Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Corinthians 10:21-22

"Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of demons: ye cannot partake of the table of the Lord, and of the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?" — 1 Corinthians 10:21-22 (ASV)

You cannot . . .—Here follows the special reason why the Apostle desires them not to partake of the wine poured out as an offering to devils, or the table on which meat sacrificed to these devils was spread out as food. Doing so would deprive them of their participation in the cup of the Lord and the table on which the Lord’s Supper was placed.

Of course, the impossibility was moral, not physical. So the Apostle adds the warning question: Do you in fact do so? Do you do what is morally impossible, and so provoke the jealousy of our jealous God, who will have no divided allegiance? Surely we are not stronger than He? To such a question, there can be but one answer.

These words, which are the climax of the argument, are naturally suggested by the passage in Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 32:15–18). This passage was evidently in the Apostle’s mind throughout this argument, as it contains the striking words, Rock of his salvation. They sacrifice unto devils and not to God, and they provoked Him to jealousy.