as such.  Paul makes absolutely clear, beginning in chapter 6, that there is no such disconnect between the physical and the spiritual realms.  There is an intimate linkage between the two, and they each affect one another on a constant basis.  What one does in the physical will affect his or her spiritual life, and what one is in the spiritual will eventually be demonstrated in the physical.  The design and purpose of God is clearly stated in chapter 6, verse 19, and may be the theme verse of the book.  “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”  The dream, design and offer of God is that we would allow the Lord Jesus Christ, through the presence of His Holy Spirit, to come and actually indwell our real physical bodies. Christianity is not an ideal or philosophy.  It is the actual indwelling by a real Person --- Jesus Christ.  As we respond to Him and grow in intimacy with Him --- this One now living in us --- our physical lives will begin to be the demonstration of His manner.  Christianity is no mere imitation of Christ.  It is the demonstration of the very manner of Christ because He is the one in us making it manifest.  Christianity, then, is not a religion lived out only in the cathedral or church hall.  It is lived out on the streets of daily living --- in the marketplace, among the marginalized, and among every generation.  Every detail and activity of my physical existence is a part of my spiritual life, for He is in me through it all.

Beginning at chapter 7, Paul takes this concept and applies it to the variety of questions, issues and situations raised by the Corinthians.  The answer to the situations is not the “how to” for which they might be looking.  Jesus is the answer, and pride is the blockade.  Moreover, the real desire of God is that they would allow Jesus to live in them and reproduce His manner through their lives in those very situations.  This is Paul’s answer for marriage and engagement in chapter 7.  In fact, he makes it clear in that chapter that this is the plan for God for one who is single, married, widowed or divorced!  Beginning in chapter 8, Paul turns to a new issue.  New issue, perhaps, but the answer will be the same.  Paul now moves into the realm of relationships between those within the body of Christ.  This issue will span across chapters 8 through 14.  Chapters 8 through 10 deal specifically with the matter of food sacrificed to idols.  The background of this particular issue will be explained more in the first chapter and following chapters.  But it is important to note from the beginning that this is not, nor ever is, a matter of Paul handing down “rules” of what to do or not to do.  It is a fundamental question of manner.  Will the Corinthians allow the indwelling Jesus to produce His manner in their lives in this and in every issue?  Will I do the same?

This provides us something of a perspective of “the forest” as a background for our more particular study in chapter 10 and its applications for idolatry.  Let us come seeking and open to all He will do in us, disregarding pride and allowing Jesus to be the real solution in our actual, flesh and blood, daily lives.

The Heritage of Idolatry

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

In 1 Corinthians chapter 10, Paul continues his discussion of community that he began in chapter 8.  What does it look like for people to operate together when Jesus is living in them?  This concept of the indwelling Jesus is the theme of the entire letter.  We have recognized chapter 6, verse 19 as a key verse of the book, and it is good for us to keep it in mind continually.  “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”  Jesus is the answer to everything in our lives.  When He comes to live in us, and as we respond to Him, He will begin to demonstrate Himself through our lives.  We will begin to look, sound, and act like Him.  But it is not imitation of Him.  It is the actual Jesus living within us who is causing this to be in our lives.

Since chapter 8, Paul has been discussing what this looks like in a group of people who are functioning together in “community.”  How does this manner of Jesus work in the body of Christ, the church?  Paul somewhat scolded these Christians at Corinth in chapter 8 for their lack of consideration toward those he calls the “weak” ones.  These were the younger Christians in the church. They were either brand new to the church, had just accepted Jesus as Lord, or were in the process of thinking about it.  Those who had been Christians for a longer period of time were not being considerate toward these “weak” ones.  They were going to the pagan temples in town and eating food that had been sacrificed to idols.  Younger Christians could not understand why this was acceptable.  How could one say, “Jesus is Lord,” and then go to a place and eat something over which it was prayed, “Apollo (or some other god) is Lord”?  Some of these new Christians had just come out of these cults.  It was harmful and confusing to them.  Instead of being considerate and thinking of them, these more “mature” Christians were continuing to do this with no regard for anyone besides themselves.  Their attitude was that “it is their problem, not ours.”  They did not care that it was harmful to these young Christians.  They were full of pride and arrogance.  Paul rebukes them for this attitude in chapter 8, urging them to understand that we are all spiritual leaders.  Each of us either pulls people closer to Jesus or further away from Him.  In the final verse of chapter 8, Paul cries and makes the urgent statement that, as for himself, he will give his life for the sake of others being pulled to Jesus!  In chapter 9, Paul then fleshes out his testimony of how this is happening in his own life and what the heart of this looks like.

That brings us to chapter 10, where he now returns more specifically to the issue of idolatry and its dangers.  In order to express this strong caution, the chapter is broken into two main sections.  In the second section, verses 14-33, Paul explains the spiritual danger of idolatry.  He describes the reality taking place in the spiritual realm, and that idolatry is actually participation with demons.  In the first section, verses 1-13, Paul presents the history of Israel as a strong warning against idolatry.  What Paul demonstrates is that Israel fell into the trap of idolatry, and that the Corinthians are on the same path.  This is intended to be a wake-up call for the Corinthians, and an invitation to leave a heritage different from the one left by the Israelites.

As we do an overview of verses 1-13, we recognize three main parts of this passage: verses 1-5, 6-11, and 12-13.  From this, a few main principles can be identified that will guide us in this study and help us to know the truth of God’s Word for our lives.

Sourcing

While we will explore this more in another chapter, one thing obviously evident from verses 1-5 is the absolute provision of God in the lives of the nation of Israel throughout the Old Testament.  Most of the references Paul makes are to some of the accounts in the books of Exodus and Numbers.  In these accounts, we see the overwhelming love of God for His people and His provision for them of everything they needed.  We see in verses 1-5 that He provided them direction (v. 1), protection and deliverance from danger (v. 1), spiritual blessing (v. 2), food (v. 3), and water (v. 4).  God provided absolutely everything they needed.  It may not have been all of what they might have wanted, but it was definitely what they needed.  Yet, instead of trusting God and looking to Him as their Source and Provider, the Israelites foolishly looked to other things as their source.

Paul has pointed out in 1 Corinthians that God has made the same provision for the Corinthians.  Jesus is the answer to every need in their lives.  He is the complete provision of God for them in every way.  He will come to live in them and meet every need.  The only block to this is their own pride and arrogance.  In spite of Jesus being their Source and provision, the Corinthians foolishly were looking to other things to meet their needs and to be their source.  This is the key definition of idolatry for us to recognize.  Idolatry is looking to anyone or anything else besides Jesus to meet the need of my life.  The utter absurdity of idolatry is looking to someone or something else to meet our needs when Jesus is our only real provision, and He is so in such a complete way.

Similarity

One very important point of this passage or section is that the Corinthians would recognize their similarity with the nation of Israel.  God has provided for the Corinthians just as He provided for the Israelites.  In the same way, the Corinthians are foolishly looking elsewhere for their provision just as the Israelites did.  Paul makes very specific effort in verses 1-5 in showing the tie or connection between the Israelites and the Corinthians, in order to point out their similarity.  It is clear in all the language Paul uses.  Note in verse 1 he writes, “all OUR fathers.”  He is pointing out that the Corinthians are connected.  He used the word “all” several times to speak of this in a very complete way.  In verses 3 and 4 he used the word “same.”  “All ate the SAME spiritual food, and all drank the SAME spiritual drink.”  The word “same” is used to connect at least two things and show their similarity.  The two things being connected are the Israelites and the Corinthians.  There is another parallel in verses 4 and 5.  In verse 4, Paul writes, “and all drank the same spiritual drink.  For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.”  The same Jesus who was present for the Israelites is the One who is present and available for the Corinthians.  “God was not well pleased (v. 5)” with the Israelites and He is now, in the same way, displeased with the Corinthians.  To further this connection, Paul emphasizes in both verses 6 and 11 that what happened with the Israelites provides EXAMPLES for the Corinthians.

Paul makes a simple point in all of this.  The fundamental message to the Corinthians, especially regarding idolatry, is that they are no different than those who have gone before them (Israelites).  This is why Paul makes the strong statement and warning in verse 12: “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”  It is a common biblical principle that “Pride goes before destruction (Prov. 16:18),” and “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (1 Pet. 5:5).”  Perhaps the main characteristic of self-centeredness and sin is the idea that I am superior to those who have gone before me.  I believe that I know better than everyone else and am so superior that I would not make the same errors that they did.  In his book, Dining with the Devil: The Megachurch  Movement Flirts with Modernity¸ Os Guiness writes, “Those who . . . treat their ancestors as fools are likely only to demonstrate that the heritage is alive and well (p. 83).”

But this message of looking to Jesus alone runs across the grain of much of the way I have lived and operated.  It is the kind of arrogance of which Paul writes in 1 Corinthians.  It is the kind of superiority and arrogance that the Corinthians had, and which Paul explains is the main block in letting Jesus work in our lives.  I confess openly that I have lived in this kind of arrogance that led me to believe that I was superior to everyone else and that I knew better than those who have gone before me.  I did not need any answers or help from anyone.  When I was a teenager, I was absolutely confident that I knew better than my parents.  In my mind, they were so foolish and I was so wise.  After my wife and I were married, and before we had children, we considered ourselves to be experts on raising children.  We knew all the answers for every child, were able to point out all the faults of how parents were raising their children, and were more than glad to offer our great advice.  God was so gracious to us in giving us children of our own to see how little we really knew!  The most glaring example of my arrogance was when I was in itinerant evangelism.  For several years I was involved in a ministry in which I traveled from church to church each week.  I was in a different church or place almost every week.  In my arrogance, I just knew how superior I was, especially in my preaching.  I could arrogantly walk into a church on a particular week, assess the situation in my mind, and quickly come to my conclusions of why that church was not larger or growing as it should.  It was normally the fault of the pastor, of course, in my mind.  My standard conclusion was that if I would ever come to be the pastor of such a church, it would, of course, explode with growth because of my superior preaching.  How could it not grow as people would flock to hear such a great preacher?  I am so very embarrassed by this attitude which I had and wish I could have opportunity to go back and minister to those pastors.  In His love for me, God did the best thing for me that could be done.  He allowed me to become a pastor!  Not only did my churches NOT explode with growth, but I was beaten, bruised and bloodied by those experiences.  God used those times to smooth off many of the rough edges of an arrogant man.  While some of those days were some of the darkest, most humbling, and most painful of my life, I thank God for them nearly every day.  He used those times to reveal my arrogance, of which I humbly repent.  He showed me that I am no better than anyone else, and that I am an idolater --- for I looked to someone or something else besides Jesus to meet my need, and thought of myself as the answer to the needs of others.

The good news is that Jesus is our overwhelming provision.  Being humbled is His grace and love in our lives, and it gives me the opportunity to look to Him for everything I need.  He is so overwhelming in His provision, I would be a fool to not repent and look to Him.

Signs

Verses 6-11 are a second part in this passage.  It is evident that this is a distinct part of the section, because it begins and ends the same way.  We see in both verse 6 and in verse 11 the clear reference to “EXAMPLES.”  Paul is going into more specific description of the idolatry of the Israelites in this part.  In fact, he provides four situations from the accounts in Exodus and Numbers, one each in verses 7, 8, 9, and 10.  These situations are examples to the Corinthians --- what they should see in themselves.  In presenting these, Paul is showing some common “signs” of idolatry.  These examples are typical indications of what is evident when we are looking to someone or something else besides Jesus to meet our need.  We will look more in-depth at each of these in later chapters, but will just mention them briefly in this overview.

·         Golden calf (v. 7).  In verse 7, Paul recounts the incident of the Israelites making for themselves a golden calf in Exodus 32:1-9.  The main issue of this incident is that the people grew tired of waiting on God with uncertainty.  They became impatient, and quickly did their own thing and created something on their own to meet their needs instead of waiting on God for what they needed.  Impatience and unwillingness to wait upon God is a clear sign of idolatry --- that I am looking to someone or something else besides Him to meet my need.

·         Sexual immorality (v. 8).  In verse 8, Paul recounts Numbers 25:1-9 and the sexual immorality of the people of Israel as this was all tied in with their idolatry.  The people looked to other nations and their gods, and this resulted in sexual immorality.  Sexual immorality is one of the clearest signs of idolatry.  Instead of looking to Jesus to meet my need and operating within His boundaries, I am looking to someone or something else to meet my need, which takes me outside of His boundaries.

·         Tempting Christ (v. 9).  In verse 9, Paul recounts Numbers 21:4-9 when the people complain against God.  Paul describes this as “tempting” Christ.  The word “tempt” means to push the edge, to play “chicken” with God.  Instead of seeking Him in sincerity and being truly open to Him, I see how far I can go and how much I can get away with.  This is another sign of idolatry.

·         Complaining (v. 10).  In verse 10, Paul refers to various times in Exodus, as well as numbers, when the people complained against God.  Complaining may be the single most obvious sign of idolatry.  When I look to someone or something else besides Jesus to meet my need, I am guaranteed to be disappointed.  No one but God can meet my need.  When my “idol” does not meet my need, I become angry and frustrated with it/him/her.  I will complain about and against it/him/her.   My complaint is a sign that this thing or person was an idol for me and that I was expecting something more instead of looking to Jesus to meet my need.

Are any of these signs present in my life as I have been looking to someone or something else besides Jesus to meet my need?

Savior

Paul concludes this warning from Israel’s history in verse 13 with the good news of the gospel.  Jesus is the answer to everything in our lives, including idolatry.  It is worth looking at in its entirety, though we will study it further later on.  “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.”  Some of us who have spent time around church have heard this verse as it is one that has been quoted often.  It is a favorite verse in addiction recovery programs as we try to encourage people to resist temptation.  But the context of a verse is always so vitally important.  As we really understand the context of this verse, it truly comes alive to us.  This verse is our answer to idolatry in our lives.  All of us will be tempted to look to something or someone else besides Jesus to meet our need, but He is our Savior and will make a way for us.  Two things particularly stand out in this powerful verse.

One is that Paul describes God’s very definite involvement in our lives.  The phrase, “who will not allow you to be tempted” provides a vivid picture.  It pictures God’s hand at work in our lives.  His powerful, almighty hand is holding back things that are too much for us.  It is like what happened at the Red Sea for the Israelites.  God literally held back the waters so that they could pass through.  This is what God is doing for us.  He is in charge of all things, and He is holding back the overwhelming flood of things in our lives so that we can respond to Him and walk through in safety and in victory.

A second very vivid element in this verse comes from Paul’s description that “with the temptation will also make the way of escape.”  Two words contribute to the portrait here.  The word “make” is the Greek word poieo, which describes the creative work of an artist.  God is the One who creates something out of nothing.  It is what He did with creation, and it is what He always does for us.  We may see nothing with our human eyes, but God may be at work creating or bringing about something that was not there.  The second word of note is “way,” which is the translation of a Greek word that has the idea of disembarking from a ship.  The picture we get from this verse is that God is able to create out of nothing a “gangplank” or way off of any ship in our lives.  We may feel “out to sea” and that there is no hope, but God has provided that gangplank --- Jesus --- in our lives that rescues us out of that temptation if we will respond to Him.  There are harmful and destructive “journeys” that many of us have taken in our lives.  We will be tempted to go down these roads, to get back on those ships and go on those journeys.  God’s promise and provision in Jesus Christ is that I do not have to go on that journey any more.  I can be free, and be new in Him.

I have been an idolater.  In my arrogance I have thought that I was above it.  The signs have all been there.  But I don’t have to be an idolater anymore.  Jesus is the complete provision of God for my life.  I can look to Jesus right now, say YES to Him with all my heart and He will make a way for me.  I can travel a new path in Him.

Lord Jesus, please forgive me for the arrogance that has been or is present in my life as I have believed myself to be superior to others and above idolatry.  Lord, I don’t even know how to live in humility, and I am sure that my ability to do so would only result in more pride.  Thank you for Your love, grace and patience for me in this, and for showing me how much I need You.  I invite You, in Your love and in Your timing, to continue to raise the red flags of warning and reveal the areas of my life where I look to anyone or anything else besides You to meet my need.  I ask You to humble me, and to let the mind be in me which was and is also in Christ Jesus.  You are my complete and overwhelming source, the only way for me, and my only Rescuer.  I cry out to You today with my whole heart and life, and turn my eyes toward You just now that You may take me down a new road in You.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       How or where in my life has or does my arrogance show through as I have believed myself to be superior to others?

2.       How have the signs of idolatry been evident in my life?  Not waiting on God?  Sexual immorality?  Pushing the line with Him?  Complaining?

3.       Who or what have I looked to besides Jesus to meet my need?  Will I today repent of that idolatry and look to Jesus to be my Savior?  He will make a way for me that I could not have imagined and will take me on a new path in Him.

The Heart of Idolatry

1 Corinthians 10:1-5

The entirety of 1 Corinthians chapter 10 is a warning to the Corinthians about idolatry.  We have already seen that verses 1-13 are a warning from the history of Israel, and we are looking at this section in three parts.  In verses 1-5, we see two points.  First, we see the sourcing of God.  God provided everything the Israelites needed.  He is doing the same for the Corinthians through Jesus.  Jesus is everything we need and He is the answer to everything in my life.  We also see in verses 1-5 the similarity of the Corinthians to the Israelites.  This is one of the main points Paul is making in the passage.  The Corinthians should realize that they are not better or smarter than the Israelites or anyone else that has preceded them.  They can learn from the examples of those who have gone before.  Verses 6-11 present some signs of idolatry.  By presenting four examples of things that happened with Israel, Paul is showing to the Corinthians some typical signs that show up when idolatry is taking place.  We remember that idolatry is looking to anyone or anything besides Jesus to meet my need.  The section concludes in verses 12-13 in showing that we have a Savior from idolatry.  Jesus is our escape if we will respond to Him, and He will always make a way for us.

Provision

In this chapter, we desire to go back to verses 1-5 to look more particularly at the sourcing of God.  It is clear from verses 1-5 that Paul intends to describe the overwhelming and abundant provision that God made for the Israelites.  Paul just briefly makes several references to what happened with Israel while they were in the wilderness.  In all these references, we see the complete and overwhelming love and provision of God for them.  Things may not have been how they wanted them, but God supplied them with what they needed.  How often is there a difference between what I need and what I want?  It is like the little child who is so convinced that there is something he or she “needs,” when all the time the parent knows it is only a want and not a need.  The parent lovingly provides for the child’s needs even it if it not as extravagant as the child wanted.  This was the case with the Israelites --- and is the case with me!

