Introductory remarks:
We have now come to the section of this Epistle where Paul deals with Christian liberty, chapters 8-11:1. In order to understand this section you must have a background of how things were being done in Corinth at this time.
McGee gives this historical background of Corinth at the time of this epistle:
"The best place to eat in Corinth was not at the swankiest restaurant; the best place to get good meat was in the meat shop that was run by the temple.
In Corinth the people brought sacrifices of animals to offer to the idols. They would bring the best animals they had. The meat was offered to the idol, but it didn't stay there long because they believed that the spirit of the idol ate the spirit of the animal - and that finished the meal for the idol. Then they took the meat to the shambles or stalls around the temple, which was the meat market where the meat was sold. If you wanted to buy fillet or the best steaks or the best prime rib roast in Corinth, you had to go to one of those shops at the temple to get meat, which had been offered, to idols.
Some of the Christians in Corinth were offended by this practice and were asking Paul about it. They would be invited out to dinner with another Christian family and would be served a lovely fillet mignon. During the course of the conversation they would say, 'My, this is wonderful meat. Where did you get it?' The lady would answer that she got it at the temple meat market. This would offend the couple who felt it was wrong to eat anything that had been offered to idols. This is the question, which Paul discussed in this chapter. Should a Christian eat meat that had been offered to idols? This was a real problem to the people in Corinth, because many of them had come out of that background of idolatry, and they thought it was a compromise with idolatry. Others in the church felt that it made no difference. Now Paul clears up the entire issue.
"Don't let knowledge make you act unlovingly. You may know eating meat offered to idols means nothing because there are no other gods. But if someone who doesn't know it sees you eat, they may follow your example, though they think it's wrong" (A Survey of 1 Corinthians - By Brenda). This chapter may be outlined as follows: Food offered to idols vv. 1-13.
Food Offered to Idols
Verse 1, "Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth."
LGT "But concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we have all knowledge. The knowledge puffs up, but love builds up."
But concerning things offered to idols: Paul begins answering the questions of the Corinthians about eating meat offered to idols by addressing the mature believers first; these believers were exercising their Christian liberty. We know that we have all knowledge: these believers knew that idols were not only useless but also impotent; so concerning these things the mature believer felt he had the liberty to do so. The knowledge puffs up: a little knowledge is a most dangerous thing; Paul is telling them they don't know everything, and most of all, they should not act without the consideration of true agape love. Knowledge without love is arrogance. But love builds up: love for the brethren is not arrogant but recognizing a relationship with the brotherhood; now Paul will build on this fact.
Verse 2, "And if any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know."
LGT "If anyone thinks he knows anything, not yet did he know according as it is necessary to know:"
If anyone thinks he knows anything: Paul is saying if anyone thinks he knows something, and takes pride in this knowledge, and goes about arrogantly strutting about it: not yet did he know according as it is necessary to know: it is not what you know, but how you demonstrate that knowledge. All our actions towards our Christian brother should be with their edification and well being in mind, and this type of agape love builds up.
Verse 3, "But if any man love God, the same is known of him."
LGT "But if anyone love God, He is known by him."
But if anyone loves God: Paul uses agape love here meaning divine love. So if any one loves God, he must be a believer, for only the family members are able to agape love. He is known by him: in this sentence in the Greek it is not quite clear whether it means that anyone who loves God is known by God; or anyone who loves God knows God; for we know that the only way to love of God is to know God, and the only way to know God is by studying God's Word. Either case is actually and positively true.
Verse 4, "As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one."
LGT "Concerning the eating then of things sacrificed to idols, we know that no idol is anything in [the] world, and [there] is no other God except one."
Concerning the eating then of things sacrificed to idols: Paul returns now to the beginning vs. 1 of "touching things offered to idols". He says, "we know" proving that they had the knowledge, but they were being puffed up with their knowledge of their liberty. We know that no idol is anything in the world: idols are a figment of the unsaved man's brain. "The idol was a mere picture or symbol of a god. If the god has no existence, the idol is a non-entity" (Robertson). And there is no God except one: the Christians as well as the Jews held to the unconditional belief that God is one. The belief in the Trinity was not held as a belief in three Gods, but one God in three divine Persons, with the same divine essence. "If there is no other God besides our God, then an idol is an empty dream, and mere vanity" (Calvin).
Verse 5, "For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many)."
LGT "For even if indeed there are [those] called gods, whether in heaven or on the earth, as there are gods many, and lords many."
For even if indeed there are those called gods: the "if" is in the first class condition and is assumed true by Paul, that there are those called gods, for the sake of argument. This is not a fact, but is assumed to be well known by the men of this world. Whether in heaven or on the earth: "By the gods that are on earth, are probably meant, in my opinion, men and women for whom religious worship has been appointed, to whom they have ascribed divinity, and have appointed some divine service in honor of them" (Calvin).
