1 Corinthians - Division, Gifts, Marriage, Love, & Resurrection
Session 13 – Be Sensitive to Conscience
(1 Corinthians 8:1-13)

What happens in Corinth…stays in Corinth!

It was an ancient day “Hollywood, Las Vegas, and New York” with all the immorality and debauchery of today.

Map of Greece / Asia Minor (Modern day Turkey):
Corinth
Olympia
Athens
Thessalonica
Philippi
Ephesus
Smyrna
Pergamos
Sardis
Laodicea

(Halley’s Bible Handbook)
Corinth lies 56 miles west of Athens, on the narrow strip of land (isthmus) between the Peloponnesus and the Greek mainland. Ever since the Golden Age of Greece, Athens had been the leading cultural center, but under Roman rule, Corinth had been made the capital of the Roman province called Achaia (which also included Athens) and was the most important city in the country. Land traffic between the north and south had to pass the city, and much of the commerce between Rome and the East was brought to its harbors.

Paul visited Corinth for the first time on his second missionary journey (Acts 18). He became acquainted with Aquila and Priscilla, fellow Christians and, like himself, tentmakers. During his stay of 1 ½ years he lived at their home. Paul later wrote two New Testament letters to that church and at least two other letters, now lost (1 Cor 5:9) and the severe letter (2 Cor 7:8). Paul also wrote the letter to the Romans while in Corinth (Romans 16:23).

(Chuck Missler – 1&2 Corinthians Commentary 1995)
Occasion of 1 Corinthians
Paul wrote a letter to the Corinthian church, a letter which apparently perished (1 Cor 5:9). (Some scholars believe it is preserved as 2 Cor 6:14-7:1.) This letter had been misunderstood (1 Cor 5:9-10) and Paul mentions it to clear up a misconception. [Remember: The chapters were not divided up until the 13th century; the verses not until the 16th.] The household of Chloe brought him news of cliques in the church (1 Cor 1:11) and the church wrote him a letter (re: 1 Cor 7:1), presumably brought to Ephesus by Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus (1 Cor 16:17) who probably added their own comments. The situation was serious. Paul responded with the letter we know as 1 Corinthians.

The “Painful visit”
The situation worsened. Paul felt it necessary to leave his work in Ephesus and pay a hurried visit in the attempt to set things right. (This visit is implied in passages in 2 Corinthians, which speak of Paul as being ready to pay a third visit to Corinth (2 Cor 12:14; 13:1; his second visit is past, 13:2).

His references to “coming again in sorrow” (2 Cor 2:1) indicate that this visit had been an unpleasant one. It failed to clear up the situation and Paul went away profoundly disturbed.

The “Severe Letter”
Paul determined to write another letter, obviously very severe in tone, and it cost him much to write (2 Cor 2:4; 7:8). Had it not been successful it might conceivably have meant a final rupture between Paul and this church he had founded. This letter seems to have been lost. (Many scholars feel part of it is preserved in 2 Cor 10-13.) The letter was apparently taken by Titus, who was to return via Macedonia and Troas. Paul was impatient to know how it had been received. When he eventually catches up to Titus, he learns that all is well (2 Cor 2:12-17; 7:5-7, 13). Out of his great relief and joy, Paul wrote the letter we call 2 Corinthians. Almost certainly he visited the church soon afterwards.

Three Visits:
1) When church was founded;
2) The “painful” visit;
3) A visit after 2 Corinthians had been sent.

Four letters:
1) The “Previous Letter”;
2) 1 Corinthians;
3) The “Severe Letter”;
4) 2 Corinthians.

Authorship
There is no doubt that Paul is the author. He is cited as the author in 1 Clement 47:1, a first century letter, and freely quoted by Ignatius and Polycarp; plus subsequent frequent references.
The church at Corinth is the “carnal church.” Spiritual babes, immature and undeveloped spiritually. Unseparated from the world. They have only a minimum of doctrine; what they have is mostly practical, conduct-related.

