READING 1Corinthians, Chapter 8

  Wednesday, January 17, 2024

 INTRODUCING 1 CORINTHIANS, CHAPTER 8 (NLT)

First Corinthians 8 begins Paul's response to another issue raised by the Corinthians. Earlier passages dealt with sexuality; this section discusses idolatry and food. Paul agrees that idols don't truly exist and only God is real. The problem is that some of the less-developed Christians aren't convinced of that. For those believers, they violate their consciences by eating idol food. Even if it's misguided, violating one's conscience is a sin. Romans 14:23 says, “But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat something, you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, your are sinning. If those with stronger consciences lead these weaker brothers and sisters into sin, they will be guilty of sin themselves.(https://www.bibleref.com/1-Corinthians/8/1-Corinthians-chapter-8.html) 

Concerning Food Sacrificed to Idols, Part 1, Verses 1-7, Destiny

1Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. 2 Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. 3 But whoever loves God is known by God. 4 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.” 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. 7 But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.

SECTION QUESTIONS:

1. What is the meaning of sacrificed food? 

2. What value is an idol? (V.4)

3. Though the world has many ‘gods’, who is our God? (V.6)

4. What did the Corinthians think of sacrificial food? (V.7)

5. What is the “knowledge” Paul shared with regard to eating or not eating the food sacrificed to idol gods? 

Thought Questions:

1. The question posed to Paul concerned the eating of food that had been sacrificed to idols. However, this was not the important principle Paul spoke about in this section. What was the most important principle Paul spoke to before clarifying whether or not they should engage in eating the food sacrificed to idols? 

2. Paul never said, “Eating food sacrificed to idols is okay” and left it at that. What do you think he was trying to avoid? 

3. Food offered to idols was eaten in idol temples, but the left-over meats offered to idols were many times sold in the town square. What if someone, not knowing it was idol food, served it to their family and guests?

4. What are some the principles concerning knowledge Paul talked about? (V.1-3)

Concerning Food Sacrificed to Idols, Part 2, Verses 8-13, Mrs. Elnora

8 But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. 9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? 11 So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12 When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.

SECTION QUESTIONS:

1. What did Paul warn about becoming a stumbling block to the weak? (V.10-11)

2. What happens when we wound another’s weak conscience? (V.12)

3. What happened when we wound another person’s weak conscience? (V.12)

Thought Questions: 

1. Is the Corinthians’ knowledge enough? Why or why not? 

Lagniappe 

A. The Corinthians were talented, smart and skilled people, but they lacked love. Paul tells us that often knowledge puffs up but LOVE builds up and when faced with the choice we should choose to build up rather than do things that increase our pride. 

B. Idols and the surrounding rituals were a major problem at that time. There were all kinds of idols. Merchants had turned it into a trade and promoted them to people. Likely most houses contained their own idol. Certain rituals were practiced when worshiping the idols. One of these was food sacrifices. This is also done in China today. The idea is to offer food to somehow appease the idol. Typically, meat was offered at a local pagan temple. So sometimes a person might know they were eating the food sacrificed to idols. Other times they might not. When Christians came out of this environment, they naturally wondered how much they could be involved with these practices and if it was ok to eat the food sacrificed to idols or not.(www.studyandobey.com)

C. Read cross reference Romans 14:5-21 in the NLT version. 

D. Christians and Jews who refused to enter idol temples would find themselves isolated from much more than just the religious culture of their community. It’s no wonder some of the Christians in Corinth pushed back on Paul’s restrictions about attending idol temples for civic and family functions. These practices seemed as normal to them as any other part of daily life. (www.bibleref.com)

E. If Christians with weaker consciences are led into sin-through violating their own consciences-by seeing those with stronger consciences eating idol food in an idol temple, the stronger ones will be guilty of sinning against their brothers and against Christ, who died for them. Paul writes that he would personally give up eating any meat at all in order not to lead a brother in Christ into sin. (www.bibleref.com)

 

Prayer Confession for 1Corinthians, Chapter 8:

Dear Father, the one real and only God, give me more love and humility than knowledge, for “Knowledge puffs up but love builds up.” People know lots of things, but they let it go to their heads. Help me, Father, never to imagine that I know everything because I know that I do not yet know as I ought to know. What I want is to love you as I should, for if I love you, then I am loved and known by you. The world is full of “gods.” But for us Christians, there is just one God, you, from whom all things come and for whom they exist, and there is just one Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. In the name of Jesus and by his authority I ask these things according to his will. Amen. (Heartlight.org)