Calvin continues his comments:
"For, as Pliny observes, those who had deserved well of mankind had their memory consecrated by religion, so as to be worshipped as deities - Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Mercury, and Apollo, who were mortal men, but were, after death, exalted to the rank of deities; and, more recently, Hercules, Romulus, and at length the Caesars - as if it were in the power of mankind to make deities at their pleasure, while they cannot give to themselves either life or immortality. There are also other gods that are terrestrial, taken either from cattle or from among brute creatures, as, for example, among the Egyptians, the ox, the serpent, the cat, the onion, the garlic; and, among the Romans, the boundary-stone (the allusion is to Terminus, the god of boundaries), and the stone Vesta. They are gods, then, only in name; but Paul says that he does not stop to notice deification of this sort (such consecrations made according to the humor of men)."
As there are gods many: the idols that they made with their hands; this is not an admission by Paul that there were gods many, only in the minds of the unsaved. And lords many: these are the men they deified and made into gods after they died.
Verse 6, "But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him."
LGT "Yet to us [there is] one God the Father of Whom [are] all things, and we for Him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom [are] all things, and we by Him."
Yet to us there is one God the Father: to us, every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Of Whom are all things: the Creator of the universe. And one Lord Jesus Christ: the unbelievers had many gods and many lords; the believer has one God, and one Lord Jesus Christ. Through Whom are all things: Jesus Christ was God's agency by which the universe was created. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (remember, the Word is the Lord Jesus Christ). The same was in the beginning with God (Christ is eternal the same as God is eternal). All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness overcame it not" (John 1:1-5). And we by Him: our physical birth was by His agency as well as our second spiritual birth; we owe our very existence, the physical birth to Christ, as well as our second spiritual birth; therefore, we will spend eternity in His very presence. The unbeliever also owes their existence to Christ, but they refuse to accept the second spiritual birth, and so they will spend eternity suspended in their eternal death, isolated from the "presence of the Lord and the glory of his power".
Verse 7, "Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol: and their conscience being weak is defiled."
LGT "But not in all [is] the knowledge: being used until now to the idol, eat as a thing sacrificed to an idol, and their conscience being weak, is defiled."
But not in all is the knowledge: that is, that the idol being nothing, it was not unlawful for them to eat of the sacrificed meat; but not all the Christians were mature enough, for they had not yet learned of their Christian liberty. Being used until now to the idol: "It is the force of habit that still grips them when they eat such meat. They eat it 'as an idol sacrifice', though they no longer believe in idols. The idol-taint clings in their minds to this meat" (Robertson). Eat as a thing sacrificed to an idol: still clinging to their old customs when they were heathens. And their conscience being weak: the eating of the meat was not the problem; it was their weak conscience in believing it was wrong; they had not yet learned from Paul the truth about their freedom in grace. To make a modern day application we turn back to the five taboos: (1.) Drinking (2.) Smoking (3.) Dancing (4.) Going to movies (5.) Gambling. In the humanist mind a person is spiritual who does not partake of any of the taboos; however, we know that spirituality is not in doing something or not doing something; but spirituality is being in fellowship with the Lord, and that is walking in the Light of His Word. These taboos are the questionable things that the Bible does not address, and so it is up to the individual whether he does any of these things; it does not make one spiritual by abstaining. Is defiled: they are defiled in their own mind, and therefore, cannot be in fellowship because they are misguided, and have not the knowledge needed to have a free conscience. I must remind you, though, we should not flaunt our liberty before the weaker brother; Paul will cover this subject soon.
R.B. Theime Jr. writes:
"Not every believer in Corinth knew these doctrines. Ignorance of doctrine causes the believer to accept a known criterion [standard of living the spiritual life by legalistic means] from his past, right or wrong, such as tradition, prejudice or human viewpoint. Many Corinthian believers, who were no exception to this principle, associated eating meat offered to idols with all that was involved in the polytheistic system of the ancient world and therefore were easily shocked.
The believer, in this case an ignorant believer, has established from his background a taboo concerning meat offered to idols. His stupidity, described in 1 Corinthians 8:4-6, continues to this very hour; therefore, the principle of taboos continues. The ignorant believer who cannot eat meat offered to idols without violating or distressing his conscience, is operating on a criterion without doctrine, and is therefore weak through lack of knowledge. He is contaminated or defiled by a guilt complex and self-reproach."
Verse 8, "But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse."
LGT "But meat will not commend us to God: for neither if we eat not do we come short, nor if we eat have we an advantage."