Note the things which Paul mentions that describe the way in which God provided for their needs.  In verse 1 we are told that “all our fathers were under the cloud.”  This is a reference to Numbers 9:15-23 especially (as well as Exodus 13:21-22 and 14:19-20), which describes how Israel was led by the cloud of God.  The cloud would rest over the tabernacle until it was time for the people to move.  At that time, the cloud would lift and move, and the people were to follow the cloud.  Wherever it came to rest is where they were to stop and remain for however long the cloud remained there over the tabernacle.  The Israelites never needed to wonder when or where to go.  They always had all the direction they needed.  So it is in Christ for us.  We never need to wonder about direction or timing.  We can respond to His leading in His timing for all things, just as the Israelites.

In verse 1 we are also told that “all passed through the sea.”  This is the reference to the great incident in Exodus 14 of God dividing the Red Sea so that the Israelites could walk through when they were trapped by the Egyptians.  God made the way of escape for them every time.  He was their safety and escape at all times.  He has provided the same thing for us in Jesus Christ, as Paul will go on to explain in verse 13.

In verse 3 Paul makes reference to God’s provision of food for them as described in Exodus 16.  Verse 4 contains the reference to God’s provision of water for them as recorded in Exodus 17:5-7.  These references show how God supplied everything they needed and was involved in their physical existence.  God is doing the same for us in Jesus Christ.  He cares for and is involved in our physical existence through Jesus Christ.

One word in verse 4 conveys the depth of care and attention God gave to the Israelites.  Paul writes, “For they drank of that spiritual Rock that FOLLOWED them, and that Rock was Christ.”  The word “followed” has two strong aspects about it that communicate God’s care for them.  First, it is a verb in the present tense, which means that it was a continual action.  What God was doing for the Israelites was something that He was doing all the time.  It was His continual attention and activity.  The word translated “followed” comes from a Greek verb that means “to attend.”  This verb comes from the Greek word that means “attendant.”  An attendant is a person that is there to serve another.  His or her entire occupation is about being there to care for and meet the need of someone.  It is certainly a problem if we take this in the wrong way and begin to think of God as our “servant boy” --- that He is there for us to command and get us whatever we “want.”  But the wording in these verses certainly conveys something about God.  It describes His great love and care for the Israelites.  He had not left them alone in any way.  He was there as their “attendant” to care for their every need.  He was not the “servant boy” to fetch things, follow whims, and meet all the wants of some spoiled brats.  But He was there as the loving parent to provide their every need.

This is the message Paul is conveying to the Corinthians.  See how God lovingly provided in an overwhelming way for every need of the Israelites.  It may not have been according to what they wanted, but it was everything they needed.  He is doing the same for the Corinthians.  Note how Paul is so careful to say that the spiritual Rock that “attended” to them was Christ.  The same Jesus who was providing for their every need then is the same Jesus who is the answer for the Corinthians’ every need, and is the same Jesus who is the answer for all of our needs now.  As Hebrews 13:8 states, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

Pseudo (false)

We have learned that the definition of idolatry is to look to anyone or anything else besides Jesus to meet our need.  One thing that is so clear throughout the scripture, and in our passage here, is the utter foolishness of idolatry.  Consider that God overwhelmingly provided for the needs of Israel.  Yet, foolishly, they decided to turn to other things to have their needs met.  We have learned from experience that anything or anyone besides Jesus is going to fail us.  He/she/it cannot meet our need, because they were not meant for that.  We were meant and designed for Jesus.  Colossians 1:16 says, “All things were created through Him and for Him.”  This contrast shows the absurdity of idolatry.  We have a God who can meet all of our needs and everything/everyone else besides Him is destined to fail us.  It makes no sense to look to anyone or anything besides Him!  It is the height of foolishness and nonsense.  Yet, that is exactly what the Israelites did.  The reason for the examples is to make the Corinthians aware that they are doing the same things.  By going to pagan temples for the idol feasts, they were looking to something else besides Jesus.  And as this was written specifically for the Corinthians, the Holy Spirit inspired this truth also for us to see the same thing in our own lives.

Who of us cannot relate to this foolishness?  We have looked to jobs or occupations to meet our needs, only to be frustrated or disappointed, because only Jesus can really meet our need.  We have looked to cars or houses to meet our needs, only to be disappointed.  We have looked to prestige or position, only to be frustrated or disappointed, because only Jesus can give us what we are looking for.  We have looked to substances, “highs,” and “fixes” to meet our needs, only to be disappointed and frustrated.  We have done the same with relationships.  Perhaps marriage, as an example of relationships, is a good illustration of what happens with this frustration.  A man and a woman stand at the front of a church to get married.  If we could see the cartoon “bubbles” above their heads to see what they are thinking, we would see that he is thinking, “She is going to meet all my needs.”  Meanwhile, she is looking at him and thinking, “He is going to meet all my needs.”  We can easily see that this situation is bound for trouble, disappointment and frustration.  There is no way that he will be able to meet her needs, just as she will never be able to meet his needs.  They are making idols of one another, and these idols will soon crumble.  Only Jesus can meet our needs.

That is why we have to struggle, strain and squeeze to try to get our needs met out of anyone or anything else.  What we need just isn’t there if we are looking to someone or something else besides Him.  So, there is a pressure.  We try harder to get it.  We get more disappointed, more frustrated, try more, and squeeze harder.  Who of us has not been frustrated and tried to squeeze someone or something else --- our idols --- to try to get what we need?  Who of us has not felt that pressure or squeezing?  Every time there is that pressure and squeezing that we apply to one another or something, it is a sure sign of our idolatry.  God is so good that He uses that squeezing in our lives to show us how much we need Him.  That principle is clear throughout the Word of God.  But when we are applying that squeezing to someone or something else, it should alert us to the fact that we are looking to he/she/it instead of Jesus to meet our need.  Our world, and even the church at times, is full of this kind of pressure and squeezing as we try to manipulate our idols.

When Paul goes on in verses 6-11 of our passage in 1 Corinthians 10, he uses four examples from Israel’s history to show the signs of this idolatry and squeezing.  We get impatient (v. 7), we turn to immoral activity (v. 8), we push the limits to see how much we can get away with (v. 9), and we complain (v. 10).  Any or all of these are sure signs that we are looking to someone or something else besides Jesus to meet our need.  They are the revelation of the pressure, effort, trying and self-sourced attempt to squeeze out of something or someone what only Jesus can truly provide.  All of these efforts, no matter how vigilant, will end in disappointment and frustration.  However, Jesus never fails.

Pleasure

It is obvious from all of scripture, from the history of Israel in the Old Testament, and from verse 5, that God is not pleased with idolatry.  “But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.”  What was it with which God was not pleased?  Golden calves?  Impatience?  Sexual immorality?  Pushing His limits?  Complaining?  If we could only know what it was with which God was not well pleased, then we could eliminate that behavior and have Him be pleased with us.  Such is conventional wisdom.  But the Word of God reveals something different.  What Paul describes in verses 6-11 were the signs of idolatry.  The signs only indicate and reveal what is really going on in the heart of the person.  It was not so much the signs with which God was not well pleased, but the heart of the people of Israel.  They could have tried to eliminate all the behaviors --- no more golden calves, no more sexual immorality, etc.  However, they would still be idolaters, because it is what one is in his or her heart.  The sin of Israel was not in the making of golden calves and such, but in the fact that they were not looking to God as their sole provision.  This is always the sin of idolatry.  God does not desire merely the elimination or improvement of behaviors.  We have much of that kind of effort in our day.  God desires a change of the heart in which we look to Jesus alone for our sole provision, to such a degree that we no longer need even to look anywhere else.  God is not merely saying “Stop doing those things.”  God is saying, “Look to Me to be everything you need and let Me change you.”  The anger of God in the Old Testament was not so much about the behaviors as it was about the hearts that turned away from Him and what it did to them.  Note in verse 5 that it says, “their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.”  It does not say that God scattered their bodies.  We scatter our own bodies in the wilderness when we participate in idolatry.  Whenever we look to anyone or anything else besides Jesus to meet our needs, we sow and water the seeds of our own destruction.

It seems simple enough that the only desire of God is that we would allow Him to be everything for us.  His design for us all along was that we would have Jesus Christ live inside of us through His Holy Spirit, and that He would source and provide everything we truly need in our lives.  It may be a surrender and death to many of our wants, but Jesus will truly be everything we need.  In fact, there is such a clarity in the New Testament, and that can even be seen in the Old Testament, that Jesus can become so real to us that He not only meets our needs but also can become our want.  Is this not the simple desire of God?  He desires just a humble, sincere, simple worship of and dependence upon Him.  I have come back to realize this so very much in my own life.  We want to do something grand for God, perhaps with a sincere heart.  We may even subtly begin to wonder if we will ever be noticed more for what we “do.”  But there is a simple beauty of the Christian life that contains its own joy and reward, with no need for anything more.  Consider the message of the New Testament and especially the prayers that the Apostle Paul prays for people.  One of my favorite prayers is Colossians 1:9-11.  “For this reason, we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for patience and longsuffering with joy.”  Note that the request for wisdom and spiritual understanding is not so that we can do something great, grand or successful in the eyes of the world.  It is so that we can walk worthy of Him, fully pleasing Him.  What if this was the simple desire, goal and prayer of our lives?  “Jesus, I don’t need anything but You.  I want to know You in Your simple beauty today.  I give you my heart and life today with everything I know.  I need You today in every way.  I need You to be inside me and be everything I need in every situation.  May I walk worthy of You today and be fully pleasing to You as YOU are the one who works in me to make it happen.  I have no other way but You.  I just bow in humble worship to You in this moment right where I am.”

Is there anything or anyone else I have been looking to in order to have my need met?  How have I been trying to squeeze it out of him/her/it?  How have the signs of idolatry been showing up?  God is so good and gracious to reveal one area at a time in our lives where we can respond and turn to Him.  It is great to walk in Him, to allow Him to deal with one issue at a time, and to know that looking to Jesus alone right now is the only answer I will ever need.  He is faithful to work in me a brand new thing right now!

Lord Jesus, Your provision is amazingly complete for me just as it was for the Israelites and for the Corinthians.  I have been and am so foolish whenever I turn to anything or anyone but You, thereby turning away from You for my provision.  I have been a “squeezer” of people and things in my urgency and frustration.  I sincerely and earnestly ask that You would change my heart and patterns of thinking, Jesus.  Could You so work in me that You would be the first resort of my thinking whenever I feel a need in my life?  I repent of my turning from You, and of my squeezing of those around me, and even of my attempts to squeeze and manipulate You.  The desire of my heart is to now live a simple life of just pleasing You.  Please fill me today with the knowledge of Your will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that I may walk worthy of You, fully pleasing You, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       Name an example in my life of the overwhelming provision of God.  How have I ever turned away from His overwhelming provision to get my need met somewhere else?

2.       Who or what have I “squeezed” to try to get my need met?  How have I been squeezed by someone else?

3.       Would I just give my heart to Jesus in simple worship and dependence this very moment as He lives in me?  Could I begin to practice that?

The Sacramental Life

1 Corinthians 10:1-5

We remember from the last chapter that Paul made two emphatic points in verses 1-5.  One was the overwhelming sourcing and provision that God made for the Israelites.  God provided absolutely everything the Israelites needed, even if it was not in the way they wanted.  However, they foolishly chose to look to other things to meet their needs.  Idolatry is looking to anyone or anything else besides Jesus to meet my needs.  Idolatry is what the Israelites were doing, and the Corinthians were following the same path.  That is why Paul is reminding the Corinthians about the history of Israel as a warning about idolatry.  This reminds us of a second point Paul makes in verses 1-5, which is the similarity between the Israelites and the Corinthians.  Paul’s intent is for the Corinthians to see that they are not different from the Israelites.  The Corinthians thought of themselves as better, smarter, and superior to everyone else.  Paul is showing that they were falling into the same traps and dangers as the Israelites.

Some scholars and those who have studied this passage believe that part of the comparison Paul is making between Israel and the Corinthians is to see what God did for them both as sacraments.  What is a “sacrament”?  In Christianity, sacraments are understood to be practical, physical means through which God speaks to us about His grace, love and provision for us.  If we look to verses 1-5 to try to understand sacraments, we see Paul’s explanation of what sacraments are and what they are not.  In verses 1-5, we see definite references to “baptism” (v. 2) and eating/drinking (verses 3-4), which some scholars have concluded is Paul’s way of making a connection between Israel and the Corinthians on this subject of sacraments.  Paul addresses the Lord’s Supper in chapter 11, but these verses are a helpful foundation for understanding the heart of God and what He desires to do in our lives.

The sacramental life

God desires to meet a need

As we looked at verses 1-5 in the last chapter, it was clear that God was providing for the Israelites in every way.  His provision for them was thorough and complete.  It is amazing when one considers how He provided for them absolutely everything they needed.  He provided them with direction (v. 1) through leading them by the cloud, so that they never needed to worry about when or where to go.  He provided them with protection and rescue (v. 1) by making a way for them through the sea.  He provided all of their food (v. 3) and water (v. 4).  As we have said before, these provisions may not have been as luxurious as the Israelites may have desired, but they had “according to each one’s need (Exodus 16:18)” and “the children of Israel ate manna forty years (Exodus 26:35).”  Paul seems to be describing all of this provision of God in a sacramental way.  It was a holy provision of God for them, and through this very practical means God was showing them His grace and love for them.  This gives us some idea of what God thinks about “sacrament.”  There is something holy about God’s provision for us because it is from Him and it has His nature about it.  But the heart of God was clear in what He did for Israel in the wilderness.  God was meeting needs for them.  The things that God was doing and providing for them were not chosen randomly by God.  God was not the “last minute” Christmas shopper who had to find something to give and grabbed whatever He could find on the store shelf to give to them.  God was not doing something just to do it.  We see everywhere in the Word that God does not act randomly or without purpose.  He is not into religion, ritual and requirement.  The New Testament makes this abundantly clear.  His purpose is always to love, redeem, and demonstrate Himself.  The reason that God chose these particular things to do for the Israelites (guidance, protection, food, water) was that these were the things they needed, and He wanted to care for them and show them that He was their provision.  God’s motivation and purpose are always care, relationship and love.  God was responding to their need.   This helps us to see one aspect of what sacrament is really about for God.

He is present in real life

Because God is interested in relationship and being the provision for our real needs in life, this means that God has chosen to be present in our real, everyday lives.  Again, this is so clear from the passage in verses 1-5.  God was keenly aware of the Israelites in their situation and walking with them daily in the wilderness.  The issues they were facing and the needs they had were not occasional needs.  They were facing the basic, daily needs of humanity.  They needed direction to know where to go; they needed protection and safety; they needed food and water.  God was really with them in all of this.

What a realization it is that God does not want to be distant from us, but that He wants to be a part of our real, everyday lives.  He does not want to be the answer to our problems and needs in some theoretical, lofty, “pie in the sky” kind of way.  He wants to be the real solution to our lives in the real, daily things that we face.  He is not only interested in the destination, but also the journey.  He does not say to us, “Do your best and I’ll see you someday.”  He is going to walk with us the entire way.  He is the means and the end; He is the journey and the destination.  No wonder Paul writes later in chapter 10, verse 31: “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”  God wants to be involved in every detail and part of our lives.

This says something very important about God and the sacraments.  We can tend to view certain things or events as sacraments.  We look forward or backward to certain events or things as “holy” or “special” because God was really in them.  That may have been true.  However, God desires to not only be in the sacramental or holy moments or special events.  God desires to be in everything in my life and to make it all holy and sacramental.  God is not as interested in sacramental events as He is in a sacramental life.  Imagine what it would mean for my life to know that God is walking with me and in me every day and in every detail of my life.   I would not have to look forward to Sunday or participating in the Lord’s Supper as the only times to experience Him.  I am certainly in relationship with Him, experiencing and responding to Him in those moments.  But imagine what it would mean for my life to know His reality in that way all through the week, in every day, and in everything.  I experience Him and know Him in my work, school, recreation, family time, sleeping, eating and everything else in the same way that I do during the Lord’s Supper.  Again, this does not diminish the Lord’s Supper or any sacrament in any way, but only enhances it.  The Lord’s Supper helps us to realize what we have all the time, which is His presence in us and with us, providing everything we need for our lives.

This means for my life that the means and the end are all the same.  Jesus is as real in the means as He is in the end.  He is as real in the leading up to and the follow-up as He is in the events.  How many times have I forgotten this?  I have yelled at my family in the car on the way to church, where we hope to have a “holy” experience with God once we arrive.  But does not God want to be just as real in the car on the way to church as He is at church?  After all, He is in me.  What if the car ride on the way to church was just as sacramental as the church service or the Lord’s Supper or baptism at the church?  He wants to give me a sacramental life.  How many times have I forgotten that Jesus wants to be in the writing of the sermon just as much as the preaching of the sermon?  I always look forward to the big event and the big deal.  My son may come and interrupt me while I am studying and writing my sermon.  I say to him, “Not now --- I am busy working on a sermon!”  How absurd.  The writing of the sermon is just as holy as the preaching of it, because He is in me all the time.  What sacramental moments have I been missing?  What if I could take a moment from the writing of a sermon to kneel down and let Jesus minister to my son?  That would be a holy moment.  Jesus wants to give me a sacramental life.  What are the sacramental moments and opportunities of which He desires to make me aware?

Jesus only

If we look closely at the passage, we find that the way God was present with the Israelites was that it was Jesus Who was with them.  Paul says in verse 4, “For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.”  There can be no mistaking the fact of what Paul is stating.  It was Jesus with them.  In fact, the word “followed” is in the present tense, which means that it was continual.  Jesus was a continual presence with them.  He was the way in which God was providing for them.  He was the means.  He is the sacrament.

This is the message Paul is trying over and over again to communicate to the Corinthians.  It is all about Jesus in us.  There is nothing else to have or for which to look.  He is the answer.  Jesus is the full and complete provision of God for our lives.  We do not need to look to anyone or anything else.  If we will allow Him, Jesus will be present in us in our everyday lives in every situation.  He will be the means and the end.  He will make my life a sacramental life in every situation and moment.  What Jesus was for the Israelites, He also was for the Corinthians, and He also is for us.  He is the complete answer and He is all we need.  “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).”  This is the clear message of the New Testament.

