But food will not commend us to God. For neither, if we don’t eat, are we the worse; nor, if we eat, are we the better. But be careful that by no means does this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to the weak. For if a man sees you who have knowledge sitting in an idol’s temple, won’t his conscience, if he is weak, be emboldened to eat things sacrificed to idols? And through your knowledge, he who is weak perishes, the brother for whose sake Christ died. Thus, sinning against the brothers, and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore if food causes my brother to stumble, I will eat no meat forever more, that I don’t cause my brother to stumble.
Show the surrounding paragraph
1 Corinthians 8:8-13 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Now concerning things sacrificed to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. But if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he doesn’t yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, the same is known by him. Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no other God but one. For though there are things that are called “gods”, whether in the heavens or on earth; as there are many “gods” and many “lords”; yet to 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 we live through him. However, that knowledge isn’t in all men. But some, with consciousness of the idol until now, eat as of a thing sacrificed to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. But food will not commend us to God. For neither, if we don’t eat, are we the worse; nor, if we eat, are we the better. But be careful that by no means does this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to the weak. For if a man sees you who have knowledge sitting in an idol’s temple, won’t his conscience, if he is weak, be emboldened to eat things sacrificed to idols? And through your knowledge, he who is weak perishes, the brother for whose sake Christ died. Thus, sinning against the brothers, and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore if food causes my brother to stumble, I will eat no meat forever more, that I don’t cause my brother to stumble.
Parallel Translations
-
But food will not commend us to God. For neither, if we don’t eat, are we the worse; nor, if we eat, are we the better.
But be careful that by no means does this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to the weak.
For if a man sees you who have knowledge sitting in an idol’s temple, won’t his conscience, if he is weak, be emboldened to eat things sacrificed to idols?
And through your knowledge, he who is weak perishes, the brother for whose sake Christ died.
Thus, sinning against the brothers, and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.
Therefore if food causes my brother to stumble, I will eat no meat forever more, that I don’t cause my brother to stumble.
-
Meate maketh vs not acceptable to god. Nether yf we eate are we the better. Nether yf we eate not are we the worsse.
But take hede that youre libertie cause not the weake to faule.
For yf some man se ye which hast knowledge sit at meate in the ydoles temple shall not the conscience of hym which is weake be boldened to eate those thinges which are offered vnto the ydole?
And so thorow thy knowledge shall the weake brother perisshe for whom christ dyed.
When ye synne so agaynst the brethren and wounde their weake consciences ye synne agaynst Christ.
Wherfore yf meate hurt my brother I will eate no flesshe whill the worlde stondeth because I will not hurte my brother.
Show all 3 translations
-
But meate maketh not vs acceptable to God, for neither if we eate, haue we the more: neither if we eate not, haue we the lesse.
But take heede lest by any meanes this power of yours be an occasion of falling, to them that are weake.
For if any man see thee which hast knowledge, sit at table in the idoles temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weake, be boldened to eate those things which are sacrificed to idoles?
And through thy knowledge shall the weake brother perish, for whome Christ died.
Nowe when ye sinne so against the brethren, and wound their weake conscience, ye sinne against Christ.
Wherefore if meate offende my brother, I wil eate no flesh while the world standeth, that I may not offend my brother.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (65)
- Galatians 5:13 (v9) For you, brothers, were called for freedom. Only don’t use your freedom for gain to the flesh, but through love be servants to one another.
- Romans 14:20-21 (vv9, 11) Don’t overthrow God’s work for food’s sake. All things indeed are clean, however it is evil for that man who creates a stumbling block by…
- Romans 14:21 (v13) It is good to not eat meat, drink wine, nor do anything by which your brother stumbles, is offended, or is made weak.
- Romans 14:17 (v8) for God’s Kingdom is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
- 1 Peter 2:16 (v9) as free, and not using your freedom for a cloak of wickedness, but as bondservants of God.
Show all 61 cross-references
- Matthew 18:6 (v12) but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him if a huge millstone were hung around…
- Hebrews 13:9 (v8) Don’t be carried away by various and strange teachings, for it is good that the heart be established by grace, not by food, through which…
- 2 Peter 2:19 (v9) promising them liberty, while they themselves are bondservants of corruption; for a man is brought into bondage by whoever overcomes him.
- Romans 14:1-2 (v9) Now accept one who is weak in faith, but not for disputes over opinions. One man has faith to eat all things, but he who is weak eats only…
- Romans 14:15 (v11) Yet if because of food your brother is grieved, you walk no longer in love. Don’t destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.
- 1 Corinthians 6:13 (v8) “Foods for the belly, and the belly for foods,” but God will bring to nothing both it and them. But the body is not for sexual immorality,…
- 1 Corinthians 10:24 (v9) Let no one seek his own, but each one his neighbor’s good.
- Matthew 25:45 (v12) “Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you didn’t do it to one of the least of these, you didn’t do it to…
- Romans 15:1-3 (v11) Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each one of us please his neighbor for…
- 2 Corinthians 6:3 (v13) We give no occasion of stumbling in anything, that our service may not be blamed,
- 2 Corinthians 11:29 (v13) Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is caused to stumble, and I don’t burn with indignation?
- Romans 14:13-15 (v9) Therefore let’s not judge one another any more, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block in his brother’s way, or an…
- 1 Corinthians 6:12 (v13) “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are expedient. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be brought under the power…
- 1 Corinthians 8:12 (v9) Thus, sinning against the brothers, and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.
- Colossians 2:20-23 (v8) If you died with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances, “Don’t…
- 1 Corinthians 10:32 (vv9–10) Give no occasion for stumbling, whether to Jews, or to Greeks, or to the assembly of God;
- 1 Corinthians 8:13 (v11) Therefore if food causes my brother to stumble, I will eat no meat forever more, that I don’t cause my brother to stumble.
