1 Corinthians 10:1-13 Moreover, brothers, I would not that you should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud… The mystic and formalist say these signs, and these only, convey grace; sacraments are miraculous. But St. Paul says to the Corinthians, the Jews had symbols as living as yours. Bread, wine, water, cloud; it matters nought what the material is. God's presence is everything; God's power, God's life — wherever these exist there there is a sacrament. What is the lesson, then, which we learn? Is it that God's life, and love, and grace, are limited to certain materials, such as the rock, the bread, or the wine? or is it not much rather that every meal, every gushing stream, and drifting cloud is the symbol of God, and a sacrament to every open heart? And the power of recognising and feeling this makes all the difference between the religious and the irreligious spirit. There were those, doubtless, in the wilderness, who saw nothing wonderful in the flowing water. They rationalised upon its origin: it quenched their thirst, and that was all it meant to them. But there were others to whom it was the very love and power of God. (F. W. Robertson, M.A.) Parallel Verses KJV: Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; |
    |