Idolatry

Jesus plus something else

It is when we try to add to Jesus that we find ourselves into idolatry.  As we keep repeating (so that I can remember it), idolatry is looking to anyone or anything else besides Jesus to meet our needs.  Is it not clear in our lives that we get into trouble whenever we turn away from Jesus for even a minute?  We realize that we all are distracted, in process, and are learning how to be more aware of Him in our lives.  But when my focus comes to be on something else, and especially when I give my heart and attention to something else with the purpose of it meeting my need, I become lost.  The clear message of Christianity and in the New Testament is that Jesus is all we need and there is nothing that needs to be added to Him.  Of course there are things in my life that He is showing me that I have turned to besides Him.  But I get to release those to Him and allow Him to fill me with Himself to meet those needs.  Therefore, I am finding myself with increasingly less additives in my life!  We must be strong, bold and concentrated in this message.  Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.  It is Him living inside of me that is the complete answer and source for my entire life.  I am on the path to idolatry when I believe or act as if there is anything else to meet my need in any way besides Him.

Religion, ritual, requirement

It is any departure from Jesus that leads to religion, ritual, and requirement.  We remember that God’s desire is living in us and having a relationship that is based in love, response and care.  When this is not taking place, we easily and inevitably sink into just doing religion, meeting requirements, and going through the motions of ritual.  The sacraments can so easily become this and will become this without the ongoing and continuing relationship with Jesus.  If I am not responding to Him in my life, I will become one who does religion.  I become the person who is rolling my eyes and asking “What do I have to do now?”  I am the last minute shopper who has to get something and grabs the first thing I can find off the shelves just to meet the requirement.

The sacramental life is not something I can do, figure out or plan.  I need to be open to what Jesus will do in my life at any given moment or on any given day.  God is interested in meeting needs and now doing that through my life as He lives in me!  How do you ever plan how to be a servant to someone?  Being a servant really only happens as Jesus moves in my life and I respond to the opportunity in which He places me.  There is no requirement or ritual about this.  It is not about counting how many elderly ladies I helped, how many homeless people I fed, or how many sermons I preached.  It is just about responding to what Jesus is doing in me as He looks at my world and moves through me to meet a need.  I cannot plan it, program it, or make it into a requirement.  How quick I am to do this!  Jesus may move in me to be involved in a bible study at the jail.  The next thing you know, I have set up a rule that I and everyone else must be involved in jail ministry if we want to be godly and spiritual.  We begin to count and keep score of who did it and who did not.  But that is so much against the heart of God.  He desires response and His moving, which is full of love, care, and joy.  I cannot produce that.  It is hard to measure.  There are no rules I can follow to have that.  There is no program that can bring people into that.  It is only Jesus that can do that as I respond to His moving in my life.  He looks at the need of my world and moves through me.  Where will that be next?  How will He do it?  Wait and see.

The compartmental life

When I get outside of Jesus and into religion, ritual and requirement in the way just described, I am looking to meet the requirements of what I must do to be acceptable to God.  As opposed to the sacramental life, in which He is present in everything and in which the means are as important as the end, this compartmental life separates my spiritual life from everything else.  I have a set of requirements in my religion, and I believe that I am living a life approved by God as long as I have met my requirements.  These requirements are my sacraments.  They are the holy things or events that take place or in which I participate on a periodic basis.  What I do with the rest of my life does not really matter as long as I participated in the sacraments.  I went to church on Sunday, was baptized, participated in the Lord’s Supper, on and on.  I consider myself holy and acceptable to God because of my participation in these things.  After all, I have different compartments in my life.  I have my spiritual life, and then I have all the other areas of my life.  The spiritual is really separate from everything else.

This is really the situation and mindset among the Corinthians.  Throughout 1 Corinthians we find that they separated their spiritual lives from everything else.  This led them to believe that it did not matter how they lived during the week (including sexual immorality and the like) as long as they attended church and participated in their “sacraments.”  I had this same concern as I observed people when I was the pastor of a church.  I could see how people conducted themselves in a worship service.  Some of them would not participate in the worship or in the singing.  They had no interest in listening to God’s Word preached or what He had to say to their lives.  Their entire demeanor looked as it does when a person is in the waiting room at the dentist’s office.  They could not wait to get out of there!  We would then serve the Lord’s Supper at the conclusion of the service.  These same people would participate in the Lord’s Supper, and leave the service seemingly feeling that everything was alright.  It was a sacramental moment for them, and they even dressed up for it!  But it made no difference in how they lived.  Jesus was not real in their lives.  They had a compartmental life¸ but not a sacramental life with the reality of Jesus in everything.

How have I done this in my life?  What are the “sacraments” that I have set up for my life that make me feel better about myself when I fulfill them?  How have I given myself permission to live however I want to in some areas of my life because I fulfilled my sacraments?

Of course, the compartmental life of idolatry has its obvious results.  It only leads to death and destruction.  Attending church or participation in sacraments is no guarantee of spiritual life.  “But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness (1 Cor. 10:5).”  It is not that God destroyed them as much as they followed the natural course of the compartmental life of idolatry.  When we look to anyone or anything besides Jesus, it ends up in death and destruction.  There is a hardness, harshness and uncaring tone about those who live this way, and it is obvious.

On the other hand, there is tremendous fruit of the sacramental life in Christ Jesus.  Far from death and destruction, there is an expanding and growth taking place.  There is an excitement and joy in finding out what is the next or new thing in my life that Jesus can make “sacramental.”  Maybe there is an area of my life that I never had thought of as holy before.  Yet, with Jesus living in me, He can bring about sacramental moments of His presence being poured out in me, and in ways that I could never expect or predict.  This is the fun and excitement of His life.  What are the sacramental moments He can bring about this week with my children?  At work?  At the store?  There is joy, love and celebration that is characteristic of the sacramental life in Christ Jesus, and it cannot be missed by anyone looking on.

Lord Jesus, is there anywhere in my life where I have knowingly or unknowingly attempted to add to You or to do something apart from You?  I no longer want you to be the means to any other end in my life.  I desire that You would be the means and the end!  I long to know the life described in Your Word --- that there would be a continuity of Your life and presence in ALL things for me.  What have I made to be my “sacramental” things, and what are the areas out of which I have left You?  I beg that You would alert me to the areas that You want to touch with Your love and holiness.  What are the disregarded areas, events or “duties” of my life that You now want to flood with Yourself?  I am desperate that You might do that.  Please make my entire life a holy sacrament, until every part is filled with the glory and love of Your presence in me ---seen by my family and all those around me.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       Is there anything or anyone in my life that I feel I must have in addition to Jesus?

2.       Has my life been characterized more by responding to Him, love and relationship or by religion, ritual and meeting requirements?

3.       Are there any ways in which I have been living the compartmental life?  Have I in any way separated the means from the end?  What would it mean for me to allow Jesus to bring about the sacramental life in me?

Imprints

1 Corinthians 10:6-11

Paul made two things clear in verses 1-5.  The first thing was that God faithfully provided everything that Israel needed, including their time in the wilderness.  God may not have always provided in the way they wanted, but He always was there for what they needed.  The second point Paul makes in verses 1-5 is the similarity between the Israelites and the Corinthians.  This is what verse 12 states and warns so forcefully about later in the passage.  The Corinthians thought of themselves as superior to anyone who had gone before them.  In their arrogance, the Corinthians were foolishly opening themselves up to the same temptations which caused Israel to fall.  But this does not need to be the case.  Paul’s point is that the same Jesus who was the Source and provision for the Israelites (v. 4) is the same Jesus who can be everything the Corinthians need.  He is the answer to idolatry and all other temptation.  We have learned that idolatry is looking to anything or anyone else besides Him to meet my need.  It is clear from verses 1-5 that idolatry is a choice and not a necessity.  How foolish it would be to turn away from the full provision that is in Jesus Christ toward something or someone else that is bound to fail us.

Paul now transitions into a new part of this passage in verses 6-11.  It is clear that this is a distinct part because the concept of “example” is used clearly in verse 6 and in verse 11.  These verses serve as “book ends” for this part.  Therefore, in these verses, Paul goes into more detail showing how the Israelites were “examples” for the Corinthians.  It is in this part, in verses 7-10, that Paul takes four specific instances from the books of Exodus and Numbers to show what are the signs of idolatry.  When one looks to someone or something else besides Jesus to meet a need, these are the signs that will be evident.  We will look at these more specifically in later chapters.  For now, it is our intent to look more closely at this concept of what it means to be an “example.”

What we are

Fundamentally, God is not concerned only with what we do, but with what we are.  There can be no doubt from verses 6 and 11 that God is providing and orchestrating examples from the life of Israel for the sake of the Corinthians.  But the concern is not merely to give them a “do” and “don’t” list.  This is not a continuation of the Law, of which there is no mention in these verses.  It is clear in verse 6 that this issue is about what we are.  This is seen in the phrase, “to the intent that we should not lust after evil things.”  This phrase is actually a prepositional phrase with an articular infinitive, and it has three important aspects.  First, the phrase begins with the preposition eis, which can be translated “into” or “for the purpose of.”  This preposition emphasizes that we are talking about something that is all about direction, and intention.  Secondly is the emphasis of the articular infinitive construction.  There is a verb in this phrase, but it is in the infinitive mood.  In this construction, when an article is placed with an infinitive, then the infinitive can act as much as a noun than as a verb.  The point of all this is that, in the way the verse is constructed, the action is talked about as a thing.  It is something into which we are not intended to be, which points to a state of existence more than just an action.  Thirdly, the infinitive verb is the verb eimi, which is the verb “being” in Greek.  Put all this together and the concept is that the purpose or intent is we should not be something (those who lust after evil things).   In the Greek, this phrase would read literally something like, “toward the purpose that we not be those who lust after evil things.”  The emphasis of the phrase is not merely on “not lusting after evil” things.  The emphasis is on not being people who do this.

How important this concept is for Christianity, holiness and discipleship, and especially to hear it again in our modern day.  God does not desire to merely mass produce people and fill churches.  While it is obvious from scripture that it is God’s will “that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9) and that God is after everyone (John 3:16), it is also clear in His Word that He is not merely interested in how many people are in the church or the Kingdom of God.  The New Testament strongly describes the quality of the people in the kingdom and what they are --- His life in them.  We have a great emphasis in our day on numbers.  There are many, many mega-churches.  And many churches who are not a mega-church wish they were!  It is the “Christian” version of the “American dream.”  But the Word keeps asking what kind of people we are producing or turning out in the end.  The tendency can be to merely teach people a reformed behavior, and we almost force people to misrepresent what they really are.  The kingdom is an invitation for people to really BE something different.  God is not just setting up examples of what we can choose to do or be.  This is what we cannot possibly do or be at all, unless He miraculously changes and transforms us by His power.  That is what we are invited be.  It is an invitation to allow Jesus to live in us so that He can transform us into what we could not possibly be without Him.  We cannot do what the New Testament says.  We can only be it with Him as the Source.  It is not a prescription, but a description.

God gets through

A second principle evident in God’s orchestrating of these examples in verses 6-11 is that God does whatever is needed to get through to us.  This is how He has always been, and how He always is.  Verse 6 says that “These things BECAME our examples.”  The word “became” is the Greek word ginomai, which can also be translated “born” or “coming into existence.”  There is the sense of God’s creative activity that brought these things about, and it was all aimed at the Corinthians, which is suggested by “our” examples.  God was creative and active in bringing about examples that would later speak to the Corinthians.  He had the Corinthians in mind all the time and was going to especially tailor-make examples that the Corinthians could see.  Note that verse 11 says that “They were written for our admonition.”  Again, there is the sense of God’s orchestration over time and for “our” sakes (again for the Corinthians in context).  The word translated “admonition” is the Greek word nouthesia, which is two Greek words put together: nous (mind) + tithami (to place).  The idea is literally to put or place something in the mind.  This is what God is doing.  He was earnestly trying to get through to the Corinthians.  He was orchestrating, creating, having the Word written and trying to place it in their minds.  These examples were all for the purpose of God trying to get through.  He was going to be abundantly clear in speaking to the Corinthians, and worked in the past to bring about these things so that they would be able to hear Him.

God is so consistent in this that we see in verse 11 how God was doing this with Israel as well to get through to them also.  “Now all these things happened to them.”  The word translated “happened” has the meaning of things all coming together.  It is also in the imperfect tense, which means that it happened on a continuous basis over time.  God’s speaking and manifesting --- His “examples” or signs to Israel --- was no one-time thing.  God was constantly after them and all of what happened in the lives of the people of Israel was what took place over time --- both God’s speaking to them and their responding.

Isn’t this how God is with us always?  He is always after us.  He keeps bringing us truth, circumstances, people --- all trying to get through to us.  God does not give up on us. If we miss it, He will pass by with it again, and again, and again.  You can’t miss it with God.  What a relief this is.  It is not an excuse for me to be negligent.  But it sure is an encouragement to know that I can have human limitations and still be responsive to Him because He won’t let me miss it.

The last phrase of verse 11 is one more hint at the love God has for us and His desire to get through.  “Upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”  There is debate about what this means, especially with “ends” in the plural.  But one thing is for sure.  This world and time will not go on as it is forever.  Things as we know them in this world will come to an end.  This was intended to be a wake-up call for the Corinthians.  In their culture, and then even in the church, they had a very casual attitude about life.  “Eat, drink and be merry” was something of their motto.  But God wanted to send them the wake-up call.  He is trying to get through.  He has given them examples.  He is speaking.  He is orchestrating.

What will be the wake-up call in my life?  What is God trying to get through to me right now?  He loves us, and He has been creatively working even before I existed to prepare the way for me to clearly hear from Him.  He will not let me miss what He is trying to say to me.  Will I respond?

“Examples”

I have been intrigued by the concept and word “examples.”  It is a translation of the Greek word tupos, from which we get the English word “type.”  In the lives of Israel, God has provided to the Corinthians a “type” from which to learn.  I am convinced from the passage that it is not just some “lesson” to learn.  I am convinced that Paul is pointing out God’s design and the strong parallel between Israel and the Corinthians.  It is not that the Corinthians can just learn some nice lesson from Israel.  It is that the Corinthians can and should see themselves in Israel --- for we are all the same!  And as Jesus was at work with the Israelites then (v. 4), so He is at work in us now.  When seen in this way, some things stand out.

First, God always works in the lives of people and most often, if not always, works in our lives through other people.  Who among us cannot testify that God has worked in his or her life through someone?  To whom is that not happening even right now?  And who among us is not having an effect on others even right now?  We are all connected (a continuing theme for Paul in this section) and running together.  My life is a product of what God has done through people, and my life, then, also leaves something for others.

Secondly, it was impressive that both verses 6 and 11 speak of “these things” being our examples.  There seems to be an emphasis in this that what is important is not the people themselves as the example, but what was happening in their lives.  This is back to the first point of this chapter, so clearly underlined in verse 6 --- that the purpose of the examples is for what we are to be or not to be.  This is not mere imitation of a person, of what a person does, or avoidance of what a person does.  We realize that Paul himself speaks of imitating him (1 Corinthians 4:16; 11:1).  But the context of the entire message of 1 Corinthians seems to contradict any thought that Paul is just asking people to do what he does.  In fact, for the entire letter Paul resists giving them any list of “do’s” and “don’ts.”  He keeps coming back to Jesus, what is happening in one’s life in Him, and how you allow Him to make His manner real in your life.  While there may be some very specific principles in the scriptures on what is acceptable behavior (sexual immorality is always wrong), the Word is really all about letting Him do something in you that naturally unfolds so that you don’t have to carry around a list.

Maybe this is most clear in one other place where this word “example” is used (the word “imitate” mentioned in the other verses is a completely different word).  It is found in Philippians 3:17.  “Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.”  Interestingly, the word “pattern” in this verse is really the same word translated “examples” in 1 Corinthians 10.  What is the pattern or example that Paul is inviting them to?  In the context of this passage, is not the whole of chapter 3 and Paul’s personal testimony the example for them?  It is not that they are to go out and replicate the life of Paul.  Who could do such a thing?  In fact, he even seems to discourage that in verses 12-14 when he talks about himself as not having arrived.  The pattern is not what he does, but what he is.  It is the seeking and responding to Jesus which Paul describes in Philippians chapter 3 that is the example for his disciples.  He is not asking them to imitate a list that he gives them or to mirror his behavior.  He is asking them to seek and respond to Jesus in the way that he is.  If they will do this, then Jesus will be able to unfold His life in them in the way He has in Paul.  Is this what I am giving my life to?  Is this the kind of “example” I am leaving?

One of the most fundamental definitions of this word tupos, “example,” is the concept of an impression or imprint.  It comes from the word tupto, which means to strike something.  Tupos seems to connote the impression made from a striking.  Do not all our lives strike our world, or other people’s lives, and leave an impression?  One use of the word is the foot that strikes the ground and leaves a footprint.  What are the footprints that we leave?  What are the imprints our lives make?  Do we leave a list of things to do or not to do?  Or do we leave a clear impression that there is something more --- something you can BE that is different.  The true witness of Christianity demonstrates something that a person cannot imitate or do.  It is something that he or she can only become as Jesus fills a person’s life, brings transformation, and demonstrates Himself as He comes to live within.  All there is for us to do is to seek Him and respond to Him.  No one can tell me how to do it, and I cannot tell anyone how to do it.  But could people be so drawn to what they see in my life that they would want and allow Jesus to do it in their lives too.  Isn’t that what discipleship really is?  It is not about how many, or what I can get them to do.  Discipleship is in what I am leaving --- what I am, what I am becoming, the kind of imprint Jesus is leaving through me, and what people are becoming as they respond to that.

Jesus, You have been consistent and faithful in speaking to my heart on what matters.   I am weary of all effort, concern and worry over doing what I need to do.  Jesus, I ask that you would work in me by Your mighty power that I might BE what I need to BE.  Thank you for your love and patience with my growth, but I am also asking for something radical and urgent to happen in me.  I humbly ask that you would work in me until I look like what Your Word describes.  Please, please, Lord, may this be the imprint that is left by my life on others.  May they see in me the kind of “example” that was seen in the Apostle Paul --- a man not arrived, but urgently seeking after and responding to God.  May they not be impressed by an earthly man, but by what You can do in an ordinary person like me.  Please give me a heart after You alone today, and may my seeking after You pull everyone around me toward the same.  Please do this in me, for I cannot be at rest with anything else.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       What is the true quality of my life in the moments when no one else is looking or when I am around those who know me best?  What would they say about the quality of my life?