- 1 Corinthians 10:28-29 (v10) But if anyone says to you, “This was offered to idols,” don’t eat it for the sake of the one who told you, and for the sake of conscience.…
- 1 Corinthians 13:5 (v13) doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil;
- Romans 14:23 (v10) But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because it isn’t of faith; and whatever is not of faith is sin.
- 1 Corinthians 8:4 (v10) Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no other…
- 1 Corinthians 8:10 (v9) For if a man sees you who have knowledge sitting in an idol’s temple, won’t his conscience, if he is weak, be emboldened to eat things…
- 1 Corinthians 9:22 (v9) To the weak I became as weak, that I might gain the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some.
- 1 Corinthians 10:20-21 (v10) But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God, and I don’t desire that you would have…
- 1 Corinthians 10:33–11:1 (vv11, 13) even as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of the many, that they may be saved. Be imitators of…
- Luke 17:1-2 (v9) He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no occasions of stumbling should come, but woe to him through whom they come! It would be…
- Romans 14:14 (v10) I know, and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean of itself; except that to him who considers anything to be unclean, to…
- 1 Corinthians 8:1-2 (v10) Now concerning things sacrificed to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. But if anyone thinks…
- 1 Corinthians 8:7 (v10) However, that knowledge isn’t in all men. But some, with consciousness of the idol until now, eat as of a thing sacrificed to an idol, and…
- 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (v13) For though I was free from all, I brought myself under bondage to all, that I might gain the more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I…
- 1 Corinthians 12:12 (v12) For as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ.
- Matthew 18:10 (vv9, 12) See that you don’t despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in…
- Genesis 20:9 (v12) Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and…
- Genesis 42:22 (v12) Reuben answered them, saying, “Didn’t I tell you, saying, ‘Don’t sin against the child,’ and you wouldn’t listen? Therefore also, behold,…
- Exodus 16:8 (v12) Moses said, “Now Yahweh will give you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to satisfy you, because Yahweh hears your…
- Exodus 32:21 (v12) Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you have brought a great sin on them?”
- Leviticus 19:14 (v9) “ ‘You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind; but you shall fear your God. I am Yahweh.
- Numbers 25:2 (v10) for they called the people to the sacrifices of their gods. The people ate and bowed down to their gods.
- Judges 9:27 (v10) They went out into the field, harvested their vineyards, trod the grapes, celebrated, and went into the house of their god and ate and…
- 1 Samuel 2:25 (v12) If one man sins against another, God will judge him; but if a man sins against Yahweh, who will intercede for him?” Notwithstanding, they…
- 1 Samuel 19:4-5 (v12) Jonathan spoke good of David to Saul his father, and said to him, “Don’t let the king sin against his servant, against David; because he…
- 1 Samuel 24:11 (v12) Moreover, my father, behold, yes, see the skirt of your robe in my hand; for in that I cut off the skirt of your robe, and didn’t kill you,…
- Isaiah 35:3 (v9) Strengthen the weak hands, and make the feeble knees firm.
- Isaiah 57:14 (v9) He will say, “Build up, build up, prepare the way! Remove the stumbling-block out of the way of my people.”
- Ezekiel 14:3 (v9) “Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their heart, and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face. Should I…
- Amos 2:8 (v10) and they lay themselves down beside every altar on clothes taken in pledge; and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who…
- Matthew 12:49-50 (v12) He stretched out his hand toward his disciples, and said, “Behold, my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father who is…
- Matthew 18:21 (v12) Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?”
- Matthew 25:40 (v12) “The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
- Acts 9:4-5 (v12) He fell on the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” He said, “Who are you, Lord?” The Lord said,…
- Romans 15:1 (v9) Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
- 1 Corinthians 9:12 (v13) If others partake of this right over you, don’t we yet more? Nevertheless we didn’t use this right, but we bear all things, that we may…
- 1 Corinthians 10:29 (v9) Conscience, I say, not your own, but the other’s conscience. For why is my liberty judged by another conscience?
- 2 Corinthians 11:21 (v9) I speak by way of disparagement, as though we had been weak. Yet in whatever way anyone is bold (I speak in foolishness), I am bold also.
- Revelation 2:14 (v9) But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to throw a stumbling…
- Matthew 18:6-7 (v9) but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him if a huge millstone were hung around…
61 distinct cross-references across this passage (65 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (24 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv8–13 8. Meat recommendeth us not to God This was,…
8. Meat recommendeth us not to God This was, or may have been, another pretext made use of by the Corinthians — that the worship of God does not consist in meats, as Paul himself teaches in his Epistle to the Romans, (Romans 14:17,) that the kingdom of God is not meat or drink Paul answers: “We must at the same time take care that our liberty does not do injury to our neighbors.” In this he tacitly acknowledges, that in the sight of God it matters not what kinds of food we partake of, because he allows us the free use of them, so far as conscience is concerned; but that this liberty, as to the external use of it, is made subject to love. The argument of the Corinthians, therefore, was defective, inasmuch as they inferred the whole from a part, for in the use of them a regard to the claims of love is included. It is, therefore, certain, that meat recommendeth us not to God; and Paul acknowledges this, but he states this exception, that love is recommended to us by God, which it were criminal to overlook.
