Lessons #271 and 272
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Food sacrificed to idols: care for the weak (1Cor 8:8-13)
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 freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 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? 11 So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12 When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 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.
The message of this section of 1 Corinthians 8:8-13 that we are considering is that You should use your freedom obtained through knowledge of truth in a way not to cause a weak believer to sin. In our last study, we indicated that we would expound it by firstly, noting the basis of the message as given in verse 9. Secondly, by considering the knowledge you should have to enable you apply this message. Thirdly, by considering a specific action that you need to take to ensure you comply with the message. We have considered the basis of the message in verse 9 that focused on the caution issued to believers who have knowledge to be careful not to cause an immature believer to sin. Those with knowledge could eat food sacrificed to idols because they know idols are nothing but that could cause an immature believer to do the same and probably get involved in some form of idolatry. It is possible that such a person may not make a distinction between food that is specifically described by others as food for idols and that associated with idol in a general sense of food offered to idol but available for public consumption. We indicated that eating of food sacrificed to idols by a mature believer while not wrong may cause the immature believers to sin against their conscience and inadvertently get involve in idolatry. So, we proceed to consider the knowledge one should have to carry out the message we are considering.
There are three elements of knowledge that you should have to enable you carry out the message of the passage we are considering. A first element of the knowledge you should have to execute the message we have stated is that which recognizes what is important before God. In other words, if you must use your freedom in Christ or the right you have to do that which is not sinful, you must be able to distinguish between what is essential and what is not, in advancing your relationship with God. This responsibility is based on the sentence of 1 Corinthians 8:8 But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.
Verse 8 serves as a bridge between the previous section of 1 Corinthians 8:4-7 and the present section of verses 8-13 in that it connects the instruction of our present section to the preceding through the subject of food but also conveys that the focus of the present section is not the same as the preceding. This interpretation is warranted because of the conjunction but that begins the verse in the NIV. The word “but” is translated from a Greek particle (de) that may be translated “but” to indicate a contrast between what follows and what precedes. However, when a simple connective is desired, without contrast being clearly implied it may be translated “and” although in certain occurrences it may be left untranslated as some of our English versions have done. Because of our interpretation, the Greek particle may be translated “now,” as in the NET, to indicate that verse 8 connects what follows to what precedes it without an indication of contrast instead to convey that a new topic is being introduced that is loosely connected with the preceding section.
Be that as it may, the main point the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul conveyed to us in verse 8 is that food properly used does not affect our fellowship or relationship with God. I use the verbal phrase “food used properly” in stating this truth the Holy Spirit wants us to learn because misuse of food can certainly affect our fellowship with God. How? You may ask. It is that gluttony (excessing eating) is a sin, and sin affects one’s fellowship with God. That gluttony is a sin is implied in the instruction cautioning a person to avoid excessive eating in Proverbs 23:2:
and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.
Furthermore, gluttony is often associated with “drunkenness” that is also a sin, as we read, for example, in Proverbs 23:21:
for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
This aside, the truth the Holy Spirit wants us to learn from 1 Corinthians 8:8 is that food used properly does not affect our fellowship with God. In other words, food does not make a believer to maintain fellowship with God. It is this truth that is given in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 8:8 food does not bring us near to God. Scholars debate on whether this sentence or the entire verse 8 is what the Corinthians said or the apostle’s words. We cannot resolve this debate but that does not materially change what we have said about the point the Holy Spirit conveyed to us through the apostle. Again, the point is that food used properly does not affect our fellowship with God. To see that the sentence we are considering is concerned with fellowship with the Lord, we need to understand, based on the NIV, what it means to bring believers near to God.
The expression “bring…near” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (paristēmi) that literally may mean “to present a person to another person” as the word is used for Peter presenting Dorcas to other believers in Joppa after she was raised from the dead as recorded in Acts 9:41:
He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive.