2.       How has God faithfully “gotten through” to me in the past?  What is a recent occurrence of this?  What is He saying clearly right now?

3.       What are some of the greatest “imprints” left on my life by others?  Who are the people upon whom I am leaving an imprint, and what kind of imprint is it?

The Process of Worship

1 Corinthians 10:7

In 1 Corinthians 10:7 Paul begins getting into some of the specific signs of idolatry.  These signs will be described in verses 7 through 10.  He is referring back to the history of Israel and their idolatry as an example of warning for the Corinthians and us.  After what may be a theme statement on lust in verse 6, verse 7 is the first in the list of four specific signs of idolatry or lust that Paul presents from the books of Exodus and Numbers as a part of Israel’s history.  “And do not become idolaters as were some of them.  As it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.’”  As we observe what Paul describes was happening with the Israelites, there seems to be a process which unfolded for them.  What is the process and in what ways has it taken place or is it taking place in our lives?

The BEING of idolatry

One thing that is very striking and clear from the immediate reading of verse 7 is the word “become.”  It is the translation of the Greek word ginomai, which means for something to be born, come into existence, or become.  Furthermore, the word in this instance is in the present tense, which means a present activity or an ongoing activity.  Because of this, the most accurate translation of this word may be “be becoming.”  Paul is urging (or even commanding since this is in the imperative mood) to not be becoming idolaters.  What this suggests is two things.  It suggests that idolatry is not merely something you do, but something you are or become.  Secondly, it suggests that there is a process by which one becomes an idolater.

First, the concept of idolatry being something one becomes is truly reinforced and supported by what Paul said in verse 6.  “To the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.”  While it is difficult to see at all in the English translation, the Greek word eimi --- the verb “to be” --- is in this sentence.  It is also in the present tense, which indicates an ongoing activity.  The better translation might be something like, “to the intent that we should not be (or continue to be) those who lust after evil things.”  Again, this is reinforcing the concept that idolatry and lust are not merely activities or things we do, but it is something that one can become.  One does not simply “do” idolatry.  One becomes and “is” an idolater.  This is very consistent with what Paul says in other places.  For example, in 1 Corinthians 5, Paul provides the list of those with whom we are not to “keep company.”  It is important to note that this is a list of people who are calling themselves Christians, but are behaving this way inside the church and are excusing themselves and/or each other.  Paul clearly points out that he is not prohibiting us from keeping company with those “of this world” who do these things “since then you would need to go out of the world.”  He goes on later to ask, “For what have I to do with judging those who are outside (v.12)?”  He goes on even further to explain in verse 13 that “Those who are outside God judges.”  This chapter 5 of 1 Corinthians is about the lie of those who are in the church (“named a brother”) and pretending to be one thing but are really something else when it comes down to their actual lives and behavior.  That is why Paul asks in verse 12, contrary to the widespread misunderstanding in many churches that we are never to judge anyone under any circumstances, “Do you not judge those who are inside?”  Note the list in verse 11.  “But now I have written you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner --- not even to eat with such a person.”  One significant note in the list is that these are not merely activities.  The items in the list describe not just what they do but what they are.  Each and every one of these “vices” is descriptive of a lifestyle and not just an activity.  Note that one who continues to get drunk and makes it a lifestyle becomes a drunkard.  One who reviles becomes a reviler.  One who participates in idolatry becomes an idolater.  The reason for Paul’s upset and seriousness about this is because, by nature and definition, the body of Christ is to represent something.  We are to represent Him and what He is in us.  This is something more than words.  It is the entire manner of life which is described by the New Testament and which is to be clearly evident in the living out of the gospel as much as in the speaking of it.  We all have human limitations and weaknesses.  But we also believe in the mighty grace of God to be able to transform us into something more than we can be on our own.  This is not merely reformed behavior or trying harder.  It is about what Jesus does in the life of a person when he or she is responding to Him.  It is something about the Christian life that is evident when you observe the life of one filled with the Spirit of Christ. Upon drawing closer you may see the individual’s weaknesses, but the quality of the life of Jesus will also be more than obvious.  The charade and sham in the body of Christ in Corinth was the allowance and toleration of the kinds of things named in verse 11.  Instead of being broken over this as Paul says in verse 2, they are arrogant, look the other way and excuse it.  When this happens in the body of Christ it is, in effect, lying about what we really ARE.

Again, the point in 1 Corinthians 10:7 is twofold.  First, idolatry is not merely something we do.  It is something we become.  Secondly, there is a process by which this takes place in my life.

The creation of idolatry

The natural question is, “What is this process that produces or leads to me becoming an idolater?”  In order to explain this, Paul simply refers back to the actual account of the Israelites in verse 7.  It is a very accurate quote from Exodus 32:6.  “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.”  By the fact of Paul making this quote and referring to these accounts in this way, we can assume that the Corinthians were well familiar with them.  We can safely assume that this must have been at least some of the preaching and teaching material that Paul used during his eighteen month stay with them in Corinth!

A reading of the Exodus account reveals a fascinating dynamic going on with the people.  Moses had, of course, gone up to the mountain to receive the law as he was instructed by God.  However, it is difficult to find any place where it is told how long Moses will be gone.  Moses simply takes Joshua and goes up.  He “leaves in charge” Aaron and Hur, telling the elders to wait for him to get back (Ex. 24:12-15).  The succeeding chapters tell about the law that God was giving to Moses, “written by the finger of God” on tablets of stone.  When we skip ahead to Exodus 32, we see what is happening with the people during this time that Moses is up on the mountain with God.  “Now when the people saw that Moses DELAYED in coming down from the mountain . . . (v.1).”  It is at this point that the people now come to Aaron and say to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him (v.1).”  It is in the following verses that we see the making of the golden calf, and then in verse 6 that we see the quote from 1 Corinthians 10 about the people rising up to play.  In the meantime, up on the mountain, God is warning Moses about what it taking place below.  God uses an important word to describe the Israelites and what is happening.  God said to Moses, “They have turned aside QUICKLY out of the way I commanded them (v.8).”

What we hear in this account regarding the Israelites is something all too familiar.  The clear emphasis is on their impatience.  Verse 1 tells us that they saw the “delay” of Moses.  In verse 8 God summarizes their actions of making the golden calf and such as them turning aside “quickly” out of the way He commanded for them.  The simple reality is that they grew tired of waiting on God, decided to take matters into their own hands, and turned to something else besides Him as their source or provision.  They turned to another source because they could no longer wait on God and it appeared that He was not coming through.  Is this, perhaps, why Paul makes the strong connection between lust and idolatry in 1 Corinthians 10:6-7?  Lust is about not wanting to wait for things to be right, but being in a hurry, not waiting for God’s holy and righteous provision, and taking matters into my own hands.  All lust has this in common, and it is the way of Satan (John 8:44).  This is also at the heart of all idolatry.  Idolatry is about taking matters in to my own hands, not waiting on God, and turning to something or someone else to provide my need.  When this is what I do, and it becomes a pattern of my life, I am becoming an idolater.  It becomes not merely what I do, it becomes what I am.

How many times in my life have I done this?  I grow tired of waiting on God.  I am alright with waiting on Him for a time, because that is what the scripture talks about and it is what we are supposed to do.  But what happens when the days, weeks, or months stretch on?  The challenge for the Israelites was partly in the fact that they did not know how long Moses was to be away.  It required an “open-ended,” indefinite trust in God.  The not-knowing was at least one of the hardest parts if not the most difficult.  How many times have I grown weary and discouraged in the waiting and so grabbed on to something or someone else as my “savior,” “provider,” “source,”  or “answer”?  How things could have been different if the Israelites at the base of that mountain would have said, “No, we are waiting on God.  He is our perfect provision and His timing is perfect.”  What would happen if I would wait on Him and refuse to create something?  It is a sobering thought to consider that possibility that Moses could have been back to camp the very next day if they would have just waited.

The expression of idolatry

Such a being of idolatry --- not waiting on God and looking to someone or something else --- is going to find expression in my life.  We certainly see this in the Exodus account which is quoted in 1 Corinthians 10.  “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.”  There is much in the grammar of this verse to describe that the people were all acting together on this.  But the most striking part of this description is the verb “to play.”  The word is derived from the word “child.”  And this particular verb, “to play,” had notions of the kind of frivolous playing and dancing in worship associated with some god or deity.  This was common in the ancient religions.  The very descriptive picture is of the Israelites dancing around in a frivolous and silly way as they worshiped and looked to their golden calf.  There is always going to be this kind of demonstration or expression of idolatry.  It is a silly, foolish, childish celebration that is bound to be short-lived.  It is similar to the kind of behavior at a football game when our team scores, and we give high fives, or when grown men jump around, shout, and bump into each other.  We have seen the same dynamic in a more “dignified” fashion when people come out of meeting and “high five” each other because they “won” and got their way in the meeting.  It is all idolatry as we are looking to someone or something else besides God as our source.  There will always be an expression of this.

The problem with idolatry is that no idol, person, or thing outside of God will truly provide what we need.  Our complete and perfect provision is in Jesus Christ alone.  Therefore, the celebration and expression as a result of any idolatry is always short lived.  It is exuberant at the moment, but the excitement fades when we realize the deadness and failure of the thing or the person to provide what we need.  Thus, we will need to soon turn to another idol, only to have the same “high fives” that day followed by another let down later.  This process has been repeated over and over again in many of our lives as it was with the Israelites.  Such is the life of one who has become an idolater.

The becoming of worship

One strong realization of the scripture is that Satan is not able to create anything, but has always attempted to distort what God has made.  God alone is the Creator, and everything else is an imitation and distortion.  This gives us some insight into idolatry.  Idolatry, as with all sin, is a distortion of the holy and righteous design for which God made us.  Instead of looking to other things or people as our source, we were made to look to Him as our complete source and provision.  Instead of worshiping other people or things, we were made to worship Him.  Instead of being idolaters, we were built to be His --- beings that naturally worship and adore Him.  Therefore, instead of the distortion, could we not become true worshipers of Him instead of idolaters?

If we are to become worshipers of God, we must recognize that worship is not merely an activity that we do.  It is something that we can literally become.  It would be amazing and fantastic if we could actually be worshipers, so that it is naturally what we are and do in the midnight hours of our lives.  There are two points to then realize.  First, worship is not something that we merely do --- it is what we are becoming.  Secondly, there is a process of becoming this.

What then is the process of becoming a worshiper of God?  The process is waiting on God.  Everything in worship is the opposite of idolatry and the approach of Satan.  Worship is waiting on God, not taking matters into my own hands, and continuing to turn to Him as the source of all my needs.  As Paul emphasizes throughout His letters and in this letter to the Corinthians, Jesus is the constant source of all my needs as He has come to live in me.  He is that Rock that is always present (1 Cor. 10:4).  He is my cloud by day and fire by night to guide me (v.1).  He is the divider of the sea to be my protection and safety (v.1).  He is my bread and water (verses 3-4).  He is my way out of temptation (v. 13).  As I continue to choose Him and respond to Him over and over again, He is doing something in me.  I am becoming a worshiper instead of an idolater.  What will I choose and how will I respond to Him in the hours of my life when there is nothing but waiting?  Paul and Silas sang in prison at midnight in Acts 16:25.  Would I so allow Jesus to work in me that He could begin to give me the desire to give my heart only to Him in the moments when I can’t see anything?

Will there not become an expression of this kind of worship in my life?  I think of the dance of a child.  King David danced before God in 2 Samuel 6 in an “undignified” and “humble” way.  I learned from my friend Keith Showalter that one of the meanings of the Old Testament word “Hallelujah” is to praise God to the point of looking foolish.  If there is nothing else for me to handle, and if I can wait on God for all things, and if nothing depends on me, would I not just feel like dancing?  It would not even matter what I look like to anyone, because I am looking to no one else besides God as my source and for my approval.  There is a lightness and freedom in just being His child.  I am cared for.  I can just be a kid.  While idolatry only produces the string of disappointments with all its ups and downs, God offers the fullness of everything for which we were made.  “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 15:13).”

Lord Jesus, I repent of my impatience with You.   The ups and downs of my life and emotions are the sign of my own idolatry as I searched for answers, when all the time YOU are the answer. Thank You for all You have done and are doing in my life to teach me to wait upon You.  Instead of impatience, worry, fear, doubt, or increased effort, please transform and shape me to be a person who is content to wait upon, completely trust, and worship You.  I know that this will not happen overnight.  But I pray that You would work in me to such a degree that I can and will worship even in the midnight hours of my life.  I desire just to live in the simple joy and pleasure of trusting You and knowing that You are working all things out according to the good pleasure of Your goodness.  Please fulfill this and the work of faith in power in my life, that I may be a child who trusts You, lives in confidence in You, and fears nothing that comes my way.  You are my Rock and Provider, and I say YES today to You and Your timing.  I will wait upon the Lord.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       Is Christianity and worship of God something that I merely “do” on Sundays and at certain times, or is it something that I am becoming?  In complete honesty, what am I really when no one else is looking?

2.       Who or what have I turned to instead of waiting on God?

3.       What do I celebrate over in silly ways?  Could this be an indication of my idols?

4.       Will I allow Jesus to be my only provision and be willing to learn to wait on Him for all things in my life?

The Heritage of Purity

1 Corinthians 10:8

In 1 Corinthians 10:8 we come to the second of Paul’s “signs” of idolatry which he lists from Israel’s history as a caution to the Corinthian church.  Paul’s point has been to highlight the commonality between the Israelites and the Corinthians (and us!), and to urge the Corinthians to learn from what was happening in the lives of those who went before them.  The main commonality is that the Corinthians were participating in idolatry just as did the Israelites.  They were looking to someone or something else besides Jesus to meet their needs.  Paul’s attention to these examples from the books of Exodus and Numbers shows that these elements in verses 7 through 10 are the common signs which reveal that idolatry is taking place.  Could it be that these signs can serve as the red flags for idolatry in our own lives?

Sexual immorality and idolatry

For this second “sign” in verse 8, Paul writes, “Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell.”  Paul’s reference here is to the account of Numbers 25:1-9.  It is most helpful to just read through this account in order to understand exactly what happened.  In summary, the people of Israel began to commit sexual immorality with the women of Moab while camped in a particular place.  In this time, the Israelites also participated in the worship of the Moabite gods.  In response to this, God had instructed Moses to have those who participated in this out in the sun.  There was also a plague that came to the people of Israel as a result of their sin, and Numbers 25:9 states that “Those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.”  [If you are concerned about the difference in the numbers, it will be addressed later.]

One important emphasis in this account in Numbers 25, and in Paul’s writing to the Corinthians, is the strong connection between sexual immorality and idolatry.  It is unmistakable in the opening three verses of Numbers 25 that sexual immorality and idolatry go together.  It is almost “matter of fact.”  In verse 1, “the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab.”  In verse 2, “They [Moabites] invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.”  There seems to be a seamless and natural fit between these two things.  It is almost like two sides of the same coin.

When we begin to look throughout scripture, it is not uncommon for sexual immorality (porneia in Greek) and idolatry to go together so closely.  Where you find one, the other is almost sure to show up.  Consider Revelation 2:14.  Jesus says to the church in Pergamos, “But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.”  This reference gives the wide scope of the context of what led up to Numbers 25, but note that the main summary of it is idolatry and sexual immorality; sexual immorality and idolatry.  The first main council of the early church, which took place in Jerusalem, is recorded in Acts 15.  The urgent issue at hand was to clarify the requirements for Gentiles who desired to become Christians.  Some had been urging that it was necessary for Gentiles to become circumcised and to keep the Law of Moses if they desired to be Christians.  Others strongly disagreed with this, believing that they only needed to accept Jesus Christ.  After some deliberation, the decision was to write to all the people the following: “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.  If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.  Farewell (Acts 15:28-29).”  Note the prominence and connection again of idolatry and sexual immorality.  Paul himself makes this strong connection in his writings, including 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.  “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived.  Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.”  It is interesting to examine this list.  Of the first five things listed, four would be categorized as sexual immorality (fornication, adultery, homosexuality, and sodomy).  It would make sense for these to be grouped together as specific behaviors in the category of sexual immorality.  However, note that idolatry is “tucked” into the middle of this list.  It would seem that Paul has such a close association of sexual immorality and idolatry in his mind that it would be natural for him to do this.

Why is it that sexual immorality and idolatry are so closely linked together?  What is the link?  Does Numbers 25:1-9 gives us further understanding?  The common link or principle underneath sexual immorality and idolatry seems to have to do with purity --- or at least the lack of it.  In Numbers 25:1-9 the Israelites were becoming impure by participating in sexual immorality.  Furthermore, they were becoming impure by participating in these acts with people with whom they were not to mix in this way according to God’s specific instruction.  The same thing is true for their participation in idolatry with the Moabites.  They were worshiping the Moabite gods and “mixing” their lives and worship with the lives and worship of the Moabites.  Again, all of this was against the specific instruction of God.  There is a strong parallel between sexual immorality and idolatry.  It is as if sexual immorality and idolatry somehow are the same thing.  This is because there is a contamination of the lives of the Israelites as they mix with Moabites in sexual relations and in worship of their gods.  It is as if idolatry is a form of sexual relations in the spiritual.  Numbers 25:3 provides a good summary of this.  “So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel.”  The suggestion of the verse is that Israel had become one with this god --- a demonic spirit according to Paul later in 1 Corinthians 10 --- by their participation in sexual relations and worship of this god with the Moabites.  The language of verse 3 certainly gives the nuance of a sexual relation.

