1 Corinthians · Chapter 8

V. 1. Now concerning the next question you proposed. All of us have knowledge-A gentle reproof of their self-conceit. Knowledge without love always puffeth up. Love alone edifies-Builds us up in holiness.

Verse 1. As touching things offered unto idols] This was another subject on which the Corinthians had asked the apostle’s advice, and we shall understand the whole of this chapter the better when we consider one fact, viz. That there had long subsisted a controversy between the Karaites and the Traditionites, how far it was lawful to derive any benefit or advantage from things used by the Gentiles. The Karaites were a sect of the Jews who scrupulously held to the letter of the sacred writings, taking this alone for their directory. The Traditionists were those who followed the voice of the elders, interpreting the Divine testimonies by their decisions. From a work of the Karaites, entitled Addereth Eliyahu, Triglandus has extracted the following decisions, which will throw light upon this subject. “It is unlawful to receive any benefit from any kind of heathen worship, or from any thing that has been offered to an idol.”—”It is unlawful to buy or sell an idol, and if, by accident, any such thing shall come into thy power, thou shalt derive no emolument from it.”—”The animals that are destined and prepared for the worship of idols are universally prohibited; and particularly those which bear the mark of the idol. This should be maintained against the opinion of the Traditionists, who think they may lawfully use these kinds of animals, provided they be not marked with the sign of the idol.” Thus far the Karaites; and here we see one strong point of difference between these two sects. The Karaites totally objected to every thing used in idolatrous services: the Traditionists, as the Talmud shows, did generally the same; but it appears that they scrupled not to use any animal employed in idolatrous worship, provided they did not see the sign of the idol on it. Now the sign of the idol must be that placed on the animal previously to its being sacrificed, such as gilded horns and hoofs, consecrated fillets, garlands, &c. And as, after it had been sacrificed, and its flesh exposed for sale in the shambles, it could bear none of these signs, we may take it for granted that the Jews might think it lawful to buy and eat this flesh: this the Karaite would most solemnly scruple. It may be just necessary to state here, that it was customary, after the blood and life of an animal had been offered in sacrifice to an idol, to sell the flesh in the market indiscriminately with that of other animals which had not been sacrificed, but merely killed for common use. Even the less scrupulous Jews, knowing that any particular flesh had been thus offered, would abhor the use of it; and as those who lived among the Gentiles, as the Jews at Corinth, must know that this was a common case, hence they would be generally scrupulous; and those of them that were converted to Christianity would have their scruples increased, and be as rigid on this point as the Karaites themselves. On the other hand, those of the Gentiles who had received the faith of Christ, knowing that an idol was nothing in the world, nor was even a representation of any thing, (for the beings represented by idol images were purely imaginary,) made no scruple to buy and eat the flesh as they used to do, though not with the same intention; for when, in their heathen state, they ate the flesh offered to idols, they ate it as a feast with the idol, and were thus supposed to have communion with the idol; which was the grossest idolatry.

From these observations it will at once appear that much misunderstanding and offence must have existed in the Corinthian Church; the converted Jews abominating every thing that they knew had been used in the heathen worship, while the converted Gentiles, for the reasons above assigned, would feel no scruple on the account.

We know that we all have knowledge.] I am inclined to think that these are not St. Paul’s words, but a quotation from the letter of the Corinthians to him, and a proof of what the apostle says below, knowledge puffeth up; but however the words may be understood as to their origin, they contain a general truth, as they relate to Christians of those times, and may be thus paraphrased; “All we who are converted to God by Christ have sufficient knowledge concerning idols and idol worship; and we know also the liberty which we have through the Gospel, not being bound by Jewish laws, rites, ceremonies, &c.; but many carry their knowledge in this liberty too far, and do what is neither seemly nor convenient, and thus give offence to others.” Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.] This knowledge is very nearly allied to pride; it puffeth up the mind with vain conceit, makes those who have it bold and rash, and renders them careless of the consciences of others. And this knowledge, boasted of by the Corinthians, led them to contemn others; for so the word fusioi is understood by some eminent critics.

Verses 1-3. Now — As to the next question you proposed, namely, touching things offered — Meats sacrificed, and so consecrated; unto idols — When the heathen offered sacrifices of such animals as were fit for food, a part of the carcass was burned on the altar, a part was given to the priest or priests, and on the remainder the offerers feasted with their friends, either in the idol’s temple or at home. Sometimes also a part was sent as a present to such as they wished to oblige, and if the sacrifice was large, a part of it was sold in the public market. To these idolatrous feasts the heathen often invited the Christians of their acquaintance in Corinth, and some of the brethren there, desirous of preserving the friendship of their neighbours, accepted these invitations. They knew an idol was nothing in the world: and therefore they judged that their partaking of the sacrifice, given in the idol’s temple, could not be reckoned a worshipping of the idol. Besides, such a feast was considered, by enlightened Christians, as a common meal, which under the gospel they were at liberty to eat; especially if they did it to show their belief that idols had no existence as gods. These arguments, indeed, are not explicitly stated by the apostle; but the things he hath written in this and in chap. 10. being direct confutations of them, we may believe they were mentioned by the Corinthian brethren, in their letter referred to 1 Corinthians 7:1. The apostle here, and in 1 Corinthians 10:20, 21, treats of the meats which, having been sacrificed to idols, were afterward eaten in the idol’s temple, and in honour of the idol: of that which was sold in the shambles, or eaten in private houses, he speaks 1 Corinthians 10:25-33. We all have knowledge — That is, the generality, for some had not, verse 7: we are well instructed in the nature of Christian liberty, concerning meats, and the nature of idols. Knowledge — That is, mere knowledge, knowledge without grace; puffeth up — Often has that tendency, and is the occasion of self-conceit and arrogance; a gentle reproof this of the self-conceit of the Corinthians. But charity — Love to God and our brethren; edifieth — Builds people up in holiness. If any man think he knoweth any thing aright — Unless so far as he is taught by God, and has love in proportion to his knowledge; he knoweth nothing — To any good purpose; yet, as he ought to know — Namely, to answer the proper ends of knowledge, or to make him humble in himself, and useful to others. If any man love God — In deed and in truth, in consequence of a persuasion of God’s love to him, 1 John 4:19; if any man, being justified by faith, and having peace with God, hath also the love of God shed abroad in his heart, Romans 5:1, 5; the same is known of him — That is, approved by him, Psalm 1:6. Or, if outov, he, refers to God, the immediate antecedent, as some think the sense is, he, God, is known of him; namely, in a proper manner. See an example of the same phraseology, Acts 10:36.

1. Assuming the first verse to introduce a passage from the Corinthian letter to the apostle, we would print it somewhat thus: Now concerning idol sacrifices, “we are convinced,” [you say,] “that all have knowledge.” Knowledge, [I reply,] puffeth up; it is love that buildeth up; and if any man imagine he KNOWS any thing, he knows nothing as he ought to know.” Were the words on both sides spoken, not written, we would suppose Paul to cut short their soft, apologetic words rather abruptly, with a firm expression of countenance, softened by a smile, showing that his was a rebuke of love. Knowledge—Gnwsiv. Gnosis—knowledge—is the word whence the Gnostics drew their title, and designates what claimed to be a deep insight into a profound subject, requiring a penetrative mind. And upon this their pet word, knowledge, the apostle plays with a covert sarcasm through the chapter. Verses 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, 11. Its arrogance was a quality largely belonging to the sect which assumed it as their title. Puffeth up—An unloving knowledge, even where it is real knowledge, often results in haughty assumption, and in scorn of humbler minds. Knowing perfectly the nothingness of idols, the proud believer might be reckless of the difficulties and dangers of feebler minds. Charity—An unfortunate rendering of the Greek for LOVE. St. Paul affirms that it is love, mixed with knowledge, which perfects knowledge into true wisdom. Edifieth— Buildeth the possessor into a true Christian edifice. If knowledge be the bricks of the edifice, love must at least be the mortar.

Ver. 1. The idol-sacrifices: animals offered in sacrifice to idols, of which the greater part was eaten by the offerer and his friends either (1 Corinthians 8:10; 10:27) within the precincts of the temple or in private houses, or (1 Corinthians 10:25) was sold in the market. Same word in Acts 15:29; 21:25; Revelation 2:14, 20. Similarly, a great part of the Mosaic peace offerings was eaten by the offerer: Leviticus 7:15-18, 20; 17:2-6. The sudden and matter-of-fact transition to this subject without any reason given (contrast 1 Corinthians 1:11; 5:1; 6:1) and in a form similar to 1 Corinthians 7:1, suggests that it was mentioned in the letter to Paul. He deals with it by first laying down as usual a great general principle, viz. that love is better than knowledge, 1 Corinthians 8:1-3; and then looks at the matter in the light (1 Corinthians 8:4-6) of knowledge and (1 Corinthians 8:7-13) of love. He supports the warning thus given by referring to (§ 15) his own rights, and (§ 16) to his own example and to (§ 17) the story of ancient Israel; and then gives specific advice about eating idol-sacrifices (§ 18) at an idol-feast, and (§ 19) in private homes.

