VIII. (1) NOW AS TOUCHING THINGS OFFERED UNTO IDOLS. — A new subject is here introduced, and occupies the whole of this chapter. In Corinth and other cities meat was offered for sale which had been used for sacrificial purposes in the heathen temples, having been sold to the dealers by the priests,... [ Continue Reading ]
IF ANY MAN THINK THAT HE KNOWETH ANY THING.... — There must be a moral as well as a merely intellectual element in knowledge if it is to be true knowledge. Without love to guide us in its use it is not an operative knowledge, and so does not fulfil the true end of knowledge. It has been suggested ... [ Continue Reading ]
IF ANY MAN LOVE GOD. — This explains the nature of the love which edifies. Love to God, and therefore love to man, builds up the whole Christian communion. The man gets outside the mere selfish thought of his own indulgence in his liberty. There is the under-thought in these words (“the same is know... [ Continue Reading ]
AS CONCERNING THEREFORE THE EATING OF THOSE THINGS. — See 1 Corinthians 8:1. The subject resumed after the parenthesis. We have, perhaps, in this repetition of the words a characteristic of a letter written by another from the author’s dictation, as was the case with this and other epistles. AN IDO... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THOUGH THERE BE.... — This is an hypothetic argument. “Be” is the emphatic word of the supposition. Even assuming that there do exist those beings which are called “gods” (we have a right to make such a supposition, for Deuteronomy 10:17; Psalms 105:2, speaks of “gods and lords” of another kind)... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT TO US. — Though this be so, yet for us Christians there exists but one God the Father, from whom alone every created thing has come, and for (not “in”) whom alone we exist; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things are created (John 1:3), and we Christians created spiritually by Him. Al... [ Continue Reading ]
HOWBEIT THERE IS NOT IN EVERY MAN THAT KNOWLEDGE. — The Apostle had admitted that in theory all have knowledge which should render the eating of things offered to idols a matter beyond question; but there are some who, as a matter of fact, are not fully grown — have not practically attained that kno... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT MEAT.... — By showing that the eating is a matter of indifference, the Apostle introduces his reason for yielding to the weakness of another. If the weakness involved a matter of our vital relation to God, then to yield would be wrong. But meat will not (future) affect our relationship to God. T... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT TAKE HEED. — On this very account, because the matter is one which _is_ indifferent, because there is no right or wrong in it, you must look elsewhere for your guide as to how you ought to act. In things which are not indifferent, right or wrong is the sole test of action. In things indifferent... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR IF ANY MAN (_i.e.,_ any of the weak brethren) SEE THEE WHICH HAST KNOWLEDGE. — The fact of your being avowedly advanced in the knowledge of the faith will make your example the more dangerous, because more effective. SIT AT MEAT IN THE IDOL’S TEMPLE. — Some went so far as to not only eat, but e... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THROUGH THY KNOWLEDGE SHALL... — Better, _and by means of thy knowledge the weak one perishes_ — _the brother for whom Christ died._ It is not, as in the English version, a question, but it is the expansion and interpretation of the previous statement. There is a great variety of readings in the... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN YE SIN SO. — When you sin in this way — and he explains further what the sin is: “Striking a blow upon their weak consciences” — you sin against Christ. You wound a member of that body which is His. (See Matthew 25:40.)... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEREFORE. — He states his own solemn determination, arising from the considerations which have just been urged. If a matter of food cause a brother to fall in his Christian course, I will certainly never again eat any kind of flesh, lest I should be the cause of so making him to fall. It is noticea... [ Continue Reading ]