But meat will not commend us to God: whether you eat meat or are not, it will not put you in high regards to God. It was to be concluded by the Corinthians that eating meat offered to idols is of no matter to God. For neither if we eat not do we come short: abstaining from eating this meat has no value; nor if we eat have we an advantage: they are under grace and have the liberty to eat or abstain, it is of no spiritual significance. "Each was disposed to look down upon the other, the one in scorn of the other's ignorance, the other in horror of the other's heresy and daring" (Robertson).
McGee reminds us:
"You will remember that Simon Peter had trouble with this. He had been brought up to consider certain things unclean according to the Mosaic Law. When the sheet came down from heaven in his vision and the Lord told Peter to arise and eat, Peter refused. He said, ' . . . Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean' (Acts 10:14). (He calls Him Lord at the same time that he is failing to obey Him.) Then the Lord said, ' . . . What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common' (Acts 10:15). In other words, God is no longer making distinction between the clean and unclean animals. That is passed, now we can eat any animal we wish to eat."
Verse 9, "But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak."
LGT "But take heed in case this your authority to the ones being weak an occasion of stumbling."
Take heed: observe with care: this is a warning to the ones who are spiritually mature. In case this your authority: knowing that you are at liberty to eat meat offered to idols. To the ones being weak: the ones who are still observing certain letters of the Law. And occasion of stumbling: give them occasion to observe you eating the meat, condemn you as a heretic, and that would put them out of fellowship with the Lord, or cause them to eat also and put themselves under a false conviction, which would hinder their spiritual growth. "The enlightened Christian has a responsibility [I say privilege] for the spiritual welfare of the ignorant weak believer, provided that legalism is not encouraged. A mature believer must not cater to legalism or spiritual bullying by abstaining from harmless activities because of legalistic criticism and persecution. This promotes more legalism. On the other hand, if the innocuous [harmless] actions of a relaxed believer cause the weak and ignorant believer to sin, there comes a time when the law of liberty must be superseded [regarded as out dated] by the law of love or the law of supreme sacrifice" (Theime).
Verse 10, "For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols."
LGT "For if anyone see the one who has knowledge, in a temple reclining [at table], will not the conscience of him being weak be built up so as to eat the things sacrificed to idols."
For if anyone see the one who has knowledge: the mature believer who has the liberty supplied by God's grace. In a temple reclining at table: in the inn attached to the temple.
Theime describes the Temple:
"The heathen temple was divided into three parts. One part was the 'worship' area, which was called the 'sanctuary.' This was for ritual worship. Another section was reserved as the dining area where the finest food in town was served. If you wanted an exceptionally good steak in the ancient world, you would go to one of the idol temples. Only the best animals were offered to idols, and after being sacrificed, the meat was turned over to the temple restaurant to be sold.
Along with the restaurant, there was what we would probably call a saloon where liquor was served. There was also a section where licentious, pagan rites were observed during certain times of the year. The most respectable area of the temple, as for proper Corinthian society was concerned, was the restaurant. Anyone who wanted an outstanding meal patronized this dining establishment."
Will not the conscience of him being weak: the immature legalistic believer who has not yet learned Christian liberty. Be built up so as to eat the things sacrificed to idols: the term "built up" means to be encouraged.
Verse 11, "And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?"
LGT "For the weak brother on thy knowledge perishes, for whom Christ died."
For the weak brother on thy knowledge perishes: The word "perish" means to ruin spiritually. The believer operates on a completely different principle than whether it is right or wrong, but on the law of love. The immature believer does not have the spiritual maturity to realize that eating this meat is not a sin. He does not stop at eating in the restaurant, but continues to participate in the other activities of the temple including visiting one of the harlot priestesses. There is nothing in the world wrong with the mature believer eating in the restaurant, however, if it causes the weaker brother to gossip about him, he should abstain in the presence of the weaker brother. I will not go places, or do certain activities, not because it is sin, but because I might cause the weaker brother to stumble. However, there are other believers I may have fellowship with, who are mature enough not to be offended. This whole doctrine of doubtful things must be handled on an individual basis. For whom Christ died: the weaker brother is also a family member, and he is Christ's possession.
Verse 12, "But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their conscience, ye sin against Christ."
LGT "Now this sinning against the brethren, and wounding their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ."
This is the principle we have all been taught; let me remind you. How we treat our fellow believer is how we are treating the Lord Jesus Christ. If our weak brother has a weak conscience about some questionable activity, we should not flaunt our liberty to them, but be compassionate and help them grow up; and not with bullying tactics.
Verse 13, "Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat not meat while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend."
LGT "Wherefore, if meat causes a brother to stumble, not at all shall I eat meat forever, that I may not cause my brother to stumble."
The principle of love is simple; if we know our liberty is causing a weaker brother to stumble, think of his spiritual welfare first, and abstain in front of him. We have the liberty to eat, and we have the liberty to not eat, our main concern must be for our brother's fellowship with the Lord. Paul will cover this law of love in detail in chapter 10.
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