1 Corinthians 10:18 (WEB)

Passage

Consider Israel according to the flesh. Don’t those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar?

Nearby Context

1 Corinthians 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, isn’t it a sharing of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, isn’t it a sharing of the body of Christ?

1 Corinthians 10:17 Because there is one loaf of bread, we, who are many, are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf of bread.

1 Corinthians 10:18 Consider Israel according to the flesh. Don’t those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar?

1 Corinthians 10:19 What am I saying then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?

1 Corinthians 10:20 But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God, and I don’t desire that you would have fellowship with demons.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "consider", "israel", "flesh", "sacrifices", "participate", and "altar". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "consider" and "israel", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "Because there is one loaf of bread..." into verse 19's "What am I saying then That a...", so "consider" and "israel" belong inside that flow. In 1 Corinthians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "consider" and "israel" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.