Neither if we eat, are we the better. He does not speak of improvement as to the stomach; for the man who has dined has a better filled stomach than the man who goes fasting; but he means, that we have neither more nor less of righteousness from eating or from abstaining. Besides, he does not speak of every kind of abstinence, or of every kind of eating. For excess and luxury are in themselves displeasing to God, while sobriety and moderation are well-pleasing to him. But let it be understood by us, that the kingdom of God, which is spiritual, does not consist in these outward observances, and therefore, that things indifferent are in themselves of no importance in the sight of God. While he brings this forward in the person of others by anthypophora, he at the same time admits that it is true, for it is taken from his own doctrine, which we touched upon a little ago.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv8, 10, 11, 12, 13 A preventing of an objection: Why then, shall we…
A preventing of an objection: Why then, shall we therefore be deprived of our liberty? Nay saith the Apostle, you shall lose no part of Christianity although you abstain for your brethren’s sake, as also if you receive the meat, it maketh you no whit the more holy, for our commendation before God consisteth not in meats: but to use our liberty with offense of our brethren, is an abuse of liberty, the true use whereof is clean contrary, to wit, so to use it, as in using of it we have consideration of our weak brethren.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv8–13 8 But meat commendeth us not to God: for…
8 But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse.
Ver. 8. But meat commendeth us not] This is another objection: meat is indifferent. The apostle answers,
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv8–13 The apostle here speaketh in the person either of…
The apostle here speaketh in the person either of those teachers amongst them, or those more private persons amongst them, who made no difficulty of eating meat offered to idols; they objected, that meat, or the eating of meat, was not the thing which commended any man to God; they were not the better if they did eat, or the worse if they did not eat. The apostle himself had asserted this, Rom 14:17, that the kingdom of God was not meat or drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv8, 10, 12, 13 As if the apostle had said, "It is not…
As if the apostle had said, "It is not the eating or not eating, barely considered, that makes a man either better or worse, more or less acceptable in the sight of God, but we must take great heed lest by our example others take occasion to worship the idol; you therefore ought not so to eat as to give occasion to the fall of your weak brother."
Still the apostle holds forth this truth unto us, That such a man certainly sins, who uses his liberty so that it becomes a snare and a stumbling-block to his weak brother, by emboldening and encouraging him unto sin.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv8–13 But meat commendeth us not to God,.... These words…
But meat commendeth us not to God,.... These words are said by the apostle, either as expressing the argument of such as had knowledge in favour of themselves, that what they did was a thing indifferent, by which they were made neither better nor worse; nor did they look upon it as meritorious, or expect any favour from God on account of it, and therefore were not to be blamed for using their liberty in the manner they did: or else they are spoken by him as his own sense: and the meaning is, that eating of meat, any sort of meat, and so that which is offered to idols, or abstinence from it, neither one nor the other recommends any to the love and favour of God; , "does not bring near", or give access to God, as the Syriac version renders the phrase; does not ingratiate any into his affectionate regards, or make them acceptable unto him:
for neither if we eat are we the better; or "abound", not in earthly but spiritual things, in the graces of the Spirit, and particularly in the esteem and good will of God, upon which such an action can have no influence:
Read full note →
neither if we eat not are we the worse; or are deficient; meaning not in temporal things, but, as before, in spiritual; true grace and piety are not a whit the less; nor are such persons less in the love and favour of God, which is not to be known and judged of by any such action, or the omission of it.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv8, 10, 11, 12, 13 But meat commendeth us not to God - Neither…
But meat commendeth us not to God - Neither by eating, nor by refraining from it. Eating and not eating are in themselves things merely indifferent.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv8–13 Verse 8. Meat commendeth us not to God] No…
Verse 8. Meat commendeth us not to God] No such feasts as these can be a recommendation of our souls or persons to the Supreme Being. As to the thing, considered in itself, the eating gives us no spiritual advantage; and the eating not is no spiritual loss.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v9 1Co 8:9-13. But take heed lest this liberty of…
1Co 8:9-13. But take heed lest this liberty of yours — To eat indifferently of such meats; become a stumbling-block — An occasion of doing what they judge unlawful; to them that are weak — Uninformed in the truth, or unsettled as to their knowledge of it. For if any man see thee — Whom he believes to have more knowledge than himself, and who really hast this knowledge, that an idol is nothing; sit at meat in the idol’s temple — To an entertainment there; shall not the conscience of him that is weak — Scrupulous; be imboldened — Encouraged by thy example; to eat those things which are offered to idols — Though with a doubting, or perhaps condemning conscience. And through thy knowledge — Thy abuse and unseasonable discovery of thy knowledge; shall the weak brother perish — Be drawn into sin, which is the way to destruction; for whom Christ died — And for whom thou wilt not lose a meal’s meat: so far art thou from laying down thy life for him! We see Christ died even for them that perish. Observe this, reader. But when ye sin so — Act so uncharitably and contrary to your duty; against the brethren — Who, as well as you, are the children and heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; and wound their weak conscience — Their ill-informed and scrupulous consciences, leading them into guilt, and hazarding their salvation; ye sin against Christ — Whose members they are, and who had such regard for their souls, that he died in ignominy and torture to redeem them, and hath done all that example or precept could do, to make his followers enter into such humane and compassionate views. Wherefore — For a conclusion, I lay down this general rule, that all things indifferent in their own nature are to be forborne, when the use of them would be a cause of scandal, or an occasion of falling to others, of turning them out of the right way, or hindering them therein; yea, though such things may have a great deal of apparent expediency in them. So that if meat — Of what sort soever it be; make my brother to offend — Lead him into sin, and cause him to contract guilt, and wound his conscience — I will eat no flesh while the world standeth — But live entirely on vegetables; lest I make my brother to offend — That I may not scandalize and insnare him in evil, if there be no other way of avoiding it. Of such importance do I esteem the preservation of one endangered soul: and in this, and other things of a similar nature, I pray that God may incline you to use the like self-denial for your own sakes, and for the peace and honour of the Christian Church. But who will follow this example? What preacher or private Christian will abstain from any thing and every thing, lawful in itself, when it offends a weak brother?
