Key verse:1b
"...Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up."
As we continue our study of 1 Corinthians, we see that Corinthian church was messy church. Rather than bringing the spirit of Christ into the culture, they brought the culture into the church. They brought cultural norms such as competitions, fights, immoral behavior and lawsuits into the church. In today's passage another cultural issue plagued the church. It was food sacrificed to idols. Some in the church gladly enjoyed eating such meat, while others were horrified that Christians would seemingly endorse and participate in idolatry. But the issue is not about meat, but whether they knew the Gospel. In this passage, Paul teaches about Knowledge that puffs, that leads and that builds. Ultimately, knowledge must be controlled by love. This love was displayed by Christ who died for the weak and sinful. Armed with this love, the Corinthian Christians can build one another. May God bless you to grow in love that builds others.
First, Knowledge that puffs up
Corinth was a city saturated with idols. The worship and celebration of idols was tightly bound to everyday life. There was an idol for everything: for love, sex, travel, wedding, sports and on and on. They also believed in evil spirits. They believed that these evil spirits can inhabit meat of dead animals. So food was sacrificed to idols to cleanse them of demonic influence.
In Chapter 8, Paul was addressing the more "stronger" believers. To them meat was meat. They thought it was silly to believe in food contaminated by evil spirits. So they enjoyed eating their steaks, burgers, chicken sandwiches sacrificed to idols without any problem.
On the other hand, there were some new converts who were still weak to idols. Idols were still a temptation to them. These stronger Christians ate their "idol approved" steaks deliciously in front of them, with barbecue sauce smothered all over their face. The steaks reminded the weak Christians of their past lives of idolatry. Perhaps some walked out. Perhaps some fell into temptation of idolatry and left the church. A song, a movie or a person can trigger a remembrance of one's life of idolatry. I remember as a young Christian, whenever I heard music by the Beatles, it reminded me of my old life. The devil prodded me saying, “The life of a Christian is no fun! Leave while you can!”
The issue was not about the meat, rather they lacked true knowledge. Look at verse 1b, "Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." Knowledge is very important. But as we grow in knowledge it can have either of two results. One kind of knowledge puffs you up. In other words, it can make you proud and arrogant. According to verse 2, they have an attitude of "I know it all." What was the knowledge that made them really puffed up? Look at 4-6 "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. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), 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."
When we look at verse 4-6, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this knowledge. In fact, it is biblically sound. It is true that an idol is nothing. It is true that an idol is inanimate object made out of stone, clay and wood. It is true that God is the creator of everything. It is true that all things come from God. So what was the problem?
This knowledge about God though correct, is not enough! It is essential, but not sufficient. By itself even having this biblical sound knowledge can make you proud and arrogant. Probably Paul was speaking from experience. Before he met Jesus, he was a puffy Pharisees. He knew a lot of things about God. He had a big head and a little heart. But he missed the whole point of the Bible which is God's love for sinners. His biblical knowledge made him downright dangerous and violent. He despised Christians and made his life mission to destroy them. It is good to have sound biblical knowledge. But it is not all!
According to verse 1, there is knowledge that builds up. It is the knowledge of God’s love. Look at verse 3, this knowledge comes from a love relationship with God. "To be known by God", means to have the confidence that God love you in spite of yourself. 1 John 4:10 expresses this knowledge very well "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." This knowledge makes you humble, sacrificial, forgiving and compassionate like Christ. This knowledge of God undeserving love motivates you to build others up. Knowledge must always be controlled by love. Those believers that Paul addresses were strong in knowledge but weak in love for their weak brothers and sisters.
Second, Knowledge that Leads
Look at verse 7,8 "But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do." Paul is saying to the stronger Christians that not everyone knows that an idol is nothing. Paul is saying to the stronger Christians, "Not everyone is like you!" Perhaps some of the stronger Christians were forcing the weak Christians to do things they really didn't want to do.
In addition, to knowledge of God, God created us with a conscience. The conscience is like a rudder on a ship. It helps us navigate through many moral decisions in life. Some call it the "internal voice" or a "moral compass." We call it the Holy Spirit. Our conscience notifies us of particular sins that are to be avoided. It says "Don't go there!" We are all different. We are weak and strong in all areas of our life. We have different life experiences. Some are very strong in regard to alcohol, but are weak to sexual temptation. Some are bothered by secular music, while some are not. Some parents have no problem with Halloween, while others think it is demonic holiday. As we obey and grow in God's word, we must also honor our conscience for it is also a way through which God speaks to us. We must allow the counselor, the Holy Spirit guides and leads us to overcome sin and temptation (John 14:26).