This is a difficult concept to understand, but one to which Paul gives great attention in 1 Corinthians.  He lays a groundwork for this in 1 Corinthians chapter 6.  Paul was chastising the Corinthian church for their toleration of some of the men going to visit harlots during the week.  The attitude of the Corinthians was that it did not matter.  They understood from the Greek mindset that there was a clear separation between the physical and spiritual.  In the Greek mindset, these two realms were so distinct that they did not affect one another in any way.  In other words, what one did in the physical with his or her physical body did not affect his or her spiritual life.  It is easy to see how this opened the door for sexual immorality in the church.  Paul’s extremely strong point back to the Corinthians is that there is an inseparable link between the physical and spiritual realms, and especially so in our lives.  We do not lead two separate lives:  one physical and one spiritual.  Each of us is a single being, made up of physical and spiritual.  What we do in the physical affects our spiritual lives, and what we are in our spiritual lives will be demonstrated in our physical lives.  In the specific context of chapter 6, Paul was pointing out that sexual relationship with harlots was causing men to be bound to those harlots in the spiritual realm.  “Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her (v.16)?”  In other words, to be physically joined to a harlot in sexual relations is to become what she is spiritually.  It is to become impure --- what is not of God.  This is simply reflective of the plain design of God and how He made us.  What we do in the physical affects our spiritual lives, and what we are in the spiritual will come out in our physical lives eventually.  Paul’s urgent point and concern for the Corinthians was the impurity that this was causing in their lives.  They could not have sexual union with harlots and avoid becoming impure and ungodly.  They were in spiritual bondage because of what they were allowing to take place in their lives.  No one can separate the physical and the spiritual.  Each of these will always be inextricably tied to the other.

This has much to say about purity and impurity as Paul expounds on this concept in 1 Corinthians 6.  Purity is not merely the avoidance of impure acts, and this is not the ultimate purpose of God.  In fact, it is true that one could avoid all manner of what we consider impure acts, and he or she could still be impure.  Purity is not merely a matter of deeds, but a matter of the heart and what one is inside.  True purity is only in Jesus Christ as He comes to live in us to be what He is.  That is why, after giving the list of sins in verses 9-10 that we noted earlier, Paul goes on to say in 6:11, “And such were some of you.  But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”  He alone is the one that can wash us and make us truly clean, and all true purity is in Him alone.  After the discussion of the men visiting harlots in the following verses, Paul then provides what is probably the key verse of 1 Corinthians.  “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?  For you were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s (1 Cor. 6:19-20).”  The real design of God is that we would have union with Jesus Christ as He comes to live in us through the Holy Spirit.  We would not be bound to anyone or anything else but Him.  As He lives in our actual physical bodies through His Spirit, we give our hearts and lives to Him alone.  He becomes our only desire.  We give ourselves only to Him and allow Him to meet every need and be the complete answer of our lives.  As we allow Him to be this in our lives, He washes us clean from everything else as stated in verse 11.  In this we become bonded and in union with Him, and He can then demonstrate Himself and the quality of His life through us in our physical lives.  To review:  He comes to live in our physical bodies; we live in constant response to Him in our bodies; we are becoming one with Him in the spiritual; His spiritual life is then demonstrated back through our physical lives.  This is the design of God.  It is what allows for the purity of His life to be in us and to flow through our lives.  Imagine being the demonstration of the purity of Jesus Christ through our physical bodies in our day.  We are not perfect, we have human limitations, and we have much room for growth.  But the purity of Jesus Christ can and will show through these if we are one with Him and living in response to Him.

God’s urgency

The more we look at the scriptures, the more we realize how passionate and urgent God is for this to happen in our lives.  It is His only plan for us, and He is desperate that we would allow Him to be this in us.  He is broken and appalled by all else.  All else is an offense to Him because of what results in our lives from not responding to Him.  This was discussed in earlier chapters regarding idolatry.  God is jealous for us not because He is arrogant and prideful and demands our attention for His own sake.  God is jealous and passionate for our hearts because He so desires to pour out Himself and the best of everything in our lives.  How comforting this is.  It also gives us the correct perspective on the scriptures.  Consider how radical God is about purity throughout both the Old and New Testaments.  He is so particular, for example, in the book of Numbers about how the priests are to be and how things are to be conducted.  There are grave consequences for anyone who steps outside of this.  Read Numbers chapters 16 through 19 to get an idea of this.  We read Acts 5:1-9 and see the severe consequences for Ananias and Sapphira when they lied and pretended to be something that they were not.  Impurity.  Perhaps most illustrative of God’s passion for purity is what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 5.  The church had been tolerant and looking the other way in the face of a blatant case of sexual immorality in their midst.  It is not important for us to know the exact reason they were allowing it because it is not mentioned, but perhaps it might have been similar to the situation a new pastor faced soon after his arrival at a church.  He had learned of a blatant case of sexual immorality in the leadership of that church, and began to address it.  He was told by some board members and the finance committee, “We can’t afford to lose ______!”  Paul’s strong and stinging rebuke is as much to the church in Corinth for allowing this kind of thing as it was to the individuals committing the act of immorality.  His instructions to the church at Corinth are downright shocking to our modern sensibilities.  “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus (1 Cor. 5:4-5).”  We do not have time to go into the full explanation of these verses.  But we do understand two things.  First, this case called for extreme action in order to get through to the people involved.  There was apparently such an arrogance and unwillingness for repentance up to this point that it would require the worst possible circumstances --- being delivered to Satan --- in order for there to be a breaking that would allow for those involved to be able to hear God and to come to repentance.  Secondly, it is important to keep in mind that this was not a punitive act, but a redemptive act.  The end goal was that the person be saved, not punished.  It is hard for us in our modern, sensible approach to even conceive of this approach of Paul.  Most everyone (including those people in the church mentioned above who were participating in sexual immorality and those covering it up) seems to know about the scriptures that say, “Do not judge.”  But Paul talks about the seriousness of God on these things in this chapter.  In matters such as this, God says, “Do judge.”  He is passionate, serious, and radical about purity.  His desire and passion is that we would let Jesus live in us and that there would be a demonstration of Him in our physical bodies.  God is serious about this, and there are dire consequences for those who attempt to separate the physical from the spiritual.

Spread of impurity and purity

One may ask why God is so serious about this matter of purity.  While we cannot ever assume to understand all the mind of God, we can know the essence of who He is and what is in His heart from His Word.  For His Word certainly is the extension and reflection of who He is, and is how He intended for us to know Him.  As we look at the Word to understand God’s heart on this, at least one reason for His concern about purity is reflected in what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:8 and also what is stated in Numbers 25:9.  Both of those verses record the vast number of people who “died in the plague (Num. 25:9)” or “fell (1 Cor. 10:8).”  Some commentators have written on the significance of the discrepancy between the numbers.  While the account in the book of Numbers states that 24,000 people died in the plague, Paul states that 23,000 fell.  With so many opinions on this, the conclusion seems to be that the only thing that matters is that it was a lot of people!  That surely is the point of the Word in this matter.  Paul was never one to worry too much about numbers.  1 Corinthians 1:16 is a good example of this, when he could not remember how many people he baptized.  That would surely not be our approach today in the modern church.  Paul’s simple point in stating the number was to point out the overwhelming number of people who were affected by this.  This leads to a further point and the main realization of this.  What must have begun with a relatively small group of people committing sexual immorality eventually spread to affect many thousands of people.  Moreover, this spread did not take place over years or even months.  Note that this spread must have taken place in even a matter of days.  There is something insidious about impurity and its ability to spread quickly.

This was the reason behind Paul’s intensity regarding the sin in 1 Corinthians 5 and his drastic manner in dealing with it (“deliver such a one to Satan”).  He explains the principle of leaven in 1 Corinthians 5:6.  “Your glorying is not good.  Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?  Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened.”  Leaven is used to make dough, and those who work with it know that eventually the entire “lump” of dough is going to be affected and infected by the leaven.  It will spread and spread until every bit of the dough is touched by the leaven.  No wonder Paul was so serious about the tolerance of sin in the body of Christ among those who called themselves brothers.  Such sin, unaddressed, would eventually spread to all and affect the whole body.  This is always the way it is in the body of Christ.  Paul warns in 2 Timothy about false teaching and harmful talk coming from people.  He gives the examples of two men named Hymenaeus and Philetus, and says of such negative talk, “Their message will spread like cancer (2 Tim. 2:17).”  How often we have seen this in the body of Christ as the most evident example of the leaven principle.  Sexual immorality may often times be hidden and spreading more secretly, but “profane and idle babblings,” gossip, reviling and slander can infect a body and spread like wildfire.  No wonder that James warns about the influence of the tongue and writes in James 3:5, “See how great a forest a little fire kindles!”  Many a Sunday School class, group or church has been swallowed up in such a blaze.  The spread of the blaze can be downright staggering.  Such is the nature of leaven and impurity --- the blazing speed of its spread!

But what about the spread of purity?  The spread of impurity is not the plan of God.  But the spread of His purity is His plan.  Remember that the design of God is that Jesus would live in us through His Spirit.  We would submit our physical lives to Him, and become bonded with Him in the spiritual. As a result, the Holy Spirit will then to begin to demonstrate Jesus through our physical lives.  The dream and design of God is that this is what will be seen and received by others.  But if the spread of impurity is often times like lightning, the New Testament paints the picture of the spread of Jesus to be more steady and growing over time.  This is the process of discipleship, and there is no instant discipleship!  Eugene Peterson calls true discipleship “a long obedience in the same direction.”  It is one person full of Jesus investing life into someone else so that the other may truly see Jesus and come to know Him in the same way.  This must be what Jesus meant when He said to His disciples, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should REMAIN (John 15:16).”  Discipleship is no quick, instant enterprise.  It is a long obedience in the same direction as we impart to people not only the gospel but also our own lives (2 Thess. 2:8).  But it is not the result of anything we can plan or program.  It is the pure and simple result of what Paul describes in Philippians 2:13-16.  As a result of God working in us both to will and do for His good pleasure, we “become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life.”  It is the dream, heart, plan and provision of God for us to be this in our day, and that we would spread a constant heritage and trail of the purity of Jesus Christ through our lives.

This is a warning both to the Corinthians and to us.  The Corinthians were indeed being a part of the spread of something.  But their participation in idolatry was leading to the spread of impurity --- of something besides Jesus as they were turning their hearts toward something or someone else besides Him.  What a great responsibility we have with our lives.  The Corinthians had forgotten or chosen to ignore the fact that none of us lives a life unto himself or herself.  We are all spiritual leaders one way or the other.  We are either a part of the spread of the wildfire consisting of something that is the opposite of Jesus, or we are His lights that shine in the world and who draw others to the same long obedience in the same direction.  We can be those giving our physical bodies as the dwelling place of Jesus, so that He can show Himself through us.

Jesus, I earnestly desire to be Your pure and holy temple, that You may flow cleanly and unhindered in and through my life.  I am humbly and completely depending on Your Spirit within me to break my heart with conviction over anything that is displeasing to You.  I just desire to be wholly Yours in every area.  I ask You for clarity in this from Your Word and from Your Spirit when there is any area of impurity or concern to You in or around my life.  You are so faithful; please just move in me and bring revelation as I seek and respond to You.  And I am desperate that my life would be a conduit through which You spread Yourself in my world.  In the areas and spheres where You have placed me as a spiritual leader, may people be flooded with Your actual presence, holiness and love. Please let Your purity be the heritage that I leave behind.   I am ready to respond to You.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       How much of my physical life and body am I willing to allow Jesus to have?  Will I allow Him to indwell me and make every aspect of my physical life a demonstration of Him?

2.       Understanding that we all have human limitations and areas needing growth, is there any area of my physical life that I have knowingly been dismissing when it is not reflecting Him as it should?

3.       Is there any area in the lives of those around me called Christians that I have knowingly dismissed when they are not reflecting Him as should be the case?

4.       Am I a part of the spread of the wildfire of impurity or in leading others in the long obedience in the same direction?

Instant Replay

1 Corinthians 10:9

In 1 Corinthians 10:9, Paul presents the third of his “signs” of idolatry.  Again, these are the types of dynamics and behavior that will become manifest whenever we look to someone or something else besides Jesus for our needs or desires.  To portray this sign, Paul refers to the account of Numbers 21:4-9.  As we shared earlier, Exodus and Numbers must have been at least a good portion of Paul’s teaching material when he was with this church in Corinth for eighteen months.  He seems to refer to these passages from Exodus and Numbers as if the Corinthians already have some degree of familiarity with them.  Numbers 21:4-9 records another incident with the people of Israel during their time in the wilderness.  The people grew very discouraged at this time, and responded by speaking out against God and against Moses.  As a result, the Lord sent “fiery serpents” among the people that bit the people with many resulting deaths.  The people then came to Moses in repentance, urging him to ask God to take away the serpents.  When Moses prayed, God responded with interesting instructions.  “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it shall live.’  So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived (Num. 21:8-9).”

Paul refers to this incident as a sign of idolatry.  For certain the people of Israel were again refusing to look to God for their total sufficiency.  They were looking to someone or something else besides God to meet their need.  In this case in particular, they were expressing their dissatisfaction with God’s provisions for them.  “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?  There is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread (Num. 21:5).”  As a summary of this behavior and dynamic as a sign of idolatry, Paul states in 1 Corinthians 10:9, “Nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents.”  Let us look more carefully at how and why this “tempting Christ” is a clear indicator of idolatry.

What is “tempting Christ”?

One of the first questions that naturally arise from verse 9 is, “What does it mean to “tempt Christ”?  A good place to begin is to understand something about the definition of the Greek word from which “tempt” is translated.  It is the Greek verb ekpeirazo.  This is actually two Greek words placed together.  The Greek word peirazo means to test someone or something.  The word ek, when added at the beginning, can serve to intensify the meaning of the main word.  In this case, ek would have the intensified meaning of “utterly.”  Therefore, the definition of this word has to do with an utter testing of someone or something.  It is an extreme form of testing.

When we look more closely at verse 9, we see that Christ is the object of this extreme form of testing.  Paul is very specific about this.  He is warning against tempting Christ.  In fact, when we look through the New Testament to find other places this word is used, we find that Jesus Christ is always the object of this verb.  The word seems to have been invented to describe an extreme form of testing that one does to Christ.  This takes us a little further into the heart of what idolatry is all about.  This is about my personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  This is not an ambiguous or conceptual discussion about philosophy or my belief system.  The question is always about what I do with Jesus.  Will I accept Jesus, submit my life to Him, and look to Him for every need in my life?  Or, will I look to someone or something else.  I must decide whether or not Jesus is the total answer for my life.  No one can decide this for me.  It is an issue between me and Him.

We also observe in the New Testament that ekpeirazo seems to reflect Satanic activity or approach.  The most obvious examples of this are in Matthew 4:7 and Luke 4:12.  Both of these passages give the account of Satan coming to tempt Jesus during Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness.  Luke 4:2 tells us that Jesus was “being tempted for forty days by the devil.”  This gives us the clearest understanding of the meaning of the word expeirazo.  The intent of Satan was to push Jesus toward Satan’s own agenda.  Satan certainly did not come seeking truth, nor was he open to what Jesus had to say in any way.  Satan had his own agenda, plan and scheme.  His intent was to come to Jesus and manipulate the situation to see how he could get Jesus to come over to his side or do what he desired.  This idea of “tempting” Christ has the idea of “playing chicken” with Him.  The game “chicken” is a dangerous game two people play when they, for example, run or drive right at each other and see who will “blink” first and give in.  Satan wanted to see how far he could get with Jesus.  How far could he push Jesus before Jesus would react back?  How could he get Jesus to do what he wanted Jesus to do?  Jesus may have had a “line” that was not to be crossed, but how close could Satan get to that line before Jesus reacted?  The obvious nature of this approach is that it has no regard for the Lordship of Jesus.  The idea, instead, is that I am determined to get my way and I am going to see how far I can get in achieving that.  Instead of respecting His Lordship and staying as far away from the “line” as possible, I am constantly flirting with and crossing the line.  It is a clear sign of idolatry when anyone plays this kind of game with Jesus.  It reveals that I am looking to someone or something else besides Him to meet my need, and that He is a means to that end.

Lived out

This is precisely what the Israelites were doing with Christ (see 1 Corinthians 10:4) during their time in the wilderness, as Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 10:9.  “Nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents.”  They had an agenda, and they had their own ideas of how things should be.  They whined, moaned, and complained to see what they could get (a typically carnal approach of a child if left unchecked).  They were playing “chicken” with God.  Would Moses and/or God give in to their manipulation?  How far could they go in pushing God’s “buttons” before He would really get angry and react?  How close could they get to the line?  They did not want to make Him angry, because that would mean that He would not bless them.  But they knew what they wanted and did not want to give that up either.  So, they viewed it as a game of chicken, or cat and mouse.  How far could they get with God without going over the edge?

The Greeks knew this game with their own gods and goddesses.  They viewed these gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus as all powerful and having control over the events of this world.  For that reason, they knew they had to appease these gods and keep them happy so that these gods and goddesses did not make life too miserable for them.  However, in spirit, the people really did not care much for these “deities.”  Pleasing them was something of a “necessity.”  This led to something of a chess match between the mortals and the deities.  The mortals wanted to please the deities enough to make them happy, but also wanted to live their lives in their own way.  Therefore, it was a game of seeing how far you could go without making the god or goddess angry.

How far this is from Christianity!  Yet, this is the kind of attitude and approach that some of the Corinthians (Greeks) were bringing into Christianity.  Instead of submitting their bodies to Jesus in every way, they were pushing and “tempting” Him by seeing what they could get away with and how far they could go in satisfying themselves with other things.  It is a clear sign of idolatry when I play this kind of game with Him, because it reveals my true heart that I am really looking past Him to something or someone else.  Eating the food sacrificed to idols was the example of this at hand with the Corinthians in chapters 8-10.  They had an agenda.  Their basic agenda was that they wanted to have the freedom to go to these idol feasts that were held at the pagan temple.  The pagan priest had sacrificed meat to the god or goddess just hours earlier.  That meat was now served as a part of a meal “next door” in what we might consider to be an annex or “fellowship hall” next to the pagan temple.  In ancient Corinth, this was the closest thing to going out to eat at a restaurant.  Most of the masses in Corinth ate a plain grain diet.  It was a real treat to be able to take the wife and kids out for steak dinner at the pagan temple on Friday nights!  This was the basic agenda for some of the more affluent Corinthian Christians, and they were asking in an indignant manner, “What’s wrong with that?”  Yet, this whole behavior was in such a gray area by virtue simply of the fact of the meals being held at the pagan temple where some god or goddess was worshipped.  In addition to this, the very meat being eaten had a few hours earlier been “dedicated” in honor of Apollo, Poseidon, Zeus, Aphrodite or some other god or goddess.  It was complicated, and very “close to the line” of what might be acceptable for one whose life belonged to Jesus and who proclaimed that “Jesus is Lord.”  But the Corinthians were more interested in pushing the line than they were avoiding it.  It was like playing chicken with Jesus, in the same manner they were used to doing with the pagan deities.  How far could they go?  How much could they get away with?  Instead of running to Jesus and staying away from the line, they wanted to play with the gray area and dare Him to do something about it.  In a court of law, you may not be able to prove that they did anything “wrong.”  It is so gray that it is hard to say whether it is “right” or “wrong.”  You would need instant replay to slow it down and watch it over and over again to see if their feet were actually out of bounds or inbounds.  What is most disturbing about this was its effect on “those who are weak.”  One of Paul’s main points in this section is the complete disregard of the Corinthians for those who were watching.  Instead of it being crystal clear that their lives represented Jesus, the weak ones had to watch instant replay, and it was pulling them away.

