Paul continues teaching and explaining from ‘chapter 9’ where he taught the Corinthian holy-people (sanctified-people, Christians, saints, children of God) that they should live their everyday lives to the best of their abilities with and for the only true God. They were to behave just as he was, like running in a race in order that they may take-hold of an incorruptible crown when the Lord Jesus Christ comes to gather all holy-people together with him.
I Corinthians 10:1-5:
10:1For I do not intend you to not-know, brothers, that our fathers all used-to-be under the cloud and all went-through by means of the sea – .2and all used-to-be baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; .3and all ate the spiritual food .4and all drank the spiritual drink – for they used-to-drink out-from (the) spiritual rock following but the rock used-to-be the Christ; .5but God did not consider-it-good in more of them for they were spread-down in the desert-place.
Once again, Paul addresses the Corinthian holy-people as "brothers" thus reminding them that they all, including Paul himself, had the same holy spirit within them, which they received when they first believed what God has given mankind to believe regarding Himself and His son, the Lord Jesus Christ – they were all children of God. Also, the word "fathers" in verse 1 refers to their forefathers who were descendants of Jacob/Israel to whom the promises were passed-along which God had previously made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob/Israel. These promises are now received by every holy-person whether of a Judean/Israeli background or of a Gentile/other-nation background.
Paul writes: in truth, I do not intend/will my brothers to be unknowing (not knowing, ignorant, unaware) that our fathers:
And all of them were baptized (immersed, surrounded) into Moses (from outside-of into the inside-of everything that Moses was for and with God) within the cloud and within the sea. It is only because of all that God via Moses did for them that all of them were able to do all they did at that time.
In truth, they were continuing to drink the water out-from the rock which God gave to them which was following (coming-after them), and this spiritual rock was continuing during that time to be the Christ. This spiritual rock (not a physical rock) was the Messiah, the one they were waiting for to redeem them both physically and spiritually, and today he is the resurrected Christ Jesus, the Lord.
God supplied them with the physical food and water as a type (pattern) to remind them that He would also supply the true spiritual bread and water of whom He had already told them, the rock who was to come after them in time, the rock who could not be moved or removed from his position which God would give him, the spiritual rock – the Christ. They could look forward to his coming and believe what God told them which was that He would, by means of the Messiah, redeem them and give them holy spirit-life, and their promised land, etc.
However, even though all of our fathers shared and enjoyed the privileges which were given to them by God during that time, such as all being under the cloud and all going-through by means of the sea, all being baptized into Moses, and all eating the spiritual food and all drinking the spiritual drink, all drinking from the spiritual rock following who was the Christ – Paul continues reminding the Corinthian holy-people that contrary to God being able to give all of them access to the promised land at that time, God did not consider (not suppose) that it was good/well among the bigger-portion (majority) of them that they would all physically go into the promised land because in truth those who did not do what God said during the everyday living of their lives were spread-down (strewn as corpses) in that desert (desolate) place. The people who died before entering into the promised land did not receive their prize – they did not go into the promised land which they were expecting to go into at the end of their journey at that time.
[Reference: Genesis 32:28, and 35:10; Exodus chapters 13, 14, and 16-17:7; Numbers chapter 14, and 20:2-13; Deuteronomy chapters 8 and 32; Psalm 78:12-32, and 105:39-42; Habakkuk 2:4 (Septuagint); Matthew 3:17, and 16:13-20; John 6:22-40; Romans 9:33, and 10:8-13; Hebrews 3:16-19, and 10:38; II Peter 1:17.]
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