You can believe that you know it all
only for you to know nothing at all…
8 Now regarding your question about food that has been offered to idols. Yes, we know that “we all have knowledge” about this issue. But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church. 2 Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. 3 But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes. ~1 corinthians 8:2-3~
7 However, not all believers know this. Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are violated.
9 But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble. 10 For if others see you—with your “superior knowledge”—eating in the temple of an idol, won’t they be encouraged to violate their conscience by eating food that has been offered to an idol? 11 So because of your superior knowledge, a weak believer for whom Christ died will be destroyed. 12 And when you sin against other believers by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ.
let’s first get a better understanding of what this chapter mean.
knowledge and its dangers - usefulbible.com:
Knowledge can be a dangerous thing. In other words, it is possible to know something, but to use that information unwisely. For a Christian, it is unwise to use knowledge in a way that hurts someone else.
commentary by melanie a. howard from workingpreacher.org:
As this chapter unfolds, it becomes clear that Paul has little interest in the so-called “knowledge” of the Corinthians, and in verse seven, he blatantly contradicts the slogan from verse one by arguing that all do not have knowledge. Rather, in verse 11, Paul notes the potential of this knowledge to destroy others rather than to build them up in love. Paul will return to this hierarchy of love over knowledge later in 1 Corinthians 13 as he upholds love above spiritual gifts and knowledge (13:2, 8).
Paul develops the priority of love over knowledge more in 1 Corinthians 8:2-3 as he states that anyone laying claim to knowledge proves their very lack of the same. Such a person stands in contrast to one who loves God and thus benefits from being known by God.
as we see in its context, knowledge is only good to have if the intentions of using it are rightly done. the challenge is when you don’t feel you’re doing anything wrong though you are in the sight of others who may view it as such - i know that we are going to fail in our lifetime to “please others” while another group will feel indifferent to what we do and/or say. the problem for me is not one of causing an offense to another, but leading someone down the wrong path from what they observe and not realizing that i am doing it.
both of the following are far more in-depth and insightful and you should check out their work by clicking on the links to their respective lessons.
principles of love and knowledge in 1 corinthians 8 by david guzik from enduringword.com:
We know that we all have knowledge: Instead of talking about food, Paul first talks about the principles of knowledge and love. Christian behavior is founded on love, not knowledge; and the goal of the Christian life is not knowledge, but love.
Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies: Both knowledge and love have an effect on our lives in that each of them make something grow. The difference between puffs up and edifies is striking; it is the difference between a bubble and a building. Some Christians grow, others just swell!
Why is their conscience considered weak? Not because their conscience doesn’t work. Indeed, it does work – in fact, it overworks. Their conscience is considered weak because it is wrongly informed; their conscience is operating on the idea that there really is something to an idol.
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 like what david frederick says in his study guide:
The issue of eating meat sacrificed to idols feels foreign to us, but the key issue is that there were practical things that were pulling people back into living their old life; one such activity was a matter of conscience around eating meat from the pagan temples. We have various things in our lives that may be freedoms for some, but off limits for us because of the connection it has with our old life and things that used to be struggles for us.
We should be aware of each other’s stumbling blocks, which are ways people can be led back into destructive sin patterns. This only happens when we are humble, care about other people’s lives and are in deep community with our church.
For the Corinthians, “the weak” are offended or led to stumble because of their former association with idols. We know theologically speaking that what we eat will neither commend us to God or disqualify us, which is their core issue here. However, it seems that the weak person is “destroyed” by these actions (1 Corinthians 8:11). We can argue about whether they should be more theologically thick skinned or not as sensitive, but Paul wants us to understand that this is not just some minor issue, and the heart attitude of love for one another should cause us to not just ignore it or place the blame back on them.
i think it is easy to know you are in the right and not care what others think or do with your actions or words. unfortunately this may come from a place of pride or arrogance, even to say ignorant when it comes to how it affects those around you. because of doing just that for so long, i’m more keenly aware of how what i do or say, as a Christian, can be taken from others negatively, possibly leading them to do something that goes against what we believe and whom we believe in (Jesus). what would possibly be worse is that a fellow believer stumbles because of me. what we are reminded here, in 1 corinthians 8 by paul, is that we need to strive to do things from a place of love and not just from what we know.
dear Heavenly Father, please help me to not get puffed up with what i accumulate with knowledge when i don’t end up doing anything with it but hurt those in and around my life. may i use all that you allowed me to learn to benefit others, and in doing so brings you all the glory and honor God. teach me Lord Jesus to always come from a place of love with the words i use and by my actions. Holy Spirit, please guide me so i don’t cause others to slip in their walk. i humbly ask this in Jesus’ name i pray, amen!