We all: a general admission, of which the compass cannot be exactly defined. Paul here tells his readers that when speaking of the weak brethren he does not refer to himself or them. He therefore uses the third person: 1 Corinthians 8:7-12; 10:28. Contrast Romans 14:3, 10. Have knowledge: cp. i. 5; and the many indications throughout the Epistle that the Corinthians boasted, and probably possessed, considerable Christian intelligence; e.g. 1 Corinthians 1:17-2:16; 3:18ff; 6:5. Puffs up: as in 1 Corinthians 4:6, 18; 5:2: the inflated self-esteem which is the natural tendency of knowledge, and its constant result when not counterbalanced by love.

Love: as a general principle, and embracing all with whom we have to do. So 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Romans 12:9.

Edifies: builds up. Cp. 1 Corinthians 3:9, and see Romans 14:19. Love, by its own nature, prompts us to use our powers for the good of others, and especially for their highest good, i.e. the development of their spiritual life. It is therefore better than knowledge.

V. 2. If any man think he knoweth any thing-Aright, unless so far he is taught by God.

He knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know-Seeing there is no true knowledge without divine love.

Verse 2. He knoweth nothing yet, &c.] The person who acts in this rash, unfeeling way, from the general knowledge which he has of the vanity of idolatry and the liberty which the Gospel affords from Jewish rites, with all his knowledge does not know this, that though the first and greatest commandment says, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, &c., yet the second is like unto it: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. He, then, that can torment his neighbour’s weak or tender conscience with his food or his conduct, does not love him as himself, and therefore knows nothing as he ought to know.

Verses 1-3. Now — As to the next question you proposed, namely, touching things offered — Meats sacrificed, and so consecrated; unto idols — When the heathen offered sacrifices of such animals as were fit for food, a part of the carcass was burned on the altar, a part was given to the priest or priests, and on the remainder the offerers feasted with their friends, either in the idol’s temple or at home. Sometimes also a part was sent as a present to such as they wished to oblige, and if the sacrifice was large, a part of it was sold in the public market. To these idolatrous feasts the heathen often invited the Christians of their acquaintance in Corinth, and some of the brethren there, desirous of preserving the friendship of their neighbours, accepted these invitations. They knew an idol was nothing in the world: and therefore they judged that their partaking of the sacrifice, given in the idol’s temple, could not be reckoned a worshipping of the idol. Besides, such a feast was considered, by enlightened Christians, as a common meal, which under the gospel they were at liberty to eat; especially if they did it to show their belief that idols had no existence as gods. These arguments, indeed, are not explicitly stated by the apostle; but the things he hath written in this and in chap. 10. being direct confutations of them, we may believe they were mentioned by the Corinthian brethren, in their letter referred to 1 Corinthians 7:1. The apostle here, and in 1 Corinthians 10:20, 21, treats of the meats which, having been sacrificed to idols, were afterward eaten in the idol’s temple, and in honour of the idol: of that which was sold in the shambles, or eaten in private houses, he speaks 1 Corinthians 10:25-33. We all have knowledge — That is, the generality, for some had not, verse 7: we are well instructed in the nature of Christian liberty, concerning meats, and the nature of idols. Knowledge — That is, mere knowledge, knowledge without grace; puffeth up — Often has that tendency, and is the occasion of self-conceit and arrogance; a gentle reproof this of the self-conceit of the Corinthians. But charity — Love to God and our brethren; edifieth — Builds people up in holiness. If any man think he knoweth any thing aright — Unless so far as he is taught by God, and has love in proportion to his knowledge; he knoweth nothing — To any good purpose; yet, as he ought to know — Namely, to answer the proper ends of knowledge, or to make him humble in himself, and useful to others. If any man love God — In deed and in truth, in consequence of a persuasion of God’s love to him, 1 John 4:19; if any man, being justified by faith, and having peace with God, hath also the love of God shed abroad in his heart, Romans 5:1, 5; the same is known of him — That is, approved by him, Psalm 1:6. Or, if outov, he, refers to God, the immediate antecedent, as some think the sense is, he, God, is known of him; namely, in a proper manner. See an example of the same phraseology, Acts 10:36.

2. Any man—Destitute of this love, and with gnosis alone. Nothing—He that knows every thing with his brain, but nothing with his heart, fails of true wisdom. Satan is the model of intellect without love.

Ver. 2. Further superiority of love.

Thinks that he knows; expounds “puffs up.” This thought is a natural result of knowledge not counterbalanced by love.

Knows anything: thinks that what he knows is something of intrinsic value.

Learnt it: viz. the anything he thinks he knows. All knowledge which does not teach us that even the highest knowledge cannot of itself bless, is defective even as knowledge. Yet we must needs know: for salvation and spiritual life come through the intelligence; John 8:32; 17:3. But the knowledge we need is so thorough that it reveals its own powerlessness of itself to save.

V. 3. He is known-That is, approved, by him. Psalm 1:6.

Verse 3. But if any man love God] In that way which the commandment requires, which will necessarily beget love to his neighbour, the same is known of him-is approved of God, and acknowledged as his genuine follower.

Verses 1-3. Now — As to the next question you proposed, namely, touching things offered — Meats sacrificed, and so consecrated; unto idols — When the heathen offered sacrifices of such animals as were fit for food, a part of the carcass was burned on the altar, a part was given to the priest or priests, and on the remainder the offerers feasted with their friends, either in the idol’s temple or at home. Sometimes also a part was sent as a present to such as they wished to oblige, and if the sacrifice was large, a part of it was sold in the public market. To these idolatrous feasts the heathen often invited the Christians of their acquaintance in Corinth, and some of the brethren there, desirous of preserving the friendship of their neighbours, accepted these invitations. They knew an idol was nothing in the world: and therefore they judged that their partaking of the sacrifice, given in the idol’s temple, could not be reckoned a worshipping of the idol. Besides, such a feast was considered, by enlightened Christians, as a common meal, which under the gospel they were at liberty to eat; especially if they did it to show their belief that idols had no existence as gods. These arguments, indeed, are not explicitly stated by the apostle; but the things he hath written in this and in chap. 10. being direct confutations of them, we may believe they were mentioned by the Corinthian brethren, in their letter referred to 1 Corinthians 7:1. The apostle here, and in 1 Corinthians 10:20, 21, treats of the meats which, having been sacrificed to idols, were afterward eaten in the idol’s temple, and in honour of the idol: of that which was sold in the shambles, or eaten in private houses, he speaks 1 Corinthians 10:25-33. We all have knowledge — That is, the generality, for some had not, verse 7: we are well instructed in the nature of Christian liberty, concerning meats, and the nature of idols. Knowledge — That is, mere knowledge, knowledge without grace; puffeth up — Often has that tendency, and is the occasion of self-conceit and arrogance; a gentle reproof this of the self-conceit of the Corinthians. But charity — Love to God and our brethren; edifieth — Builds people up in holiness. If any man think he knoweth any thing aright — Unless so far as he is taught by God, and has love in proportion to his knowledge; he knoweth nothing — To any good purpose; yet, as he ought to know — Namely, to answer the proper ends of knowledge, or to make him humble in himself, and useful to others. If any man love God — In deed and in truth, in consequence of a persuasion of God’s love to him, 1 John 4:19; if any man, being justified by faith, and having peace with God, hath also the love of God shed abroad in his heart, Romans 5:1, 5; the same is known of him — That is, approved by him, Psalm 1:6. Or, if outov, he, refers to God, the immediate antecedent, as some think the sense is, he, God, is known of him; namely, in a proper manner. See an example of the same phraseology, Acts 10:36.

3. Love God—As no one does who does not love his brother man. Known of him—He who loves God, and so man, is known of God as so loving. And that, be sure, is a knowledge worthy of being the object of.

Ver. 3. Love to God (Romans 8:28) is of the same nature as, and is parent of, ( 1 John 5:1,) love to our brethren; and may therefore be contrasted with knowledge.

Known by Him: Galatians 4:9; 2 Timothy 2:19: present to His mind as an object of observation and thought. Cp. “foreknew,” Romans 8:29. The context implies that God's knowledge of us will be used for our protection and well-being. We are ignorant of much that concerns us. But, if we love God, His infinite intelligence, which comprehends fully our nature, our weakness, our circumstances, and our needs, is at work for us, watching us with ceaseless vigilance and choosing for us whatever is best. And, that God knows us, is a pledge that His purposes about us will not fail. Thus, love, whether we know much or little, places us under the protection and guidance of the infinite knowledge of God.

1 Corinthians 8:2, 3 teach the important principle that Christian love is in itself essentially good, so that whosoever has it is better in proportion as he has it. For love is the inmost essence of God, 1 John 4:8, 16; and is therefore the inmost essence and the summit of the Christian life. Cp. 1 Corinthians 13. But knowledge is of secondary value, like wealth and bodily health, and like them will do good or harm according as we use it.

V. 4. We know that an idol is nothing-A mere nominal god, having no divinity, virtue, or power.

Verse 4. Things that are offered in sacrifice] See on the first verse. See Clarke “1 Corinthians 8:1”

An idol is nothing in the world] Dr. Lightfoot translates this, We know that there is no idol in the world; which he explains thus: eidwlon, idol, is omo iwma, eikwn, shmeion, carakthrion, skioeidev, a likeness, an image, a sign, a character, a shadow: now ouden eidwlon signifies there is no idol, no representation of GOD, in the world. Images there are of stone, wood and metal; but none of these is any representation of the infinite Spirit. But I prefer the meaning given in the note on verse 1; See Clarke “1 Corinthians 8:1” as the expression, an idol is nothing in the world, was common in the Old Testament, and among the Jews; and was understood by them in this way: they are not אלהים Elohim, the true GOD; but they are אלילים, nothings, and הבלים habalim, VANITY.