Paul addresses the following:

Discipline, Chapter 5;
Going to Law, Chapter 6;
Marriage and Divorce, Chapter 7;
Christian Liberty, Chapters 8, 9, 10;
Lord’s Table, Chapter 11;
Tongues, Chapters 12-14;
Resurrection, Chapter 15.

Contrast:
1) Exciting speech of men vs. the Spirit filled preaching of Paul.
2) Wisdom of the world vs. the wisdom of God.
3) The spirit of the world vs. the Spirit of God.
4) The natural man vs. the spiritual man.

In Roman times Corinth was a city of wealth, luxury, and immorality – with a growing population that reached more than 300,000 free citizens and 460,000 slaves in the 2nd century A.D. The theater in Paul’s day seated 14,000 spectators. In the past, more than 1,000 hierodouloi – temple prostitutes – had been active in pagan worship rites, but these practices probably had ceased by Paul’s time, although the memory of that era was still fresh. “To live like a Corinthian” meant to live a life of sexual immorality and drunkenness. This was the Temple of Aphrodite. The Isthmian games, held every two years, made Corinth a great center of Hellenic life. (The Olympian Games were held every four years at Olympia, some 100 miles west of Corinth).

READ (All) 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

John 13:34-35 (NKJV), “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
The beautiful thing about being a Christian is the fellowship we enter into among those who love the Savior: it crosses boundaries of race, class, and background. It draws us together as ONE in Christ. What a tragedy it is when we reveal our low level of Christian experience by allowing a divergence of opinion to break fellowship, or letting our example cause a brother to stumble (cf. Jn 13:35).
Paul will spend three chapters on “things offered to idols….” Certainly this has an impact on the great pagan city of Corinth.
What are our idols? What do or would non-Christians say about your choices of entertainments? Movies? Streaming? TV? Social Drinking?
LIVING BY KNOWLEDGE OR BY LOVE
1) (1 Corinthians 8:1-3) Basic principles of love and knowledge.
[1-3] Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.
a) Now concerning things offered to idols: Now Paul turns to the next question he received from the Corinthians.
b) Things offered to idols: The Christian faith, once embraced, requires a clean break from idolatry.
1 Thessalonians 1:9 (NKJV), “For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.”
i) Why do people hang on to their previous ungodly passions? What can you do to let go of your “idols?”
c) Things offered to idols: The issue raised many questions for the Corinthian Christians: Can we eat meat purchased at the temple meat market? What if we are served meat purchased at the temple meat market when we are guests in someone’s home? Can a Christian eat at the restaurant at the pagan temple?
d) Things offered to idols: Private sacrifice: Meat offered to pagan idols was divided into three parts. A token part was burned on the pagan altar. The priests were given the ribs, ham, and the left side. The worshiper would get the rest of the sacrifice. Public sacrifice: The remaining part of the meat was sold in the shops and markets. Meat sold in the temple restaurants and meat markets were typically cheaper.
Acts 15:4-21 – Does a Gentile have to come under the law?
e) We know that we all have knowledge: Our behavior as Christians is founded on love. Love God and you’re your neighbor as yourself.
f) Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies: Puffed up (6X) in Corinthians. Knowledge has the potential to cause a person to become proud and arrogant. Edify (5X) in Corinthians. Love has the potential to promote growth in Christian wisdom, affection, grace, virtue, holiness, blessedness.
g) If anyone loves God, this one is known by Him: To love God is to be known by God, which is true spirituality (cf. 2:9). It is not knowing God but being known by God that marks the Christian as a true lover of God.
Jeremiah 9:23,24 (NKJV), “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
But let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me,
That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
For in these I delight,’ says the LORD.”

2) (1 Corinthians 8:4-6) The truth about idols
[4-6] Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.
a) Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols: Paul again quotes from the letter from Corinth.
What complicated matters was that, in his age, people believed strongly and fearfully in demons and devils. They believed that the air was full of them, and they were constantly lurking to gain entrance into a man. One of the ways was to enter through his food. One of the ways to prevent this was to dedicate the meat to some good god
whose presence would put up a barrier against the evil spirit.

b) We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one: Because there is only One True and Living God, idols are nothing and there are no competing gods. Thor is NOT real, so meat offered to Thor is ridiculous.

i) What does it mean to trust in the power of God when the world puts value in so many things that are ultimately powerless?
c) There is one God, the Father… and one Lord Jesus Christ: The Greek word Lord is kurios which when translated from the OT Hebrew would be Yahweh. So this reads “one God, the Father…and one Yahweh Jesus Christ.”

