God's Glory, in Whatever You Do (1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1)

“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. [24] Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. [25] Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. [26] For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” [27] If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. [28] But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience—[29] I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? [30] If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks? [31] So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. [32] Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, [33] just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. [11:1] Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

I. Dropping Our Anchor

Of the twelve verses that make up our study passage this morning, I'd like to drop our anchor into just one. In choosing this verse, it helps that this one verse is the best-known verse in the whole passage. In fact, this one verse is one of the best-known, and oft-quoted verses in the entire Bible. Which verse is it? Well, if you guessed verse 31, you'd be correct.

Now... you may be thinking to yourself, “Today is Easter Sunday. How exactly is this verse an Easter verse?” As we've been doing for the past six months, our study this morning brings us back to Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. But even though we're just doing the next passage from our yearly reading plan, I promise that we will come back to that question about Easter.

II. The Passage: “Do All to the Glory of God” (10:23-11:1)

So, if you have your Bibles open or your Bible app pulled up, look back with me at 10:31...

So [Corinthian disciples], whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Did you notice the big, expansive words in that verse? “Whatever”. That includes almost endless possibilities, doesn't it? “All”. Not many words are as all-encompassing as “all”. And of course, “God”. Is there any higher word? Is there any higher concept? Any higher reality? “God”. I point out these big, expansive words in order to point out just how important this one verse really is. This is not a proverb about something like your tongue, or a story about some moral evil. This verse is about everything, in every way... and all the time. Okay. But... what does it mean?

To grasp the main idea of this verse, in its original context (not just this verse from an inspira-tional meme or a window decal), let's break it down into three parts. First, let's talk about defining the glory of God. Second, let's think about eating and drinking. Finally, let's unpack that central phrase, “or whatever you do”. Pretty straightforward, right? Okay...

First, let's see if we can define the phrase, “the glory of God”. In Scripture, the word “glory” is not simply a God-specific word. This word is used of humans and human kingdoms. It's used of angels and things like the sun, moon, and stars. No matter how or to whom (or to what) it's applied, this word “glory” always communicates the sense that something 'shines' in such a way that it inspires praise; that it inspires 'oos' and 'ahs'; that it inspires some kind of awe. Words in the 'glory family' include excellence, magnificence, honor, majesty, preeminence, and greatness.

But as we know from God's word, every other thing in this universe, whether seen or unseen, that is genuinely glorious in some way, even the future glory that we should desire to experience, all of it is derived from God. That's why we can say that God is incomparably great. And so, we should ask, “What does it mean to do something “to the glory of God”? It means doing some-thing that points to God (and God alone) as incomparably great... that today or one day will inspire praise. According to Romans 1:21, the essence of our rebellion against the Creator is to not “honor God as God”. We routinely want to glorify the stuff of this world. We routinely want to glorify ourselves in some way, so that attention and praise is directed to us as the 'center'.

But second, how can we apply a topic so exalted, so lofty, so... glorious (!), to something as mundane as “eat[ing] or drink[ing]”? Well, what's helpful is how the answer to that question drives us into the broader context of 1 Corinthians 10:31.

If you've been with us in past weeks, you'll remember that the especially relevant context for this one verse (10:31) actually begins in chapter 8, verse 1. That's where Paul begins to tackle the issue of eating “food” (or meat) that had been sacrificed in the temple of a pagan god. Now, as we talked about last time, the whole reason this sacrificial meat matter was even an issue was 1) that such meat was commonly sold in the local meat markets, and 2) that many of these believers had commonly frequented the dining halls of pagan temples as they ate with friends and family members, or in community-wide festivals. Though these disciples of Jesus no longer went to worship false gods in such temples, they were having a hard time disentangling them-selves from all the ways idolatry was present in their specific, cultural context.

So in the last message, we heard how the Apostle pulled no punches when it came to eating in a pagan temple. Because those pagan altars and those pagan tables were so closely aligned, those who ate in these dining halls were, in fact, eating at (10:21) “the table of demons”. But remember, Paul is also dealing with Christians eating this meat in other settings as well. So if we go back to 10:25, we the general rule Paul gives them in that verse: “Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience [i.e., that is, a question about where the meat came from]. We can do this because (v. 26), the whole earth belongs to the Lord, even this kind of meat.