Verse 4-6. As, &c. — To proceed, therefore, to the question in debate; concerning the eating of those things that are offered unto idols — Meats of whatever kind sacrificed to them. We know that an idol — Or the supposed deity residing therein; is nothing — A mere nominal god, having no real divinity, virtue, or power; and that there is none other God but one — Jehovah, the self-existent, independent, infinite, and eternal Being, to whom the Scripture in general, and the gospel in particular, hath taught us to appropriate our worship. “The Greek word eidwlon, translated idol, signifies an image formed in the mind, and which exists nowhere else. Wherefore, to show that the gods of the heathen were mere creatures of the human imagination, the Jews, who used the Greek language, termed them eidwla, idols. By this word, likewise, they signified the pictures and statues which the heathen set up in their temples, as representations of their gods; and by giving them the appellation of idols, they declared their persuasion that the things of which they were the representations had no existence. Nevertheless, as the apostle knew that some of the heathen worshipped their dead ancestors, legislators, kings, &c., others of them the heavenly bodies, others certain kinds of brute animals, he cannot be understood to say that an idol is nothing, in the sense of its having no existence as a being, but of its having no existence as a god, and no share in the government of the world.” For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth — Or even under the earth; for the heathen had not only their celestial and terrestrial, but likewise their infernal deities: as there be gods many, and lords many — Who are in their various subordinations adored by the Gentiles, and have great, though very absurd worship paid to them. But to us — Christians; there is — In the whole universe; but one God — One supreme essence; the Father — Of angels and men. This is exclusive not of the Word which was in the beginning with God, and was God, termed the one Lord, in the next clause, any more than of the Holy Spirit, but only of the idols, to which the one God is opposed. Of — Or from; whom are all things — By creation, providence, and grace; and we in him — Living, moving, and having our being; or we are, eiv auton, for him, for his glory, the end of all we are, have, and do. And one Lord — The Word and Son of the eternal Father, equally the object of divine worship; by whom are all things — Created, sustained, and governed; and we by him — Thankfully acknowledging ourselves obliged to his agency and care for all we are, have, or hope for, and by whom, as the only Mediator between God and man, we have access to the Father and all spiritual blessings.

Verse 4. We know that an idol is nothing. St. Paul transcribes this from Habakkuk 2:18, where the Hebrew text is literally “dumb nothings,” for dumb idols; a phrase used by the Gnostics.

4. We know—We have, indeed, this knowledge. Nothing in the world— A literal rendering would be: There is no idol (that is, idol-god) in the world. The definition idol-god is given to the Greek word Eidwlon in Robinson’s N.T. Lexicon, and sustained by quoting Sept. of Numbers 25:2; 2 Kings 17:33, and other texts. The import of the gnosis, therefore, is, that there is no statue or image with any divinity or other important significance in it. An idol is a nothing in the world, expresses the true, contemptuous idea of Paul, both as a Jew and a Christian. But the more exact verbal rendering preserves more clearly Paul’s antithesis: There is no idol-god in the world, none other God but one.

Ver. 4.-6. After asserting and expounding the great principle of 1 Corinthians 8:1-3, Paul now takes up the special matter of DIV. IV. Idol: not here a mere image, but, by an inevitable transition of thought, the deity worshipped in the image. Paul says that Zeus, Apollo, etc, have no existence. If you search everywhere in the world, you will find no reality corresponding to the images. Consequently, there is no god, no supreme power, except one. This assertion, 1 Corinthians 8:5, 6 support in face of prevalent polytheism.

So-called gods: conceptions to which the name god is given. The fancy of the Greeks peopled with deities the heaven, visible and invisible, and the mountains, woods, and rivers of earth. That gods many and lords many refers only to the subjective thought of the heathen, is proved by the express statement of 1 Corinthians 8:4, and by the subjective reference, “to us,” in 1 Corinthians 8:6. Of the objective and superhuman and infernal bases and source of idolatry, (see 1 Corinthians 10:20,) there is no hint here. In the thought and lips and life of the heathen, the gods many and lords many were and are a terrible reality. These words admit, as fact, the supposition of 1 Corinthians 8:5a; and prepare, by contrast, a way for 1 Corinthians 8:6. God: a superhuman power.

Lord: one whose bidding men do.

V. 5. For though there be that are called gods-By the heathens both celestial, (as they style them,) terrestrial, and infernal deities.

Verse 5. There be that are called gods] There are many images that are supposed to be representations of divinities: but these divinities are nothing, the figments of mere fancy; and these images have no corresponding realities.

Whether in heaven or in earth] As the sun, moon, planets, stars, the ocean, rivers, trees, &c. And thus there are, nominally, gods many, and lords many.

Verse 4-6. As, &c. — To proceed, therefore, to the question in debate; concerning the eating of those things that are offered unto idols — Meats of whatever kind sacrificed to them. We know that an idol — Or the supposed deity residing therein; is nothing — A mere nominal god, having no real divinity, virtue, or power; and that there is none other God but one — Jehovah, the self-existent, independent, infinite, and eternal Being, to whom the Scripture in general, and the gospel in particular, hath taught us to appropriate our worship. “The Greek word eidwlon, translated idol, signifies an image formed in the mind, and which exists nowhere else. Wherefore, to show that the gods of the heathen were mere creatures of the human imagination, the Jews, who used the Greek language, termed them eidwla, idols. By this word, likewise, they signified the pictures and statues which the heathen set up in their temples, as representations of their gods; and by giving them the appellation of idols, they declared their persuasion that the things of which they were the representations had no existence. Nevertheless, as the apostle knew that some of the heathen worshipped their dead ancestors, legislators, kings, &c., others of them the heavenly bodies, others certain kinds of brute animals, he cannot be understood to say that an idol is nothing, in the sense of its having no existence as a being, but of its having no existence as a god, and no share in the government of the world.” For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth — Or even under the earth; for the heathen had not only their celestial and terrestrial, but likewise their infernal deities: as there be gods many, and lords many — Who are in their various subordinations adored by the Gentiles, and have great, though very absurd worship paid to them. But to us — Christians; there is — In the whole universe; but one God — One supreme essence; the Father — Of angels and men. This is exclusive not of the Word which was in the beginning with God, and was God, termed the one Lord, in the next clause, any more than of the Holy Spirit, but only of the idols, to which the one God is opposed. Of — Or from; whom are all things — By creation, providence, and grace; and we in him — Living, moving, and having our being; or we are, eiv auton, for him, for his glory, the end of all we are, have, and do. And one Lord — The Word and Son of the eternal Father, equally the object of divine worship; by whom are all things — Created, sustained, and governed; and we by him — Thankfully acknowledging ourselves obliged to his agency and care for all we are, have, or hope for, and by whom, as the only Mediator between God and man, we have access to the Father and all spiritual blessings.

5. Called gods—The world is full of pantheons and mythologies of gods, so called by their worshippers. In heaven or in earth—Chrysostom says, that in heaven means the sun and stars, worshipped by Persians and others; on earth, the gods and demigods in human form, as in the Greek mythology. Yet the phrase refers, perhaps, to the name of God as above, and to Christ as manifest on earth. There be—In men’s estimation and worship.

Ver. 4.-6. After asserting and expounding the great principle of 1 Corinthians 8:1-3, Paul now takes up the special matter of DIV. IV. Idol: not here a mere image, but, by an inevitable transition of thought, the deity worshipped in the image. Paul says that Zeus, Apollo, etc, have no existence. If you search everywhere in the world, you will find no reality corresponding to the images. Consequently, there is no god, no supreme power, except one. This assertion, 1 Corinthians 8:5, 6 support in face of prevalent polytheism.

So-called gods: conceptions to which the name god is given. The fancy of the Greeks peopled with deities the heaven, visible and invisible, and the mountains, woods, and rivers of earth. That gods many and lords many refers only to the subjective thought of the heathen, is proved by the express statement of 1 Corinthians 8:4, and by the subjective reference, “to us,” in 1 Corinthians 8:6. Of the objective and superhuman and infernal bases and source of idolatry, (see 1 Corinthians 10:20,) there is no hint here. In the thought and lips and life of the heathen, the gods many and lords many were and are a terrible reality. These words admit, as fact, the supposition of 1 Corinthians 8:5a; and prepare, by contrast, a way for 1 Corinthians 8:6. God: a superhuman power.

Lord: one whose bidding men do.

V. 6. Yet to us-Christians.

There is but one God-This is exclusive, not of the One Lord, as if he were an inferior deity; but only of the idols to which the One God is opposed. From whom are all things-By creation, providence, and grace. And we for him-The end of all we are, have, and do. And one Lord-Equally the object of divine worship. By whom are all things-Created, sustained, and governed. And we by him-Have access to the Father, and all spiritual blessings.

Verse 6. But to us there is but one God, the Father] Who produced all things, himself uncreated and unoriginated. And we in him, kai hmeiv eiv auton, and we FOR him; all intelligent beings having been created for the purpose of manifesting his glory, by receiving and reflecting his wisdom, goodness, and truth.

