“I Love You More Than You Know!”
This review is brought to you by the Kentucky First Jurisdiction Church of God in Christ Sunday School Department.
LESSON AIM: By the end of the lesson, we will; explore the positive and negative influences that community members have on one another; empathize with Christians who may have been negatively affected by others in the community; and evaluate our own behavior to rid ourselves of actions that might negatively influence the people around us.
BIBLE TRUTH: Put the spiritual well being of your brother as your top priority.
1 Corinthians 8:1-13 | King James Version (KJV)
1 Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up.
2 Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know.
3 But whoever loves God is known by God.[a]
4 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.”
5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”),
6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
7 But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.
8 But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.
9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak.
10 For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols?
11 So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.
12 When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.
13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.
1 Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up.
2 Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know.
3 But whoever loves God is known by God.[a]
4 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.”
5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”),
6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
7 But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.
8 But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.
9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak.
10 For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols?
11 So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.
12 When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.
13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.
Which is more important: knowledge or love? That's what we'll be diving into this week! Paul is addressing a big concern that the Corinthians had regarding something we all love to do...EAT! In prior lessons, we uncovered that idolatry was a part of the Greek culture, so many of the Corinthians were very familiar with what it meant to attend the ceremonial sacrificing of food to idol gods.
Theologians believe that these ceremonies took place in 3 different parts:
So, before Paul worked out the church at Corinth, many of these believers possibly attended the sacrificial feasts. Now, after they have been saved, they're YET attending. In verses 1-6, Paul is acknowledging what many of the believers already knew and rested upon...there is only one true and living God, and that Jesus Christ is Lord of all. The Corinthian believers really prided themselves in their own knowledge. Paul came to shake things up a bit. He let them know that LOVE must be chosen over KNOWLEDGE, when it comes to unity and helping a fellow believer. Not everyone has the same faith and level knowledge, even in the Body of Christ. Paul warned in verse 9, that exercising a liberty to carry on eating, while another believer thinks there is idol worship going on, could cause the weaker- minded believer to backslide, be upset, or simply be confused regarding their own salvation.
SIDE NOTE: Have you ever justified that some of your own actions are okay because you're not hurting anyone, or "it's legal"? Watch closely as we go deeper into the scriptures so you can understand that your actions count, especially if you name the name of Christ.
There was wide-spread and accepted prostitution in the church. The Corinthians had no respect or regard (naturally) for the human body. Think about some of the Greek sculptures that came out of this civilization. The majority of these stone engravings depicted oversized human-slash-godly type bodies, and these sculptures accented the sexual anatomy as well. They were obsessed with sex. So, since this was perfectly acceptable in the Greek society in general, this mentality was also adopted by the Christian Corinthians. In verse 12, Paul says, "Just because you CAN do it, doesn't mean you SHOULD do it!"
SIDE NOTE: Once, a preacher shared with his congregation that he and his wife were late for an important engagement, and wanted to phone ahead and let their guests know that they would be late. In the days of phone booths, not cell phones, they searched for loose change to make that $35 call, but only had paper bills. So, they pulled over to the nearest business (and the only one they could find on this deserted strip of road), which was a bar & tavern. The preacher walked right into the establishment, filled with the typical goings-on inside...drinking, smoking, rowdy music, amongst other things, and received the change he needed to make that phone call. During that same time, another believer was passing by just as the preacher was walking out of the bar.
A few weeks later, the preacher received a phone call at home, with news of the rumor that he was seen "hanging out" at the bar. As you can imagine, the preacher was appalled, and wanted to explain the situation. But, who knows how many others didn't hear the explanation behind why a preacher would be in this establishment. Experienced and knowledgeable believers can read this story and say, "So what? He needed change...what's the big deal?" There may be some who feel this isn't such a good idea.
Paul is encouraging those believers who are stronger to consider their bretheren in love. Don't make your fellow brother and sister in Christ uncomfortable and bothered, by doing something that is completely optional to you (you can take it or leave it), but could be a major hindrance for them. Down through the years, verse 13 has been paraphrased, "If meat offends your brother...don't eat it!" Purposely choosing the stance of, "THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THIS!", is offensive to Christ (verse 12).
As an individual, you should strive to never be responsible for someone else to fall, because you chose to exercise your spiritual maturity, over love for another believer who hasn't reached your level of revelation.
Theologians believe that these ceremonies took place in 3 different parts:
- The sacrifice was presented and burned
- The cooked portion was placed on the table (where the god was thought to be present and seated)
- All those who were invited to the feast gather around and ate in the presence of the god, while they socialized
So, before Paul worked out the church at Corinth, many of these believers possibly attended the sacrificial feasts. Now, after they have been saved, they're YET attending. In verses 1-6, Paul is acknowledging what many of the believers already knew and rested upon...there is only one true and living God, and that Jesus Christ is Lord of all. The Corinthian believers really prided themselves in their own knowledge. Paul came to shake things up a bit. He let them know that LOVE must be chosen over KNOWLEDGE, when it comes to unity and helping a fellow believer. Not everyone has the same faith and level knowledge, even in the Body of Christ. Paul warned in verse 9, that exercising a liberty to carry on eating, while another believer thinks there is idol worship going on, could cause the weaker- minded believer to backslide, be upset, or simply be confused regarding their own salvation.
SIDE NOTE: Have you ever justified that some of your own actions are okay because you're not hurting anyone, or "it's legal"? Watch closely as we go deeper into the scriptures so you can understand that your actions count, especially if you name the name of Christ.
There was wide-spread and accepted prostitution in the church. The Corinthians had no respect or regard (naturally) for the human body. Think about some of the Greek sculptures that came out of this civilization. The majority of these stone engravings depicted oversized human-slash-godly type bodies, and these sculptures accented the sexual anatomy as well. They were obsessed with sex. So, since this was perfectly acceptable in the Greek society in general, this mentality was also adopted by the Christian Corinthians. In verse 12, Paul says, "Just because you CAN do it, doesn't mean you SHOULD do it!"
SIDE NOTE: Once, a preacher shared with his congregation that he and his wife were late for an important engagement, and wanted to phone ahead and let their guests know that they would be late. In the days of phone booths, not cell phones, they searched for loose change to make that $35 call, but only had paper bills. So, they pulled over to the nearest business (and the only one they could find on this deserted strip of road), which was a bar & tavern. The preacher walked right into the establishment, filled with the typical goings-on inside...drinking, smoking, rowdy music, amongst other things, and received the change he needed to make that phone call. During that same time, another believer was passing by just as the preacher was walking out of the bar.
A few weeks later, the preacher received a phone call at home, with news of the rumor that he was seen "hanging out" at the bar. As you can imagine, the preacher was appalled, and wanted to explain the situation. But, who knows how many others didn't hear the explanation behind why a preacher would be in this establishment. Experienced and knowledgeable believers can read this story and say, "So what? He needed change...what's the big deal?" There may be some who feel this isn't such a good idea.
Paul is encouraging those believers who are stronger to consider their bretheren in love. Don't make your fellow brother and sister in Christ uncomfortable and bothered, by doing something that is completely optional to you (you can take it or leave it), but could be a major hindrance for them. Down through the years, verse 13 has been paraphrased, "If meat offends your brother...don't eat it!" Purposely choosing the stance of, "THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THIS!", is offensive to Christ (verse 12).
As an individual, you should strive to never be responsible for someone else to fall, because you chose to exercise your spiritual maturity, over love for another believer who hasn't reached your level of revelation.
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