Do not become idolaters

 

Do not become idolaters

 

1 Corinthians 10:4-7: “They all drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. But God was not pleased with most of them, so they perished in the wilderness. This was to serve as an example for us, so that we may not delight in evil as they did. Do not become idolaters, as some of them were, as it is written: ‘The people sit down to eat and drink, and rise up to dance.’”

 

When the people who had left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea entered the wilderness, they had nothing to eat, so God gave them manna that came down from heaven to eat. Manna symbolizes Christ. And when they grumbled against Moses because there was no water, God commanded a stone to produce water so they could drink; that stone is Christ. The point is that while those baptized within the church hear God's spiritual word and gain hope for the Kingdom of God, just as the majority of the Israelites perished, those who have not received the baptism of the Holy Spirit cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.

 

1 Corinthians 10:1-2: "Brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be ignorant of this: that our fathers were all under the cloud and passed through the sea, and were all baptized into Moses (Eis ton mowisen) in the cloud and in the sea (Ebaptismal shosan)."

 

Eis ton mowisen (εἰς τὸν Μωϋσῆν) means "into Moses." Ebaptismal shosan means "baptized instantaneously." The cloud signifies that God protected the Israelites from the intense heat of the wilderness through a pillar of cloud. It also implies that the Israelites crossed the Red Sea. Crossing the sea is likened to water baptism.

 

Water baptism signifies dying physically. Jesus’ death on the cross carries the same significance as water baptism. By crossing the Red Sea, which symbolizes water baptism, it signifies that one is dead to the world and to sin, which represent Egypt.

 

Romans 6:11 states, "Likewise, you also should regard yourselves as dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." While water baptism signifies being dead to the world and to sin, the baptism of the Holy Spirit signifies becoming alive to God in Christ.

 

In the Old Testament era, when the Israelites arrived at Mount Sinai, Moses did not descend for over 40 days after entering the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments. Consequently, the people made an idol in the shape of a golden calf, worshipped it as God, and engaged in vile behaviors such as eating, drinking, and committing sexual immorality.

 

This implies that even within the church, if people preach or believe a different gospel despite having heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, they are no different from the Israelites of the past. A different gospel would imply that one is saved simply by believing in Jesus. Faith must be the faith of Christ. Galatians 2:16 states, "We also have believed in Christ Jesus, knowing that a person is not justified by works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law. For by works of the law no one will be justified."

 

"By faith in Jesus Christ" (dia pisteos esu christou διὰ πίστεως Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ) means, when viewed in the original Greek, "through the faith of Jesus Christ." It does not refer to the faith that I believe in, but rather to the faith in which the saint dies with Jesus Christ on the cross (denies himself), enters into Jesus Christ—the Logos—and becomes united with His faith (the faith that dies on the cross and resurrects). The subject of faith becomes Jesus Christ, not me. Even in English Bibles, the NIV translation is incorrect, just like the Korean translation. However, the KJV translated the Greek original fairly, though not perfectly. This is because even the KJV cannot be considered to have a translation nuance that completely matches the Greek text.

 

Exodus 32:4-6: “Then Aaron took the gold rings from their hands and melted them down and, with a chisel, made a calf. And they said, ‘Israel, this is your god who brought you out of the land of Egypt.’ When Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. Then Aaron proclaimed, ‘Tomorrow is the feast of the Lord.’ So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then the people sat down and ate and drank, and rose up and danced.”

 

The actions of eating, drinking, and committing sexual immorality refer to eating and drinking what had been offered as sacrifices to the idols, and engaging in sexual acts at that altar, after having committed idolatry. All of this constitutes the nature of idolatry. In Exodus 25:1-10, the Israelites committed adultery with Moabite women and worshiped idols at Shittim, and God was angry and caused them to die.

 

Likewise, there were those who, while claiming to believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, mixed the Gospel with the ideas of legalism, humanism, and Gnosticism. They are committing spiritual fornication. God does not allow those who commit spiritual adultery to enter the Kingdom of God.

 

In particular, at the time Paul was evangelizing, legalists had entered the church community and shaken the faith of the believers. Before his conversion, Paul had also been taught that the only way to approach God was through the law, and he lived believing that. However, after meeting Jesus Christ, he stopped approaching God through the law. This means dying to the law. It means realizing that one must meet God by passing through Christ, not through the law. Therefore, dying to the law is passing through Jesus Christ, and it is the way to live toward God.

 

The Apostle Paul died to the law not at the moment he met Jesus, but at the moment his eyes were opened through Ananias and he was baptized. The law no longer approaches the dead. What approaches the dead to the law is the Holy Spirit. Therefore, since those who are dead to the law are born again by the Spirit, the law of the Spirit applies. Thus, they live with God. They become one with God in Christ.

 

Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." It is not faith in the Son of God, but faith that lives within the faith of the Son of God.

 

The core issue of religion is whether one lives within the law (the faith one believes in) or lives within the faith of the Son of God. Naturally, Christianity is the latter. That is precisely the Gospel. How can one enter into Christ? It is the faith to die with Jesus on the cross and to rise with Him on the cross; when this happens, the Logos enters into the heart of the saint (hypomone). This is the way of salvation.