And one Lord Jesus] Only one visible Governor of the world and the Church, by whom are all things: who was the Creator, as he is the Upholder of the universe. And we by him, being brought to the knowledge of the true God, by the revelation of Jesus Christ; for it is the only begotten Son alone that can reveal the Father. The gods of whom the apostle speaks were their divinities, or objects of religious worship; the lords were the rulers of the world, such emperors, who were considered next to gods, and some of them were deified. In opposition to those gods he places GOD the Father, the fountain of plenitude and being; and in opposition to the lords he places Jesus Christ, who made and who governs all things. We, as creatures, live in reference, eiv auton, to him, God the Father, who is the fountain of our being: and, as Christians, we live di autou, by or through him, Jesus Christ; by whom we are bought, enlightened, pardoned, and saved.

Verse 4-6. As, &c. — To proceed, therefore, to the question in debate; concerning the eating of those things that are offered unto idols — Meats of whatever kind sacrificed to them. We know that an idol — Or the supposed deity residing therein; is nothing — A mere nominal god, having no real divinity, virtue, or power; and that there is none other God but one — Jehovah, the self-existent, independent, infinite, and eternal Being, to whom the Scripture in general, and the gospel in particular, hath taught us to appropriate our worship. “The Greek word eidwlon, translated idol, signifies an image formed in the mind, and which exists nowhere else. Wherefore, to show that the gods of the heathen were mere creatures of the human imagination, the Jews, who used the Greek language, termed them eidwla, idols. By this word, likewise, they signified the pictures and statues which the heathen set up in their temples, as representations of their gods; and by giving them the appellation of idols, they declared their persuasion that the things of which they were the representations had no existence. Nevertheless, as the apostle knew that some of the heathen worshipped their dead ancestors, legislators, kings, &c., others of them the heavenly bodies, others certain kinds of brute animals, he cannot be understood to say that an idol is nothing, in the sense of its having no existence as a being, but of its having no existence as a god, and no share in the government of the world.” For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth — Or even under the earth; for the heathen had not only their celestial and terrestrial, but likewise their infernal deities: as there be gods many, and lords many — Who are in their various subordinations adored by the Gentiles, and have great, though very absurd worship paid to them. But to us — Christians; there is — In the whole universe; but one God — One supreme essence; the Father — Of angels and men. This is exclusive not of the Word which was in the beginning with God, and was God, termed the one Lord, in the next clause, any more than of the Holy Spirit, but only of the idols, to which the one God is opposed. Of — Or from; whom are all things — By creation, providence, and grace; and we in him — Living, moving, and having our being; or we are, eiv auton, for him, for his glory, the end of all we are, have, and do. And one Lord — The Word and Son of the eternal Father, equally the object of divine worship; by whom are all things — Created, sustained, and governed; and we by him — Thankfully acknowledging ourselves obliged to his agency and care for all we are, have, or hope for, and by whom, as the only Mediator between God and man, we have access to the Father and all spiritual blessings.

Ver. 6. But to us, One God, the Father, possessing the Son in the beginning of his way. Proverbs 8:22. John 1:18. From whom the Comforter proceeds, “in glory equal, in majesty coëternal.” The Father is the fountain of deity. To him no paternity can be added, no filiation to the Son; all is infinite, all is eternal. St. Paul here, like Moses, Deuteronomy 6:4, asserts the unity of God, in opposition to the gods many, and lords many in the mythology of the gentiles. Of most of those gods, here called in ver. 4, “nonentities,” we should not have been burdened with the names, had it not been for the theogony of old Hesiod. And one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. The Word of Jehovah, as is the running phrase of the Chaldaic paraphrase, being made flesh, we now stand in the same relation, as sinners to Christ, that we do as creatures to the Father. As the mediatorial kingdom must be delivered up to God, even the Father, so it had a beginning in Christ, who himself had no beginning. Therefore in our adoption and glory we are all built on him, the only-begotten of the Father.

6. To us—Emphatically to us Christians. St. Paul now takes occasion to lay down the positive Christian creed on the subject, cleansing our moral sky of all mythologies, and giving us alone God in heaven and our Lord Christ on earth. God, the Father—Father here used not of his divine paternity of us, but in relation to the Son. Of whom—As himself the unrevealed background of Deity. One Lord… Christ—The divine Manifestation on earth of the hidden Infinite in heaven. Lord as being the executive of the divine power and grace immediately upon us, on earth. Idolatry was the unregenerate effort of fallen man to frame an earthly representative of God. Christ is the true living representative, humanizing the divine, and bringing the Infinite into finite sympathy with us. The idol-lord is therefore a false, fabricated, rival to the true Lord. It must be abolished in order that He may stand supreme and alone. God, therefore, is not here so styled God as to exclude Christ from the Godhead, any more than Christ is styled Lord to exclude God from the Lordship. One is distinctly God and the other Lord, yet both are both God and Lord. And St. Paul thus states the true Christian gnosis as abolishing the idol as a nothing in the world.

Ver. 6. To us: practically the same as “we know,” 1 Corinthians 8:4. There is no deity whose existence concerns us except One God and One Lord.

The Father: constant designation of the One God 1 Corinthians 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:24; 2 Corinthians 1:2f; Galatians 1:1, 3f; Romans 6:4; and especially John 1:14, 18; 5:17-45; 10:15-38, etc. Moved by the Spirit of adoption, (Romans 8:15,) our chief thought of God is of the Father who begot us to be His children and who looks upon and cares for us with a Father's love.

From whom: as the original source.

All things: creatures, with or without reason, as in Colossians 1:16; John 1:3. Cp. 1 Corinthians 1:27f. Whatever exists has sprung from our Father.

And we for Him: another truth, counterpart of the foregoing. Like all things we sprang from God. But, though “all things are from Him and for Him,” (Romans 11:36,) yet, in a special sense, through the death of Christ and the gospel call, God has claimed us for His own and claims to be Himself the one aim of our every purpose and effort.

Lord: specially set apart in the New Testament for Christ's relation to us. Cp. 1 Corinthians 12:5. Just so, through expresses His relation to the work of creation and redemption. So Romans 1:5; Colossians 1:16, 20.

All things: as above. Jesus of Nazareth, the Anointed King, the one Master whose commands we obey, is the one Agent through whose activity the universe was created; and through whose incarnation, teaching, death, and resurrection, in a special sense we believers are what we are. Notice that even as compared with the Son, the Father is the One God; and that everywhere Paul uses the term God as the distinctive title of the Father. Cp. 1 Corinthians 3:23; 12:3; 15:28; John 20:17. But this does not contradict John 1:1, (John 1:18 probably,) John 20:28, where the Son is expressly called “God;” any more than the special title One Lord denies that the Father is also our Master. But it does imply that the title God is specially appropriate to the Father even as distinguished from the Son, and the title Lord to the Son even as distinguished from the Father. In the thought of His contemporary followers, Jesus was distinguished from the Father as He cannot be in our thought. For, the chief element of their spiritual life was loyalty and obedience and service to One from whose human lips commands had been given. To Him, therefore, the title Lord, by which He was accosted on earth, (Matthew 7:21; 8:2, 6, 8, etc.,) was specially appropriate. And, to the Father, as being First of the mysterious Three, the Eternal Source, essentially and historically, of the Eternal and in their days Incarnate Son, (John 5:26; 6:57; Colossians 1:19,) and of the Spirit, (John 5:30; John 16:13,) thus furnishing an eternal pattern of devotion; to Him, even as compared with the Divine Son and Spirit, the supreme title One God is specially appropriate. For this reason, in presence of prevalent polytheism and of jealous Jewish monotheism, Paul never (see note, Romans 9:5) speaks of the Son as God and even John uses (cp. John 17:3) the word God as the distinctive name of the Father. Paul left others to make the correct inference embodied in the august title God the Son. Oversight of this has given rise to unitarian arguments based on the monotheistic language of Paul.

Notice that before Paul advises his readers to abstain in certain cases from meat offered to idols, in order to show that his advice is not prompted by latent suspicion of the reality of their power, he proclaims the great truth, destructive of all idolatry, that there is One God; and the great Christian truth that this one God operates and rules through the One Master, Jesus Christ.

V. 7. Some eat, with consciousness of the idol-That is, fancying it is something, and that it makes the meat unlawful to be eaten. And their conscience, being weak-Not rightly informed. Is defiled-contracts guilt by doing it.

Verse 7. There is not in every man that knowledge] This is spoken in reference to what is said, 1 Corinthians 8:4: We know that an idol is nothing in the world; for some with a conscience of the idol, viz. that it is something, eat it-the flesh that was offered to the idol, as a thing thus offered, considering the feast as a sacred banquet, by which they have fellowship with the idol. And their conscience being weak-not properly instructed in Divine things, is defiled-he performs what he does as an act of religious worship, and thus his conscience contracts guilt through this idolatry.

As in the commencement of Christianity, among the Jews that were converted, there were many found who incorporated the rites of the law with the principles of the Gospel; so, doubtless, among the Gentiles, there were several who did not at once throw aside all their idolatry or idolatrous notions, but preserved some of its more spiritual and imposing parts, and might think it necessary to mingle idolatrous feasts with the rites of Christianity; as the sacrament of the Lord’s supper was certainly considered as a feast upon a sacrifice, as I have proved in my Discourse on the Nature and Design of the Eucharist. As the minds of many of these young Gentile converts could not, as yet, have been deeply endued with spiritual knowledge, they might incorporate these feasts, and confound their nature and properties.

