New Testament
1 Corinthians 8
Overview
Paul takes up another question from the Corinthians' letter: whether believers may eat food that had been offered to idols (8:1). He grants the theological knowledge the "strong" Corinthians prized — "an idol has no real existence," and "there is no God but one" (8:4) — yet immediately corrects their attitude: "Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up" (8:1). Truth without love is dangerous. He confesses the great Christian confession that recasts the Shema: "for us there is one God, the Father... and one Lord, Jesus Christ" (8:6). But not everyone possesses this knowledge with settled conscience; some, newly converted from paganism, still feel that eating such meat is participation in idolatry, and "their conscience, being weak, is defiled" (8:7). Paul concedes that food itself is morally neutral — "we are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do" (8:8) — but warns that exercising one's liberty carelessly can become a "stumbling block to the weak" (8:9), even destroying "the brother for whom Christ died" (8:11). To wound a weak brother's conscience is to "sin against Christ" (8:12). Paul concludes with his own resolve: "if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble" (8:13).
1Now concerning things sacrificed to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
2But if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he doesn’t yet know as he ought to know.
3But anyone who loves God is known by him.
4Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no other God but one.
5For though there are things that are called “gods”, whether in the heavens or on earth—as there are many “gods” and many “lords”—
6yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we live through him.
7However, that knowledge isn’t in all men. But some, with consciousness of an idol until now, eat as of a thing sacrificed to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.
8But food will not commend us to God. For neither, if we don’t eat are we the worse, nor if we eat are we the better.
9But be careful that by no means does this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to the weak.
10For if a man sees you who have knowledge sitting in an idol’s temple, won’t his conscience, if he is weak, be emboldened to eat things sacrificed to idols?
11And through your knowledge, he who is weak perishes, the brother for whose sake Christ died.
12Thus, sinning against the brothers, and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.
13Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will eat no meat forever more, that I don’t cause my brother to stumble.