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv8–13 But meat commendeth us not to God - This…
But meat commendeth us not to God - This is to be regarded as the view presented by the Corinthian Christians, or by the advocates for partaking of the meat offered in sacrifice to idols. The sense is, “Religion is of a deeper and more spiritual nature than a mere regard to circumstances like these. God looks at the heart. He regards the motives, the thoughts, the moral actions of people. The mere circumstance of eating ‘meat,’ or abstaining from it, cannot make a man better or worse in the sight of a holy God. The acceptable worship of God is not placed in such things. It is more spiritual; more deep; more important. And therefore, the inference is, “it cannot be a matter of much importance whether a man eats the meat offered in sacrifice to idols, or abstains.” To this argument the apostle replies 1Co 8:9-13, that, although this might be true in itself, yet it might be the occasion of leading others into sin, and it would then become a matter of great importance in the sight of God, and should be in the sight of all true Christians. The word “commendeth” παράστησι parastēsi means properly to introduce to the favor of anyone, as a king or ruler; and here means to recommend to the favor of God. God does not regard this as a matter of importance. He does not make his favor depend on unimportant circumstances like this.
Neither if we eat - If we partake of the meat offered to idols.
Read full note →
Are we the better - Margin, “Have we the more.” Greek Do we abound περισσεύομεν perisseuomen; that is, in moral worth or excellence of character; see the note at Rev 14:17.
Are we the worse - Margin, “Have we the less.” Greek, Do we lack or want (ὑστερούμεθα husteroumetha); that is, in moral worth or excellence.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv8, 10, 13 Meat doth not commend us to God. It is…
Meat doth not commend us to God. It is an admonition to those, who because they knew that meats offered to idols were not worse, would not abstain, even when this scandalized the weak brethren: he tells them that eating or not eating of them, does not make them more acceptable to God, nor puts them to any inconvenience, since they may get other meats: therefore they ought not to make use of their liberty, when it proves a stumbling-block to the weak, and makes them sin. (Witham)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv8–13 Other old manuscripts read, "Neither if we do not…
Other old manuscripts read, "Neither if we do not eat, are we the better: neither if we eat are we the worse": the language of the eaters who justified their eating thus [LACHMANN]. In English Version Paul admits that "meat neither presents [so the Greek for 'commendeth'] us as commended nor as disapproved before God": it does not affect our standing before God (Rom 14:6).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv8–13 8. But—This verse, as being repeated by Paul from…
8. But—This verse, as being repeated by Paul from the Corinthians’ letter, might also be included in quotation marks. It is in continuation of their apology for free eating of idol sacrifices. Their first position was, (1Co_8:1,) we all have a gnosis that an idol-god is a nothing; this, their second, is, that meat being a physical substance is not impregnated with any moral quality, and so can make a man neither better nor worse. Paul grants this last position, and yet shows that it does not secure the safety of the practice.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv8–13 8. But meat commendeth us not to God] Rather,…
8. But meat commendeth us not to God] Rather, presenteth us. Cf. 2Co_4:14; Col_1:22; Col_1:28. The same word is used in Rom_14:10 (where it is translated stand, literally, be presented). Cf. ch. 1Co_6:13. It is not Christ’s creature, doomed to perish, but Christ Himself that shall present us to God. The use of meats, like that of all outward things (cf. Col_2:22) is a matter of absolute insignificance in itself. They are of no real advantage to us, if we use them; to abstain for the sake of abstaining is a matter of equal indifference in God’s sight. The only question of real importance is, what effect will our conduct have on others?
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv8–13 (8) But meat . . . .—By showing that…
(8) 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. The concluding words of this verse are inverted in later MSS., as in the English version, and the better order is: “Neither, if we eat not, do we lose anything in our relation to God; nor, if we eat, do we gain anything in our relation to Him.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv8–13 But meat commendeth us not to God; rather, will…
But meat commendeth us not to God; rather, will not recommend us. God would think none the better of them for eating idol sacrifices, even though they asserted thereby a freedom which was the reward of clear insight. This verse will serve to show why "fasting" is nowhere rigidly enjoined on Christians. If fasting is a help to our spiritual life, then we should practise it, but with the distinct apprehension of the truth that God will think none the better of us merely because we eat less, but only if the fasting be a successful means of making us more pure and more loving. If the Bible had been in the hands of the people during the Middle Ages, this verse would have rendered impossible the idle superstition that to eat meat in Lent was one of the deadliest sins, or that there was any merit whatever in the Lenten fast except as a means of self improvement and self mastery. This verse says expressly, "We lose nothing by not eating; we gain nothing by eating.
Vers. 8, 9.
Read full note →
Christian liberty.
No doubt Paul was regarded as the great champion of liberty. The apostles at Jerusalem were more under the influence of the old Judaism; Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles, gained a larger spirit of tolerance through his association with men of various races and habits. The Spirit of God set him free from restraints by which many good men were fettered. To him the party of knowledge, of emancipation, of liberalism, would naturally look for countenance and encouragement, when scruples about trifling matters of outward observance perplexed the conscience and threatened to divide the Church. And, so far as his views of religion were concerned, Paul was with this party; yet, as this passage reminds us, in his view, religion had one side turned towards God, and another side turned towards men, and he would not have this second side overlooked.
I THE INDIFFERENCE, AS A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE, OF OUTWARD OBSERVANCES.
1. The general doctrine. It is not what we eat or abstain from eating that God regards, that God will judge us by. The reasons for this doctrine are obvious.
(1) The nature of God, who is a Spirit, and in whose view what is spiritual is of overmastering and supreme interest. Priests in their pettiness may think matters all important which in God"s sight are trifles light as air.
(2) The nature of man, who is a reasonable and spiritual being, and whose highest welfare cannot consist in what food enters into his body and what food he refrains from partaking.
(3) The nature of Christianity, which is a spiritual religion, and seeks to take possession of human nature and so to influence human life. It is not,a religion of feasts and fasts, but a religion of faith, hope, and love.