Verses 7, 8. Howbeit, there is not in every man — In every professing Christian; that knowledge — Namely, that there is but one God, and one Lord, and that an idol is nothing, and has no power to defile the meat: some Christian converts may not sufficiently apprehend this, but may imagine there is really some invisible spirit present in the idol, and acting by and upon it: for some with conscience of the idol — Out of some respect to it, as if it were a kind of deity; unto this hour — Even since their embracing of Christianity; eat it — The meat; as a thing offered unto an idol — With some religious regard to the idol, intending thereby to pay some kind of homage to it; and their conscience being weak, is defiled — “The weakness of their conscience,” says Macknight, “consisted in their believing that idols had a real existence as gods, and were employed by God in the government of particular countries and cities. And the defiling of their conscience consisted in their hoping to receive benefit from the idol, or at least to avoid the effects of his wrath, by joining in the sacrifice that was offered to him.” Others interpret the verse more consistently with the context, thus: Some eat with consciousness of the idol, that is, fancying it is something, and that it makes the meat unlawful to be eaten; and their conscience being weak — That is, not rightly informed; is defiled — Contracts guilt by so doing. But — Why should we occasion this inconvenience? for we know that meat commendeth us not in any degree to the acceptance and favour of God — Abstracted from circumstances; neither by our eating, nor by our refraining from it: eating and not eating are in themselves things merely indifferent. For neither if we eat — What has been offered to an idol, are we the better, more holy in God’s sight; neither if we eat not — But conscientiously abstain from such meat; are we the worse — Disapproved of by him, and exposed to his displeasure. “The great God does not so much esteem a man for being, or disapprove of him for not being, superior to such little scruples: but the tenderness of his conscience, together with the zeal and charity of his heart, are the grand qualities he regards.” — Doddridge.

7. Howbeit—Nevertheless. Whatever you Corinthians may say in your letter, (verse 1,) it is certain that not in every man is that gnosis. He denies the full accuracy of their statement. Some—Who were doubtless Gentile converts, who could not expel their old habits of thought so but that the impression of the reality of the idol-god would impress their minds. This was, doubtless, a large class of persons. It was impossible for the more sound-minded Christians to eradicate their lifelong tendencies; and to trample upon them with cool philosophic indifference might be a desolating course. Conscience of the idol—One reading with a habituation of the idol: that is, with their habitual view of the idol, contracted from paganism. Conscience—With a consciousness, intellectual and moral, that recognises it as an idol-god, and not a mere nothing. Being weak—Still under the power of old pagan associations of thought. Defiled—Induced by Christian example to eat, and yet trembling with fear for the imaginary guilt of their own act, they really transgress their own conscience, and are thus condemned; and, perhaps, learn to brave conscience and thus become wicked. Note on Romans 14:23.

Ver. 7. Not in all etc.: a fact which in our conduct we must take into account.

Knowledge: recalls “we know,” 1 Corinthians 8:4. With his usual courtesy Paul does not say, “not in all of you;” as though his readers were without knowledge.

On the interesting and very early variation, accustomed-intercourse with the idol or conscience of the idol, see Appendix B. The former reading is the word rendered custom in 1 Corinthians 11:16. It is literally a living together with some one, and thus by unconscious self-adaptation becoming accustomed to him. In days gone by the idols had been to Paul's readers a terrible reality ever molding their thoughts and lives. And the impress made by this long continued mental intercourse with idols remained until now, even after they had accepted Christianity. These words, though they would apply to Jewish superstitious dread of idols as infernal, or to the continued obligation of Deuteronomy 7:25f, refer more naturally to converted heathens who were unable to cast away altogether the deeply inwoven mark made in their minds by the idolatry of earlier days. Instances of this are very common now on the mission field. Eat it: the meat of idol-sacrifices. Owing to their former contact with idolatry, they look upon the meat, while eating it, as an idol-sacrifice. To those who know that idols do not exist, it is but common meat. Conscience (see Romans 2:15) being weak: the inward faculty which contemplates the secrets of the man's own heart not having mental and spiritual strength to grasp the truth that an idol is but an empty name. Consequently, in his heart of hearts he is conscious of defilement, i.e. of that which lessens his respect for himself and which he would hide from others. By speaking of this as something actually going on, Paul makes it more easy for us to realize and contemplate the process of defilement.

V. 8. But meat commendeth us not to God-Neither by eating, nor by refraining from it. Eating and not eating are in themselves things merely indifferent.

Verse 8. Meat commendeth us not to God] No such feasts as these can be a recommendation of our souls or persons to the Supreme Being. As to the thing, considered in itself, the eating gives us no spiritual advantage; and the eating not is no spiritual loss.

Verses 7, 8. Howbeit, there is not in every man — In every professing Christian; that knowledge — Namely, that there is but one God, and one Lord, and that an idol is nothing, and has no power to defile the meat: some Christian converts may not sufficiently apprehend this, but may imagine there is really some invisible spirit present in the idol, and acting by and upon it: for some with conscience of the idol — Out of some respect to it, as if it were a kind of deity; unto this hour — Even since their embracing of Christianity; eat it — The meat; as a thing offered unto an idol — With some religious regard to the idol, intending thereby to pay some kind of homage to it; and their conscience being weak, is defiled — “The weakness of their conscience,” says Macknight, “consisted in their believing that idols had a real existence as gods, and were employed by God in the government of particular countries and cities. And the defiling of their conscience consisted in their hoping to receive benefit from the idol, or at least to avoid the effects of his wrath, by joining in the sacrifice that was offered to him.” Others interpret the verse more consistently with the context, thus: Some eat with consciousness of the idol, that is, fancying it is something, and that it makes the meat unlawful to be eaten; and their conscience being weak — That is, not rightly informed; is defiled — Contracts guilt by so doing. But — Why should we occasion this inconvenience? for we know that meat commendeth us not in any degree to the acceptance and favour of God — Abstracted from circumstances; neither by our eating, nor by our refraining from it: eating and not eating are in themselves things merely indifferent. For neither if we eat — What has been offered to an idol, are we the better, more holy in God’s sight; neither if we eat not — But conscientiously abstain from such meat; are we the worse — Disapproved of by him, and exposed to his displeasure. “The great God does not so much esteem a man for being, or disapprove of him for not being, superior to such little scruples: but the tenderness of his conscience, together with the zeal and charity of his heart, are the grand qualities he regards.” — Doddridge.

8. But—This verse, as being repeated by Paul from the Corinthians’ letter, might also be included in quotation marks. It is in continuation of their apology for free eating of idol sacrifices. Their first position was, (verse 1,) we all have a gnosis that an idol-god is a nothing; this, their second, is, that meat being a physical substance is not impregnated with any moral quality, and so can make a man neither better nor worse. Paul grants this last position, and yet shows that it does not secure the safety of the practice.

Ver. 8. A great truth which bears on this matter.

Present to God: set before Him for service or approval; Luke 2:22; Romans 6:13, 16, 19; 12:1; 14:10; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:27; 2 Timothy 2:15.

Food: of any kind, including idol-sacrifices. Such will not lay us more completely on the altar of God, or place us before Him more favorably. Neither etc.: emphatic exposition of the foregoing. Eating, or absence from, any kind of food, can make the spiritual life richer or poorer. Thus before showing how greatly we may injure a brother by eating an idol-sacrifice Paul proves that to abstain from this or any other kind of food will do us no real harm. On the confusion of various reading here, see Appendix B.

Notice, in the careful repetition of this verse, another express abrogation (cp. 1 Corinthians 7:19) of the Mosaic Covenant, of which the distinction of food was an essential feature. So Colossians 2:21; 1 Timothy 4:3; Matthew 15:11; Acts 10:15.

Verse 9. But take heed] Lest by frequenting such feasts and eating things offered to idols, under the conviction that an idol is nothing, and that you may eat those things innocently, this liberty of yours should become a means of grievously offending a weak brother who has not your knowledge, or inducing one who respects you for your superior knowledge to partake of these things with the conscience, the persuasion and belief, that an idol is something, and to conclude, that as you partake of such things, so he may also, and with safety. He is not possessed of your superior information on this point, and he eats to the idol what you take as a common meal.

