The Dangers of Nothing
—1Corinthians 8
The church at Corinth struggled with the issue of eating meat that had been offered to idols. Some thought that eating the meat was participating in idolatry. Others said idols were nothing, because they were not real beings, therefore Christians were at liberty to eat the meat offered to them. Paul addressed this issue in our chapter for study (1Corinthians 8)
Corinth was a thoroughly pagan city where worship of Greek and Roman gods was widespread. Sacrificial meat was a normal part of religious and social life. After animals were sacrificed in pagan temples, the leftover meat was often sold in the marketplace or served at meals held in temple dining rooms.
So it was that Christians frequently faced situations where they might (knowingly or unknowingly) eat meat that had been offered to idols. That's why some Christians said that it was wrong to eat meat.
Knowledge, Idols, Food, Liberty.
Paul observed four key concerns in the controversy in Corinth. They were Knowledge, Idols, Food, and Liberty. Paul considered each of those to be nothing. At the start of the chapter, Paul identified the true concern. He then went on to discuss why their four concerns really amounted to nothing and solved nothing in their debates. Let us consider each of these concerns and their dangers.
1 Knowledge Puffs Up
Vs 1-3
Paul first addressed the underlying issue. It was letting knowledge take the place place of love. Knowledge was a matter for pride in the society of the Greeks and Romans. Paul saw that pride being imported into the church. So he said, "Knowledge puffs up but love builds up".
Of course Paul was not thinking of the knowledge of Christ, but rather the philosophies and religions of men —none of which was worthy to be mixed with the gospel of Christ. Human wisdom and knowledge are nothing compared to the knowledge revealed by Jesus.
The danger in such knowledge was that mixing it into the church's knowledge polluted that holy knowledge and rendered it valueless. What needed to be mixed in with the church's knowledge was love —love of God, the truth, and the church. This resulted in being known by God. And that really was something.
2 Idols are Not Real
Vs 4-6
Paul confirmed that idols had no real existence. He believed they were fake gods and make-believe lords. In Christian knowledge there was one God and Father, and one Lord Jesus Christ. All things existed for the Father through Jesus Christ. That "all things" left nothing for which idols could exist. There was nothing to commend replacing that one God with many useless idols.
Yes, of idols there were many, but they amounted to nothing. So technically meat was unaffected by having been offered to idols. But that was not the whole story.
Like Aaron’s golden calf which was claimed to have led the Israelites out of Egypt, the danger of idols was that they replace the true God with false gods. And that really was something.
3 Food Does Not Commend You
Vs 7-8
Paul said that food does not commend a person to God. Neither eating meat nor being a vegetarian made any difference to a Christian's standing with God. There were no unclean foods. What Christians ate amounted to nothing in God’s eyes.
Nevertheless, good Christians were abstaining from meat offered to idols. Why? It was for the sake of a brother’s conscience, even though that brother’s conscience was miseducated. Those Christians, through love, saw the danger that they might eat meat with a clear conscience, yet wound the conscience of a weaker Christian. And that really was something.
4 Liberty Causes Stumbling
Vs 9-13
We come to the fourth concern that Paul observed, namely exercising liberty and thereby causing a brother to stumble. Paul held that Christians, for whom Christ died, could be destroyed when led to do something against their conscience, even if their conscience was mistaken (cf Romans 14:17-23).
The arrogant Christians ate in recognition of their rights and liberty, without recognition of the consequences for the weak in faith. Such liberty amounts to nothing.
The loving Christians, however, abstained in eating meat likely offered to idols. They did this in recognition of the weak Christians, not in recognition of the idols. And that really was something.