Sh’ma
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (NKJV), “Here O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
i) The potential Corinthian thinking on this matter could have led them to reason that if idols are nothing, then eating meat sacrificed to idols means nothing, and it also means that eating in the buildings that are used to worship these false idols means nothing. But now Paul goes on to say that there is a better way.

3) (1 Corinthians 8:7) Varying consciences
[7] However, there is not in everyone that knowledge; for some, with consciousness of the idol, until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.
a) There is not in everyone that knowledge: Here now Paul asks the Corinthian Christians that know that there is nothing to an idol to remember that not all of their brothers and sisters “know” this. And if someone believes there is something to an idol, and they eat that meat, then their conscience, being weak, is defiled.
b) Their conscience, being weak, is defiled: You can imagine the “free” Corinthian Christians with their superior knowledge saying, “but we’re right!” And in this case, being right is important but it is not more important than showing love to the family of God.
i) What does true Christian love look like when someone in the church sees things differently that you do?
4) (1 Corinthians 8:8) Our spirituality does not come from what we eat or don’t eat.
[8] But food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse.
a) Food does not commend us to God: You are not more spiritual if you know that idols are nothing and you feel that you have personal freedom to eat the meat sacrificed to idols. Also, people are not less spiritual if they abstain from eating the meat.
i) This is the specific point where some Christians stumble regarding “liberty,” such as movies, drinking, music, or television. There is the assumption that one stance or another is evidence of greater or lesser spirituality.
ii) How can you honor your own convictions while still respecting some else’s freedom in Christ?
5) (1 Corinthians 8:9-13) The important thing is our love towards the family of God.
[9-13] But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.
a) Beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block: A Corinthian Christian that is mature in knowledge could potentially become a stumbling block to a less mature believer.
b) Those who are weak: Paul is not talking about weak in self-control, but rather regarding knowledge. There are three reasons why people are weak or immature in their faith:
(1 Spiritual babies – they simply have not had enough time to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18)
(2 Difficult child – they refuse to grow. They will not come to Bible Study; they will not worship the Lord corporately; they will not fellowship with other believers; they will not pray (Four non-negotiables).
(3 Scared adult – they are afraid to do anything in their lives because they think that something bad will happen to them. They get stuck in legalism.
ii) Here are a few key points about legalism:
(1 Focus on Rules Over Relationship: Legalism emphasizes following rules more than loving God and others.
(2 Judging Spirituality by Behavior: It often leads to judging others based on external actions (e.g., what they wear, watch, or drink) rather than their heart or relationship with God.
(3 Adds to God’s Word: Legalism can involve adding human-made rules or traditions to God’s commands and treating them as if they are equally binding.
(4 Undermines Grace: It downplays or even denies the role of grace, implying that we can earn God’s love or salvation by being “good enough.”
c) Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat: Finally, Paul is making the principle clear that our actions cannot be solely based on what we know to be right, but also how it is right toward our brothers and sisters in Jesus.
d) Lest I make my brother stumble: At the same time, the issue is making a brother stumble – and stumble over an issue that has direct relevance to the brother in question. Paul would never allow this principle to be a way for a legalist to make demands and bind a Christian walking in liberty.
e) Sin against Christ: Society winks at sin and especially at sexual immorality. In our Christian walk we cannot get to a place where we see sin as simply an inconvenient frustration. Sin cost Jesus everything. Sin is an insult to God.
i) Why is it dangerous to see sin as just a small mistake or a personal struggle instead of an offense against God?
Psalm 51:1-4 (NKJV),
“Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me.
Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in Your sight—
That You may be found just when You speak,
And blameless when You judge.”