Verses 9-13. But take heed lest this liberty of yours — To eat indifferently of such meats; become a stumbling-block — An occasion of doing what they judge unlawful; to them that are weak — Uninformed in the truth, or unsettled as to their knowledge of it. For if any man see thee — Whom he believes to have more knowledge than himself, and who really hast this knowledge, that an idol is nothing; sit at meat in the idol’s temple — To an entertainment there; shall not the conscience of him that is weak — Scrupulous; be imboldened — Encouraged by thy example; to eat those things which are offered to idols — Though with a doubting, or perhaps condemning conscience. And through thy knowledge — Thy abuse and unseasonable discovery of thy knowledge; shall the weak brother perish — Be drawn into sin, which is the way to destruction; for whom Christ died — And for whom thou wilt not lose a meal’s meat: so far art thou from laying down thy life for him! We see Christ died even for them that perish. Observe this, reader. But when ye sin so — Act so uncharitably and contrary to your duty; against the brethren — Who, as well as you, are the children and heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; and wound their weak conscience — Their ill-informed and scrupulous consciences, leading them into guilt, and hazarding their salvation; ye sin against Christ — Whose members they are, and who had such regard for their souls, that he died in ignominy and torture to redeem them, and hath done all that example or precept could do, to make his followers enter into such humane and compassionate views. Wherefore — For a conclusion, I lay down this general rule, that all things indifferent in their own nature are to be forborne, when the use of them would be a cause of scandal, or an occasion of falling to others, of turning them out of the right way, or hindering them therein; yea, though such things may have a great deal of apparent expediency in them. So that if meat — Of what sort soever it be; make my brother to offend — Lead him into sin, and cause him to contract guilt, and wound his conscience — I will eat no flesh while the world standeth — But live entirely on vegetables; lest I make my brother to offend — That I may not scandalize and insnare him in evil, if there be no other way of avoiding it. Of such importance do I esteem the preservation of one endangered soul: and in this, and other things of a similar nature, I pray that God may incline you to use the like self-denial for your own sakes, and for the peace and honour of the Christian Church. But who will follow this example? What preacher or private Christian will abstain from any thing and every thing, lawful in itself, when it offends a weak brother?

9. But—Nevertheless; there is still a drawback. Take heed—Paul’s reply to the Corinthian statement of the last verse. Liberty—Exousia, right, prerogative. Paul grants the existence of the intrinsic right to eat.

Ver. 9.-10. Solemn warning lest, from something in itself unimportant, serious injury arise.

Right or authority: see Expositor, 1st series, vol. p. 26. This right of yours: liberty to eat anything, involved in the great truth of 1 Corinthians 8:8.

Stumbling-block: see Romans 14:13. The man whose “conscience is weak” (1 Corinthians 8:7) is himself weak. Cp. Romans 14:2; 15:1. In 1 Corinthians 8:10 we have reason for the warning of 1 Corinthians 8:9.

Who hast knowledge: and whose known intelligence would increase his influence over a weak brother.

Idol-precinct: same word in 1 Macc 1:47: 10:83: the sacred enclosure round the temple. Here public banquets were held. Consequently, without entering the precinct, a weak brother might see him sitting at a feast. Edified: or built up: terrible irony. “If you do this you will develop your brother's faculty of pronouncing sentence on his own actions, and to such a degree that he will eat that which in his heart he believes to be wrong.” Thus ruinous development will be a result of his weakness, which is unable to make a firm judgment. The extreme case, in the idol-precinct, betrays the tendency of all such conduct. And, possibly, even this extreme case was found among the worldly Christians at Corinth.

This verse warns us not to force upon others our own standard of right and wrong. That which is right to us may be wrong, and there fore very hurtful, to others less instructed.

V. 10. For if any one see thee who hast knowledge-Whom he believes to have more knowledge than himself, and who really hast this knowledge, that an idol is nothing

sitting down to an entertainment in an idol temple. The heathens frequently made entertainments in their temples, on what hath been sacrificed to their idols.

Will not the conscience of him that is weak-Scrupulous. Be encouraged-By thy example.

To eat-Though with a doubting conscience.

Verse 10. If any man see thee which hast knowledge] Of the true God, and who art reputed for thy skill in Divine things.

Sit at meat in the idol’s temple] Is it not strange that any professing the knowledge of the true God should even enter one of those temples? And is it not more surprising that any Christian should be found to feast there? But by all this we may see that the boasted knowledge of the Corinthians had very little depth in things purely spiritual.

There are many curious thin-spun theories in the rabbinical writings concerning entering idol temples, and eating there, and even worshipping there, providing the mind be towards the true God. Dr. Lightfoot produces several quotations to prove this. Perhaps the man of knowledge mentioned by the apostle was one of those who, possessing a convenient conscience, could accommodate himself to all circumstances; be a heathen without and a Christian within, and vice versa, as circumstances might require. Be emboldened to eat] oikodomhqhsetai, Be built up-be confirmed and established in that opinion which before he doubtingly held, that on seeing YOU eat he may be led to think there is no harm in feasting in an idol temple, nor in eating things offered to idols.

Verses 9-13. But take heed lest this liberty of yours — To eat indifferently of such meats; become a stumbling-block — An occasion of doing what they judge unlawful; to them that are weak — Uninformed in the truth, or unsettled as to their knowledge of it. For if any man see thee — Whom he believes to have more knowledge than himself, and who really hast this knowledge, that an idol is nothing; sit at meat in the idol’s temple — To an entertainment there; shall not the conscience of him that is weak — Scrupulous; be imboldened — Encouraged by thy example; to eat those things which are offered to idols — Though with a doubting, or perhaps condemning conscience. And through thy knowledge — Thy abuse and unseasonable discovery of thy knowledge; shall the weak brother perish — Be drawn into sin, which is the way to destruction; for whom Christ died — And for whom thou wilt not lose a meal’s meat: so far art thou from laying down thy life for him! We see Christ died even for them that perish. Observe this, reader. But when ye sin so — Act so uncharitably and contrary to your duty; against the brethren — Who, as well as you, are the children and heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; and wound their weak conscience — Their ill-informed and scrupulous consciences, leading them into guilt, and hazarding their salvation; ye sin against Christ — Whose members they are, and who had such regard for their souls, that he died in ignominy and torture to redeem them, and hath done all that example or precept could do, to make his followers enter into such humane and compassionate views. Wherefore — For a conclusion, I lay down this general rule, that all things indifferent in their own nature are to be forborne, when the use of them would be a cause of scandal, or an occasion of falling to others, of turning them out of the right way, or hindering them therein; yea, though such things may have a great deal of apparent expediency in them. So that if meat — Of what sort soever it be; make my brother to offend — Lead him into sin, and cause him to contract guilt, and wound his conscience — I will eat no flesh while the world standeth — But live entirely on vegetables; lest I make my brother to offend — That I may not scandalize and insnare him in evil, if there be no other way of avoiding it. Of such importance do I esteem the preservation of one endangered soul: and in this, and other things of a similar nature, I pray that God may incline you to use the like self-denial for your own sakes, and for the peace and honour of the Christian Church. But who will follow this example? What preacher or private Christian will abstain from any thing and every thing, lawful in itself, when it offends a weak brother?

10. If any man—Scarce firmly converted from idolatry. Knowledge—The boasted Gnwsis of verse 1. Sitting—Greek, reclining, as was the ancient custom at meals. See note on Matthew xxiii, 6. Idol’s temple—Greek Eidwleion, an idoleum. The word, Stanley says, “is only used by Jewish writers, apparently to avoid designating heathen temples by the sacred word naov, naos, used to express the temple of Jerusalem. 1 Mac. 1:47; 10:83. It is a kind of parody on the names of temples, as derived from the divinities to which they are dedicated.” Similar words are museum, lyceum. Emboldened—Built up. The beauty of the apostle’s word is lost; it being the same Greek word as for edified, in verse 1. The weakling is built up, but in a bad direction, to a proud wrong-doing.

Ver. 9.-10. Solemn warning lest, from something in itself unimportant, serious injury arise.

Right or authority: see Expositor, 1st series, vol. p. 26. This right of yours: liberty to eat anything, involved in the great truth of 1 Corinthians 8:8.

Stumbling-block: see Romans 14:13. The man whose “conscience is weak” (1 Corinthians 8:7) is himself weak. Cp. Romans 14:2; 15:1. In 1 Corinthians 8:10 we have reason for the warning of 1 Corinthians 8:9.

Who hast knowledge: and whose known intelligence would increase his influence over a weak brother.

Idol-precinct: same word in 1 Macc 1:47: 10:83: the sacred enclosure round the temple. Here public banquets were held. Consequently, without entering the precinct, a weak brother might see him sitting at a feast. Edified: or built up: terrible irony. “If you do this you will develop your brother's faculty of pronouncing sentence on his own actions, and to such a degree that he will eat that which in his heart he believes to be wrong.” Thus ruinous development will be a result of his weakness, which is unable to make a firm judgment. The extreme case, in the idol-precinct, betrays the tendency of all such conduct. And, possibly, even this extreme case was found among the worldly Christians at Corinth.

This verse warns us not to force upon others our own standard of right and wrong. That which is right to us may be wrong, and there fore very hurtful, to others less instructed.

V. 11. And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?-And for whom thou wilt not lose a meal's meat, so far from dying for him! We see, Christ died even for them that perish.

Verse 11. Shall the weak brother perish] Being first taught by thy conduct that there was no harm in thus eating, he grieves the Spirit of God; becomes again darkened and hardened; and, sliding back into idolatry, dies in it, and so finally perishes.

For whom Christ died?] So we learn that a man may perish for whom Christ died: this admits of no quibble. If a man for whom Christ died, apostatizing from Christianity, (for he is called a brother though weak,) return again to and die in idolatry, cannot go to heaven; then a man for whom Christ died may perish everlastingly. And if it were possible for a believer, whether strong or weak, to retrace his steps back to idolatry and die in it, surely it is possible for a man, who had escaped the pollutions that are in the world, to return to it, live and die in its spirit, and perish everlastingly also. Let him that readeth understand.

