The Rock Is Christ
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Today we transition to a new focus for the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Corinthian church. Having addressed personal sacrifice on his own part and the part of others who God has called to be servants in the Church, Paul now speaks of the responsibility of those who are members of the church. Not responsibilities of duty, but of faithfulness and trust in God! The God who has loved and saved them.
Paul opens with the words, For I do not want you to be unaware because he wants to draw attention to the truth he is about to reveal. He wants them to have clarity concerning the situation he is about to address because it is of upmost importance for their salvation.
These opening five verses of this chapter lay the groundwork for what is about to come. The words Paul uses are specific and they are intended to connect his reader and our life in Christ with the ancient people of God who were chosen and blessed in the same ways as we are today. Hear what he says.
For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our fathers were all under the cloud and they all passed through the sea; and they all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and they all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased; for their dead bodies were spread out in the wilderness. 1 Corinthians 10:1-5
Break it down! You have been baptized in the name of God and chosen, by grace, to be part of His covenant people. Baptism is understood to be an action of God by which and individual is adopted into the family and made a child of God. Paul’s point? All the people who came out of Egypt were baptized into Moses. Not a baptism of salvation but an adoption of sorts, because Moses was the one identified as the deliverer from bondage. The water all around and the cloud above, they were completely covered by the water as they passed through the sea.
Having emerged on the other side, they were fed with spiritual food and spiritual drink. Are we not given spiritual food and drink as well? Are we not provided a covenant meal of relationship as the people of God who are traveling through this land?
The Children of Israel were nourished when water came forth from a rock in the wilderness. In the midst of a dry and parched land, there was refreshment! Paul states clearly, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. Who is it that was constantly present with them as they journeyed through the wilderness? It was Jesus!
Where do we turn to connect with Jesus who has promised to abide with us on our journey through this barren world as we sojourn? We turn to His Word and we hear Him speak and our spirits are refreshed and strengthened for our life in this world.
So Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and the Word of God are pictured as being the means by which Christ was present with His people who were brought out of bondage and who are on the journey to the Promise Land! Sound familiar? Are we not those who have been delivered from horrible bondage, captive to a taskmaster much stronger than we, and thus unable to free ourselves? Have we not been brought into this new relationship when the waters of baptism covered us, and are we not fed with a covenant meal provided to us by God? Do we not have Christ present with us and are we not able to hear His voice guiding us as we travel to the Promise Land of heaven?
Our lives and the journey we are on is a parallel image of what God accomplished for His Old Testament people Israel. But what is Paul’s warning? Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased; for their dead bodies were spread out in the wilderness. Paul is about to address hard things! The words which will follow are spoken as grace to us that we would understand how many of those who were saved in the Old Testament perished because of their disobedience to God. These words are given as a warning to we who read them today, lest we turn from God and find ourselves as those who have tasted the good things of God but who in the end fall short of reaching the goal.
Our world today is filled with the exact same temptations the Old Testament people faced all those years ago. They were offered eternal life, but they chose eternal death. The same offer has been given to each of us! God has worked the same way to bring us into this new relationship with Himself and He is present to bless us on the journey. All He asks of us is to live in this relationship of grace and not to walk away from His good gifts.
Paul wants us to be aware of the dangers around us that we might be well prepared and equipped to stand against the temptations and live faithfully as the covenant people of God redeemed by the blood of Christ through the grace of God. May God open our ears and hearts to hear his coming words.
In Christ,
Pastor Russ
Today we transition to a new focus for the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Corinthian church. Having addressed personal sacrifice on his own part and the part of others who God has called to be servants in the Church, Paul now speaks of the responsibility of those who are members of the church. Not responsibilities of duty, but of faithfulness and trust in God! The God who has loved and saved them.
Paul opens with the words, For I do not want you to be unaware because he wants to draw attention to the truth he is about to reveal. He wants them to have clarity concerning the situation he is about to address because it is of upmost importance for their salvation.
These opening five verses of this chapter lay the groundwork for what is about to come. The words Paul uses are specific and they are intended to connect his reader and our life in Christ with the ancient people of God who were chosen and blessed in the same ways as we are today. Hear what he says.
For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our fathers were all under the cloud and they all passed through the sea; and they all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and they all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased; for their dead bodies were spread out in the wilderness. 1 Corinthians 10:1-5
Break it down! You have been baptized in the name of God and chosen, by grace, to be part of His covenant people. Baptism is understood to be an action of God by which and individual is adopted into the family and made a child of God. Paul’s point? All the people who came out of Egypt were baptized into Moses. Not a baptism of salvation but an adoption of sorts, because Moses was the one identified as the deliverer from bondage. The water all around and the cloud above, they were completely covered by the water as they passed through the sea.
Having emerged on the other side, they were fed with spiritual food and spiritual drink. Are we not given spiritual food and drink as well? Are we not provided a covenant meal of relationship as the people of God who are traveling through this land?
The Children of Israel were nourished when water came forth from a rock in the wilderness. In the midst of a dry and parched land, there was refreshment! Paul states clearly, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. Who is it that was constantly present with them as they journeyed through the wilderness? It was Jesus!
Where do we turn to connect with Jesus who has promised to abide with us on our journey through this barren world as we sojourn? We turn to His Word and we hear Him speak and our spirits are refreshed and strengthened for our life in this world.
So Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and the Word of God are pictured as being the means by which Christ was present with His people who were brought out of bondage and who are on the journey to the Promise Land! Sound familiar? Are we not those who have been delivered from horrible bondage, captive to a taskmaster much stronger than we, and thus unable to free ourselves? Have we not been brought into this new relationship when the waters of baptism covered us, and are we not fed with a covenant meal provided to us by God? Do we not have Christ present with us and are we not able to hear His voice guiding us as we travel to the Promise Land of heaven?
Our lives and the journey we are on is a parallel image of what God accomplished for His Old Testament people Israel. But what is Paul’s warning? Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased; for their dead bodies were spread out in the wilderness. Paul is about to address hard things! The words which will follow are spoken as grace to us that we would understand how many of those who were saved in the Old Testament perished because of their disobedience to God. These words are given as a warning to we who read them today, lest we turn from God and find ourselves as those who have tasted the good things of God but who in the end fall short of reaching the goal.
Our world today is filled with the exact same temptations the Old Testament people faced all those years ago. They were offered eternal life, but they chose eternal death. The same offer has been given to each of us! God has worked the same way to bring us into this new relationship with Himself and He is present to bless us on the journey. All He asks of us is to live in this relationship of grace and not to walk away from His good gifts.
Paul wants us to be aware of the dangers around us that we might be well prepared and equipped to stand against the temptations and live faithfully as the covenant people of God redeemed by the blood of Christ through the grace of God. May God open our ears and hearts to hear his coming words.
In Christ,
Pastor Russ
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