How many times have I done this in my life?  I “played chicken” with my parents, seeing how far I could push them and what I could get away with.  I have done it with my family and friends.  I have done it with work and a multitude of areas of life involving integrity.  How far can I go?  How close can I get to the line?  Instead of running away from the line in the other direction, and submitting my body to the Jesus who lives in me, I have tempted Him by seeing how much He will let me get away with.  You might not have been able to prove that I did something wrong, but you would have needed instant replay to watch over and over again because I was so close to the boundary line.  In this I have been an idolater and have mirrored the activity of Satan.

Destruction

Of course, this kind of game with God has no good conclusion.  The result of living and treating God in this way is destruction.  This is not necessarily because God gets angry with us and punishes us.  We understand first of all that God loves us.  He is not out to get us.  God brings correction to our lives because of His great love for us.  Hebrews 12:5-11 is a wonderful description of this.  Secondly, God built and designed us for Himself.  Paul tells us in Colossians 1:16 that “All things were created through Him and for Him.”  When we rebel against God, we are fighting against that for which we were designed.  It is like taking a machine and going against every rule and guideline for its use.  It is bound to be broken if we continue to treat it in this way.  So it is with our lives.  If we play a game with God, try to live in the gray area, do not submit our bodies to the Lord Jesus Christ, and see how much we can get away with, we will become broken and destroyed.  The word Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 10:9 is very descriptive.  Those who tempted Christ were “destroyed” by serpents (the account from Numbers 21:4-9).  The Greek word translated as “destroyed” is apoluo.  It is two Greek words put together.  The Greek word luo means “to loose.”  The Greek word apo means “from.”  Put together this word means, “To loose apart.”  Translated more smoothly it carries the idea of utter destruction.  This makes sense, because the picture is of something that is completely coming apart.  Moreover, this is a verb that is in the imperfect tense.  This means that it was an ongoing action in the past.  This destruction that the Israelites faced was not something that was done quickly.  It was a slow, ongoing destruction that took place over time.  People rarely explode or implode in their lives overnight.  The destruction of our lives takes place over the long term as we progressively say “No” to Jesus and seek after other things.  The more we say “No” to Jesus, the further we sink into darkness and the more we head off on a tangent away from Him.  It is like going down a river in a canoe.  The further you go, the swifter the current, and the closer and closer you are getting to the waterfall!  This is the picture of destruction that is the result of playing games with God and looking to something besides Jesus to meet my needs.  Could this not happen to me?  Remember the warning of verse 12.  “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”

Redemption

What is the way out of this destruction?  The answer is always Jesus.  Numbers 21:4-9 presents a beautiful picture of this redemption.  The people had spoken against God and against Moses in a very ungrateful and disrespectful manner.  They were attempting to manipulate and play the game with God.  God has sent the fiery serpents to serve as the instrument of judgment and correction.  The people were experiencing the destruction that is the result of them tempting Him.  We then see two elements that are important in their redemption.  First of all, they repented.  Numbers 21:7 says that the people came to Moses, confessed their sin, and asked for mercy.  This led to the second important element of their redemption.  God has Moses make a bronze serpent and put it up on a pole so that whoever looked at it would live.  They were to look to the serpent on the pole --- what had been God’s instrument of judgment had now been made into His instrument of mercy.

Jesus explains so clearly in John 3:14-15 how this was all pointing to Him.  “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”  In the Jewish mindset, the “Son of Man” was going to be God’s “right hand Man” that He sent at the end of time to carry out judgment and hand out punishment.  But Jesus has come to say that He is the Son of Man, and that He has not come to hand out punishment (please read verses 16-17), but to be their redemption.  He is lifted up on the cross, and what (in the Jewish mind) was the instrument of judgment --- the Son of Man --- has now become the instrument of grace and salvation.  Jesus is their way out of the destruction that they have brought on themselves!  He is the same for us, if we only respond to Him in true repentance for how we have looked away from Him, and if we will look to Him alone now in true worship as He is the only supply for our lives.  Let us renounce idolatry and looking to anyone or anything else besides Him as the answer for our lives.  He is our complete answer and all we need.

What a contrast there is between being an idolater and being a Christian.  Instead of having an agenda that I am trying to get done, Jesus is the only agenda of my life.  Instead of playing tricks, manipulating, seeing how close I can get to the line, pushing to see how much I can get away with or playing chicken with God, I live in total and complete response to Him in every moment and situation of my life.  Instead of needing instant replay to tell if I am in or out of bounds in my life, Jesus is what is constantly and glaringly evident in my life.  He is what all “those who are weak” see in my life, because it is not my life but His.

Lord Jesus, I ask You to open my heart and the “eyes of my understanding” to see the real agendas of my life.   Is there any way in which I push the line with you, seeing what I can get away with, instead of running to You?  What am I looking to that is beyond You?  I don’t want to flirt in any way with any boundaries, because I desire that You would be my only goal and agenda.   I want to be so much in You that there is no question of where I stand and what I am about.  Please keep me right where I need to be as I seek You with all my heart and respond to You at every moment.  I give my heart, soul, life, goals, dreams, desires and everything else to You.  I am wide open to You and whatever You may desire to do in me.  Jesus, please make it so that anyone around me will not need “instant replay” to tell what is going on in my life, but that there will be an obvious and absolutely clear demonstration of  Your image.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       Do I have any other agenda besides Jesus in my life right now?  Is He the means and end of my life, or am I looking past Him to something else?

2.       Is there any way or area in which I am pushing the boundary or playing a game with God to see how much I can get away with?  Am I playing this game in any area of my life or with anyone?

3.       Do people need “instant replay” to be able to tell what my life is about or can Jesus be seen clearly even in the most routine matters of daily life?

Grumbling

1 Corinthians 10:10

As the last of the signs of idolatry that he provides for the Corinthians from Israel’s history, Paul highlights the dynamic of grumbling.  While this is the last in the list of the indicators of idolatry, it is certainly not the least.  In reality, grumbling may be the clearest and most readily obvious evidence of idolatry taking place in one’s life.  It is extremely clear from the accounts of Exodus and Numbers, from which Paul seems to have taught the Corinthians, that the Israelites participated in a great deal of grumbling during their time in the wilderness.  “Nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer (1 Cor. 10:10).”  The suggestion of this is that the Corinthians tended to be pretty good complainers themselves, and it is a warning of the consequences of it if they continue.  This fits with the character of what we know of from the Corinthians in this letter from Paul.  They had a tone of arrogance, or being “puffed up,” about them that tended to make them feel superior in many ways (see 4:6, 7, 18 and 5:2, as well as our verse in 10:12).  This tone of superiority can tend to make anyone fussy and grumbling in their manner.  In the context of 1 Corinthians chapters 8 through 10 we have understood that the issue at hand is that some of the Corinthian church leaders are going “out to eat’ at the pagan temple feasts.  The issue and concern Paul which pointed out already in chapters 8 and 9 is that, in contrast to the manner of Jesus, they were doing this with no regard for others, particularly for “those who are weak” in the faith.  We can just hear in Paul’s address to them that there was a whining, complaining and indignant attitude among these leaders defending their “rights” to go out to eat at the temples.  But the Corinthians were not and are not the only ones prone to grumbling.  How much has it been a pattern of my life, and what does this indicate about my own idolatry?

The word translated “complain” in 1 Corinthians 10:10 is a very descriptive word in the Greek language.  The Greek word is gongudzo (the best we can do at an English transliteration).  The literal meaning of the word is to mutter or murmur.  However, it is one of those unique words that has the quality of what is called “onomatopoeia.”  This is the dynamic in linguistics when the speaking of the word makes a sound similar to what the word is meant to communicate.  Examples of this in English would be “buzz” or “cuckoo.”  The word sounds like what it means!  The word gongudzo is an example of that in Greek.  Even in speaking this word, one can hear that it has a strong guttural sound to it, with the sound coming from the throat.  It is like a gurgling or growling sound from the throat.  The more I thought about this, the more I thought of the guttural sounds that I make in my own life and the situations which prompt that.  My children and I have had fun (if I will be humbled and allow it to be fun) recognizing the guttural or gongudzo sounds I make when I am angry or frustrated.  I can easily make these sounds anytime I am impatient or when things do not go the way I would desire.  While I am driving the car has been a favorite occasion of my children to point this out in my life.  I have definitely become more aware of this while watching sporting events!  It is obvious that when I gongudzo it is because I am angry, frustrated or impatient.  How is this a sign of and what does it have to do with idolatry?

A sign of idolatry

It is obvious in my life that I get angry, frustrated or impatient with people and things when they do not provide and perform for me in the way I expect.  I am embarrassed to recognize and confess the reality of this pattern in my life, but this recognition is a vital step in the repentance and delivery from idolatry.  The carnal flesh says that the goal for my life is that I be, as Norm Wakefield says, “happy and comfortable.”  Norm has a terrific description of this aspect of idolatry in his book, Equipped to Love.  From this carnal point of view, the purpose of my wife and children is to make me happy and comfortable.  The purpose of my job, and all the people who work there, is for them to make me happy and comfortable.  The purpose of my car is to make me happy and comfortable.  The purpose of every other driver on the road is to consider first my happiness and comfort.  The purpose of my sports teams is to provide me happiness.  In fact, I can even come to believe that the ultimate purpose of God is to make me happy and comfortable.  This certainly dictates my view of church, and we all know that the main goal at church is that everything (length of service, music style, temperature in the auditorium, on and on) should make ME happy and comfortable!  When things do not make me feel happy or comfortable --- when they do not perform or come through for me --- then I become angry, frustrated or impatient with them.  It can even be that I come to hate them.  One of the sure manifestations of this anger, frustration, impatience or hate is that I complain --- gongudzo --- about that person or thing.  How many times have I complained about my wife (at least to myself), my children, my job, fellow employees, my car, other drivers, my sports teams, anything at church, and even God?  My complaining is a clear indication of my anger, frustration, impatience or hatred toward these people or things.  It is an even deeper indication of my idolatry of those people or things.  For, I was looking to those people or things to provide something for me.  Predictably, they could not ever come through in the way I needed and meet my real need.  My reaction and grumbling is inevitable, and is a sign in bright lights announcing my idolatry.  I was looking to something or someone else besides Jesus to meet my needs.

Israel’s history and behavior in the wilderness certainly demonstrate the “hot and cold” pattern of idolatry.  They were happy, content and willing to praise God as long as they could see His provision in a way that was acceptable to them.  But as soon as God was not acting in ways that were completely acceptable to them or providing them what they wanted (He always provided what they needed), the grumbling would commence.  Exodus chapters 14 through 16 are a striking example of the hot and cold hearts of Israel toward God.  Israel had been freed from four hundred years of slavery in Egypt, and they set out toward the promised land with praise.  When they found themselves trapped between the armies of the pursuing Pharaoh and the Red Sea, the people spoke bitterly against Moses.  God then split the Red Sea, the people of Israel walked through on dry ground, and the armies of Pharaoh were drowned behind them.  After this, Moses and the people sang the beautiful song of praise to God recorded in Exodus 15.  There is a picture of dancing and instruments being played.  However, chapter 15 does not end before the people are already complaining against Moses because of the bitter drinking water at Marah.  After God cared for this by making the waters sweet to drink, chapter 16 opens with “The whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness (v. 2).”

I enjoy preaching on and illustrating the hot and cold idolatry of the Israelites.  How often have I done the same?  I praise God in what I see as the “good” times and complain in what I see as the “bad” times.  My spiritual life is a yo-yo of praise and complaints, up and down, hot and cold.  It is a sure sign that I am looking to something or someone else besides Jesus to meet my needs.  He may not give me everything I want, but He is the complete answer to my every need.

The manner of Jesus

When we begin to study this word gongudzo and the other places it is used in the New Testament, one of the most “famous” places it is used is in Philippians 2:14.  “Do all things without complaining and disputing.”  I particularly remember the old King James translation of this, “Do all things without murmurings and disputing.”  The reason I remember this so vividly is because of a craft project we did at Vacation Bible School when I was a child.  We had a piece of colored felt (mine was orange) and a pile of those macaroni alphabet letters.  We were to sort through our pile and find the appropriate letters to spell out that verse on our piece of felt, using glue to attach the letters to the felt.  I have always remembered this verse and tried to receive its assumed admonition to do my best to not complain or murmur.  I admittedly have had my ups and downs with this over the years in trying to fulfill this admonition.  My natural and logical conclusion is that I simply need to be more disciplined, try harder to be more content with my circumstances, and try to not complain.  I suppose this has resulted in something of a “bite my lip” mentality when it comes to complaining.  I may be really angry, frustrated, or impatient, but at those moments I should try my best to “do all things without murmurings and disputing.”

The problem with this mentality is that it misses the essence of Christianity and the whole fundamental problem with idolatry.  Christianity is not about what I do or don’t do, but what I am inside, being sourced by the indwelling Christ, and allowing Him to demonstrate His manner in my life.  Biting my lip when frustrated so that I don’t grumble misses the point.  If I am angry, frustrated, impatient or hateful, biting my lip does not fix the problem.  Those feelings only reveal that I am looking to someone or something else besides Him to meet my need.  When I look at the context surrounding Philippians 2:14 (I wish we could have done that at VBS!), this point is glaringly obvious.  Even the word for “do” in verse 13 is not merely about disciplining ourselves and doing something, it is the Greek word poieo, which has more to do with action that overflows out of our being.  Note even in the verses following verse 14 that Paul goes on to say that this is for the purpose “that you may BECOME blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world (v. 15).”  This is not a picture of good and disciplined people who are able to bite their lips and not complain during bad times, even when they are frustrated.  This is a picture of people who have something different going on inside of them to the extent that they are not inclined to complain.  Jesus is their answer and provision.  We all understand that there is growth involved in this, which Paul goes on to describe even of himself in the next chapter in Philippians 3.

The important question is how we can become this?  I sure want it to be in my life.  The answer is so simply placed in the verse immediately prior to verse 14.  “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).”  It is the working of His power IN US that transforms us into something different, and gives us a new attitude and perspective on life.  The simple truth of the gospel is that Jesus comes to live in me, and He begins to produce His manner and quality of life in and through me as I respond to Him.  This is the point of Paul’s discussion in Philippians 2.  In verses 1-4, he goes into a great description of the attitude we are to have toward others.  How can we possibly do this?  Verse 5 tells us, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”  Paul goes on to describe the manner and character of a Jesus who would lower Himself and be a servant, even to the point of death on a cross.  It is His natural manner and character.   Jesus does not have to try to be like this, and you will find no bite-mark “scars” on His lip.  It is just the way He is.

Would I look to Jesus as the only answer to my life?  Would I surrender every situation and thing to Him to let Him work out all things?  Would I just allow Him to live in me, be what I need, and begin to give me His heart, mind and attitude in all things?  This will be the breaking of idolatry in my life, and one result will be less and less complaining.  This will NOT be because of my discipline or effort, but it will be the fruit of me “becoming” a blameless and harmless child of God that shines as a light in this world.

Communication and relationships

One more thing has struck me regarding grumbling and idolatry.  It is the way we sound when we grumble or complain.  Have you ever heard someone grumble or complain?  Have I ever really listened to myself grumble and complain?  From a purely objective, even physical point of view, there is something tremendously unappealing in the sound of someone articulating a complaint in the way we generally do.  It is often harsh, incoherent, and offensive in sound.  In some ways it is simply an insult to the beauty of which our language is capable.  Contrast a poem with a complaint, for example.  The song of Israel in Exodus 15 is beautiful.  Their complaints at the end of chapter 15 and into chapter 16 are downright ugly.

Furthermore, there is an intricate tie between relationship and communication.  What kind of relationship I have with someone depends to a great extent upon what kind of communication I have with that person.  Ugly, nasty, angry, frustrated, impatient, hateful, complaining words toward someone lend little toward relationship with that person.  Many of us may know what it is like to be on the receiving end of such words.  How many times has God been on the receiving end of such words from me?  Yet, He has never once deserved them.  As He was with Israel, He has been longsuffering, faithful and loving to me, having provided everything I need in Jesus.  The Word has really been shaking me lately about my words and language toward Him.  It is not that we should avoid being honest and open with Him.  But what kind of tone and heart do I have toward the One who made me, has given His very life for me on the cross, and has volunteered to come to live inside of me and be my total source for life?  I am finding myself more ashamed of the tone of complaint in my life.  No wonder the Bible talks so much about our language.  “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how to answer each one (Col. 4:6).”  Furthermore, is it not true that how I speak to God is how I will speak to others?

Jesus, I am so convicted by what I see in Your Word regarding the fruit of my lips and what that demonstrates.  Would You please work in me both to will and to do for your good pleasure, so that I may become a blameless and harmless child of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom I may shine as a light in the world?  It will for certain not come by my discipline and the biting of an already sore lip.  My idolatry has been revealed through my complaints as I have looked to others and been frustrated when they did not come through for me.  I repent of my idolatry, and look only to You, Lord Jesus, as the complete answer to my life.  Please change me and bring about Your heart, contentment, and manner in me that is demonstrated through words of praise and worship back to You and words of love and grace to others.  I ask for Your Word to dwell in me richly, so that every word and deed is in Your Name, as I give thanks to the Father through You. (Col. 3:16-17).

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       About what in my life do I easily get angry, frustrated or impatient and tend to complain?  How does this reveal my idolatry?

2.       What is my general feeling or course of action when God convicts me about this complaining?  What does the Word of God say that Jesus can do in me?

3.       What does the language I use with God say about my relationship with Him?  Will I allow Jesus to be my answer and bring about His manner in me?