Verses 9-13. But take heed lest this liberty of yours — To eat indifferently of such meats; become a stumbling-block — An occasion of doing what they judge unlawful; to them that are weak — Uninformed in the truth, or unsettled as to their knowledge of it. For if any man see thee — Whom he believes to have more knowledge than himself, and who really hast this knowledge, that an idol is nothing; sit at meat in the idol’s temple — To an entertainment there; shall not the conscience of him that is weak — Scrupulous; be imboldened — Encouraged by thy example; to eat those things which are offered to idols — Though with a doubting, or perhaps condemning conscience. And through thy knowledge — Thy abuse and unseasonable discovery of thy knowledge; shall the weak brother perish — Be drawn into sin, which is the way to destruction; for whom Christ died — And for whom thou wilt not lose a meal’s meat: so far art thou from laying down thy life for him! We see Christ died even for them that perish. Observe this, reader. But when ye sin so — Act so uncharitably and contrary to your duty; against the brethren — Who, as well as you, are the children and heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; and wound their weak conscience — Their ill-informed and scrupulous consciences, leading them into guilt, and hazarding their salvation; ye sin against Christ — Whose members they are, and who had such regard for their souls, that he died in ignominy and torture to redeem them, and hath done all that example or precept could do, to make his followers enter into such humane and compassionate views. Wherefore — For a conclusion, I lay down this general rule, that all things indifferent in their own nature are to be forborne, when the use of them would be a cause of scandal, or an occasion of falling to others, of turning them out of the right way, or hindering them therein; yea, though such things may have a great deal of apparent expediency in them. So that if meat — Of what sort soever it be; make my brother to offend — Lead him into sin, and cause him to contract guilt, and wound his conscience — I will eat no flesh while the world standeth — But live entirely on vegetables; lest I make my brother to offend — That I may not scandalize and insnare him in evil, if there be no other way of avoiding it. Of such importance do I esteem the preservation of one endangered soul: and in this, and other things of a similar nature, I pray that God may incline you to use the like self-denial for your own sakes, and for the peace and honour of the Christian Church. But who will follow this example? What preacher or private Christian will abstain from any thing and every thing, lawful in itself, when it offends a weak brother?

Ver. 11. And through thy knowledge, thy boasted philosophy, that an idol is nothing, shall the weak brother perish for whom Christ died? The charity which warms the heart and saves us, is worth a thousand speculative opinions. The tender and unexampled love of Christ, in dying for poor sinners, should fill our hearts with divine affection towards the brethren. Paul loves his brother more than any fleshly appetite.

11. And—The Greek is for. This particle in Greek often refers to some omitted phrase, easily understood by the context. The true rendering, with the omitted phrase supplied, with the verb perish brought into its true present tense, and the spurious interrogation point removed, is this: [Alas that it should be so,] for the weak brother perishes by thy knowledge. See note on Romans 14:15. Christ died—A pathetic and forcible argument, drawn from the depths of Christian truth and Christian feeling, and possible for a Christian solely to adduce. Will you not suffer a privation in behalf of the soul for which Christ died?

Ver. 11.-12. Terrible and possible result of this “edification,” given as a dissuasive; and then expounded.

Perishes: see 1 Corinthians 1:18. A natural tendency, Paul represents as actual fact. For tendencies are sure to realize themselves sooner or later in facts. And this gives them their significance.

Through thy knowledge: melancholy result. If the strong man had not known that idols do not exist at all, the weak brother would not have been overcome by his example (an example the stronger because of his well-known knowledge) and led to eat that which he believed to be wrong, and thus made still weaker till he fell from Christ and fell into eternal death. Notice the three-fold darkness of this picture; there perishes, a brother, for whom Christ died. Same argument, Romans 14:15. This argument, 1 Corinthians 8:12 further expounds.

Thus: as expounded in 1 Corinthians 8:10, 11.

Sin against: Matthew 18:21.

The brothers; reproduces the argument lying in “brother,” 1 Corinthians 8:11.

Smiting their conscience: By leading them to do what their conscience disapproves, we create in them unintentionally a consciousness of having done wrong; and thus inflict upon them a blow in the inmost and most vital part of their being.

It being weak: and, therefore, liable to receive injury. A reason for caution on the part of the strong.

Against Christ: for by doing so we frustrate the purpose of His death. Cp. Matthew 25:45; 18:5.

V. 12. Ye sin against Christ-Whose members they are.

Verse 12. But when ye sin so against the brethren] Against Christians, who are called by the Gospel to abhor and detest all such abominations. Ye sin against Christ.] By sending to perdition, through your bad example, a soul for whom he shed his blood; and so far defeating the gracious intentions of his sacrificial death. This is a farther intimation, that a person for whom Christ died may perish; and this is the drift of the apostle’s argument.

Verses 9-13. But take heed lest this liberty of yours — To eat indifferently of such meats; become a stumbling-block — An occasion of doing what they judge unlawful; to them that are weak — Uninformed in the truth, or unsettled as to their knowledge of it. For if any man see thee — Whom he believes to have more knowledge than himself, and who really hast this knowledge, that an idol is nothing; sit at meat in the idol’s temple — To an entertainment there; shall not the conscience of him that is weak — Scrupulous; be imboldened — Encouraged by thy example; to eat those things which are offered to idols — Though with a doubting, or perhaps condemning conscience. And through thy knowledge — Thy abuse and unseasonable discovery of thy knowledge; shall the weak brother perish — Be drawn into sin, which is the way to destruction; for whom Christ died — And for whom thou wilt not lose a meal’s meat: so far art thou from laying down thy life for him! We see Christ died even for them that perish. Observe this, reader. But when ye sin so — Act so uncharitably and contrary to your duty; against the brethren — Who, as well as you, are the children and heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; and wound their weak conscience — Their ill-informed and scrupulous consciences, leading them into guilt, and hazarding their salvation; ye sin against Christ — Whose members they are, and who had such regard for their souls, that he died in ignominy and torture to redeem them, and hath done all that example or precept could do, to make his followers enter into such humane and compassionate views. Wherefore — For a conclusion, I lay down this general rule, that all things indifferent in their own nature are to be forborne, when the use of them would be a cause of scandal, or an occasion of falling to others, of turning them out of the right way, or hindering them therein; yea, though such things may have a great deal of apparent expediency in them. So that if meat — Of what sort soever it be; make my brother to offend — Lead him into sin, and cause him to contract guilt, and wound his conscience — I will eat no flesh while the world standeth — But live entirely on vegetables; lest I make my brother to offend — That I may not scandalize and insnare him in evil, if there be no other way of avoiding it. Of such importance do I esteem the preservation of one endangered soul: and in this, and other things of a similar nature, I pray that God may incline you to use the like self-denial for your own sakes, and for the peace and honour of the Christian Church. But who will follow this example? What preacher or private Christian will abstain from any thing and every thing, lawful in itself, when it offends a weak brother?

12. Sin against Christ—By destroying the fruit of his death. This was a new argument in the world, drawn from a new source, and in behalf of a new virtue, namely, tenderness for the souls of men.

Ver. 11.-12. Terrible and possible result of this “edification,” given as a dissuasive; and then expounded.

Perishes: see 1 Corinthians 1:18. A natural tendency, Paul represents as actual fact. For tendencies are sure to realize themselves sooner or later in facts. And this gives them their significance.

Through thy knowledge: melancholy result. If the strong man had not known that idols do not exist at all, the weak brother would not have been overcome by his example (an example the stronger because of his well-known knowledge) and led to eat that which he believed to be wrong, and thus made still weaker till he fell from Christ and fell into eternal death. Notice the three-fold darkness of this picture; there perishes, a brother, for whom Christ died. Same argument, Romans 14:15. This argument, 1 Corinthians 8:12 further expounds.

Thus: as expounded in 1 Corinthians 8:10, 11.

Sin against: Matthew 18:21.

The brothers; reproduces the argument lying in “brother,” 1 Corinthians 8:11.

Smiting their conscience: By leading them to do what their conscience disapproves, we create in them unintentionally a consciousness of having done wrong; and thus inflict upon them a blow in the inmost and most vital part of their being.

It being weak: and, therefore, liable to receive injury. A reason for caution on the part of the strong.

Against Christ: for by doing so we frustrate the purpose of His death. Cp. Matthew 25:45; 18:5.

V. 13. If meat-Of any kind. Who will follow this example? What preacher or private Christian will abstain from any thing lawful in itself, when it offends a weak brother?

Verse 13. Wherefore, &c.] Rather than give any occasion to a Christian to sin against and so to harden his conscience that he should return to idolatry and perish, I would not only abstain from all meats offered to idols, but I would eat no flesh, should I exist through the whole course of time, but live on the herbs of the field, rather than cause my brother to stumble, and thus fall into idolatry and final ruin.

The following words of Origen contain a very solemn lesson and warning: “If we did more diligently attend to these things, we should avoid sinning against our brethren and wounding their weak conscience, that we might not sin against Christ; our brethren that are among us, for whom Christ died, often perishing, not only by our knowledge, but by many other ways, and things, in which things we, sinning against Christ, shall suffer punishment; the souls of them that perish by us being required of and avenged upon us.” See Whitby on this place.

1. THE greater our reputation for knowledge and sanctity, the greater mischief we shall do by our influence and example if we turn aside from the holy commandment delivered unto us. Every man should walk so as either to light or lead his brother to heaven.

