1 Corinthians 10:20 - Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown

1 Corinthians 10:20

18 Observe ^aIsrael ^bafter the flesh: ^cAre not those who eat of the sacrifices¹ partakers of the altar?

19 What am I saying then? ^aThat an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything?

20 Rather, that the things which the Gentiles ^asacrifice ^bthey sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.

21 ^aYou cannot drink the cup of the Lord and ^bthe cup of demons; you cannot partake of the ^cLord’s table and of the table of demons.

22 Or do we ^aprovoke the Lord to jealousy? ^bAre we stronger than He?

All to the Glory of God

23 All things are lawful¹ for me, but not all things are ^ahelpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things² edify.

24 Let no one seek his own, but each one ^athe other’s well-being.

25 ^aEat whatever is sold in the meat market, asking no questions for conscience’ sake;

26 for ^a“the earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness.”

27 If any of those who do not believe invites you to dinner, and you desire to go, ^aeat whatever is set before you, asking no question for conscience’ sake.

28 But if anyone says to you, “This was offered to idols,” do not eat it ^afor the sake of the one who told you, and for conscience’ sake;¹ for ^b“the earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness.”

29 “Conscience,” I say, not your own, but that of the other. For ^awhy is my liberty judged by another man’s conscience?

30 But if I partake with thanks, why am I evil spoken of for the food ^aover which I give thanks?

31 ^aTherefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

32 ^aGive no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God,

33 just ^aas I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

Commentaries:

Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown

<< 1 Corinthians 10:19

1 Corinthians 10:21 >>

1 Corinthians 10:20

I would not that ye . . . have fellowship with devils—by partaking of idol feasts (I Corinthians 8:10).

1 Corinthians 10:19-20

What say I then?—The inference might be drawn from the analogies of the Lord's Supper and Jewish sacrifices, that an idol is really what the heathen thought it to be, a god, and that in eating idol-meats they had fellowship with the god. This verse guards against such an inference: "What would I say then? that a thing sacrificed to an idol is any real thing (in the sense that the heathen regard it), or that an idol is any real thing?" (The oldest manuscripts read the words in this order. Supply "Nay") "But [I say] that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils (demons)." Paul here introduces a new fact. It is true that, as I said, an idol has no reality in the sense that the heathen regard it, but it has a reality in another sense; heathendom being under Satan's dominion as "prince of this world," he and his demons are in fact the powers worshipped by the heathen, whether they are or are not conscious of it (Deuteronomy 32:17; Leviticus 17:7; II Chronicles 11:15; Psalms 106:37; Revelation 9:20). "Devil" is in the Greek restricted to Satan; "demons" is the term applied to his subordinate evil spirits. Fear, rather than love, is the motive of heathen worship (compare the English word "panic," from PAN, whose human form with horns and cloven hoofs gave rise to the vulgar representations of Satan which prevail now); just as fear is the spirit of Satan and his demons (James 2:19).

Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing 1 Corinthians 10:20:

Leviticus 17:10
Psalms 106:37
Matthew 10:25
1 Corinthians 8:4
1 Corinthians 10:7
1 Corinthians 10:16
Galatians 4:8-11
Revelation 12:14

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