Sunday School July 16th, 2006 1st Corinthians 9(24-27)10(1-13)
1st Corinthians 9:24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
Run to win
Corinth was a town very familiar with Olympic type athletic events. The games of Corinth were called the Isthmian games. The phrase “so run that ye may obtain” was what the coaches of the runners who were trained in schools called “gymnasia” and the rabid fans would yell at the runners. In our language it means “run to win.” The runners were taught and challenged to not enter a race unless they were prepared to finish the race. Quitters were ridiculed. They very well understood the comparison between the Spiritual life of a Christian and the race of a long distance runner. The person who enters a marathon race must race to win. He must remove any hindrance before he starts the race. He must train his mind and body to withstand the pain of going past the normal constraints of human existence. He must run to win the prize. He must never forget the reward of the victor. The same can be said about our Spiritual journey. We must remove the sin and the weights which hinder us in this life. We must prepare ourselves to withstand peer pressure and name calling. We must train our bodies, minds, and spirits to overcome the enemy. When we run with respect to the prize which awaits us and with the help of our Savior; we cannot do anything but win!
9:25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 9:26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: 9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
Temperate
The word translated “temperate” is a word which means “possessing self control” and is used concerning athletes, who in preparing themselves for the games abstained from unwholesome food, wine, and sexual indulgence. The runners who were serious about winning the championship trained their bodies with exercise and also by taking care of their bodies. They ate special diets and refrained from activities which might weaken them as they neared the date of their contest. The Christian should understand this comparison and how it relates to us. We need to overcome the lusts of the flesh in order to excel at Spiritual matters. We should remove all things which cause us problems in our Spiritual walk or hinder our testimony of Christ. There are plenty of things which may not be sin, but they sure can hinder us in this life. If we want to be a champion for Christ, we need to overcome these temptations. Paul points out this is important for even preachers and those in authority to remember. Some folks get promoted within the church to the point they think they are above temptations. The Scripture has a warning for such folks which is in our lesson today: 1st Corinthians 10:12 “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” Paul did not want to win others and have himself end up a “castaway.” The word means unfit, not standing the test, or not approved. I don’t want to argue the point, but Paul seemed to realize that he must remain faithful to gain the prize which comes at the end of this life. I want to run this life to win. I want to win heaven which is accomplished by accepting the grace of God and enduring until the end, and I want to run the race in a victorious manner as a Christian. I want to make a difference for Jesus Christ. How about you? To win you must get your mind in order and overcome the lusts of the flesh.
10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 10:2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 10:3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;10:4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
No Respecter of persons
Paul is reminding them of the story of the Exodus. All of the Jewish people were “under the cloud” which means they were protected from the heat of the day by the cloud God sent to shield them. The Scripture teaches us that God sent the cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to guide them on their journey. This cloud kept them from the burning sun and led them through the wilderness. The fire warmed them in the cold of the desert night and protected them from their enemies. The Sea he is referring to is when the people of Israel crossed the Red Sea miraculously on dry land while the army of Pharaoh drowned. The word “baptized” is used referring to their initiation into the family of God. Moses was God’s man to reveal the law to them. Jesus revealed grace to us. We were baptized, not water baptism, but covered up by the Spirit of God and hidden in Christ Jesus. All of us are given the same spiritual advantages. We were all freely forgiven of sin. We were all translated into God’s kingdom. We are all loved and offered guidance by the Holy Spirit. Why then do some live successful Christian lives and others fail? The answer is coming up in this lesson.
10:5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 10:6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
Examples
The children of Israel are examples for us to learn from. The purpose of the recording of their journeys is so we can avoid the same traps which befell them and walk as they walked when they were successful. The Old Testament is a treasure trove of important lessons for us. I will never understand why some folks fail to use them for their benefit. This chapter now will list some of those episodes which happened to Israel of which we can learn.
10:7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
The failure at Horeb
This is the story this verse is referring to: Exodus 32:1-7 “And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. 32:2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. 32:3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. 32:4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 32:5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD. 32:6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
32:7 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:” The people of Israel were not willing to wait for Moses to return from the Mt. upon which God was revealing the law unto them. They decided to make themselves gods which they could see after the manner they had witnessed among the Egyptians. I really blame Aaron for this fiasco. It was Aaron who “fashioned” the calf from the golden jewelry of the Israelites. He should have refused and warned the people, but he didn’t. He followed the crowd to do evil. Don’t be like him; stand up for the right! Remember the first part of this chapter. They all had witnessed the miracles of Jehovah. There is no excuse for their failure. We have no excuse either.
10:8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.