A Contrast of Manner

1 Corinthians 10:12

Paul’s warning regarding idolatry in 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 comes to its most pointed clarity and intensity in verse 12 when he says, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”  This statement goes to the heart of the mindset and attitude that was behind the idolatry of Israel and was now especially taking place in the Corinthians.  Would the Corinthians be so arrogant to believe that they would not fall into the same traps as their predecessors?  As Os Guiness writes, and as was mentioned earlier, “Those who . . . treat their ancestors as fools are likely only to demonstrate that the heritage is alive and well.”  Paul has been addressing the pride and arrogance of the Corinthians throughout the letter, for it is their real stumbling block which manifests itself in every area of life for them.  Pride and arrogance is what resulted in church division, lawsuits against one another, sexual immorality, and all manner of conflict in relationships, marital and otherwise.  We learned from the introduction to 1 Corinthians that the simple message of the letter is that Jesus is the answer to everything.  He desires to indwell me and be the complete provision and source of my life.  My pride and arrogance is what stands in the way of that.

This pride and arrogance is the opposite of the nature of God and His kingdom.  In fact, this pride and arrogance is characteristic of the manner of Satan.  In this, and in the admonition which Paul gives to the Corinthians in verse 12, we see the same contrast of manner between the manner of Jesus Christ and the manner of Satan which is clear throughout the Scriptures.  There appear to be three elements of this contrast that can be seen in the admonition that Paul gives which are consistent with the entirety of the Word of God.

Position to be sought

In the warning of verse 12, Paul uses language to paint a picture of what the Corinthians and those of us who are after them should not be.  “Let him who thinks he stands.”  Paul’s wording and grammar are quite specific here.  The word for “think” has two meanings to it.  One is the idea of to think, suppose or imagine something.  Rather than something being rooted in fact, it is something based more on opinion.  This leads to the second meaning of the word which is translated “think.”  It can have the definite meaning of “to appear” or to give the appearance of something.  If we plug either of these meanings into Paul’s warning in verse 12, it gives an interesting sense of meaning.  With the first definition, we have the sense of, “Let him who thinks, supposes or imagines (not necessarily based on fact, but more on opinion) himself to stand.”  The second definition is even more impactful.  “Let him who appears to stand.”  There is no question that the Corinthians were caught up in appearances, much in the same way that we are in our culture, including church.  Furthermore, there is no question that this is the manner of Satan, as we will see further in a moment.

The second verb in the phrase is equally important in painting the image here.  Paul uses the word “stands.”  The word has a fairly neutral meaning, suggesting pretty much what it suggests --- the act or condition of standing, or making something to stand up.  What is interesting about the verb in this case is that it is used in the perfect tense.  The perfect tense indicates a past action that has continuing results.  It gives the essence of something being a long-term, “long-standing” reality, if you will.  When we bring this understanding to the phrase of verse 12, it comes out to something like this:  “Let him who appears to have been standing all this time . . . .”  The suggestion is that the Corinthians not only were into appearances and opinions, but they had an image of themselves as ones who have “had it together” for a long time.  It is a true picture of arrogance.  “Look at us and how impressive we are.”  Furthermore, their attitude would go so far as to say, “Look at how impressive we have always been.”  One extra nuance of the word “stand” was intriguing to me.  One meaning of the Greek word for “stand,” especially in the ancient writings of Homer, was “to raise buildings, statues or trophies.”  I was captivated by the idea of the statue.  The Greeks, as well as the Romans, of course, loved their statues.  Anyone who glances at any photos or illustrations of the ancient world will readily see the prominence of statues in both public and private places.  Images were everything.  The height of achievement and status was (and is today) that a statue is made in one’s image.  This seems reflective of the attitude of the Corinthians about which Paul is warning them.  They had a “statue” mentality.  They thought of themselves as so impressive that people could or should be able to look at them and admire them.  Their attitude might have been something like, “If there is not a statue of us, then there sure ought to be!”

How clearly this is the manner of Satan according to the Scriptures.  Isaiah 14:12-14 so clearly describes the “statue” mentality of Satan.  “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest side of the north.  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be the like the Most High.”  The manner of Satan is all about the seeking of the high position.  The pursuit is always to be something, to be greater, more noticed, better thought of, bigger image, more impressive appearance.  This is why Paul is warning the Corinthians, for they had been or were falling into this same deadly trap.   And what about me?  How much of my life is spent in concern over image, appearance, being something or someone, and the concern over what will become of me?  Am I not equally susceptible to the dangers of this idolatry?  I most certainly am!  This is the trap: as soon as I believe I am impervious, then I am in it.  In this sense, the warning of verse 12 is for me.

But consider the contrast of the manner of Jesus Christ.  There is no seeking after position or image in any way.  If there is any kind of seeking after position, it is a seeking after the lowest position.  Isaiah 53 is an amazing picture of this.  Perhaps no passage is more succinct in summary of it than Philippians 2:5-8.  “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death --- even death on a cross (NIV)!”    Many books have been written and we could go on at length about the depths of this.   It is difficult to truly grasp the amazing significance how One with everything truly seeks to be nothing for the sake of others.  One of the most amazing parts about it is there is no inclination in Him for self-glory, image or appearance.  It truly does not matter to Him what becomes of Himself.  This is not only the way He was, but the way He is!  One of the most shattering facts of the Incarnation is that Jesus Christ has not returned, nor shall He ever return, to what He was before He came.  He is forever one of us --- in the nature of a servant, in human likeness, found in appearance as a man.  The admonition of Philippians 2 that “your attitude should be the same” as this and the instructions of how to treat one another are not instructions of what we are to do.  They are descriptions of what we become when Jesus Christ comes in us and brings about the same nature in us that is in Him.  It is a manner which disregards image, appearance, being something or someone, and any concern over what will become of me.  There is no longer any pressure to be anything in and of ourselves.  What a different, remarkable, and freeing manner this is.

Product in living

The Scriptures are clear that there is an eternal principle at work with each of these different manners.  It is like laws of physics that are written into the heavenly realms and cannot be changed.  Paul’s warning in verse 12 restates this principle:  “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”  Paul’s forewarning here makes the simple connection that whoever lives in the manner of Satan is destined for a fall.  The correlation of Satan and a fall are strong throughout Scripture.  Satan’s temptation of Eve, reflecting his own manner, was to take the place of God.  The result, or product, of the sin of Genesis 3 was what is commonly referred to as the “fall” of humanity.   Some Scriptures (Matt. 25:41; 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6; Rev. 12:9) refer to the casting of Satan from heaven and the fall of the angels who have followed Satan.  Jesus Himself makes reference to this in Luke 12:18 when He says to the disciples, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”  Perhaps the clear description of this fall is back in our passage in Isaiah 14:12-14.  Before going on to describe the position-seeking manner of Satan in verses 13 and 14, it is stated in verse 12, “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!  How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations!”

This is the principle --- the spiritual “law of physics” --- to which Paul is alluding in the warning of 1 Corinthians 10:12.  The manner of Satan always leads to a fall.  Proverbs 16:18 is the simplest statement of this in all of Scriptures.  “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”  This is the admonition of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians.  Their pride, arrogance, and allowance of the manner of Satan to take hold in them and contaminate their lives is only leading them toward a fall.  Pride and arrogance --- the manner of Satan --- leads to no good thing.  Its narrowing and withering path is filled with death and leads only to emptiness.  The shriveling effect of the manner of Satan will always become evident in the end.  Those who think themselves superior to their predecessors --- and impervious to this spiritual “law of physics” ---will only prove the heritage to be alive and well.

But consider what the Scripture presents as the contrasting product of the manner of Jesus Christ.  As opposed to the shriveling that results from the manner of Satan, the manner of Christ somehow in God’s economy leads to an increase or lifting up.  The Philippians 2 passage is clear on this.  After describing, as we saw earlier, the manner of the One who sought no position and pursued being nothing to the extent of a cross, Paul goes on to write in verses 9-11, “Therefore God has also highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  In the grammar at least, Paul makes this the direct result (“therefore”) of the previously described manner of Jesus’ life.  This principle is consistent with what is said in other places in Scripture, such as 1 Peter 5:5-6.  “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.  Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.”  This spiritual law of physics seems to indicate that those who are in the manner of Christ, and who have the manner of Christ in them, will be exalted.  Perhaps the best interpretation of all of this, in light of the entire context of the Bible, is that Jesus will be exalted in the lives of those who respond to Him.  Perhaps the exaltation that happens in a person’s life is simply that Jesus becomes greater and more evident.  It is not so much an exalting of the person (according to the standards by which our world thinks of that), but that something bigger than ever is happening in that person’s life --- and that something is Jesus!  There is something magnificent happening and ever-expanding in the life of any person who is responding to Jesus.

One of the great ironies of the kingdom of God is that the exalting is of no consequence or concern to those who are truly in the manner of Christ and who truly have the manner of Christ in them.  This is a reflection of the God and Lord of the kingdom and His entire manner.  Jesus did not seek the lowly position described in Philippians 2 because He knew of the exaltation to come as a result of it.  Every indication of the Word and His nature is that He took on His form, was made a servant, and yielded His life unto death because it was Who He is inside.  He cannot help himself.  For Jesus, subservience and lowliness is not a means to an end. Somehow in the economy, environment, values, and reality of heaven itself, this is the way it is.  Lowliness is not the stepping stone to anything greater, but where the reward of Who He is becomes realized.  Jesus communicated this always about His kingdom.  “But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted (Matt. 23:11).”  What a fantastic place this kingdom is because of how wonderful He is.  There is certainly growth in the lives of those who are in Him, and an “increase” or exalting of sorts in their lives.  But the increase is not the thing; it is merely the byproduct.  There is no hurry or pressure.  All things are in His time.  All through the process --- for there is no end there --- He is the reward.  How great a help and relief this is in my life!  There is nothing I need to seek after but Him.  There is no career path or status I need to seek after.  There are no stepping stones that I need to navigate in just the right way and at just the right time.  He is the way, the truth, and the life.  I never need to be anything but His, and He will provide and be all that is needed.

Posture toward seeking

Paul gives one final indication of an element of contrast between the manners in 1 Corinthians 10:12.  This contrast reveals the difference in attitudes toward listening, learning, or what we often call “seeking.”  It stands to reason that this attitude toward learning is either closely linked to or actually underlies one’s approach to position which was discussed earlier.  The manner of Satan certainly has its own characteristic attitude toward listening, learning and seeking. We see it often alluded to throughout 1 Corinthians as Paul chastens and warns the Corinthian Christians.  Their arrogance and pride often manifested itself in something of an “arrival” mentality.  They felt superior in their wisdom and knowledge.  Paul’s question to them in 1 Corinthians 4:7 gives good indication of the attitude among them.  “For who makes you differ from another?  And what do you have that you did not receive?  Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?”  This arrival attitude leads one to believe that he or she truly “has it all together” or knows whatever is needed.  This causes a posture in which an individual believes that he or she does not need to listen, learn, or seek --- at least in this particular area where the person considers himself or herself to be superior.  This is the individual that yawns through the lessons, is nonchalant and casual toward warnings, and ignores the examples of others that God might bring before us.  A person cannot long flirt with this posture without finding himself or herself eventually, possibly soon, seeking after position and appearance, for this non-seeking is the very attitude of the Satanic manner.

Paul’s urging of verse 12 is the counter to this, and bids us to the posture of the kingdom because it is the posture of Jesus.  “Let him who thinks he stands TAKE HEED lest he fall.”  “Take heed” is a translation of the Greek word, blepo, which emphasizes the physical act of seeing something.  Literally, “Look out!”  Furthermore, this verb is in the present active imperative, which means that this is an urgent command to remain in this posture at all times --- much like a soldier on the battlefield.  Our lives depend upon it.  Inherent in the very manner of Jesus Christ is the posture of being open to listen, learn, seek and respond to whatever truth He may bring to my life, no matter how humbling.  In fact, Paul’s command from the Word dictates an attitude of urgency toward this.   This posture places me in a position of readiness, eagerness, and willingness to listen to Him as He brings truth to me, even if it is the kind of chastening described in Hebrews 12.  Consider the description in 1 Corinthians 10:11 of the providential love and grace of God for us that causes Him to show the way to all those who will hear.  He is the One who loves me.  He desires to be everything I need and to bring about His fullness in my life.  It ceases to be my life, and becomes His.

Is this not the only way that the manner of Christ can truly take place in my life?  I cannot “do” the manner of Christ, and anything I try is a cheap and pathetic imitation of it.  But if the Lord of Life Himself can live with me and produce His own manner, then I can truly have the manner of Christ in my life.  Furthermore, is this not the only answer to idolatry?  When I find all in Him I do not need to look elsewhere, whether it be to other people or things.  The manner of Satan is always looking to something else besides Jesus, for the manner of Satan is the essence of idolatry.  But the manner of Christ has become more than an impossible dream, because He Himself is knocking at the door of our hearts.  Take heed!

Jesus, I humbly ask and cry out that You would create and bring about Your manner in me.  I realize today that it will necessitate a death to all that I am about.  I confess that I have been about position, appearances, image, and what people think of me.  What a struggle this is, Lord.  It always results in emptiness and a “fall” in my life.  I ask for Your transformation in me that would allow the mind of Christ to be in me  --- the attitude of being nothing and being the lowest.  What freedom there is in this.  Could You so work in me that nothing matters to me but You?  Could You so work in me that I can know the joy of You and seeking You as my only reward?  I would be so grateful for this --- for You to be the only prize of my life.  To this end, I offer myself to You in a posture of earnest, sincere, and urgent seeking.  Please work in me, Lord!  The only way I will ever have Your manner in me is if You produce it in me Yourself.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       What has been my honest approach, concern and thinking in regard to position and my appearance to people?  What is it now?

2.       Is there a shriveling or the true, joyous growth of Jesus in my life?  What reward is the pursuit of my life?

3.       What is my attitude toward listening and learning to what God puts before me, no matter how painful?

The Savior from Idolatry

1 Corinthians 10:13

1 Corinthians 10:13 is one of those verses that many of us already know or at least have heard many times, especially if we have attended church on a regular basis.  This is one of those verses often used on Christian plaques, wall-hangings, decorative knick-knacks, and greeting cards.  It is also often quoted as one of the good “answer” verses to the problems of life which we face.  We worked for a time with a residential men’s addiction recovery program, and I was not surprised that this verse was one of the core group of Bible verses which the men were required to memorize.  It is, indeed, full of truth and provides great encouragement, even standing by itself.  God’s Word will not return void.

However, the verse truly comes to life in power when it is seen in its context.  For, Paul’s statement of verse 13 is not only inspired in its content, but its position in the context.  It is both a conclusion to the first part of the chapter, but also sets the stage for the last part of the chapter.  It is the sense in which it is the conclusion of the first 12 verses of the chapter which is most pertinent for our consideration here.  It being such, we realize that 1 Corinthians 10:13 describes, in its bare essence, the answer, rescue and escape from all idolatry.  “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.”  The good news of this truth is that there is not just salvation from idolatry; there is a Savior from idolatry.  The same Jesus who was “that spiritual Rock that followed them” in the wilderness is the only salvation from idolatry for any of us.

The reality of temptation

In realizing the salvation from idolatry that is in Jesus Christ, it is important to first recognize the reality of the temptation of idolatry in our lives.  This is a point made earlier in the Preface to this book.  I had never thought of myself as an idolater, or of idolatry as a real point of concern in my life.  It was only when the Word of God exposed my idolatry that I was brought to the realization of my need for deliverance from it.  This is a fundamental in all addiction recovery: the addict must first acknowledge the addiction or problem before he or she can embrace the deliverance from the addiction.

This is why Paul is careful in verse 13, in describing the salvation from idolatry, to also highlight the reality of the temptation that we all face.  Note that Paul uses the words “tempted” or “temptation” three different times in the verse.  Repetition is always a sign of emphasis in the Scripture, and Paul here intends to underscore the existence of temptation especially in regard to idolatry.  In addition to this, Paul says, “No temptation HAS OVERTAKEN you.”  The concept of “has overtaken” comes from the Greek verb lambano.  One translation of this can be the idea of taking hold of, seizing, taking by violence, overtaking as an enemy does in an ambush.  Paul is describing this as the nature of what temptation is all about.  It is like an enemy waiting in ambush to jump out and seize us.  Furthermore, when Paul uses this verb in verse 13, it is used in the perfect tense.  The perfect tense indicates a past action that is having results continuing into the present.  My favorite example of this is when someone offers me something to eat and I say that I cannot because “I have eaten.”  It was a past action that is having results continue into the present (I am still feeling full)!  This is the tense of verb that Paul is using for us not being overtaken by temptation.  While we can stand clean and pure in Jesus Christ (which is the main point of the verse), the “attempt” on us from the enemy never ceases.  It has happened in the past, and the results continue into the present.  The war is always ongoing.  The enemy will always be waiting in the bush.  The danger is always there, for we are in a battle not of flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12).  We must never forget that we are in battle!  But, as we will see shortly, there is no need for fear because of the provision of our God in Jesus Christ.  He shall overcome!

In one more point of emphasis about the reality of temptation in verse 13, Paul uses a word which means “human” or “common to man.”  His reason for using this word is the same as the other points we have noted here.  It is all to point out that temptation is a reality that we all face.  It is a part of the fallen condition and environment of our world.  It is human to be tempted.  In addition to the accounts of Jesus being tempted by Satan in Matthew 4 and Luke 4, the great verse of Hebrews 4:15 tells us, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”  Jesus Himself was tempted when He became one of us in the flesh.  It was not sin for Him, just as it is not for us, to be tempted.  It is a part of this world and of the human situation in which God has allowed us to be.  The Father allowed it for His Son, and He allows it now for the many sons who are being brought to glory (Heb. 2:10).  Note that Paul even says in 1 Corinthians 10:13, that God makes the way of escape “with the temptation.”  It is not a removal from the temptation or a removal of the temptation from us.  It is deliverance even in the midst of the temptation!  This is the birthright and promise of victory for every child of God.