The word in connection with sacrifice may mean “to bring, to offer” as it is used in the instruction of the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul in Romans 12:1:
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
The word may be used as a legal term with the meaning of “to bring or present” someone before a judge as that is the sense of the word in what the Holy Spirit says about believers appearing before God in 2 Corinthians 4:14:
because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
The word may mean to be in proximity to something hence means “to be near, to be at, to be nearby” as the word is used by Apostle Paul to indicate the Lord stood by him and provided him the strength he needed to proclaim the gospel as we read in 2 Timothy 4:17:
But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 8:8, the word has the sense of “to cause to be present” or “to bring.”
The meaning of the word as we have stated since the verb is related to God in the context raises the question: How can a believer be caused to be present with God or brought near to Him? To begin with, we should recognize that God is omnipresent, meaning that He occupies every conceivable space so that He is by His very nature near everyone including unbelievers. So, to say that a believer is brought near to God or caused to be present with Him is to speak of being in a special relationship either negatively or positively. Negatively, bringing a believer to be present with God could be in terms of judgment since our Greek verb is used by Apostle Paul in the sense of a believer standing before God for judgment in Romans 14:10:
You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.
Positively, bringing a believer to be present with God could mean being in fellowship with Him. Since verse 12 of 1 Corinthians 8 references sin that disturbs a believer’s fellowship with God, the apostle was probably thinking of a believer’s fellowship with God. Thus, the concept in 1 Corinthians 8:8 of bringing a person near to God is similar to what the Holy Spirit gave us through in James 4:8:
Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
What does it mean to come near to God in James 4:8? The expression “to come near” is translated from a Greek word (eggizō) that is used to describe the physical approach of one person towards another. Now since we cannot approach God in a physical sense, it follows that coming near to God is the same as having fellowship with God. In effect, the command here in James 4:8 to come near to God is an encouragement to believers to approach God reverentially. It is a command to maintain close association with God. This maintenance of close relationship with God is well known in the OT time, especially as it relates to coming to the temple in Jerusalem. It is this maintenance of close relationship with God that the psalmist described in Psalm 73:28:
But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.
This drawing near to God is an important concept that drawing from the OT picture of going to worship in the temple, the writer of Hebrews commands believers to approach God through Jesus Christ who has removed the barrier that kept man from having a closer relationship with God under the OT worship system as we read in Hebrews 10:20-22;
20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
Anyway, the sentence of 1 Corinthians 8:8 food does not bring us near to God, as we have stated, conveys the truth that food used properly has no effect on our fellowship with God.
To elaborate on the truth that food used properly has no effect on our fellowship with God Apostle Paul makes two additional statements that concern food. The first additional statement is given negatively to convey that our fellowship with God is not made worse by not eating food as in the clause of 1 Corinthians 8:8 we are no worse if we do not eat. The verbal phrase “are…worse” is translated from a Greek word (hystereō) that may mean “to lack, be in need” as it is used by Apostle Paul to indicate the Corinthians do not lack any spiritual gift in 1 Corinthians 1:7:
Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.
The word may mean “to come short of” or “to fail to reach” as it is used to describe what was not attained by the Israelites during the exodus, as we read in Hebrews 4:1:
Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.
The word may mean “to be destitute” as in describing heroes of faith in the past that demonstrated faith despite difficulties they faced, as stated in Hebrews 11:37:
They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 8:8, the word means “to experience deficiency in something advantageous or desirable” and so means “to lack” or “to be worse of.” Thus, the clause we are no worse if we do not eat means that believers do not lack fellowship with God because they do not eat food. In effect, if a person does not eat food that would not affect fellowship with God, that is, that would not affect God’s approval of the person. The point that is conveyed to the Corinthians is that not eating food offered to idols in Corinth does not affect their fellowship with the Lord. We can understand this because fellowship with God is determined by presence or absence of sin. As we have stated, unless gluttony is involved there is no way eating food affects fellowship with God or affects divine approval. It is this truth that the apostle conveyed negatively in the clause we are no worse if we do not eat.
