Some tested the Lord and perished by snakes.

 

Some tested the Lord and perished by snakes.

 

1 Corinthians 10:9-11: “Some of them tested the Lord and perished by snakes. Let us not test (epeirasan) as they did. Some of them grumbled and perished by the destroyer. Do not grumble as they did. These things happened to them as examples, and they were written to warn us who live in the last days.”

 

This content is from Numbers chapter 21. The cause of their destruction was testing God and grumbling. God had the Israelites depart from Mount Hor and travel along the Red Sea route, bypassing the land of Edom. They complained to God, asking why He made them take a detour when they could have reached Canaan by going straight without the detour, and there was nothing to eat in the wilderness. Consequently, God sent fiery serpents to bite the people, resulting in the death of many Israelites from snake bites. When the devil tempted Jesus, in the second temptation, he said that if Jesus jumped from the roof of a building, an angel would catch him; however, Jesus said not to test God. Matthew 4:6-7 states: “He said, ‘If you are the Son of God, jump down; for it is written, “He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”’ Jesus said to him, ‘It is also written, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”’”

 

This temptation is connected to the message regarding prosperity theology. When people test God, it is ultimately to ask Him to grant their demands. Because God does not grant their demands, they resent Him. Just as they were eventually destroyed by God’s wrath, today, people earnestly pray to God for worldly blessings, and when their prayers are ineffective, they resent God.

 

The message is to be cautious about whether believers truly believe, even if they think they are leading a good church life. It warns against falling into the trap of all kinds of false gospels that are rampant. It is not man testing God, but God testing man through the devil. The purpose of such testing is to enable one to possess strong faith. When God tests believers, He does not cause them to stumble, but rather uses the thorn that the devil inflicts to bring them to their senses and enlightenment.

 

1 Corinthians 10:12-13: "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. For no temptation has overtaken you except what is common to man. And God is faithful (pistós) that when you are tempted, he will provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it." Pistós means faithful. Although the subject is "you" because it is translated as "tempts that man endures," the subject is the devil's temptation.

 

Paul told the believers in the Corinthian church to beware of those who cause them to depart from the truth and follow falsehood. He likened this to idolatry. He warned them to be careful because people speak of falsehood as if it were the word of God. Idolatry encompasses everything that acts according to man rather than God—that is, everything that departs from the Word of God. It means that anything in which greed (the old self) does not die within the human heart is an idol. It means that within the church, following the words of men more than the Gospel of Jesus Christ is an idol.

Paul is telling the saints to judge for themselves whether what he says is correct in light of the Bible. He is saying that one should not blindly trust and believe what a pastor preaches, but rather judge it in light of Scripture. The Gospel is participating in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Anything else spoken of is not the Gospel. In today's church communities, most pastors primarily speak about how to live in the world. However, they should not speak about how to live in the world, but rather how to think about and live in relation to the Kingdom of God.

 

1 Corinthians 10:16-17: "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body (soma) of Christ? For there is one bread, and we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one bread."

 

This means that one should not follow words that do not involve participating in the death of Christ on the cross. Pouring the cup to drink and breaking and eating the bread symbolize participation in the death and resurrection on the cross. Since the body of Christ signifies the resurrection of Christ, the saint is also resurrected in Christ. At that time, many people in the Corinthian church held a legalistic view regarding food. They considered food offered on an altar and then sold in the market to be unclean because it had been offered to the altar. Therefore, when they refused to eat it, new believers could experience confusion.

 

The point is that since food is given by God, there is no problem if one eats it without hesitation, even if it has been offered to an altar. However, when one takes issue with food offered to the altar from a legalistic perspective, one becomes someone who has fallen into legalism. There are instances where Christians who eat sacrificial offerings without hesitation criticize those who do not partake of them for the sake of beginners in faith. That is why Paul tells them not to do so.

 

We participate in eating food not through the law, but through God's grace. Considering God's grace for the sake of preaching the gospel, they refrained from eating the sacrificial offerings in step with beginners in faith; doing so is simply a cause for gratitude to God. The question is, is that this is something to be slandered? Paul speaks harshly, stating that those who eat with the mindset that they are offerings presented on the altar are participating in the altar and are in fellowship with demons. He implies that those who are steeped in legalism are still possessed by demons. In this way, he means that anything that does not establish the Kingdom of God on this earth is wrong.

 

Therefore, he commands that whether you eat or drink or do anything else, you must do it all for the glory of God. Those who view and think from their own perspective—whether Jews, Greeks, or the churches—can become stumbling blocks to God. Their own perspective is a worldly one that can distort the Gospel into legalism and humanism. That is why the Gospel must be preached from God's perspective.