8:1 Now concerning
things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs
up, but love edifies. 2 And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows
nothing yet as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, this one is known
by Him.
4 Therefore concerning
the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the
world, and that there is no other God but one. 5 For even if there are
so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many
lords), 6 yet for 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 through
whom we live.
7 However, there is not
in everyone that knowledge; for some, with consciousness of the idol, until now
eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is
defiled. 8 But food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we
the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse.
The principles contained within this counsel are priceless. I
need you to set verses 1 to 3 aside for today and we'll pick them back up
tomorrow and you'll see why then. For now I want to concentrate on verses 4
through 8. The topic is food sacrificed to idols. For those unaware of the
cultural setting Corinth was largely a pagan city and by pagan I mean they were
religious but their religion was the worship of other gods. Part of that
worship involved the symbolic "giving" of their food to these gods to
bless and then they ate it or even sold it in the market. For new believers in
Jesus this became a point of controversy and not just in Corinth. This issue
comes up repeatedly in Paul's letters. The controversy was over whether or not
a Christian should eat food that had been offered to pagan gods.
We'll see the full scope of Paul’s counsel tomorrow but for
now let's look at the core of his reasoning. His first point is that a mature
Christian knows there is only One God. All other gods are strictly human
inventions. There is no Zeus or Nike or Diana or any other. Therefore when food
is offered to the gods nothing happens. The food is neither blessed or cursed
or tainted by "them" because they simply do not exist.
However not all new Christians had settled into the truth of
this. They saw Jesus as the best God or the mightiest or the most loving. He
was the One they were choosing to follow among all the options. For them
offering food to the gods was a real thing and to eat food offered to another
God was like spiritual adultery.
Then he says the most important statement on the entire
issue. It is critical not because of its direct application to this specific
issue but for its application across the spectrum of like issues. Here's the
statement:
8:8 But food does not
commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not
eat are we the worse.
Don't forget that the church in Corinth is suffering from
internal division. Factions are forming each claiming their own favourite
pastor/teacher and each having their own views on different issues. Paul by the
Spirit of God exposes the singular issue behind it all - pride and
self-obsession. To have different view points is practically speaking
unavoidable. I disagree with views I used to hold myself so how can I expect to
agree with everyone else. This however is not the issue. The real issue comes
in when I see myself as better and you as less because you don't agree with me.
Those who ate the food knowing an idol is a man made
representation of absolutely nothing were right. However their pride and sense
of superiority over and judgment of those whose conscience would not allow them
to eat was wrong. We can be right and still be wrong.
Here's the key. God is not in relentless pursuit of us with
an untiring desire to bring us Home because of our dietary views or any other
external practice. These do not commend us to God. He does not love us more
when we are right or less when we are wrong. The root of such thinking is pride
and self-centeredness. "I am deserving of God's love because I am smart
enough to know an idol is nothing"... Meanwhile in the next pew another is
thinking "I'm the real Christian here because I have enough respect for
Jesus to have nothing to do with food offered to the lesser gods."
Tomorrow we'll consider both verses 1 to 3 and more that we
haven't gotten to yet and tie it all together. See you then. :)
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