Love Builds Up, And Focuses On The Other (1 Corinthians 8:1-13) Series

In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul switches topics. So we find ourselves done thinking and talking about singleness, and marriage, and touching, and sexual immorality.

The Corinthians have another question that they want Paul to answer. That question is something like this: "Is it okay to go to pagan temples and eat meat that has been first sacrificed/offered to idols?

For real? The question shocks us. We would never think of doing something like this.

But in first century Corinth, temples were not simply places where you'd go to worship various gods. In fact, that's not even the main reason you'd necessarily go. If you wanted to have a feast to celebrate some special event, or if you wanted to celebrate your birthday with a lot of people, you'd invite your friends to a pagan temple, and pay for their meal. Or if you're a business man, trying to build networks, and grow your business, you'd maybe meet at a pagan temple.

So when you think about pagan temples, you should think of them as something more like a country club, or wedding reception hall, or your neighborhood bar and grill. Except, that these particular places also had priests who served various gods. And any meat you ate at a place like this would've been first offered to gods, before being set before you to eat.

The other thing I should try to explain a little is sacrifices.

We tend to think of sacrifices as whole burnt offerings. Like, you kill a cow, and throw the whole thing on an altar, and torch it completely. But most sacrifices didn't work like that. Whole burnt offerings were the exception, and not the rule. And the norm was that the gods, or God, receive a portion of it (Leviticus 7:14), the priest receives a portion of it (Leviticus 2:10; 7:14), and the people sacrificing receive a portion (Leviticus 7:15).

And when you ate this sacrificial meal, it was viewed as a meal eaten, in some sense, with the God or gods. The God or gods enjoy the smell of your sacrifice (Genesis 8:21; Exodus 18:12; Leviticus 1:9; 2:2), and the commitment and thanksgiving that your sacrifice represents, and you eat it in fellowship with God.

So in first century Corinth, going to pagan temples was a basic part of life. This wasn't just about religion-- it was about social life, about community, about friendship, about business connections. And the Corinthian church is apparently arguing about whether or not going to these feasts is still okay for them, as Christians. It would sting, badly, to have to stop going to these things. It will cost you in all kinds of ways. And, truthfully, going to these events would've been fun.

One last thing I'll say, before getting into chapter 8. If you're following along in an NRSV, you'll notice that three times in chapter 8, some sentences are put in quotations. Paul most likely is quoting the Corinthian letter three times, only to interact with and challenge their beliefs. If you try to read these sentences at face value (NASB; KJV), as something Paul believes, it's going to mess you up. Let me just read these three first, so that you see them.

Verse 1: "All of us, knowledge we have."

Verse 4: "an idol, nothing it is in the world, and

"there is no God except only one."

Verse 8: "food doesn't bring us close to God.

And then, when you follow the NRSV footnote down in verse 8, it says that what follows may be part of the slogan. My guess is that it is:

For, neither if we eat do we abound,

nor if we don't eat, do we lack."

Now, it's not like every single NT scholar agrees with the NRSV here. So consider this your warning to be discerning. But I think the best scholars do agree with the NRSV (Richard Hays, in particular). And the reason they agree is because Paul doesn't actually believe any of these things, when stated absolutely. Each of these statements, in some way, is wrong. Each of these statements has something about them that Paul corrects.

So that's how I'm reading the passage. And if you want to highlight these three verses and wrestle with that later, by all means, do so. But when you see the quotes in these verses, and the slightly larger font, that's why it looks different.

Verses 1-3

(1) Now, concerning food sacrificed to idols, we know that "all of us, knowledge we have."

Knowledge puffs up.

Now, love builds up.

(2) If anyone thinks he knows anything, not yet has he known just as it is necessary to know.

(3) Now, if anyone loves God, this one is known by him.

Some of the Christians in this church are saying it's okay to eat food sacrificed to idols, and eat at pagan temples. And the reason they think it's okay is because of some "knowledge" that they have. What exactly this knowledge is, Paul doesn't yet say.