10:1
While the gospel is purely on grace, based on who Jesus is and what He has done, there can come a presumptioness, or even a pride. So Paul gives a warning from Israel’s history. Some people think that wrath is just an Old Testament thing and has gone out of the window with the New Testament. This is not true, and not the way the New Testament views it. The New Testament views the Old Testament judgements as a warning to us, and says that the matters are even more serious now. We find this teaching in the letters and in the words of Jesus.
10:2-5
So here Paul looks back at the Israelites who came out of Egypt. They were all guided by the cloud and the pillar of fire. They all passed through the Red Sea. Paul draws a parallel between these and being baptised. He then says that Christ was with them in the desert. So they all had great spiritual and practical experiences, yet they mostly died in the desert. So the Corinthians may have confessed faith, may have been baptised, may have received gospel teaching, may have received spiritual gifts, but none of this gave any grounds for complacency.
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