Using Knowledge in a Christlike Way (1 Corinthians 8:1-13)

Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. [2] If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. [3] But if anyone loves God, he is known by God. [4] Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” [5] For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”—[6] yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. [7] However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. [8] Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. [9] But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. [10] For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? [11] And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. [12] Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. [13] Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

I. The Temple of Cracker Barrel?

What if in addition to the rustic, 'country store kitsch' décor, the gift shop knickknacks, and the biscuits and gravy, your local Cracker Barrel also included an altar to a pagan god? If bloody animal sacrifices were taking place in the next room, would you think twice about meeting a friend there for breakfast, or having a family meal when your relatives roll into town? And even if you decided to still eat there, would you order the country fried steak if you knew the cow from which it came had been offered in pagan worship only hours earlier?

That might sound like a preposterous hypothetical, but something very similar was, in fact, a daily reality for the Christians in first century Corinth. As we continue our study in this ancient letter known as 1 Corinthians, we discover in chapter 8 that the Apostle Paul is beginning to address another issue that was troubling this Greek church; another issue about which they, according to 1 Corinthians chapter 7, verse 1, wrote to him for help. The issue at hand is spelled out in the opening words of 8:1, “Now concerning food offered to idols...” Then again in verse 4, “...as to the eating of food offered to idols...”. In Greek cities like Corinth, not only were leftover, temple offerings extremely commonplace in the local meat markets, but the dining halls that were connected to pagan temples, these were something like our modern restaurants. They were often hubs for many social interactions: special meals, family celebrations, etc..

So like the Cracker Barrel scenario I just suggested, Christians in the Greco-Roman world were confronted with a number of questions related to a familiar reality in which many of them had been raised. But as we study Paul's response to these questions (a response that runs all the way to chapter 11, verse 1), I want us to see over the next few weeks how this issue ends up pressing to the surface and pointing us to, what I would call, marks of Christian maturity. So...

II. The Passage: “You Who Have Knowledge” (8:1-13)

In looking at how the Apostle begins his response here in chapter 8, I want you to see how, first, he begins with a general principle in vs. 1-3, then moves to a foundational truth in vs. 4-6, and finally, to a challenging reality in v. 7. General principle. Foundational truth. Challenging reality. In light of these, Paul then shares with them a correction and an application in the remaining verses (i.e., vs. 8-13). So let's follow this road map as we work together through 1 Corinthians 8.

First, that general principle. As you probably recognized, the opening three verses of this chapter are concerned with knowledge. Some form of that word appears six times in these three verses. So here's that principle: (v. 1) “'knowledge' puffs up, but love builds up.” Now wait a minute. Is Paul somehow anti-knowledge? Isn't this the guy who prayed for the Colossian disciples, that they would “be filled with the knowledge of [God's] will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding”, and be “...increasing in the knowledge of God”? (Colossians 1:9–10) So why is Paul telling the Corinthians that knowledge will give them a 'fat head'? Well, as the context makes clear, the issue here is not knowledge itself, but how they were thinking about that knowledge. Notice the phrase in quotes in v. 1: “all of us possess knowledge”. Paul seems to be quoting another slogan used by the Corinthians, a slogan I take to mean something like our often snooty phrase, “Every-one knows...”. “Everyone knows the allies won WW2. Everyone knows Michael Jordan is the 'G.O.A.T.'. Everyone knows you don't put toilet paper on the roller that way.”

Brothers and sisters, we might describe this as knowledge in the service of pride. And not only does this pride hinder love, but that 'I've got it all figured out' mindset also (v. 2) keeps us from knowing “as [we] ought to know”. So remember the umbrella principle for this whole chapter: “'knowledge' puffs up, but love builds up.” Speaking of love, the anchor for healthy love and know-ledge is clear from Paul's reminder in verse 3: “But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.” It's our knowledge of His loving knowledge of us that inspires healthy love in and through us.

Second, after providing that general principle, Paul moves on to a foundational truth when it comes to this discussion of food offered to idols. The truth of the matter is that (v. 4) “an idol has no real existence” and “that there is no God but one.” Paul is in no way denying that there are many “so-called gods” and “lords”. Corinth, like Athens and other cities in the Roman world, were filled with the statues and temples of these deities. But the Christian's confession is that there is only one God and one Lord, and as we heard from v. 6, everything else in the universe, both seen and unseen, comes from the Father and through the Son. Again, notice that Paul is in no way anti-knowledge, or anti-theology. That's clear from the theo[God]logical knowledge in vs. 4-6. The whole conversation to follow (not only through this chapter, but also up through 11:1) will be anchored in both the general principle of vs. 1-3 and this foundational truth in vs. 4-6.