Why, then, even bring up the reality of the temptation?  It is crucial to highlight because it is imperative for us to realize the war in which we exist in this world.  Only a fool of a soldier would forget or take lightly the fact that he is in a war, disregarding the danger from the enemy around him.  There is a message of warning that desperately must be conveyed to the Corinthians.  We saw in verse 12 that one of the characteristics of the manner of Satan is a nonchalant attitude toward seeking and learning.  The arrogant and casual attitude of the Corinthians toward spiritual matters, and especially toward matters of spiritual risk, has put them and especially the weaker ones among them in spiritual peril.  This is a WAKE-UP call to them.  Wake-up Corinthians!  It is a wake-up call to me as well.  Only when the peril of idolatry is recognized can we realize the salvation from it in Jesus Christ.

The provision of God

If Paul takes great pains to emphasize the reality of temptation, the even greater focus of verse 13 is on the provision of God or the overcoming of that temptation.  The vivid portrait painted in verse 13 of the overwhelming faithfulness of God.  Paul clearly states this as something of the theme of his answer to idolatry and temptation in the verse when he proclaims, “God is faithful.”  How easy it is for me to brush past this statement, discount it, or not digest the enormity of it.  This is one benefit of “saturating” in the Scripture and allowing the Holy Spirit to truly unfold it to us.  I have sung, spoken, and preached about the faithfulness of God.  Yet, I am confident in my own life that I have not come to a very great comprehension of this faithfulness.  What a depth there is to this truth, expressed in verses like the following:

“He who calls you is faithful who also will do it (1 Thess. 5:24).”

“But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one (2 Thess. 3:3).”

“Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.  For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted (Heb. 2:17-18).”

One cannot read verses such as these without being touched by the greatness of our God, and His loving, caring, victorious provision for us in Jesus Christ.   This is the exact point of Paul in the climactic verse 13 of the passage we have been studying.

After plainly stating the faithfulness of God in 1 Corinthians 10:13, Paul goes on in the remainder of the verse to flesh out this faithfulness:  how God provides our salvation in the midst of temptation to idolatry.  Note the rest of the verse.  “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.”  Paul follows up the great statement of God’s faithfulness by saying “who will not allow you.”  The same God who is faithful is the same God who will not allow.  When we stand back and look at the entire passage (verses 1-13), we can see the faithfulness of God as well as this amazing power and authority He has over all creation.  This is the God who provided the cloud by day and fire by night, and the one who allowed them to pass through the sea (verse 1).  These are references to the amazing accounts of the book of Exodus.  I have the vivid picture in my mind of Cecil B. DeMille’s movie, “The Ten Commandments.”  I grew up watching and marveling at that movie, and have the picture etched in my mind of the Red Sea being parted.  I can hear the voice of Moses, played by Charlton Heston, saying in a bold tone with dramatic music playing in the background, “Behold His mighty hand!”  Paul is saying that this is the same hand of God at work in our lives!  As God held back the sea so that the Israelites passed through to safety, He is holding back the things in our lives that are “beyond what you are able” so that we may pass through to safety.  He is “holding back” the overwhelming flood of that which is beyond what we can bear.  It is an awesome reality to consider.

Paul’s further description of this in the verse is stunning and graphic.  He says that God will “make” the way of escape.  The Greek verb, poieo, here translated “make,” is one of the deepest and richest words in all the ancient Greek language.  It is actually a verb that describes the activity of an artist.  This kind of work is not mechanical, duty-like activity.  It is free, joyous, fluid, creative activity.  This paints the picture of a God who is creatively making a way of escape for us.  Artwork is the product of something that did not exist before.  The elements may have existed (paint, canvas, etc.).  However, through the artist, something comes into existence that has never before been seen.  It may have only been seen in the mind of the artist.  No one else has seen or could have conceived of what this new artwork would have looked like.  That is what Paul is saying about the creative activity of God in regard to making our way of escape.  He will creatively make a way out for us of which we could have never conceived!  I may be in a situation of temptation that seems overwhelming to me.  I have never been able to walk through it before.  I cannot imagine how things will ever be different.  The truth of this verse plainly states that God will create a way --- an escape route --- that is “not visible to the naked eye.”  If we will respond to Him, He will make a way out of nothing.  How exciting this is, not only to realize His greatness and faithfulness, but also to live in the excitement of seeing what He will do next!  Again and again, it points to the marvelous faithfulness of our God.

One final aspect of this portrait in verse 13 may be the most astounding of all.  Paul says that He is faithful and will make for us “the way of escape.”  This phrase is translated from a most fascinating Greek word.  It is a compound word formed by adding together two Greek words, and its literal translation would be to “go out” or “step off.”  In some ancient writings in Greek, such as in Homer, the word came to refer to the act of disembarking, as from a ship.  When we begin to understand how the Greek mind thought of this word, and what Paul was trying to communicate, we can hear his point to be that God is providing a way for us of disembarking from a ship.  God is creating something that was not before seen in our situation of temptation, and that something is a gangplank!  This in itself presents quite a picture of temptation.  Temptation can be something that feels as if one is going on a journey.  Upon giving into it in some area and saying “No” to Jesus, it is as if one boarded a ship that is headed out to sea.  I often think of the old southern gospel song by The Cathedrals entitled, “Sin Will Take You Farther Than You Want to Go.”  I envision riding in a canoe and staying in the stream when I know I should get out.  The current seems manageable and I think I am in control.  But the longer I stay in and the further I go downstream, the faster the current is becoming and the less I am in control.  By the time I arrive at the waterfall I am completely out of control!  It is like that with temptation and sin.  If you board the ship, it will take you out to sea.  I become lost at sea, far away from all avenues of escape, safety, or any sighting of land.

Yet, in the middle of the sea to where this ship has taken me, out of nowhere, an Almighty God creates a way of escape to safety.  I could never have pictured how He would do it.  I could not have foreseen the way of escape He would make as I looked out across the endless miles of water and tried to figure out my own escape.  My own struggle never freed me.  But, as I respond and open my heart to Him, saying “Yes” to Jesus, He makes a way off that ship.   A gangplank appears and the way is made for me to walk into safety and away from sin and danger.  And the point of 1 Corinthians is that this gangplank is Jesus!  He is my safety.  He is my escape.  He is my salvation from idolatry and everything else.  If I will allow my heart to be opened, and if I will respond to Him, He will be my complete provision and will make a way for me in the midst of any temptation.  He will be my salvation, my strength, my victory, my wholeness, my complete provision for every need, and the only answer I ever really require.  Jesus is the constant gangplank of my life!  He is the way to safety and He is the safety.  He is the way to life and He is life itself.  In no area or concern of my life is this more applicable than with idolatry.  There is no need to look to anyone or anything else for the needs of my life.  He is my Savior and provision.

My response to the Savior

The final point to consider is what my response is to the Savior and the salvation He offers in the midst of temptations.  In honesty, one thing that has troubled me about verse 13 is that parts of it can sound as if there is something for me to do.  “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.”  This can seem to be a reinforcement of my old “theology,” which tells me that “God does His part and I do my part.”  Yet, that is a contradiction of the message of 1 Corinthians and of the New Testament.  The entire message of 1 Corinthians has been that Jesus is my answer, and that He has come to live within me to reproduce His manner in my life.  It is not a matter of imitation or of me “trying harder.”  It is a matter of allowing Jesus to bring transformation and to live His manner through me.  This is consistent with what Paul says in his other letters as well.

“For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).”

“To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.  Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.  To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily (Colossians 1:27-29).”

“He who calls you is faithful who also will do it (1 Thess. 5:24).”

While my “I do my part” theology looks for more duty and burden on me, a closer look at the verse reveals that there is no such burden for me to bear.  Paul’s emphasis is not at all on what I do, but on what God is doing.  In Paul’s use of the grammar in the verse, he downplays us.  We are more the recipients of action than the doers of action.  He does this in several ways.  One is that in the phrase, “beyond what you are able,” the verb “are able” is in the passive voice.  The most correct translation of this would be “what you are made able.”  It is very common for this verb to be used in this form in the New Testament, and, therefore, too much should not be made of it.  Nonetheless, it is an important recognition that nowhere in this verse is Paul speaking of our ability.  Secondly, it should be noted that, in the Greek, the actual pronoun for “you” is only used twice in the verse.  In both of these cases, the “you” is in the form of direct object, not of a subject.

“No temptation has overtaken YOU . . .”

“God is faithful, who will not allow YOU . . .”

The certain emphasis on this is that we are not the ones acting, but we are the ones being acted upon.  This again points to the reality that this verse does not discuss what we are to do, but something that is being done to, for, or through us.

One final grammatical construction of this verse is the most powerful and convincing indicator of what God is doing for and through us.  It is the final phrase of verse 13 that can most sound like there is something for me to do.  “That you may be able to bear it.”  In reality, Paul’s emphasis is something far different in the Greek from what it can sound like in English.  The real issue is in the part of the phrase which is translated, “That you may be able.”  In Greek, this very special and often unique construction of grammar is called an “articular infinitive,” another one of which we saw earlier in this passage in verse 6 and discussed in the chapter on “Imprints.”  This construction takes an article, which would be “the” in Greek, and places it with an infinitive verb, in this case “to be able.”  When this is done, the entire phrase, literally, “THE to be able,” functions like a noun.  In Greek, we can tell what the function of a noun is in a sentence by what “case” it is in.  In an articular infinitive, the “case” is indicated by the article that is placed with the infinitive.  In this instance, the article “the” in “THE to be able” is a genitive.  The genitive case is often used to define something further.  In this verse, it is clear from the grammar that this genitive articular infinitive is referring back to the way of escape that God is making for us.  It is a further defining of the way of escape.  In simple terms, “THE to be able” to bear up in temptation IS the way of escape that God is making for us.  “THE to be able” is what God is doing in us and it is the victory for us in the temptations of life.  As different as that may sound from the English translation, this is the clear conclusion of the verse.

This provides a completely different understanding of the verse from what I conclude with my “I do my part” theology.  Paul is telling us with complete certainty that God will make a way of escape in all temptation.  It will be an act of creativity on His part, and it will be a “gangplank” to safety from out of nowhere.  We learned that this “gangplank” is Jesus.  We now learn that this safety in Jesus does not mean a removal of temptations, but will be a deliverance and ability that He provides in the midst of temptations.  He is the One who provides and produces “THE to be able” in our lives and in our temptations.  This is, of course, consistent with what was stated earlier in the verse.  The way of escape is made “with the temptation.”  This has some wonderful and important conclusions for us.

First, it is Jesus and His ability working in us that is the answer to all temptation.  Let us always remember that we have no power in ourselves to resist temptation.  Temptation and the lies of the enemy that come with it are bigger than me.  I will never be able to fight it on my own.  My attempts to rescue myself from sin and temptation will only result in me being more trapped, more engulfed in quicksand, further downstream in the canoe, or further out to sea with no land in sight.  Only a fool would attempt to deal with temptation in his or her own ability or to flirt with temptation.  I tried to understand further about this articular infinitive, “THE to be able,” which is a further description of the escape that God makes with our temptation.   In my simple mind, all I could compare it to is the concept of adrenalin.  When there is a situation of danger or threat in my life, my body kicks in with what is called a “fight or flight” reaction.  The adrenalin in my body is enacted and it produces an ability in my body that I do not normally have.  I have heard stories of people doing amazing feats of strength in emergency situations because of the adrenalin at work in them.  Things that could not normally be done were done in those emergency situations.  This is what Jesus does in our lives with temptation and everything else.  In our own ability, we are completely unable to deal with temptation.  However, Jesus does something in us that is beyond human ability.  His ability in our lives accomplishes what we are not able to do.  Living in victory over temptation is now possible because of “THE to be able” that He makes in us.  It is not our ability, but His.  It sounds corny, and all illustrations break down at some point, but it is like Jesus is my adrenaline.  He is my energy and my strength.  Where there is danger or temptation, I am going to rely on Him to work in my life to produce what needs to happen in my body and life for me to have victory over any temptation.  Verse 14 in 1 Corinthians 10 even follows suit with this by urging, “Therefore, my beloved, FLEE from idolatry.”  This is the “flight” reaction that Jesus brings about in me when the temptation to idolatry is present.

What is there for me to do, then, in regard to temptation with idolatry or anything else in my life?   Trust Jesus and RESPOND to Him immediately and at all costs!  Only a fool remains in danger or puts himself or herself further at risk when everything inside is yelling to get out.  This was the kind of “thrill-seeker” existence which the Corinthians desired to live.  They liked the “high” of living on the edge and seeing how far they could go.  This is what led to their flirtation with idolatry.  But this is the essence of Paul’s warning to them.  Such flirtation will lead you to destruction.  Sin will take you farther than you want to go.  Listen and respond to the moving of Jesus in you.  There is such great peace and assurance in this.  If I will always just respond to Jesus, I will always be where I need to be.  There is safety in responding to Jesus because He is my salvation!  It does not matter where I have come from or where I find myself today.  Respond to Jesus and I will be where I need to be.

A final wonderful and important conclusion of “THE to be able” that Jesus produces in our lives is the reality that He does this in our actual physical bodies in real life situations.  This has been the growing crescendo of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians.  We have suggested before that the theme verse of the book may be in chapter 6 verse 19 when he states, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”  “THE to be able” that Jesus is in our lives through His mighty power is not a theoretical idea or wish.  It is not the “power of positive thinking.”  We have an actual Jesus who has come to live in our actual physical bodies through the real and powerful presence of the Holy Spirit.  This means that He is able to work in us in real life situations.  He is in the everyday, “nitty-gritty” of life with us.  God sees no separation between our physical lives and our spiritual lives.  It is all spiritual and all physical because He has come to live in us at all times and be our provider and answer for everything.  This is why the writer of Hebrews could write so confidently the verses we quoted earlier from Hebrews 2:17-18.  He IS able to aid us, for God has come in the flesh and is about the living out of His life in the reality of physical life in this world.  Christianity is not a religion or an ideal.  It is a reality because of the Person who has come to live in us.  There is nothing in our lives in which He cannot bring victory today.   There is no problem too great and no temptation too strong.

That is the foolishness of idolatry.  We can be tempted to believe that He is not able, or that He is too far away.  We end up looking to someone or something else to be the savior of our situation.  We give our hearts and lives in worship to an idol, whether it be a person or thing, only to be broken by their failure.  Let us flee from idolatry.  He is not far, for He has come to live within us by His Spirit.  He is able and complete in His sufficiency for everything in my life.  He is my safety and He is the life.  If I will respond to Him today right where I am and at all costs, I will be exactly where I need to be, and He will show me that He is all I really need.

Jesus, I confess that temptation has been a defeat for me.  If not giving into temptation, I have lived in fear of it and given Satan a victory.  I am responding today to Your call to a new way as You work in me.  Your faithfulness and provision are clear from Your Word.  You are more than able to handle anything in my life with the same power that raised You from the dead.  I know it will be a process of growth and further realization for me, but I am saying YES to living in Your power and resource in my life.  Instead of being intimidated or afraid, I will see temptation and the battle around me as the opportunity to get closer to You and to see You work in a new way in my life.  I am ready and desiring to respond to You however You move and wherever You may place me in your loving plans for me.  Thank you for the victory that is sure in You.  I ask that You would demonstrate Your holiness in the daily affairs of my life for the world to see for such a time as this!

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       Is there a real situation in my life right now that can be a temptation and threat to me spiritually?  Am I taking it seriously or dismissing it as “no big deal”?

2.       How has God exhibited His faithfulness to me and in my life?  In the lives of others around me?

3.       How is the Savior moving in me to respond to Him at this very moment?  About what is He speaking to me regarding which I must respond immediately?

4.       What is the idol from which I need to repent and flee?

Epilogue

“Who is my savior?”

“Who is my savior?”  The question is constantly pertinent to my life.  As I shared in the Preface, I had never considered myself to be an idolater, and the issue of idolatry seemed to be something far away from the sphere of what concerned me.  But the Word of God exposed me to be exactly what I had never imagined myself to be.  I have been an idolater.  What a variety of people and things I have looked to besides Jesus!  My life has been a story of idolatry.  As Norm Wakefield describes, one can look back over my life and see the “idol trail” consisting of all those people and things I looked to for answers and who or which incurred my hatred when they failed me.  As a young person I looked to this or that girlfriend as a “savior.”  Failure.  I looked to athletics and my performance in that realm as my savior.  “This will make me someone.”  Failure.  In succeeding years, as I grew older, I did the same thing in more refined and less obvious ways.  I looked to my wife, my children, my education, my career as a minister, my preaching, teaching and writing, and a wide variety of leaders, teachers, mentors and friends all as potential saviors.  “This person or that thing will come through for me.”  Perhaps I was a more refined idolater than the adolescent version of me after girls and sports.  But it brings the same failure.

The thing about idolatry is its subtlety and pervasiveness.  I may not have a statue that I worship, but there may be someone or something to whom or to which I am looking besides Jesus to be the answer for my life.  My anger and frustration with people or things is the sure sign that I was looking to them for something instead of looking to Jesus.  Jesus poses the question to me once again, “Who is your savior?”  It is time for me to repent at a new level based on the new revelation, look to Him, and let Him bring the healing and fulfillment to my life that only He can be.

This is the beauty and joy of Christianity.  There is wholeness in Jesus Christ.  He can create in us a perfect heart with a perfect motive to only say “Yes” to Him.  As I say “Yes” to Him I will always be where I need to be.  But there is no arrival.  It is like the Apostle Paul describes in Philippians 3:12-14 when he writes,

“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.  Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

The joy of being a Christian is Him and the growth in Him.  What a dull and stagnant existence it would be without growth!  There is no need to fear or avoid the continued exposure of idolatry in my life.  I may have a pure heart in Him because of the sanctifying grace of Jesus Christ, but He continues to bring to light the patterns of any way in which I may yet be looking to people or things as “savior.”  Such chastening is not joyful for the present, but painful (Heb. 12:11).  “Nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it (Heb. 12:11).”  The joy is in saying “Yes” to Him as He reveals truth, and growing in a further realization of His complete sufficiency for all I need.  This is the growth and excitement of the Christian life.  I repent and respond as I come face to face with new truth through His Word, and I get to walk in this new light with Him, for He is the light.  This growth is the pattern of the Christian life throughout this lifetime and into eternity.  “Who is my savior?”

Table of Contents

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Preface

A Brief Introduction to 1 Corinthians

The Heritage of Idolatry

The Heart of Idolatry

The Sacramental Life

Imprints

The Process of Worship

The Heritage of Purity

Instant Replay

Grumbling

A Contrast of Manner

The Savior from Idolatry

Epilogue