2. The special application of the doctrine. The query propounded by the Corinthians is fairly answered. It is as though Paul had said, "So far as God is concerned it makes no difference at all whether you belong to the scrupulous party, and refrain from eating meat which may possibly have been offered in idol sacrifice and worship, or to the liberal party, and, despising such distinctions, eat whatever is purchased in the market or placed upon the table. These habits of yours cannot make you either better or worse, cannot commend you to God or involve you in his displeasure; he looks at something very different from such things." So with parallel cases; matters may have importance as regards the Church, as regards human society, which are utterly unimportant as regards our relation to God.
II THE DANGER OF CARRYING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY SO FAR AS TO INJURE OUR FELLOW MEN. A Christian in these early days might be himself quite superior to the small scruples by which his neighbours were influenced. But, at the same time, he might be justly called upon to consider his weak brethren, and not to put an occasion of offence in the path of any. The best things may be abused, and it is often so with liberty. Paul cared not a whit for idol feasts and sacrifices, and, had he considered only himself, he would have eaten meat that had been presented in an idol temple; but he cared for his brethren, and he cared for them all the more if their knowledge was slight, their faith feeble, their apprehensions of spiritual realities obscure. He would not break the bruised reed; he would rather abstain than injure a brother"s conscience. It was a grand view of Christian duty this which Paul took; a noble resolution this which Paul formed. A lesson to the whole Church of God in all the various phases of experience and trial through which it is called to pass. Let Christians think first, indeed, of their own position in the sight of the heart searching God. But let them not omit to think of their relation to their brethren in Christ, and let them so act that none may be troubled in conscience or caused to fall by reason of any want of consideration and sympathy, by reason of any disposition to push liberty to too great an extreme. God is our Lord; yet his people, however feeble, are our brethren. Their interests are dear to our hearts, and our intercourse with them is to be guided not only by wisdom but by charity. T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v11 And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish,…
1Co_8:11-13
And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?
Read full note →
Suffering, the measure of worth
I. The weak brother is not of much value in himself; but he is made valuable by the fact that Christ died for him.
1. How much of themselves men will give for one another, measures the worth in which that other is held. I love you, may mean only you are my plaything, or I love myself; but true love will give up for anothers sake time and convenience. It will employ all the resources of its being for the sake of that friend. And when, in some great exigency, all this will not avail, then love, in the glory of its power, goes to death as to the consummation of itself, and leaves a witness to itself which all mankind recognises (Joh_15:13).
2. Even when this is the fruit of instinct, it is impressive. The bear that dies defending its cubs, the hound that pines and dies on its masters grave, the little sparrow that fights the hawk and owl, not for itself, but its nest--one must be heartless indeed to feel no admiration for these fidelities of love.
3. But how much more when ones love and suffering spring from a perception of excellence in an object loved? The greater the nature that suffers, the higher is the estimate which his example gives of that for which he suffers. And by this analogue, the suffering and sacrifice of a Divine Being carries out the witness to its utmost conceivable extent.
4. We see at once a new element in the hands of the apostles after this testimony of the Master. No sooner was He gone up than they began to preach that man was valuable on account of what Christ suffered for him. A man for whom Christ died became a very different creature from a man before Christ had died for him. The fact that Christ died for a man made him worth protecting if he was weak.
5. This suffering was not founded upon mans character. It would be a testimony to the value of good character if Christ had come to die for it; but that was the very point of conflict between Him and the Pharisees. They held that Christ ought to suffer and identify Himself with them; but He most scornfully rejected that, and said, I came not to call the righteous, but sinners. I came to give My life for the lowest and worst men. He more sharply than any other discriminated between good and bad character; yet there was something behind character to which Christ was bearing witness, viz., the abstract original value which inheres in human life. The death of Christ is a testimony to the value of man in his very substance, if I may so say; so that the least and the lowest have the essence of value in them.
II. The effect which this fact has of determining mans place, his rights, and his worth.
1. Consider what the worlds way of estimation has been in judging men. Earliest, men measured physical power. Now the habit of society is to classify men into relative ranks of value by the effects which they are able to produce; by what they are worth to society. Therefore, when a great man dies men say, The world has met with a great loss. If a poor man dies, men say, The world has one less incumbrance. The dog that hunts well is better than a pauper that does not do anything, in the estimation of men. If a race are not able to hold their own against aggressive peoples men say, There is no help for it; they must go. They judge men by the standard of political economy. There is no such contempt on the globe for anything as man has for man. We need therefore to go back to this testimony of our Masters example, who came by His suffering and death to bear a testimony of that element in human nature which every man has like every other.
2. This view interprets the future. A man in the lowest condition here is not the man that he is to be; and when you have measured and weighed him, you have not estimated what he is worth in the kingdom to come. He has before him another world; and we are told most solemnly by our Saviour that the men who are the most regarded here will be worth the least there. The first shall be last, the last first. Many of the plants of our northern summer come up quickly, and do exceedingly well; but they are coarse and rank at that. And there are many seeds that I plant by the side of them every spring, which in the first summer only grow a few leaves high. There is not sun enough to make them do what it is in them to do. But if I put them in some sheltered hot-house, and give them the continuous growth of autumn and winter, and then, the next summer, put them out once more, they gather strength by this second planting, and lift up their arms and spread out the abundance of their blossoms. The plants that grew quickest the year before, are now called weeds by their side. And I doubt not that there is many a man who rushes up to a rank growth in the soil of this world, and of whom men seeing him, say, That is a great man, but there are many poor, feeble creatures in this world who will be carried safely on and up, and rooted in a better clime; and then, lifting up their whole nature, they will come out into that glorious summer of fervent love in heaven, where they will be more majestic, more fruitful, than those who so far surpass them here.