Apostle Paul conveyed positively the same truth that food used properly has no effect on our fellowship with God through the second additional statement of 1 Corinthians 8:8 and no better if we do. The word “better” is translated from a Greek word (perisseuō) that when used of things may mean to be present in abundance and so may mean “to overflow” as in the prayer of Apostle Paul for believers’ love to be demonstrated in such abundance to one another that it can be said to be overflowing, as in 1 Thessalonians 3:12:
May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.
When used of persons, the word may mean “to abound, to have an abundance” as in the statement of Apostle Paul concerning God making His grace available in abundance to the Corinthians to enable them to be generous and to be involved in good work, as we read in 2 Corinthians 9:8:
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
The word may mean “to excel” as in the commendation and encouragement to the Corinthians by Apostle Paul to be outstanding in generosity, as stated in 2 Corinthians 8:7:
But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 8:8, the word has the sense of having something in abundance so it may mean “to have more” or “to be better off.”
The meaning of the Greek word translated “better” in the NIV that we have given as “to have more” or “to be better off” raises the question as to what we should have more of or in what sense the Corinthians are to be better off because some of them do not eat meat sacrificed to idols. It could mean that the Corinthians would have more of divine approval or that they are better off because of divine approval. Another interpretation is that of being more in fellowship with God. It is this meaning that we believe the Holy Spirit intended for us since we have indicated the necessity of being in fellowship with God as being of greater importance than eating or not eating meat offered to idols. In effect, eating or not eating food sacrificed to idols does not advance a person’s fellowship with the Lord as we have previously stated.
In any case, the concern of the apostle in 1 Corinthians 8:8 that is applicable to the universal church of Christ is to recognize what is important before God so that we become flexible in those things that are not essential for spiritual advancement. This truth should govern everything we do. It is more important for a believer to be in fellowship with the Lord than it is for such a person to use the individual’s right or freedom in Christ. A believer in fellowship with God is one that pleases Him. No one can please God unless the individual is controlled by the Holy Spirit as implied by the assertion of Apostle Paul in Romans 8:8:
Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
If a person that is controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God, then the converse is that only the person controlled by the Holy Spirit can please Him. This is implied by what the apostle stated in the next verse of the eighth chapter of Romans, that is, Romans 8:9:
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
Anyway, the concern of the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 8:8 is doing things that will lead to fellowship with God. The implication is that we should be more concerned with pleasing God than pleasing ourselves. Therefore, we need to briefly consider the issue of pleasing the Lord as that is necessary for being in fellowship with Him.
There are certain things the Scripture specifically state as pleasing God but let me cite five of these. First, being devoted to the Lord is pleasing to Him as implied in the passage we cited previously, that is, Romans 12:1:
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
The verbal phrase to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God conveys the fact that if a believer dedicates self in serving God, such dedication would be pleasing to Him. Second, conducting one’s life in accordance with the truth revealed in the Scripture certainly pleases God as we read in 1 Thessalonians 4:1:
Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.
Third, involvement in intercessory prayer pleases God as we read in 1 Timothy 2:3:
This is good, and pleases God our Savior,
You may say that this verse says nothing about prayer and so may dispute the point we have made. It is the context that indicates that what pleases God in this verse is intercessory prayer. This is because the demonstrative pronoun this refers to intercessory prayer on behalf of those in authority and all people. Of course, no believer could truly be involved in intercessory prayer of any kind without being in fellowship with God, that is, controlled by the Holy Spirit. Fourth, taking care of aging parents and grandparents is pleasing to God as stated in 1 Timothy 5:4:
But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.
Fifth, being generous to others is pleasing to God as stated in Hebrews 13:16:
And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
In any event, the first knowledge you should have to carry out the message of 1 Corinthians 8:8-13 is recognition of what is important before God. This means, you should learn to differentiate between what is essential for spiritual advancement and what is not so that you should forgo your freedom or right you have in Christ when an activity, that in and of itself is not sinful, would adversely affect another believer’s spiritual life.