But notice the next scenario that Paul suggests in v. 27: “If one of the unbelievers invites you [plural—that is, some of you believers] to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you [again] without raising any question on the ground of conscience.” But (v. 28) “if someone [from your group] says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience—[29] I do not mean your conscience, but his [i.e., the brother who told you this]”.

Now abstaining like this for the sake of your brother or sister, that brother or sister with a weak conscience, who is still struggling with their past life of idol worship—abstaining like this nothing new. Paul recommended this very thing back in chapter 8. But Paul is coming full circle in this passage because he doesn't want the Corinthians to simply think about what is (v. 23) “lawful” (i.e., what they have the right to do). Even more so, he wants them to think about what is “help-ful”. About what “build[s] up”. He makes this plain in verse 24: “Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.”

So, as we've just seen, these issues of eating and drinking connect us back to the original context. And in so doing, they are connecting us back to this principle of seeking the good of others, even when it means I need to set aside my rights. And why is that so important? Because the main idea here is about “eating and drinking to the glory of God”! And how does a believer point to God as incomparably great in this way? By reflecting the very heart of God through this kind of radical humility and love. And we know this is the very heart of God because of chapter 11:1: “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” And how did Paul imitate Christ according to the preceding verse (10:33)? “...I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.” Isn't that exactly what Jesus did? And wasn't that especially clear when he went to the cross for you and me? Therefore, friends, in this context, doing all to the glory of God is very real and specific and tangible. It means honoring God by loving and serving others like Christ loved and served us.

And that brings us, third, to this expansive phrase, “or whatever you do”. We've spent the past five weeks talking about how this portion of 1 Corinthians reveals what I've been calling marks of Christian maturity. In addressing this issue of food sacrificed to idols, Paul has pointed his readers to a mature use of knowledge, a mature use of one's rights, a mature use of discip-line, a mature use of Scripture, and a mature use of discernment. But what he gives us here is the most mature motivation that any human being could ever possess: to do all to the glory of God. And as we just talked about, we glorify God (we reveal him to be incomparably great) when we love and serve others like Christ loved and served us.

So when Paul adds the phrase, “or whatever you do”, he makes it clear that everything he's been telling them can and should be applied beyond this one issue of 'idol meat'. That means, follower of Jesus, that in every part of your life, in your every decision and response, in your thought life, and in all your relationships, in how you spend your time and money, in your priorities and goals, in your words, in what you watch, in your attitude and outlook, in how you handle your problems, in who and how you love, in how you think about your past, present, and future, in who you are when no one else is looking, you are called to do “all to the glory of God”. That is, you are called to point to the incomparable greatness of God by letting your whole life be ruled by the self-giving, others-focused love of Jesus Christ.

III. The Perfect Human Being

I think if we're honest with ourselves, that is not always the motive behind our actions and behind our attitudes, is it? In fact, we are often motivated, not by what is pleasing to God, or what is pleasing to others for their good, but... by what is pleasing to me. And yet, Holy Week and Easter remind us that there is real hope for change. Jesus Christ was and is the perfect human being. That is crystal clear from Scripture, since Jesus fulfilled the human ideal for which were created (and for which the universe was created): to do all to the glory of God. Everything Jesus did and does, glorified and glorifies God. If you would, turn over to Philippians 2, verses 3-11, and listen to how Good Friday and Easter or woven together with our main point this morning in another amazing passage from Paul...

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. [4] Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. [5] Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, [6] who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, [7] but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. [8] And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross [there's Good Friday!]. [9] Therefore God has highly exalted him [there's Easter!] and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, [10] so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11] and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:3–11)

If it is your desire to be a man or woman who does all to the glory of God, then Jesus Christ is your only hope. Why? Because only Jesus has done and continues to do all to the glory of his Father, because only Jesus died in your place to accept the consequences for your self-glorifi-cation and world-glorification, because only Jesus has secured a new heart for you, one that is God-centered and not me-centered, and because only Jesus can empower you for a resurrected life in which you live for His glory and the good of others. May Easter be the starting point for a renewed pursuit, learning what honors God, and seeking to do those things in whatever we do.