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GOD WON’T GIVE YOU MORE THAN YOU CAN HANDLE DEREK BROWN
We’ve all heard it said that God won’t give us more than we can handle. Well-meaning believers often turn to this paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 10:13 for comfort in trials and temptations. We believe God will rescue us before we give in to sin. Isn’t that what the verse tells us? No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it (1 Cor 10:13). Paul’s words do provide reassurance for Christians struggling with temptations. But to grasp the full meaning of Paul’s message, we must consider the context of his argument and the broader witness of Scripture.
STEP 1 IDENTIFY THE LARGER TOPIC The question at the heart of 1 Corinthians 8:1–11:1 was critical to Paul’s first-century audience. The Corinthian believers had been struggling with whether they ought to eat meat that had been offered to idols in the local temple. They likely asked Paul to comment on the topic (see 7:1; 8:1), and this passage contains his response. Due to intense cultural pressure, many Corinthian Christians probably believed they had no choice when it came to eating idol meat. In addition, they likely struggled with the issue within the church. Those who claimed to have sufficient “knowledge” and a “right” to eat idol meat acted arrogantly toward other believers, while those uncomfortable with eating the meat likely judged the believers who did so (8:7–13). The Corinthians were trapped by many forms of temptation. 38
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STEP 2 TRACE PAUL’S ARGUMENT In response to this issue, Paul appeals to the wilderness generation of Israelites, whom he introduces as spiritual ancestors to the Corinthian believers (10:1–5; compare Heb 3:7–19). Paul draws this connection to bring the Corinthians’ attention to the similarity between their situation and the situations faced by the Israelites in the wilderness. Both were delivered by God, received divine provisions, and experienced the presence of Christ (1 Cor 10:1–4). Paul shows that God blessed the Israelites. Yet those blessings did not protect them from the temptation to forget God and his faithfulness—an act of idolatry since the Israelites failed to acknowledge God as the giver of all good things. Paul then draws on the established connection between the two groups to issue a warning to the Corinthians. Paul no longer describes the wilderness generation as ancestors (10:1), but as “idolaters” who put Christ to the test through their sexual immorality, evil desires, and grumbling—and consequently faced God’s judgment (10:6–10). For Paul, the Israelites’ failure to place their trust in God makes them noteworthy examples of how disobedience results in judgment and, ultimately, destruction (10:6, 11). He warns the Corinthians not to follow their ancestors by consuming food and drink in an idolatrous manner. How could the Corinthians avoid this error?