The second element of knowledge required to carry out the message of 1 Corinthians 8:8-13 is the impact of your action on the spiritual life of a weak believer. The believer with knowledge may do something that a weak believer could perceive to be wrong because of the individual’s conscience since our conscience would normally operate because of the norm or standard that we have. Hence, a weak believer’s conscience based on the person’s knowledge would judge the action of the believer with knowledge to be wrong. However, realizing that the believer who is more informed is more matured than the weak believer, could cause the weak believer to act against the individual’s conscience. When that happens, the weak believer would have the condemnation of conscience which will lead to lack of peace in the soul. The Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul demonstrated this truth with the case of a believer with knowledge eating meat sacrificed to idols that may cause a weak believer in Corinth to do the same in a way that would lead to idolatry on the part of the weak believer. This situation is given in the question of 1 Corinthians 8:10 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?
A weak believer is described here in the phrase with a weak conscience. We have previously indicated that the phrase as applied to Corinthians, describes believers in Corinth whose consciences were not properly informed by truth of God’s word about idols. This means that those described as weak in conscience are those weak in their faith because they have not learned the truth that idols are nothing or they are not grounded in the word of God to recognize this fact. Based on the example, we used previously during our study of 1 Corinthians 8, weak believers in some culture may refer to those who have the opinion that drinking of any kind is a sin. In effect, there are some cultures where Christians think that it is sinful to use any alcoholic beverage when in fact the Bible says no such thing although drunkenness is a sin. Such kind of believers would be equivalent to the weak in Corinth. That aside, the apostle described the situation that might cause problem for the weak in Corinth. It is what such person may perceive regarding the believer with knowledge as stated in the conditional clause of 1 Corinthians 8:10 if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol’s temple.
The word “sees” is translated from a Greek word (eidon) that may mean “to perceive with the eye” hence means “to see” as in Apostle Paul’s desire to see the believers in Rome as conveyed in Romans 1:11:
I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—
The word may mean “to experience” as it is used to describe that Enoch did not die, as recorded in Hebrews 11:5:
By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 8:10, the Greek word means “to see,” that is, “to perceive by sight.” Thus, it is likely that the weak believer would in passing through a given location of an idol temple, perceive a matured believer eating in the temple of an idol.
We use the word “matured” to describe the believer described in the clause of 1 Corinthians 8:10 who have this knowledge. The demonstrative pronoun this does not appear in the Greek since the literal Greek reads you the one having knowledge. The word “knowledge” is translated from a Greek word (gnōsis) that basically means “knowledge” with two major nuances. Knowledge may refer to “the content of what is known” as it is used by Apostle Paul in describing what is known about God in 2 Corinthians 10:5:
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Knowledge may mean “comprehension or intellectual grasp of something” as the word is used in Apostle Paul’s claim to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 11:6:
I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way.
It is in the sense of “comprehension or intellectual grasp of something” that the word is used our passage of 1 Corinthians 8:10. The believer described in the clause of 1 Corinthians 8:10 who have this knowledge is one that is spiritually matured because such a person has a comprehensive understanding regarding idols as nothing. It is because of this that such an individual would go to the temple of an idol to eat meat that has been sacrificed to an idol as in the verbal phrase of 1 Corinthians 8:10 eating in an idol’s temple.
What is it that the weak believer observed or perceived the believer with knowledge doing in the idol’s temple? The answer lies in part with the word “eating.” The word “eating” is translated from a Greek word (katakeimai) that may mean “to lie down” usually of a person who is sick or bedridden, so it is used to describe Aeneas that Apostle Peter healed as we read in Acts 9:33:
There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years.
It is in the sense of to lie down of a person who is temporarily sick that it is used in Apostle Paul’s healing of the father of Publius in the island of Malta as narrated in Acts 28:8:
His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him.
