1 Corinthians 10:1-4
What is written? (ESV)
For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.
What does it say?
Don’t forget, brethren, that our forefathers were all under the cloud, and all of them passed through the sea, being baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and they all consumed the same spiritual food and drink. They drank from the same spiritual Rock that followed them, which was Christ.
What is its immediate context?
Paul, in a letter to the young church in Corinth addressing divisions and several serious matters including sin and arrogance, reminds them about those that came before and the unity they have in Christ. He goes on to share the mostly negative example of those that came before, that “God was not pleased” (vs 5) with them, and implores them to “not desire evil as they did” (vs 6). Paul’s reference here is going back specifically to the children of Israel’s exodus from Egypt, when Moses led them in a “pillar of cloud” by day and fire by night and through the Red Sea (Exodus 13-14).
How 1 Corinthians 10:1-4 is applied across Bible answers
Is baptism required for salvation?
Much like Peter does4, Paul pulls an Old Testament example forward to apply to the New Testament Christian's baptism. In this case, it emphasizes and correlates with the point of who ("all") and the source or reason ("Christ"). The way Paul uses this example necessitates that all at the church in Corinth were baptized.
What is water baptism?
Long before Christ appeared, God's people were "baptized" by cloud and water "into Moses", and thus were partaking in Christ. Even here, a "type" of Jesus (e.g. Moses) and of New Covenant baptism (e.g. cloud and sea) are called out by an inspired writer as critical/essential for their having a part in Christ (e.g. redemption).