Look at verse 8, "Food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do." In the Bible, there are certain things that are black and white. We know murder, adultery, rape, stealing are in violation of God's law. These things can separate us from God. But there are certain things that fall into gray areas. These gray issues are not specifically mentioned in the Bible. In Paul's day it was meat sacrificed to idols. But if something does not violate scripture, then we are free to consider it, but we may choose not to do so if our conscience is bothered or it tempts a weak brother. In our present day, Churches and denominations argue over things that are not specifically in scripture. Some churches teach legalism. They are in the "don't do this, don't do that" camp. As a result they make up all kinds of rules. They think these rules will make them nearer to God. Some churches teach license "do" camp. Meaning you can do whatever you want because you are free in Christ! According to one Pastor, legalism and license are the “evil twins” of the gospel. Both ways do not make us more spiritual or nearer to God. The question is what brings us nearer to God?
Third, Knowledge that Builds Up
Look at verse 9, "Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak." When we believe in Christ, the truth sets us free. This freedom is truly sweet. But even our freedom in Christ can be a stumbling block to the weak. Why? Look at verse 10 "For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols?" Apparently, some stronger Christians ate at idols temples. They had no problems since they had spiritual knowledge that pagan beliefs are nothing. Paul says we are free in Christ. But sometimes as Christians, we must limit our freedom for the sake of our weaker brother or sister.
Paul says "Be careful." In other words, be mindful or consider your brother. Paul said in verse 10, he might be embolden, in other words he might tempted to sin. But since he is weak, he can easily become destroyed. It means become discouraged, feel condemned and give up. In verse 12, Paul says causing a brother to stumble is more than an offense against him; it is an offense against the Lord. While our freedom is important, our friends are more important. Because we love our friends, we must happily give up our freedoms in their presence so as not to cause them to sin or violate their conscience. Recently, I read a story about a baseball player for the Texas Ranger Josh Hamilton. He became a Christian after years of drug abuse and alcohol. So when the Rangers celebrated by winning their division, they celebrated with champagne. But Josh left the celebration because it brought back terrible memories of his addiction. His teammates felt bad he did not join them in their celebration. They became mindful of Josh. When they made it to the quarter finals, his teammates decided to celebrate with ginger ale instead of wine and beer. He was moved by their friendship.
How do we gain knowledge that builds others up? It doesn't come from inside of us because we are too proud and arrogant. We are too selfish. We must look at Christ. Verse 11a says, "So this weak brother, for whom Christ died..."
God is the holy God. He had the right to destroy us because he is God. But what did he do? He gave up his rights and became flesh. It is like you giving up your rights to become a cockroach. Our Lord Jesus gave up his freedoms to serve the weak. John chapter 8 tells a story of a woman caught in the act of adultery. Her accusers said to Jesus, "In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" Then Jesus said to them "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Soon everyone left one by one. Their conscience was stricken with shame. They knew they were sinners. They deserved to be stoned like the woman. Finally all of her accusers left. Only Jesus was left, with the woman. Jesus asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin." Jesus had every right to condemn her to death. He had the right throw the stones at her because he was without sin. But the story does not end there. The Bible says "The wages of sin is death." When he said, "Go now and leave your life of sin" it meant "Go and I will take your place so you can live a new life."
Jesus gave up his freedom and rights for her life. The condemnation that she fully deserved, Jesus decided to take upon himself. The whipping, the stoning that she deserved, Jesus took it upon himself. This is the gospel message. To remember that Jesus gave up his rights and even his life for us will motivate us to do the same for the weaker brother.
Look at verse 13 "Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall." When Paul came to know Christ, he felt true freedom. He felt freedom from legalism and dietary Jewish laws. He joyfully ate all kinds of unclean food, including food sacrificed to idols. But he knew that freedom can be a stumbling block. Paul was ready to limit his freedom to build up his brother. Paul remembered Christ who gave up his rights and even his own life in other to purchase us. Paul's principle is stated in 1 Corinthians 9:22 "To the weak I became weak, to win the weak." His primary purpose was to save and build others for Christ.
In conclusion, we learn there are three kinds of knowledge. Knowledge that puffs, that leads and that builds. Having knowledge about God is not enough. Even this can be a stumbling block to the weak. We must pray and ask the Holy Spirit to lead us with this knowledge. Finally, there is also a knowledge that builds up. It comes when we know what Christ has done for us. With this knowledge, we can lay down our rights and freedom in order to help our weak brothers.