The Greek word may mean “to recline” in a couch or table for the purpose of dining. The Greek word is used four times in the gospel generally in a setting of a banquet or a dinner where it is stated that the Lord Jesus was invited to a dinner, or the invitation is implied. It is used to describe the banquet that Levi gave to the Lord Jesus and others following his call by the Lord as narrated in Luke 5:29:
Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.
It is in the sense of participating in a dinner that the word is used to describe the Lord Jesus’ eating of a meal in the house of a Pharisee who invited Him to his house during which a woman anointed His feet as we read in Luke 7:37:
When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume,
An implied invitation to dinner applies to where our Greek word is used to describe the Lord Jesus dinning in the house of Simon the Leper as we read in Mark 14:3:
While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.
The verbal phrase reclining at the table may be translated reclining for a meal. Although there is no statement in this passage that indicates that the Lord Jesus was invited to a dinner, that is implied because he was not alone in eating in Simon’s house. This we know from the protest of some of the people present, including His disciples, where the Lord was eating when they saw the woman anoint Jesus’ head with an expensive perfume as we read in Mark 14:4–5:
4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? 5 It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.
That aside, our Greek word is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 8:10 in the sense of to recline in a table to eat. Its usage in the gospel records, as we have indicated, is for attending a dinner party that one is invited. It is this understanding that helps us to comprehend what the weak believer perceived regarding the believer with knowledge.
The situation in Corinth would have been that those with knowledge might have attended banquets at the temple of the idols at the invitation of their pagan neighbors or even their friends prior to salvation. They would have done so because they know that idols are nothing. Information available to us indicates that banquets were held at the temple although not necessarily at the main temple of a given idol but probably at the side rooms attached to the temple for such activities of having banquets or private parties. Those who invited their friends usually offered portion of the meat that was sacrificed to their idols. The believers in Corinth with knowledge would attend such banquets because of their understanding but those who are weak may attend such banquets because of the influence of those with knowledge but may be drawn into idolatry as we have already stated. The point is that the weak believers observe those with knowledge in the temple area eating meat offered to idols, but their action would cause problem for weak believers. The situation we have stated would be similar to a matured believer that goes into a bar where all kinds of immoral activities take place but do not participate in any of them since the person went because the bar may have the best food in the city. A young believer may see that and conclude that there is nothing wrong with being in such a bar but then would be caught in some of the sinful activities
In any case, a weak believer in Corinth who sees the matured believer or believer with knowledge eat in the temple area or attend a banquet given in the temple associated with an idol would be affected negatively although the apostle probably spoke of it positively to be sarcastic. We say this because of the impact on the weak believer of observing the matured believer or believer with knowledge in the temple of an idol eating food known to be sacrificed to an idol as stated in the last part of 1 Corinthians 8:10 offered to a given idol as won’t he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols?
The word “emboldened” is translated from a Greek word (oikodomeō) that may mean “to build” in the sense of to erect a structure as it is used in the Lord Jesus’ charge against the Jews of His time for building monuments for the prophets their forefathers killed, as we read in Luke 11:48:
So you testify that you approve of what your forefathers did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.
The word may mean to help improve ability to function in living responsibly and effectively hence, it means “to strengthen” as it is used to describe the action of the Holy Spirit in the early church, as we read in Acts 9:31:
Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.
The word means “to build up” in the sense of believers strengthening one another as the word is used in 1 Thessalonians 5:11:
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
The word may mean “to rebuild” as Apostle Paul used it to describe a return to the law that he has preached against as not required for salvation that came through Jesus Christ would be reestablishing what he had already rejected in Galatians 2:18:
If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 8:10, the word means “to build up” in the sense of to help improve a person’s moral strength or conscience although the apostle was probably being sarcastic.