III. The effects which this doctrine will have upon our feelings and conduct to our fellow-men.
1. Let us suppose that we are in full possession of the Christian feeling--Christ died for that man. It will be a powerful restraint upon lawless liberty, and will bring us into such sympathy with all our fellow men, that, at the sacrifice of our own convenience and rights, it will be a privilege and a pleasure for us to serve them. Some men go through life, saying, I will take care of myself, and you must take care of yourself; and they feel that they have a right to go through life thus. Now no one who has drunk deeply of the spirit of the Master will refuse to accept the injunction, We that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak. It is as if a strong swimmer should turn back and lend a helping hand to buoy up and lift across the flood one that was weaker or less able to swim than himself. We have no right to disregard, much less to hinder, the welfare of any human being. Have I a right to go tramp, tramp, tramp, according to the law of my physical strength, among little children? If I have had better privileges than others, and have come to conclusions which they cannot understand, have I a right to scatter sceptical notions through society? A man is bound to hold his knowledge, his conscience, his pleasures, &c., subject to this great law: Christ died for men, and I must live for men, and restrain my power, and forego my rights, even for their sake. We have a right to employ men, of course; but there is a habit which prevails in society of thinking that a man has a right to just so much of his fellow-men as he is able to extract from them. A man may fleece a hundred men during the week, and take the communion on Sunday, and nobody thinks that there is any violation of good-fellowship or of orthodoxy. But that great law of fellowship which knits every man to every other man on the globe says not only Thou art his brother, but, Thou art responsible for his weal as well as thine own. Thou shalt not in any wise harm him.
2. This is one of the most precious of doctrines to those that look and long for a better period of the world. It was almost the only thing we could urge when slavery rent our land. The single strand that held against the storms of avarice and the fire of lurid lusts was the single argument, For these Christ died. And that held; and the most wonderful change toward regeneration that the world ever saw has taken place by the simple operation of that great law. And what have we now for the weak races? Men of a hard heart and an iron-shod foot are preparing to tread these people down and deny them their rights. And I take my stand by the side of every weak creature, whatever his nationality may be, and I say, For him Christ died. Give men at the bottom a chance to come up. God, the highest, bowed down His head and came upon the earth and suffered for the weakest and the worst.
3. Christian brethren, we must arm ourselves betimes. The seeds of a better public sentiment must be sown. Then let no man be discouraged because he is labouring with a very much neglected class. There is no material in this world which is un-promising. No man is beyond salvation since Christ died for him. (H. W. Beecher.)
But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.--
Sin against Christ
It is a proof of the intimate character of the relation between Christ and His people that it should be the very climax of reproach against Christians because of any course they followed, to charge them with sin against Christ. Language like this could be used of no merely human teacher and leader. To act without due charity is a sin against Christ because it is--
I. To offend against Christs commandment, viz., to love one another. This was to be the test of Christian discipleship.
II. To contradict Christs example. What Christ enjoined He exemplified in His whole life, and at last in His death.
III. To injure Christ in the person of one of His little ones. Christ so identified Himself with His disciples as to regard what was done to them as done to Himself. Whosoever is indifferent to the welfare of the Lords servants, sins against the Lord Himself, and shall not be held guiltless. (Prof. J. R. Thomson.)
Wounding a weak conscience
I. What a weak conscience is.
1. Such a conscience is improperly called tender; for tenderness imports quickness and exactness of sense, which is the perfection of this faculty, whose duty it is to be a spiritual watch to give us warning of whatsoever concerns us. It is opposed to a hard or seared conscience; but a weak conscience is opposed to a strong, which very strength consists in the tenderness or quickness of its discerning power.
2. The weakness of conscience here spoken of is opposed to faith (Rom_14:2), by which is not meant that act by which a man is justified, but signifies the same with knowledge (1Co_8:7; 1Co_8:10). The clear discernment of what is unlawful, and what is only indifferent, together with a firm persuasion of the lawful use of such indifferent things, all circumstances being duly observed in the using of them. And therefore, on the other side, the weak conscience is such a one as judges otherwise of the nature of things than indeed it is, supposing that to be unlawful in itself which really is not so.
3. From whence it follows that weakness of conscience implies--
(1) An ignorance of the lawfulness of some certain thing or action. That ignorance must be such a one as is not willing.
(a) Because it must be such a one as renders it in some degree excusable; but so far as any defect is resolved into the will, it is in that degree inexcusable.
(b) Because it must be such an ignorance as renders the person having it the object of compassion.
But no man pities another for any evil lying upon him, which he would not help, but which he could not. And consequently it must be resolved into the natural weakness of the understanding faculty, or else the want of opportunities or means of knowledge. Either of which makes ignorance necessary, as it is impossible for him to see who wants eyes, and equally impossible for him who wants light.
(2) A suspicion of the unlawfulness of any thing or action.
(3) A religious abstinence from the use of that thing of the lawfulness whereof it is thus ignorant or suspicious. It brings a man to that condition in Col_2:21.
II. What it is to wound or sin against it.
1. To afflict or discompose it; i.e., to rob it of its peace. For there is that concernment for Gods honour dwelling in every truly pious heart which makes it troubled at the sight of any action by which it supposes God to be dishonoured. And as piety commands us not to offend God, so charity enjoins us not to grieve our neighbour.
2. To encourage or embolden it to act against its present judgment or persuasion: which is, in other terms, to offend, or cast a stumbling-block before it: i.e., to do something which may administer to it an occasion of falling or bringing itself under the guilt of sin. So that as the former was a breach upon the peace, this is properly a wound upon the purity of the conscience.
3. The conscience may be induced to act counter to its present persuasion.
(1) By example; which is the case here expressly mentioned, and principally intended.
