The connecting word "For" is significant because it links "the argument of chapter 10 to chapter 9. The danger of being 'disqualified' from salvation (9:27) is real, as the history of Israel proves."Gregory Lockwood, 1 Corinthians, 321. Both 1 Cor. 9:24–27 and 10:1–12 convey "the necessity for self-control and [warn of] the danger of apostasy," via idolatry.J.W McGarvey & Philip Pendleton, The Standard Bible Commentary: Thessalonians, Corinthians, Galatians, and Romans, 97. "Underlying both the OT texts and the discussion of 1 Corinthians 8–10 is the charge of idolatry and thus of apostasy" (Ben Witherington, Conflict & Community in Corinth: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians, 218). Paul "appeals to ... the history of Israel as directly applicable to Christians in Corinth. The example of 'the fathers' horrifying end highlights the peril in which the Corinthians place themselves by consorting with idols." Garland, 1 Corinthians, 446. "Paul's purpose in drawing the parallel is this: just as many Israelites were disqualified because of their unfaithfulness and false worship, Christians too face the danger of being disqualified from salvation if they engage in false worship and fail to remain in repentance and faith worked by the Holy Spirit." Lockwood, 1 Corinthians, 326. "The Fathers were rejected because of their sins, idolatry, laziness, lust, unbelief, etc. We must therefore be on guard lest the same sins cheat us of salvation” (Philipp Melanchthon, Annotations on the First Epistle to the Corinthians, Introduced, Translated, and Edited by John Patrick Donnelly, Marquette University Press, 1995: 109). "Paul uses the Israelite examples so that the Corinthians will repent and not perish" due to their idolatrous actions.Witherington, Ibid., 217. Paul gives a "climatic"B.J. Oropeza, 1 Corinthians, 126. and "chilling warning"William Baker, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: 1 Corinthians, 145. to his readers in verse 12, "Therefore, the one who thinks that he stands must watch out lest he fall" (LEB). In Pauline usage "stand" (Greek: histēmi) refers to "the idea of one's standing in faith and grace or in the message of the Gospel (1 Cor. 15:1f; 16:13; 2 Cor. 1:24; Rom. 5:2; 11:20; Phil. 4:1 cf. 1 Pet. 5:12)."Oropeza, Paul and Apostasy, 195. Cf. Garland, 1 Corinthians, 446. Here, in light of "the divine privileges found in 10:1–4" that the Christians in Corinth already partake of, histēmi conveys in v. 12 that they are presently "standing in a salvific relationship" with Christ and enjoy "the blessings of divine graces." Oropeza, Paul and Apostasy, 195–196. Unfortunately, some Christians are "forgetting that their standing is not indelible [i.e., permanent] but depends on a continuing faithfulness to God."Wendell Willis, Idol Meat in Corinth, 156. "If Paul thinks that he could fall (9:27), how much more, then, could the Corinthians fall. Their security rests on their continuing fidelity [i.e., faithfulness] to God and God alone (cf. Rom. 11:22)." Garland, 1 Corinthians, 467. "When congregants have an overinflated view of salvific assurance . . . Paul is quick to deflate them by warning that they may not achieve final salvation if they persist in ways that displease God (e.g., 1 Cor 10:1–12)."B.J. Oropeza, Apostasy in New Testament Communities, Volume 3: 277–278. Indeed, "The sins specified by Paul are ... those peculiarly besetting the Church at Corinth. They are to be interpreted as sins through which apostasy and destruction were likely to result. Hence Paul warns them (verse 12) against a fall."Daniel Whedon, at https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/whe/1-corinthians-10.html. This "fall" is not merely "a falling ... into a state of sin" since some Christians in Corinth have already been committing the sins mentioned in 10:6-10, specifically, idolatry and sexual immorality.Oropeza, Paul and Apostasy, 196. Since "fall" is the opposite of standing in faith,Oropeza, Paul and Apostasy, 204. Paul is referring to a "catastrophic fall" from faith Wolfgang Bauder, New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 1:611. "[Fall] is also a figure of speech for loss of faith and separation from grace in 1 C. 10:12" (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament 6:164). whereby the believer commits apostasy (i.e., becomes an unbeliever).Oropeza, Paul and Apostasy, 203; James Coffman, 1 and Corinthians, 154–155. Even Calvinist Thomas Schreiner acknowledges that "the verb 'fall' (piptō) often designates apostasy – falling away from the faith," but does not believe that this can happen to Christians.Schreiner, 1 Corinthians, 206. Calvinist Andrew Wilson says, "Standing and falling, for Paul, appear to be common metaphors for perseverance and apostasy," and goes on to conclude: "Paul's use of the Israelites to warn the Corinthians about 'standing' and 'falling' suggests that he has this polarity in mind: perseverance [in faith] leading to eternal salvation, or idolatry resulting in eschatological [i.e., future and final] condemnation.Wilson, The Warning-Assurance Relationship in 1 Corinthians, 110–111. It should be noted, Wilson, like Schreiner, denies that this falling (apostasy) is possible for Christians. Paul holds that eating food known to have been offered to idols as nothing less than "idolatry," and he states emphatically that "no-one who makes a practice of committing idolatry will inherit God's kingdom (1 Cor. 6:9; Gal. 5:20–21; Eph. 5:5)."Schreiner, 1 Corinthians, 177. So Oropeza, Paul and Apostasy, 197. Therefore, if a Christian persists in such idolatrous behavior they will eventually "fall" or commit apostasy (i.e., become an unbelieving idolater) and be prevented "from entering the kingdom of God,"Oropeza, Paul and Apostasy, 196, 197., forfeiting eternal "salvation"Bauder, NIDNTT 1:611; Willis, Ibid., 141, 157; Gordon Fee, 1 Corinthians, 462; Liong Seng Richard Phua, Idolatry and Authority: A Study of 1 Corintians 8.1–11.1 in the Light of the Jewish Diaspora, 204. with God for "eternal destruction"Oropeza, Paul and Apostasy, 203. or "damnation"Khiok-Khng Yeo, Rhetorical interaction in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10, 172. from God. "Given the close connection between 9:27 and this passage [10:12], one might very well find in this entire section (9:24–10:14) one of the best N.T. passages warning about apostasy."Robert Picirilli, 1, 2 Corinthians, 143.
