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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.comRobertson Word Pictures - 1 Corinthians 10:20 - 10:20
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
But I say that (all' hoti). The verb phēmi (I say) must be repeated from 1Co 10:19 before hoti.
To demons, and not to God (daimoniois kai ou theōi). Referring to lxx text of Deuteronomy 32:17. It is probable that by ou theōi Paul means “to a no-god” as also in Deu 32:21 ep' ouk ethnei (by a no-people). This is Paul’s reply to the heathen who claimed that they worshipped the gods represented by the images and not the mere wood or stone or metal idols. The word daimonia is an adjective daimonios from daimōn, an inferior deity, and with same idea originally, once in this sense in N.T. (Act 17:18). Elsewhere in N.T. it has the notion of evil spirits as here, those spiritual forces of wickedness (Eph 6:12) that are under the control of Satan. The word daimonia, so common in the Gospels, occurs in Paul’s writings only here and 1Ti 4:1. Demonology is a deep and dark subject here pictured by Paul as the explanation of heathenism which is a departure from God (Rom 1:19-23) and a substitute for the worship of God. It is a terrible indictment which is justified by the licentious worship associated with paganism then and now.