(2) By command; as when a person in power enjoins the doing something, of the lawfulness of which a man is not persuaded. (R. South, D. D.)
Dissuasives against an undue use of Christian liberty
1. A weak conscience is easily wounded.
2. The infliction of such a wound is a violation of the law of love.
3. It is a sin against Christ Himself. (J. Lyth, D. D.)
Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth.--
The great argument for abstinence
I. Arguments for abstinence are often grounded on.
1. Danger to ourselves.
(1) We may be led to excess.
(2) We may injure ourselves, physically or morally.
2. Wastefulness.
3. Intrinsical wrongness.
II. Such arguments frequently lack cogency.
1. The third will have no application to a large class of things indifferent in themselves, and it is generally in respect of such that the war is waged.
2. The others are open to question. Conflicting facts will be adduced, and where knowledge is imperfect the contest is likely to continue. And the argument often acts as a temptation, for when human nature is warned of peril it often delights to show how brave and steadfast it can be.
III. The apostolic argument. St. Paul--
1. Enlarges the view so that others are included as well as ourselves. Abstinence is sometimes not for ourselves at all, but only for our fellows (Php_2:4). We are units, but united units. We cannot legislate for that little area which we ourselves occupy.
2. Recognises the influence of example. Our words are a spiders web; our acts are a cable. Men do what we show them, not what we tell them. And we cannot persuade men that we are strong and they weak.
3. Asserts the obligation of self-sacrifice for the welfare of others. That which is indifferent becomes anything but that if our indulgence is injurious to others. Our sacrifice is small indeed compared with their possible loss. This argument has special force for Christians.
(1) They have the example of self-sacrifice in their Master (verse 12). They have a more impressive view of the issues involved in the fall of a fellow-creature.
(2) Their non-abstinence may be a sin against a fellow-Christian (verse 11). The fall may be, not of an unbeliever, but of a brother associated in Christian fellowship and service, and thus be--
(3) A sin against the brethren (verse 12), i.e., the Church, bringing scandal and disgrace through a brothers fall. And also--
(4) A sin against Christ (verse 12). For Christ and Christians are one--He the Head and they the members.
(5) They have in their ears such utterances of their Masters as Mat_18:6; Mat_25:40. (W. E. Hurndall, M. A.)
Personal sacrifice is
I. Necessary.
1. Not only in meats and drinks, but in many other things.
2. To avoid offence.
II. Is obligatory--
1. On Christians.
2. By the law of love, and--
3. The example of Christ.
III. Is magnanimous. It is--
1. A conquest of self.
2. An act of benevolence.
3. A feature of renewed nature.
IV. Will be abundantly compensated.
1. By the approval of conscience.
2. The benefit of others.
3. The approbation of God.
4. Final reward. (J. Lyth, D. D.)
Abstaining for the good of others
Do you not think, dear friends, that though it may be quite proper for you to take a glass of wine or a glass of beer, and there is no sin in the thing at all, your example may be injurious to somebody to whom it would be a sin to take it? Perhaps some persons cannot take a glass without taking two, three, four, five, or six glasses. You can stop, you know; but if your example leads them to start, and they cannot stop, is it right to set them going? Though you have a clear head, and can stand in a dangerous place, I would not recommend you to go there if somebody else would thus be placed in danger. If I were walking by the cliffs of Dover, and I happened to have a very fine cool head, yet, if I had my sons with me, and I knew that they had ordinary kinds of heads, I should not like to go and stand just on a jutting piece of crag so as to induce them to try the same position. No; I should feel, Though I can stand here, you cannot; and if I stand here, perhaps you will attempt it, and fall, and I shall be guilty of your blood. Let us treat men as we would treat our sons; and let us be weak to their weakness, and deny ourselves for their sakes. Is not that good and proper reasoning? It seems to me that it is. If it is not good reasoning, it is safe. I never have asked God to forgive me for my sin in going without strong drink. I have never seen any commandment in Scripture showing that I am bound to take it. I feel free to do as I like about abstaining; but especially free when for the good of others I prefer to abstain altogether. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Christian consideration for others
Now you may say to me if you please as a man, Mr. Gough, I am a moderate drinker; I use these things in moderation, and therefore I set you a good example. I say at once, Sir, you do not. Well, if I drink one glass and there stop, is not that an example for others? No, sir; no, sir; no more than if there was a bridge built over a gulf, to fall into which was utter ruin, and that bridge will bear 150 lbs., and you weigh 1501bs., and you say to that young man (and he weighs 200 lbs.), Follow my example.--I dont like the look of that bridge. Dont be a fool, I have walked it forty years; proved it perfectly safe; never cracked with me; never sprung with me; perfectly safe.--But I dont like it. Dont be foolish; you can do that which I can do; now I am setting you a good example; follow me step by step. That young man attempts to follow it; he sets his foot on the centre; crash! crash! down he goes, with a shriek, into destruction. Now, did you set a good example? No, because you didnt take into consideration the difference of weight. Before you can say to a young man, I set you a good example, you must take into consideration the difference between his temperament and yours, his susceptibility and yours. (J. B. Gough.)
.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv9–13 9. Take heed lest … this liberty of yours,…
9. Take heed lest … this liberty of yours, etc. The meat itself made one neither better nor worse (verse 8), but if those who “had knowledge” ate it, it might prove a stumbling-block, the occasion of the fall of those who were not so well informed and were weaker.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On vv8, 10, 11, 12, 13 8, 9. Here Paul certifies that it makes no…
8, 9. Here Paul certifies that it makes no difference whatever whether they eat the meat offered to idols or not. As there is no Jupiter, it does not hurt the beef because the ox was sacrificed to Jupiter; neither does it hurt the mutton because the sheep was sacrificed to Apollo, from the simple fact that there is no Apollo; neither is the turkey the worse because offered as a sacrifice to Diana, as there is no Diana. Hence the meat question, which was much agitated in the Corinthian church, many of whom were too poor to have their own animals, is reduced to a very simple solution. It does not affect the meat an iota to offer it to the idol. “See that this liberty of yours be not a stumbling block to the weak.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv8–13 But food will not commend us to God: neither,…
But food will not commend us to God: neither, if we eat not, are we the worse; nor, if we eat, are we the better . [There is no inherent virtue either in eating or fasting.]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v12 Sin. (See Scofield "Rom 3:23").
sin
Sin. (See Scofield "Rom 3:23").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v9 A warning against the reckless use of Christian liberty:
A warning against the reckless use of Christian liberty:
v. 9. But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling-block to them that are weak.