Coerced to commit evil
The occasion this verse is referring to is found in Numbers 25:1-3 “And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. 25:2 And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. 25:3 And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.” The Scripture warns us of this sin in Revelation 2:14 “But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.” Balak the King of Moab tried to pay Balaam to curse Israel. Their plan failed as God revealed that you cannot curse what God has blessed. The alternative which was very successful was to tempt Israel by inviting them to participate in the idolatrous religious rites of these heathen. These rites contained sexual promiscuity and debauchery. God was angered at their sin and 23,000 of God’s people died in one day. What a sobering lesson this is to us. We need to avoid interaction with those who worship idols. The modern movement toward ecumenicalism is not Biblical. We are commanded to serve Jehovah God only and bow down to no other Gods. The Hebrew children would probably be ashamed of some churches today as they compromise with false gods and their ministers in the name of human brotherhood.
10:9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
The brazen serpent
The occasion this verse is referring to is found in Numbers 21:5-6: “And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. 21:6 And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.” The sin committed here is murmuring. We don’t respect this sin much. No one gets their name on a poster in the Post Office for murmuring. No one makes the 10 most wanted list for murmuring, but God hates it when His people complain. How dare these folks complain about a little hardship when God had delivered them from the misery of slavery? How dare us when we complain about a little hardship when God has saved us from the bondage of sin and the clutches of Satan. If God never did anything else for us, we would owe Him unending praise just for saving our souls from Hell. Notice this verse says they tempted Christ. Jesus was not born for about 1500 years after this event. What the story? The story is that Jesus is eternal and was with the nation of Israel every step of the way. Listen to this wonderful revelation from verse 4 in our lesson: 10:4 “And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” Please notice this does not say the rock that followed them was a type of Christ, or an allegory of Christ, but it was Christ. Jesus of Nazareth was born in Bethlehem 1500 years later, but Jesus the only begotten Son of God is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He is from everlasting to everlasting; He is God! I know some cannot accept this, but please don’t try to outsmart the Word of God. If it says that rock was Christ; accept it!
10:10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
14,000 more dead
The occasion this verse is referring to is covered in Numbers 16:41-49 “But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the LORD. 16:42 And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared. 16:43 And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation. 16:44 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
16:45 Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces. 16:46 And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun. 16:47 And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people. 16:48 And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed. 16:49 Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.” These men attempted to wrest the authority and position placed upon Moses. They were rebels. God wants men to abide in their calling. Korah was a Levite which gave him the right to minister before the tabernacle, but that was not enough for him; he wanted to be the High Priest. His rebellion cost him to be swallowed up by the ground around his tent and he went down alive into the pit. Again we should heed the warning of Korah and his company.
10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
Take heed
It is important that we take the warning of God serious. I love verse 12 of our lesson. The word translated fall means to fall under judgment, or came under condemnation. Those who think they are beyond temptation are on dangerous ground. We must take heed to male our calling and election sure. We need to develop good habits and avoid temptations which are common to humans. We should never get to the place where pride lets us drop our defenses. We must be prepared for the tricks pf Satan.
10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
No excuse
There are 3 promises in this verse which should bring joy to our souls. Let me list and comment briefly on them.
- All temptations are common to men. When we think we are being tempted in a singular fashion; we are wrong. Whatever we face, others have traveled that journey before. Listen to this verse: Hebrews 2:18 “For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.” Because Jesus walked as a man and was tempted in all ways as we are, He is able to understand and help us when we struggle. The word translated succour means to help or bring aid. Allah doesn’t know your problems. Buddha has no idea what you’re going through. Only Jesus took upon Himself the flesh of a human being. He knows our pain, frustration, and temptations.
- God is faithful; He will not allow us to be tempted above what we can handle. He knows our limitations and He will not allow Satan to tempt us beyond our capabilities. If we give up, it is our fault. When we reach the limit, He will remove the problem or increase the grace available; either way, we can get through it.
- With every temptation He will make a way of escape so that we can bear it. God will never let a problem come upon us which has no solution. We may have to pray harder. We might have to endure more. We may have to rely on our brethren more. We may have to trust and obey, but He will make a way somehow. I love the old saying; what God will not let us go over, under, or around, He will give us the grace we need to go through!
New Living Translation (to be used as a commentary only)
24 Remember that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize. You also must run in such a way that you will win. 25 All athletes practice strict self-control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 26 So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I am not like a boxer who misses his punches.* 27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
1 I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters,* what happened to our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. God guided all of them by sending a cloud that moved along ahead of them, and he brought them all safely through the waters of the sea on dry ground. 2 As followers of Moses, they were all baptized in the cloud and the sea. 3 And all of them ate the same miraculous* food, 4 and all of them drank the same miraculous water. For they all drank from the miraculous rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Yet after all this, God was not pleased with most of them, and he destroyed them in the wilderness.
6 These events happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did 7 or worship idols as some of them did. For the Scriptures say, “The people celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged themselves in pagan revelry.”* 8 And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, causing 23,000 of them to die in one day. 9 Nor should we put Christ* to the test, as some of them did and then died from snakebites. 10 And don’t grumble as some of them did, for that is why God sent his angel of death to destroy them. 11 All these events happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us, who live at the time when this age is drawing to a close.
12 If you think you are standing strong, be careful, for you, too, may fall into the same sin. 13 But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it.
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PASTOR RICK BARCUS
