Paul speaks of the Lord Jesus in the same manner the Old Testament did in reference to YHWH and His jealousy concerning idolatry.
1 Corinthians 6:17 (the "Lord" is Jesus; cf. 6:14-15)
But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
1 Corinthians 10:22 (the "Lord" is Jesus; cf. v. 21 in which I will address further below)
Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?
We are not stronger than He, are we?
Numbers 25:3, 11
(3) So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor, and the LORD was angry against Israel.
(11) Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned away My wrath from the sons of Israel in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the sons of Israel in My jealousy.
Psalm 106:28-29
(28) They joined themselves also to Baal-peor,
And ate sacrifices offered to the dead.
(29) Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds,
And the plague broke out among them.
There are 4 key words used in 1 Corinthians 8 and 1 Corinthians 10:19-29 that Paul uses in association with the worship properly due unto the Lord Jesus in contradistinction to the improper worship given unto idols. These are:
1. (the) Lord (apart from 1 Corinthians 8:5 where idols are in view, "Lord" always refers to the Lord Jesus)
2. things sacrificed to idols (or a close expression; eidōlothytos)
3. idol (eidōlon)
4. conscience (syneidēsis)
1 Corinthians 8
(1) Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies.
(2) If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know;
(3) but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him.
(4) Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one.
(5) For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords,
(6) yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.
(7) However not all men have this knowledge; but some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.
(8) But food will not commend us to God; we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat.
(9) But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.
(10) For if someone sees you, who have knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be strengthened to eat things sacrificed to idols?
(11) For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died.
(12) And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.
(13) Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.
1 Corinthians 10:19-29
(19) What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
(20) No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons.
(21) You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.
(22) Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?
(23) All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify.
(24) Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor.
(25) Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without asking questions for conscience' sake;
(26) for the earth is the Lord's, and all it contains. (Psalm 24:1 - Paul applies YHWH from this passage in reference to Jesus being the Lord)
(27) If one of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go, eat anything that is set before you without asking questions for conscience' sake.
(28) But if anyone says to you, “This is meat sacrificed to idols,” do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience' sake;
(29) I mean not your own conscience, but the other man’s; for why is my freedom judged by another’s conscience?
The "Lord" in v. 21 refers to Jesus, and so throughout.
1 Corinthians 10:21
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons.
1 Corinthians 11:27
Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
To drink the cup of demons and to partake of the table of demons involves worshiping demons.
Likewise, to drink the cup of the Lord and to partake of the table of the Lord involves worshiping the Lord Jesus.
1 Corinthians 10:22
Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?
We are not stronger than He, are we?
Deuteronomy 32:21
They have made Me jealous with what is not God;
They have provoked Me to anger with their idols.
Paul applies the "Lord" in v. 22 in reference to Jesus (cf. v. 21) based on a section of Scripture which contains one of the greatest proclamations of the monotheistic faith.
Deuteronomy 32:39
See now that I, I am He, and there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand.
One should not provoke the Lord Jesus to jealousy because He is a jealous God.
1 Corinthians 8:10; 10:22
(8:10) eat things sacrificed to idols
(10:22) Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?
Exodus 34:14-15
(14) for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God—
(15) otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they would play the harlot with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice.
Notice that what is taught concerning the Lord, jealousy, and idolatry are so important that they are included in the Ten Commandments.
Deuteronomy 5:6-9
(6) I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
(7) You shall have no other gods before Me.
(8) You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.
(9) You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me.
The very next chapter continues with this teaching...
Deuteronomy 6:4-5, 13-15
(4) Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!
(5) You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
(13) You shall fear only the Lord your God; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name.
(14) You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you,
(15) for the LORD your God in the midst of you is a jealous God; otherwise the anger of the LORD your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.
The one Lord who is a jealous God, is differentiated from all creation (potential idols) in that He alone is to be worshiped. Since what is said of Him is EQUALLY used in reference to the Lord Jesus demonstrates Jesus (not any idol) is to be worshiped as being YHWH.
