I Corinthians 8:1  Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.
2  And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.
3  But if any man love God, the same is known of him.
4  As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.
5  For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)
6  But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

The city of Corinth was a very secular city. They had all kinds of pagan things going on there. It would have fit in well with most modern day cities and towns. Paganism is the norm for the secular society.
God was concerned about the saints in Corinth as He is with all saints. He wants His children to be grounded in the truth. When that is so, the paganism will not have the same impact. It is still there, but it does not have that pull on the person.
In verse 1 Paul noted that all saints have knowledge with regard to things offered to idols. What we do with the knowledge is what counts. Knowledge by itself puffs up. A person can assume they know it all and yet have a distorted view of knowledge. They use it in an improper manner. Charity is necessary in all things.
The Greek word translated as “charity” means: “love, affection, or benevolence.” It is connected to another Greek word: “agape’”. This is a reference to the love of God. God’s love edifies. It builds a person up. It does not puff a person up. It builds the person up. Someone that is puffed up is full of hot air. They have a superficial and imaginary view of themselves. Someone that is built up is someone who has something solid to stand upon.
In verse 2 Paul explained this matter further. We need to understand this in its context. Obviously Paul knew many things. He wrote this letter and he wrote many other letters. His knowledge came from God. He was not puffed up.
What God was directing Paul to address here was the idea of the more “mature” Christians assuming they had liberties regarding meats offered to idols, even though their “liberty” was causing others to stumble. True Christians need to be above reproach in all things. Christians need to follow God’s way in all things.
If a person thinks he knows anything in the sense of “having arrived”, he really does not know anything as he ought to know it. This is again in the context of idolatry. The Bible has many doctrines. As an example, we can know what Biblical salvation is. We do not need to leave room for the many heresies out there. We can also know what Biblical marriage is, as we have just looked at. We do not need to scratch our heads and leave the door open for the corruption that is taking over regarding that doctrine. There are many things we can know and we can stand firm on, if we know the truth.
As Paul will show here, the true saints knew that an idol is nothing. He prefaced this with verse 3. The person who truly loves God, is known of God. There are many people who claim to love God, but He does not know them. Peter was challenged three times regarding his love for Jesus in John 21. Jesus loved him, but he needed to understand what it means to love Jesus, in a greater and deeper way. We cannot love God if we do not want to obey Him.
In verse 4 Paul explained further what the issue at hand was. As mentioned, idolatry was quite common in Corinth. Those involved in idolatry, offered meat to their idols. They would offer good cuts of meat to their idols. They tried to show respect for these worthless things. After offering the meat to their idols, they would sell it on the market. You would think they would think a little bit deeper and understand that if they offered something to their “god” and yet it was still able to be sold to others, there must be something wrong with their “god”.
When a true saint gives an offering to God, he or she no longer has that item to sell to someone else. The church, if it is a true church, does not take that offering and sell it for profit to others. An offering made to God is used for His glory, which involves the furtherance of the Gospel. A true church will set aside some of the funds that come in the offering to pay their pastor, or the electricity for the building, etc. They do not try to profit materially off of what is given to God.
The idolaters in Corinth would take the meat they had offered to idols and sell it in the market at a discount. They would still make money off of it. It was used already, in that it had been exposed to the elements and possibly cooked already and supposedly “blessed” by their false god, and now they were going to profit by selling it to others.
The “puffed up” saints knew that idols were nothing. They were looking for a bargain, so they would go and purchase this less expensive meat. They thought this made good economic sense. They ignored the fact that others would observe them purchasing this meat that had come from idols.
The problem was that there were “younger” Christians, who had just recently been saved, and were still affected by the thought of idols. They knew they were saved by God’s grace, but the false teaching they had been raised under, was still affecting them. They would see these “older” Christians purchasing this meat and thinking they were quite smart, economically, and this was a hindrance to the “newer” Christians.
In verse 5 Paul noted that there were things that were called gods, either in heaven or in earth. There were people who accepted being looked at as gods. The Catholics are famous for this. The pope assumes he is the “vicar” of Christ. The priests and nuns also assume they deserve special “reverential” treatment.
We know there are no idols in heaven. The heaven spoken of here would be the worship of the stars or supposed “images” seen in the clouds.
In verse 6 Paul reminded the saints that they knew there was only One true God. This true God is the Father. The pope is not a father. He may have “fathered” some children, but he is not a spiritual father. The priests also are not spiritual fathers. Pastors are not spiritual fathers either. The apostle Paul did not teach that he was a spiritual father either. He took young Timothy under his “wings” and talked of being a “father” to him in the sense that he was his teacher and human guide. However, he also made it abundantly clear that his guidance was from God. He had no superior power over Timothy. As an apostle, he could do signs like healing. He could also cast out devils. He was given special powers by God because he was an apostle. The people needed to know who was authorized by God to speak the “words of God”. The Scriptures were not complete at that time, and God chose certain men, like Paul, to complete the Scriptures. The Scriptures are complete now and no man is giving any new “word from the Lord”.
Those who are saved are of God and in Him. We also know there is One Lord Jesus Christ. Those who are saved are all saved by the same Lord Jesus Christ. There is only one way of salvation. It does not matter what people say, there is only one true Saviour.
This foundation had already been laid in Corinth. We learned that in chapter 3. The saints all needed to be reminded of this fact. When we face false teaching, we always need to be sure of the basics. We need to keep the foundation clear of clutter. If we keep the foundation right, we can build on this. We can build correctly on that right foundation.
This was essential to addressing this matter of idols. Idols were nothing. They still are nothing. Yet today there are still many people who accept Catholicism as a legitimate religion. They still believe in exalting Mary and the “saints” which are dead pagans. Those who are truly saved, should be fully persuaded that Catholicism is a false religion. If the Catholics want to hold a bake sale to raise money for something, true Christians should not purchase from that sale. If it is a neighbour or someone having a garage sale, we do not need to ask what their religious beliefs are. A saved person could use that occasion to witness to the person holding the sale. If there is a lot of Catholic content at the sale, it can be assumed that the people are Catholics. If the sale is set up to benefit the Catholic religion then true Christians should avoid it. We do not want to support false religion. We do not want to have others assume that we see value in that false religion. This same principle would apply to many false religions. The Catholics are the most open in showing off their idols. Other false religions also have their idols, but they may not be as easily identified.
True saints do not want to justify false religion. True saints want people to know the true God. This is what the love of God does in the heart of the true saint. Thus the true saint will pray and seek to glorify God in all things. He will not scoff at the importance of true holiness. The true saint understands that he is not working his way into God’s favour. He simply wants to identify more clearly with his God and Saviour.
We are seeing a “dumbing down” of the holiness of God in this present age. This is not a good thing. We are not helping the lost when we do that. We are encouraging the lost to remain in darkness and our own children will also remain in darkness even if they claim to be saved. There is a grave danger that many are not seeing. The Bible is the Truth. It is the Word of God. We need to follow God’s Word and be a true blessing to others.
Pastor Bartel