Read full note →
v. 10. For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol’s temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols,
v. 11. and through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?
v. 12. But when ye sin so against the brethren and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.
v. 13. Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.
The connection between this passage and the foregoing one is the following. Paul, writing about defilement of conscience in the case of weak brethren, v. 7, intercepts the objection on the part of the stronger Christians: "You say that the conscience of the weaker brother is defiled by eating of idol sacrifices. But how? We have been taught that God will not judge us on account of such trifling external matters. " This Paul shows to be true, but he now adds a word of caution and rebukes the attitude of the stronger Christians with a very serious reference to the consequences of their uncharitable behavior: See to it, beware, lest this your right become an obstacle to the weak. It was true enough that they had the liberty of choice in the matter in itself; they were right in contending that there was nothing sinful in their partaking of meat offered to idols. But this right ceased to be a matter of Christian liberty, a thing indifferent, when indulging in it proved an obstacle to their weak brother over which he stumbled, when their eating gave occasion to their weak brother to sin.
Paul now explains in detail: For if anyone should see you, a person that has knowledge, that is proud of his right understanding of Christian liberty, reclining at a table in an idol’s temple, would not his conscience, while he is still weak, before he has overcome his peculiar prejudices, be edified to the point that he will eat of the idol sacrifices? To such extremes, then, the stronger brethren in the congregation at Corinth went that they freely accepted invitations to banquets in the temples of the heathen gods. In doing so, they probably had the idea that this was the most effective way of persuading the weak of their foolish position. But that was a questionable edification, and could result in only one thing, namely, in harm to the weak. Without having really understood and conceded the matter properly, the latter would also accept such invitations, with the result that their consciences would be defiled. The behavior of the strong was thus the very opposite of charitableness, it was selfish presumption. Instead of building up and strengthening the weak brother, therefore, there perishes the weak person on the ground of thy knowledge, the brother for whom Christ died. The appeal to Christ’s work is to the strongest motives which can compel a Christian: brotherly love and loyalty to Christ. The strong Christian should remember that his brother cannot be brought to better knowledge by such inconsiderate behavior; on the contrary, the very object of Christ’s death in the case of the weaker brother is frustrated by such thoughtless behavior. Christ died to bring redemption to all men; His salvation is actually ready before the whole world, and it is His intention that it be realized in the case of every person. But here the weak Christian is tempted by the strong to partake in a meal which he regards as sinful, and thus defiles his conscience, loses his faith, and is placed on the road to perdition, all on account of the heartless folly of the Christian that makes it a point to boast of his knowledge and to insist upon the exercise of his Christian liberty.
The apostle now describes the further result of such conduct: In so sinning against the brethren and in striking their weak conscience a blow, you are sinning against Christ. So it is not only the weak brother that sins in such a case by his yielding, but the stronger Christian that tempted him sins as well. And his is the greater damnation; for not only does he strike the conscience of the weaker a blow that dazes him in his spiritual life, shocks and deranges it, renders it useless, but he sins directly against Christ. See Mat 18:6; Mat 25:40-45. It is here that the act reaches its climax and exhibits the height of its guiltiness, since the purpose of the Savior’s death cannot be realized on its account. Every offense by which we sin against the brethren is offered to Christ, and to strike the weak conscience of a brother is all the more reprehensible since it is done with the pretext of working in his interest, although the offender meanwhile fatuously displays his own selfishness.
All the more strongly, by way of contrast, the self-denial of Paul stands out: Therefore verily, if food offends my brother, I will surely not eat meat forever, lest my brother be offended. Note that he says "my brother," with special emphasis. For the sake of brotherly love and in the interest of weaker brethren, the apostle is ready to yield even more of his liberty; he will give up even other foods about which another may still be in doubt, not only the food offered to sacrifices. So the principle which must regulate the use of things indifferent at all times and under all circumstances is that of love.
Summary.In discussing the question of partaking of foods which have been sacrificed to idols, Paul shows that regard for the spiritual welfare of the weaker brother must be the motive which regulates the behavior of the stronger Christians in things indifferent.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv8, 11 food will not present us to God
food will not present us to God
Paul speaks of food as though it were a person who could make God welcome us. AT: "food does not give us favor with God" or "the food we eat does not make God pleased with us" (See: Personification)
Read full note →
We are not worse if we do not eat, nor better if we do eat it
This can be stated in positive form. AT: "Some people might think that if we do not eat some things, God will love us less. But they are wrong. Those who think that God will love us more if we do eat those things are also wrong" (See: Double Negatives)
someone who is weak
believers not strong in their faith
sees you, who have
Paul is speaking to the Corinthians as if they were one person, so these words are singular. (See: Forms of You)
his ... conscience
what he understands to be right and wrong
emboldened to eat
"encouraged to eat"
translationWords
free
stumble
know
false god
temple
conscience
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv8, 9, 11, 12, 13 8:8 The Corinthians’ relationship with the living God was…
8:8 The Corinthians’ relationship with the living God was not affected by eating or not eating, whatever the source of the food (cp. Rom 14:17).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.