1 Corinthians 6:17 (the "Lord" is Jesus; cf. 6:14-15)
But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
1 Corinthians 10:22 (the "Lord" is Jesus; cf. v. 21 in which I will address further below)
Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?
We are not stronger than He, are we?
Numbers 25:3, 11
(3) So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor, and the LORD was angry against Israel.
(11) Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned away My wrath from the sons of Israel in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the sons of Israel in My jealousy.
Psalm 106:28-29
(28) They joined themselves also to Baal-peor,
And ate sacrifices offered to the dead.
(29) Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds,
And the plague broke out among them.
There are 4 key words used in 1 Corinthians 8 and 1 Corinthians 10:19-29 that Paul uses in association with the worship properly due unto the Lord Jesus in contradistinction to the improper worship given unto idols. These are:
1. (the) Lord (apart from 1 Corinthians 8:5 where idols are in view, "Lord" always refers to the Lord Jesus)
2. things sacrificed to idols (or a close expression; eidōlothytos)
3. idol (eidōlon)
4. conscience (syneidēsis)
1 Corinthians 8
(1) Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies.
(2) If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know;
(3) but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him.
(4) Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one.
(5) For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords,
(6) yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.
(7) However not all men have this knowledge; but some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.
(8) But food will not commend us to God; we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat.
(9) But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.
(10) For if someone sees you, who have knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be strengthened to eat things sacrificed to idols?
(11) For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died.
(12) And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.
(13) Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.
1 Corinthians 10:19-29
(19) What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
(20) No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons.
(21) You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.
(22) Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?
(23) All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify.
(24) Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor.
(25) Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without asking questions for conscience' sake;
(26) for the earth is the Lord's, and all it contains. (Psalm 24:1 - Paul applies YHWH from this passage in reference to Jesus being the Lord)
(27) If one of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go, eat anything that is set before you without asking questions for conscience' sake.
(28) But if anyone says to you, “This is meat sacrificed to idols,” do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience' sake;
(29) I mean not your own conscience, but the other man’s; for why is my freedom judged by another’s conscience?
The "Lord" in v. 21 refers to Jesus, and so throughout.
1 Corinthians 10:21
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons.
1 Corinthians 11:27
Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
To drink the cup of demons and to partake of the table of demons involves worshiping demons.
Likewise, to drink the cup of the Lord and to partake of the table of the Lord involves worshiping the Lord Jesus.
1 Corinthians 10:22
Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?
We are not stronger than He, are we?
Deuteronomy 32:21
They have made Me jealous with what is not God;
They have provoked Me to anger with their idols.
Paul applies the "Lord" in v. 22 in reference to Jesus (cf. v. 21) based on a section of Scripture which contains one of the greatest proclamations of the monotheistic faith.
Deuteronomy 32:39
See now that I, I am He, and there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand.
One should not provoke the Lord Jesus to jealousy because He is a jealous God.
1 Corinthians 8:10; 10:22
(8:10) eat things sacrificed to idols
(10:22) Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?
Exodus 34:14-15
(14) for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God—
(15) otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they would play the harlot with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice.
Notice that what is taught concerning the Lord, jealousy, and idolatry are so important that they are included in the Ten Commandments.
Deuteronomy 5:6-9
(6) I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
(7) You shall have no other gods before Me.
(8) You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.
(9) You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me.
The very next chapter continues with this teaching...
Deuteronomy 6:4-5, 13-15
(4) Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!
(5) You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
(13) You shall fear only the Lord your God; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name.
(14) You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you,
(15) for the LORD your God in the midst of you is a jealous God; otherwise the anger of the LORD your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.
The one Lord who is a jealous God, is differentiated from all creation (potential idols) in that He alone is to be worshiped. Since what is said of Him is EQUALLY used in reference to the Lord Jesus demonstrates Jesus (not any idol) is to be worshiped as being YHWH.
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