But if our third point has to do with the challenging reality in Corinth, then we have to ask, “Challenging in what way?” Our answer is there in v. 7: “However, not all [i.e., all within the church] possess this knowledge [i.e., that there is, in fact, only one God that actually exists]. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol [i.e., as really sacrificed to a false but real, little 'g' god], and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.” You see, in thinking they understood everything, many in the Corinthian church did not seem to under-stand that some of their fellow disciples still struggled with the reality of these false gods and, therefore, with the temptation and taint of idol worship. Some may have been tempted to go back to such practices, while others might always feel they were sinning against God by consuming such meat. The complexity here is partly why Paul spends three chapters responding to this issue.

Okay. General principle. Foundational truth. Challenging reality. In light of these, let's now con-sider how Paul counsels them about this difficult situation. As I mentioned before, we find here both a correction and an application. The correction is only one verse long. Look again at verse 8: “Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do.” If anyone in this 'everyone knows' camp thought God was especially pleased by this demonstration of their freedom in Christ, that is, by their eating of meat, no matter where it came from, or if they thought that God would somehow be upset if they stopped eating meat, Paul wants to correct such thinking. “Food will not commend us to God.” If we switched out the words “food” and “eat” in that verse, I wonder if there's anything that we should insert there, anything we today think about in the same way; anything to which we attach too much spiritual signific-ance; so that Paul might say, “[blank] will not commend us to God.” Something to think about.

But that correction serves as the final piece in Paul's build-up to his application in verses 9-13. Look back at verse 9. “But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.” Do you see how in that one verse, the previous eight verses all come together? Paul is saying, in essence, “Be very, very careful about how you use what you know; specifically, what you know about the true God of the gospel and about the false gods of the pagans. That knowledge or understanding has to be combined with an understanding of the weakened conscience of your fellow disciple. Corinthians, it's this understanding that informs your love, a love that should build up.” And that building up is presented here in contrast to the idea of destruction in verse 11. Do you see that? “And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed...” This is not eternal destruction, but as we see in v. 12, it's “wounding their conscience”.

How this might happen in real life is described in v. 10: “For if anyone sees you who have know-ledge eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged, if [though] his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols?” [something that he or she, deep down, does not believe is okay] And who is this individual struggling with his conscience? In v. 11, please don't miss how Paul moves from the phrase “this weak person” to the more powerful identifier: this is “...the brother for whom Christ died.” Moreover, if this is your brother or sister in Christ, then that means (v. 12) in “sinning against” them, through your 'puffed-up-ness' and lovelessness, “you [actually] sin against Christ.”

III. Knowledge in the Service of Love

Friends, as I said earlier, the issue here of eating food sacrificed to idols ends up pressing to the surface and pointing us to, what I would call, marks of Christian maturity. To what is the Apostle pointing us in this passage in terms of Christian maturity? To a mature use of knowledge. You see, we are so often tempted to have, not a mature, but a me-centered view of knowledge. What does that mean? It means that what I know about God has become primarily centered on what I get: pardon, peace, freedom, heaven. Those are of course amazing blessings that we dare not minimize. But the danger here is that what we know, what we've been taught, can tempt us to believe we are better than other believers because we are more enlightened than them. But Paul introduces here a theme he will powerfully expand on in chapter 13: the centrality of love.

Christlike maturity is all about knowledge, not in the service of pride, but knowledge in the service of love. Why am I using the word Christlike? Because of how Paul concludes this entire section in 11:1, a verse in which he summarizes his guidance in this matter. Therefore... “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” And how was Paul imitating Christ in this regard? Well, we'll talk more about that next week. But at the very least, Paul tells his readers what he would do in verse 13. Look at that verse again: “Therefore, if [if...] food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.”

You see, me-centered knowledge would tell the weaker brother, “Hey, you're wrong. Hey, you're not thinking biblically. Hey, your theology is off. You need to pray about it. You need to take this class, or read this book. You need to 'step up your [faith] game'. Now remember, everything that Paul has said in this chapter would have been read out loud to everyone in the church, including those with weak consciences. So in light of that, and the whole letter, and all of Paul's letters, Paul is well aware of the fact that, “All Scripture... is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). But in verse 13, Paul is not talking about straightening out the weaker brother. He's talking there about sacrificing for the weaker brother.

Is that us? Is that you? Please ask yourself, “When I think about what I know, do I also think about loving who I'm with, even sacrificially, curtailing my own freedoms?” Please ask yourself, “When I think about having good theology, a right and robust knowledge of God, do I think about that knowledge not simply as a sword and a shield, but also as a basin and a towel; the very items Jesus used according to John 13 to wash his disciples' feet?” Christian maturity is all about Christ conformity. As we work through that 'Cracker Barrel' conundrum in the coming weeks, we're going to dig deeper into what that looks like. But this morning, let's finish by rehearsing in our hearts the precious knowledge we've been given; knowledge not only of one God and one Lord, but of a God who so loved the world that he gave his only son... our Lord Jesus, the One who, even though we were weak, gave up more than meat for you and me. On the cross, He gave up his own life. In light of that knowledge, let's praise God this morning. But let's also pray for those renewed eyes to see one another, to see every believer we meet (whether weak or strong, whether theologically sound or theologically sketchy), as the 'brother or sister for whom Christ died'?