2. It is the duty of every Christian to watch against apostasy in his own case, and to prevent it as much as possible in that of others. That a person for whom Christ died may finally perish is strongly argued, says Dr. Whitby, from this place, and Romans 14:15; for here the apostle dissuades the Corinthians from scandalizing their weak brethren, by an argument taken from the irreparable mischiefs they may do them, the eternal ruin they may bring upon them by this scandal; whereas if it be, as some assert, that all things, even the sins of the elect, shall work together for their good, and that they shall never perish; if the apostle knew and taught this doctrine to them, why does he endeavour to affright them from this scandal, by telling them that it might have that effect which he had before told them was impossible? If you interpret his words thus: So shall he perish, for whom in charity ye ought to judge Christ died; it is certain, from this doctrine, that they must be assured that this judgment of charity must be false, or that their brother could not perish. In the first place, they could not be obliged to act by it, and in the second, they could not rationally be moved by it to abstain from giving scandal on that impossible supposition.

If you interpret the apostle thus: So shalt thou do that which, in its nature, tends to make thy brother perish; and might have that effect, had not God determined to preserve all from perishing, for whom Christ died; since this determination renders it sure to me, who know it, that they cannot actually perish, it must assure me that there can be no cause of abstinency from this scandal, lest they should perish by it.

Moreover, by thus offending, saith the apostle, ye sin against Christ; viz. by sinning against him whom he has purchased by his blood; and destroying them for whose salvation he has suffered. If this intent of Christ’s death be denied, how can we show in what Christ has demonstrated his great love to them that perish? Is it possible that they can sin against redeeming love? and how, by thus offending them who neither do nor can belong to him as members of his mystical body, are we injurious to Christ? See Whitby on this place.

3. It is natural for man to wish and affect to be wise; and when this desire is cultivated in reference to lawful objects, it will be an indescribable good; but when, like Eve, we see, in a prohibition, something to be desired to make one wise, we are then, like her, on the verge of our fall. Though extensive knowledge is not given to all, yet it is given for all; and is the public property of the Church. He who does not use it for general edification robs the public of its right. For the misuse and misapplication of this talent we shall give account to God, as well as of other gifts and graces.

4. Persons of an over tender and scrupulous conscience may be very troublesome in a Christian society; but as this excessive scrupulosity comes from want of more light, more experience, or more judgment, we should bear with them. Though such should often run into ridiculous extremes, yet we must take care that we do not attempt to cure them either with ridicule or wrath. Extremes generally beget extremes; and such persons require the most judicious treatment, else they will soon be stumbled and turned out of the way. We should be very careful lest in using what is called Christian liberty we occasion their fall; and for our own sake we must take heed that we do not denominate sinful indulgences, Christian liberties.

5. Though we are bound to take heed that we put not a stumbling block in the way of a weak brother, yet if such a brother be stumbled at any part of our conduct which is not blamable in itself, but of which he may have taken a wrong view, we are not answerable for the consequences. We are called to walk by the testimony of God; not according to the measure of any man’s conscience, how sincere soever he may be.

6. Many persons cover a spirit of envy and uncharitableness with the name of godly zeal and tender concern for the salvation of others; they find fault with all; their spirit is a spirit of universal censoriousness; none can please them; and every one suffers by them. These destroy more souls by tithing mint and cummin, than others do by neglecting the weightier matters of the law. Such persons have what is termed, and very properly too, sour godliness. Both are extremes, and he who would avoid perdition must avoid them.

I CORINTHIANS

Verses 9-13. But take heed lest this liberty of yours — To eat indifferently of such meats; become a stumbling-block — An occasion of doing what they judge unlawful; to them that are weak — Uninformed in the truth, or unsettled as to their knowledge of it. For if any man see thee — Whom he believes to have more knowledge than himself, and who really hast this knowledge, that an idol is nothing; sit at meat in the idol’s temple — To an entertainment there; shall not the conscience of him that is weak — Scrupulous; be imboldened — Encouraged by thy example; to eat those things which are offered to idols — Though with a doubting, or perhaps condemning conscience. And through thy knowledge — Thy abuse and unseasonable discovery of thy knowledge; shall the weak brother perish — Be drawn into sin, which is the way to destruction; for whom Christ died — And for whom thou wilt not lose a meal’s meat: so far art thou from laying down thy life for him! We see Christ died even for them that perish. Observe this, reader. But when ye sin so — Act so uncharitably and contrary to your duty; against the brethren — Who, as well as you, are the children and heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; and wound their weak conscience — Their ill-informed and scrupulous consciences, leading them into guilt, and hazarding their salvation; ye sin against Christ — Whose members they are, and who had such regard for their souls, that he died in ignominy and torture to redeem them, and hath done all that example or precept could do, to make his followers enter into such humane and compassionate views. Wherefore — For a conclusion, I lay down this general rule, that all things indifferent in their own nature are to be forborne, when the use of them would be a cause of scandal, or an occasion of falling to others, of turning them out of the right way, or hindering them therein; yea, though such things may have a great deal of apparent expediency in them. So that if meat — Of what sort soever it be; make my brother to offend — Lead him into sin, and cause him to contract guilt, and wound his conscience — I will eat no flesh while the world standeth — But live entirely on vegetables; lest I make my brother to offend — That I may not scandalize and insnare him in evil, if there be no other way of avoiding it. Of such importance do I esteem the preservation of one endangered soul: and in this, and other things of a similar nature, I pray that God may incline you to use the like self-denial for your own sakes, and for the peace and honour of the Christian Church. But who will follow this example? What preacher or private Christian will abstain from any thing and every thing, lawful in itself, when it offends a weak brother?

13. Offend—Note on Matthew 18:7. I will eat no flesh—Mark how delicately the apostle passes now from the second person plural, ye, to the first person singular, I. He enjoins upon them a somewhat burdensome take heed; but when it comes to the intensity of perfect self-denial he takes it upon himself. It is a sublime, nay, a daring height of self-consecration, rising to the level of an apostle, and that apostle, Paul. And, as in other high things, there is some danger in it. Note Romans 14:16, 21. We may by obeying another man’s false conscience confirm his self-conceit, encourage his tyranny, or establish a false morality, and make it a part of the present Christianity. Against this last danger Paul specially here provides. While he complies with the weak brother’s error he openly proclaims that it is an error, and that he complies, not for truth, but from tenderness. He yields to the unsound conscience; but nothing would induce him to admit that the conscience was sound. While temporizing with the weakness, he takes all care for the abolishment of the error. At this point St. Paul suspends, not terminates, his discussion of the idol sacrifices, and resumes it at 1 Corinthians 10:14-11:1. He suspends it in order, through an extended and interesting digression, (1 Corinthians 9:1-10:18,) at once to illustrate this principle of resigning one’s rights for others’ good, and to defend himself from the charge of depreciating his own apostleship in making such surrender. Though a digression, and a long one, it is so full of the noblest sentiments and loftiest piety that none should wish it shorter.

Ver. 13. For which cause: because to wound the conscience of the weak is to “sin against Christ.”

Ensnares my brother: as in Romans 14:13.

Food: spoken in contempt, as in 1 Corinthians 8:8; Romans 14:15, 20. “If a piece of meat, eaten by me, entraps my brother.” Not eat meat; does not imply that this was needful to avoid ensnaring a brother, but only shows how far Paul is ready to go rather than do this. For ever: strong hyperbole, as some say now “While the world lasts.” That I may not etc.: emphatic repetition of Paul's definite purpose. By turning suddenly away from his readers to himself, and by giving voice to his own deliberate resolve to make any sacrifice for any length of time rather than cause a brother's fall, Paul puts to shame by his own example the possible objection that it is unfair to ask us to give up our liberty because of the ignorance of others. The example thus given will be expounded fully in § 15, to which this verse is a stepping-stone. Of 1 Corinthians 8:9-13 the animating principle, though not expressly mentioned, is love, which in 1 Corinthians 8:1-3 Paul proved to be better than knowledge. The connecting link is found in Romans 14:15. Of this love, the word “brother,” four times in 1 Corinthians 8:11-13, is an expression. After proving that love is better than knowledge, which he admits his readers have, Paul recognizes the worth of knowledge by looking in the light of it at the idol-sacrifices. But he remembers that such knowledge is not enjoyed by all; and that, therefore, to some the idol-food is defiling. On the other hand, no kind of food is in itself necessary for the highest degree of Christian life. He therefore warns his readers not so to use their liberty as to entrap those whom they acknowledge to be brethren; and shows how they may do this. He supports his warning by pointing to the terrible consequence of neglecting it and to Christ who died to save even the weak. In view of all this he expresses his own determination to submit to any sacrifice rather than entrap a brother.

1 Corinthians 8:13 has been appealed to, I believe justly, in support of the practice of abstaining as far as practicable from intoxicating beverages. To so great an extent men do what they see others do that we may be sure that some will drink these beverages because we do so. And we notice that a moderate use of them not unfrequently develops into intemperance with its various and terrible consequences. We shall therefore do well to consider whether any benefit we may derive from the habitual use of stimulants is of value equal to the risk of thereby occasioning, though unintentionally, injury to others. And we cannot forget that this injury may lead to eternal ruin, of our brethren, for whom Christ died. God will give to each one wisdom to decide in his own case what course will combine the greatest good to others and to himself with the least harm.