A second impact of the action of the one with knowledge on the weak believer is harming such an individual as stated in 1 Corinthians 8:11 So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. This verse implies that the word “emboldened” used in verse 10 is sarcastic. How? You may ask. To begin with, the very first word So that begins the verse signals that what follows is not commendable. Of course, it is difficult to be certain in what sense our English translations that used the word “so” to begin the verse intended its use. This is because the word “so” as an adverb could mean “in the way described”, that is, “thus” or “subsequently, then.” As a conjunction “so” may be used to introduce result or reason in which case the word “therefore” or “so that” is used. The ambiguity of how to interpret the use of the word “so” in the English at the beginning of verse 11 notwithstanding, the word “so” is translated from a Greek conjunction (gar) that has several usages. For example, it can be used as a marker of inference with the meaning “so, then, by all means” or it can be used as a marker of cause or reason for something in which case it may be translated “for, because.” In our context, it is subject to two interpretations. It could be interpreted as a marker of explanation of a preceding clause, especially as an answer to the question of verse 10 in which case it may be translated “yes” or “certainly” or “indeed.” The implication would be that verse 11 gives an answer to the question of verse 10 regarding the eating of meat sacrificed to an idol by the weak brother which is not good. This being the case, then the apostle intended for us to recognize that what he stated in the question of verse 10 is sarcastic. Another interpretation is to take the Greek conjunction as a marker of inference so it can be translated “certainly” or “by all means” or “so” or “then.” The implication of this interpretation is that verse 11 states what results from a weak believer eating meat sacrificed to an idol. Each of these interpretation makes sense so that it is probably the case that both meanings are intended in a combined fashion. We mean that the apostle would mean that “yes” the weak believer would be emboldened sarcastically to act since the result of such a move on the part of the weak believer is disastrous. If a person is emboldened to do something that is harmful to self the courage involved has to be regarded as sarcastic. It is for this reason that we say that the first word “so” that begins verse 11 of 1 Corinthians 8 signals that the word “emboldened” used in verse 10 should be understood as the apostle being sarcastic.
Anyway, the result of the action of the weak believer eating meat sacrificed to an idol tells us that Apostle Paul described sarcastically the courage summoned by the weaker believer in eating meat sacrificed to an idol in verse 10. But before the apostle states the true state of the weak believer in terms of the harm to be suffered by such a believer, he described the weak believer in the clause of 1 Corinthians 8:11 this weak brother, for whom Christ died. This clause reminds us of two factors those described as strong in Corinth, and so all of us, should bear in mind as we utilize the freedom or right, we have in Christ. The first factor is the relationship between those described as weak and those described as strong. The second factor is the value God placed on the believer who would suffer spiritual harm because of the action of the strong believer. We proceed to consider these two factors in a little more detail.
The first factor we indicated we should bear in mind as we apply the freedom or right, we have in Christ is the relationship we have with believers who would suffer spiritually due to our action. We are to remember that there is a spiritual bond between us and those who may be affected by our action. I think that in general it is because people do not think of their relationship to others that causes them to act in such a way as not to be concerned with the impact of their action on others. I am saying that if we slow down to think of the impact of our action on those related to us, we may reconsider our action. People, for the most part, are careful not to harm members of their families and so they try not to do things that would adversely impact them. Of course, they do not think much about the impact of their actions on others that are not related to them. A good example of this kind of thing is that demonstrated by politicians who make laws that they intended to affect others but not themselves. I recall many years ago of two politicians who raved regarding homosexuality and wanted to enact laws regarding those who are involved in that sinful conduct but when members of their families were identified as belonging to this group, they quickly changed their view. Of course, I do not mean that homosexuality is not a sin, for it is, but I used it to show how people quickly change their views or actions when they know it would affect members of their families. Anyway, the point we are concerned is that believers should recognize the relationship between them and those who might be harmed spiritually by their use of their spiritual right or freedom in Christ. There is more much more to be said about the first factor we should bear in mind regarding the impact of our action on those who are related to us both physically and spiritually although the emphasis is with the spiritual relationship. However, we are out of time so we will take the subject in our next study.
12/04//20