Read: 1 Corinthians 8:1-2

The self-appointed “wiser” ones of Corinth believe that they possess
knowledge. But knowledge alone acquires
nothing. It only puffs one up to the
point of swelling with pride. What does
that obtain?

Knowledge is
good when tempered by love! If you lack
love, you lack knowledge.

In verse 2, Paul is
highlighting the weaknesses of believers in the
Corinthian church. They believe that they
have the right knowledge of food offered to idols, rather they are just
consumed by the idea of knowing rather than fully understanding. Which is more important to have knowledge or
to have love? What good is it to have
knowledge but not love? In your own
life, which side do you land on, one full of pride & arrogance or one who
encourages and edifies others?

Journal:

Read 1 Corinthians 8:3

“But the man who loves God is known by God.”

It is not about all the knowledge one possesses because in
the end, that acquires nothing. What
good would it be for one to obtain all the knowledge in the world and
experience no form of love from another person or even God Himself?

Paul does not say, “one knows God” rather he states that if
one loves God, he is known by Him.

Jesus tells us in John 15:16, “You have not chosen me, but I
have chosen you.” It is through His love
that we are known by Him. This is the
fruit of love and the death of pride.

Gordan Fee states,
“Christian behavior is not predicated on the way of knowledge, which leads to
pride and destroys others, but on the way of love, which is in fact
the true way of knowledge….In Christian ethics knowledge must always lead to
love.” (Fee, First Epistle, pp. 368-369)

Do you believe that God is who He says He is? By looking at yourself, do you see the
knowledge you have in Him reflecting into your daily life (either by words and
or service towards others)?

Journal:

Read 1 Corinthians 8:4-6

In verse 4, Paul reveals the specific content of the
knowledge that is under discussion. He
begins by stating, ‘we know that an idol is nothing and that there is but one
God’. By the usage of the word, “that”
it is clear to suggest that he is affirming that which has already been stated
by the Corinthians in their previous letter.
The belief of monotheism (belief in one God alone) is the foundation of
Paul’s case to the Corinthians. Deut.
6:4 states, “Hear O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Any other “god” or “idol” is simply a made up
figure of one man’s imagination. It has
no eyes and sees not. It is simply a figure
of one’s imagination, as Paul states, a “so-called god”. They do not exist.

Throughout the Old
Testament, the mention of other gods is acknowledge but not accepted. Read through the following verses to get a glimpse of the Old Testament
proclaiming the supremacy of God:

Deut 5:7

Deut 10:17

Ps 82:1

In verse 6, Paul declares that there is one God, the Father,
but there is one Lord, Jesus Christ.
Everything that has been created has been created by the Father through
the Son. It is impossible for God not to
be Lord as well, and since the Lord is God, it is clear that the Father and Son
are one. (Commentary on Paul’s Epistles).

Marion Soards beautifully explains this verse in his
commentary (p. 173), “Jesus Christ is the Lord who meditates God’s creative,
redemptive power in such a way that God’s will and way are made real in the
lives of believers. The dynamics of such
creative, redemptive, life-giving relations are the heart of Christian faith
and living. In relation to the one God
and one Lord the believer is both informed and formed; that is, the believer
finds a new identity and a new way of life.”

Journal

Read 1 Corinthians 8:7-8

Paul begins verse 7 stating that there are some believers in
Corinth who do
not fully accept monotheism fully and are still accustomed to their pagan
ways. C.K. Barrett writes, “there are in
Corinth men who
have eaten sacrificed food all their lives and have always thought of it as
sacrificed to an idol having real existence, and thus bearing real spiritual
significance and force. In becoming
Christians, they have not ceased to believe in the reality of the spiritual
beings behind idols and have accordingly not ceased to think of the food itself
as having religious meaning.” (Barrett,
First Epistle, p. 194)

What could still be in your life that causes you to not be
fully sold out to God?

Paul tells us that it is not food that brings us closer to
God, but the freedom we have in believing that there is one God.

Journal

Read 1 Corinthians 8:9-13

Paul stresses in verse 9 that the correct use of freedom in
Christ is based more on what is the loving thing to do rather than who has the
most correct information. What does it
mean to be a stumbling block? A
stumbling block to the weak is like destroying or contributing to the destruction
of one’s relationship with God.
Therefore, he warns believers to be careful, to be considerate of those
around as to not be involved in the falling of another believer.

A strong believer may be invited to a pagan dining hall to
fellowship and eat the meat sacrificed to many gods. This believer may go and eat with them with
no problems at all; however, the problem arises when a weaker believer sees and
follows in the act of eating the sacrificed meat. The heart of the weaker brother has not fully
accepted monotheism and in return has now participated in an idolatrous
activity.

Verse 11 states a harsh reality of the consequences of the
use of spiritually correct information (knowledge) without the moral guidance
in love.

In verse 12, to whom is the stronger believer sinning
against?

So, as a believer, what does verse 13 suggest to do?

What could you be doing that is affecting the weaker brother
around you? How could you be sinning
against Christ while being a stumbling block to another? Now, what is your response….what will you
change?

Journal

In this section of Paul’s letter, he begins to engage and
address the issue of “weak” & “strong” brothers that will continue through
to chapter 11. Here in chapter 8, he is
specifically dealing with the issue of food sacrificed to idols. A practicing pagan believer brought or bought
animals to sacrifice to one of the many pagan gods. After the sacrifice was made and all
designated portions were made to the gods, a further portion was made to the
pagan temple priests to do as they wish with the meat whether it be to consume
the meat themselves or resale it. And
yet another portion could be made available to the person offering the
sacrifice for a ritual meal in the banquet facilities that were part of the
many temples. Meat that was left over or
that was designated for resale was sometimes transported to the marketplace for
purchase and private consumption. This
lead into an argument between the believers of the Corinthian Church,
should they be allowed to buy this meat from the marketplace?