Paul
the apostle asked the church members in Corinth is “the
idol any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols any
thing?”,
and in chapter ten and verse twenty of
First Corinthians, Paul told the Corinthian church members “the
things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils”
where we read:
and
not to God: and I would not that you should have fellowship with
devils.
The
verse begins, “But
I say, that the things which the
Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils,
and not
to God:”. Paul
began with the word, “But”
which is a disassociation conjunction that means what is about to be
written takes precedence over what was just stated “I
say” which
means “Paul utters, proclaims and declares”, “that
the things which”
or “the
offerings that” “the Gentiles”
which refers
to “foreign nations not worshiping the true God or pagans”
“sacrifice”
or “immolate, slay, kill or slaughter”, “they
sacrifice”
which means “the Gentiles immolate, slay, kill or slaughter” “to
devils” or
“evil spirits or the messengers and ministers of the devil”,
“and not to God”
which means “not toward the Godhead bodily and trinity which is
comprised of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit. Paul
said the “offerings” of the “pagans” were actually
“sacrificed”
to “devils”
or “evil spirits” and not to Almighty God.
The
verse continues, “and
I would not that you should have fellowship with devils.”
Paul added
the word, “and” which
means “in addition, moreover” “I
would not”
or “Paul did not have in mind, intend, resolve, determine or
purpose” “that you”
which means “that the church members” “should
have fellowship”
which refers to “arising to, happening toward and appearing as a
partner, associate, comrade, companion or sharer” “with
devils” or
“alongside evil spirits or the messengers and ministers of the
devil”.
Paul meant for the church members to have no relationship at all with
“devils”.
When
we think through these words from Paul, we understand when people
offer “sacrifices” or “offerings” to “idols”
or “false gods” they are actually offering them to “devils”.
Paul did not want the church members to have any relationship with
“devils”, and although “pagans” would offer
“sacrifices” to them, the church members were not to be involved
in any manner. Jesus Christ wants His church to be separated from any
and all activity with “idols” or “devils”, and
all the church members allegiance must be given unto God the Father
and Christ the Son.
Next
time Paul tells the Corinthians, “you
cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
No comments:
Post a Comment