In 1 Cor 8-10 Paul addresses the issue of eating food sacrificed to idols. In the context of Corinth, all meat were dedicated in the temples before they were distributed to the market, hence they did not have a choice unless they abstained from meat. Paul’s advice to them is not at the level of do’s and don’ts – i.e. you should eat or you should not eat – but drives at the root of the problem, which is primarily the way they handled the knowledge of the Truth (8:3,7). …Read More
By right, when believers receive the Truth, they would be able to apply it according to the Spirit’s leading. The Corinthians’ problem, however, was that they applied the Word in any way they saw fit, through the lens of philosophies like dualism & asceticism etc. Consequently, the Word that they knew became a poison that destroyed them and made them self-centred – because they thought they were doing it right while others did it wrong (hence ‘knowledge puffs up’ 8:1).
Paul, in resolving this matter, is not telling them to discard knowledge. Knowledge (‘gnosis’ in Greek) in itself is neutral. But, knowledge in the hands of a fallen human can be exploited for evil. For example, if one has unresolved greed, he would take the Word & apply it in a way that suits his greed. Hence, Paul tells the Corinthians that the problem is in the inner, not the outer. The church should thus focus on repenting according to the Word and ridding themselves of worldly influences, rather than taking the Word at face value, which could cause others to stumble (8:11).
The solution Paul provides is that knowledge must be combined with love (8:2). Love is first & foremost the love of/for God (8:3 ‘The one who loves God is known (ginosko // gnosis) by God’). This means that without having love & desire for God, there is no way one will properly apply knowledge of the Truth. To love God is to obey His commands (Jn 14:15). How we ‘build up love’ (8:2) is when we respond to (i.e. obey) the Word we have received through the Holy Spirit – who in turn pours out the love of God (Rom 5:5), so we could love Him (1 Jn 4:19). Without loving God, any ministry is futile, including loving one another.
The Corinthians claimed that “We all possess knowledge” (8:1), which is the truth that “An idol is nothing” and “There is no God but one…for whom we live” (8:4-6). But what they claimed to know did not reflect in their life, because they did not make the knowledge theirs (8:7). As a result, some people were still associating eating the sacrificial food with partaking in idolatry, showing that they did not believe in the knowledge of “one God the Father” (8:6).
Paul’s teaching here does not imply that some believers can remain in a “weak conscience” forever (8:7) – not that we should stumble them either – because it is due to their unbelief in God & the knowledge of the Truth. Idols are nothing, and thus the food sacrificed to them is nothing (since all food comes from God), and a person will not be defiled by eating it (8:8). However, since these people saw eating the food as an act of idolatry, and still participated in it, their eating was actually sinning, which made them “defiled” (8:7).
The reason why a weak conscience exists is because we have not deeply repented of our sins & confirmed the cleansing of the blood. E.g. a person who once committed sexual immorality, despite having repented & received forgiveness, may still have a lingering uneasiness when put in a certain situation – that could tempt him/her again. Hence, if this weak conscience is not dealt with, it will be an area open to satan’s attack – stumbling & wounding (8:9,12) – and cause one to repeatedly fall into sin.
