Lesson #12

1CORINTHIANS 8
Lesson #12
THE FULFILLING POWER OF LOVE

• Memory Verse: 1Cor 13:13

• From 1Corinthians 8 and going forward, Paul changes the theme of the book. Therefore, it is beneficial to us to review what we have learned to this point.
• Review of 1Cor 1-7

• The evidence of carnality

that exists in immature believers and results in an immature church:

• Divisions:

Paul began this book with a discussion of the divisions that existed in the church. Christians exhibited an attitude of pride as to which leader they followed. Divisions prevent unity in a church, and unity is power.

• Envy and strife:

Christians did not love each other as they should. Instead, they destroyed the unity in the church with arguments, civil law suits, and a spirit of hatred.

• The unimportance of the Word of God:

The carnal Christian has no interest in the Bible as God’s Word speaking to him. As a result, he is not open to God speaking to him about his life or convicting him of sin so that repentance can bring change.

• Judging other Christians:

A spirit of condemnation and pride destroyed unity. You can imagine the impression that a new believer would experience in a church where a mean spirit of condemnation reigned supreme. You would not want to stay long in that church! It is this spirit that inhibits church growth.

• Fornication:

A perpetuated tolerance of sin without instruction to bring people to repentance and restoration causes a church to become more like the world and less like what God intended.

• Marriage problems:

A church that is plagued with an abundance of marriage problems will not grow. Why? Strong marriage and family values are the foundation of the church for they create an atmosphere where children can grow in the knowledge of God, where they can gain salvation, and the knowledge of how to live a righteous Christian life.

• Puffed up in pride:

Many of the problems in the Corinthian church stem from the root cause of pride. Paul has used the phrase “puffed up” when referring to many of these different problems.

• Together with bringing these problems to the surface, Paul also gave us counsel as to how to solve these problems:

• Think differently:

Christians should think differently from the way the world thinks.

• We should think the way God thinks for we have the “mind of Christ” in us through the Holy Spirit that enters the believer when he is first born again.
• We should think differently about leaders who are God’s gifts to the congregation. They are responsible to be stewards of the mysteries of God and bring God’s direction to the church.
• Believers should think fellowship, love, and unity when dealing with other believers.
• Develop an interest in God’s Word:

When a believer truly realizes the full importance of his life’s decisions and how that will affect his position in eternity, he will live differently. He will take seriously his responsibility to mature in Christ, for one day he will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ.

• Discern and not judge:

Believers should develop their ability to discern right from wrong in their own lives from God’s perspective, so that they stand for righteousness in love, without judging and condemning other believers.

• Develop a spirit of faithfulness and humility:

Faithfulness is a character trait of God that He wants his believers to copy. Faithfulness gives stability to life, and stability in Christ is honored and blessed by God.

• Read Jam 1:6-12
• Notice the relationship between faithfulness or stability and humility in that passage.
• Notice the blessing that results when a life possesses faithfulness and humility.
• There is a strong faith to endure temptations and trials.
• There are answers to prayer.
• God is able to use you for His glory.
• There is a general blessing of God that covers your life.
• Develop a clean lifestyle:

When the believer allows the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to convict him of sin and call him to repentance, he maintains his close relationship with the Lord. In this way, the believer will mature in Christ and God can use that believer for His glory.

• In these first chapters of 1Corinthians, Paul has given us two major principles for mature Christian living. These two principles are the first in a series in this book. These principles will help you make wise and mature decisions in your daily life that will bless your life and make you a strong witness to the world.

• Principle #1:

I will do nothing that places me in any kind of worldly bondage.

• By using this principle, the believer maintains his freedom in Christ and lives with a clear conscience.
• Principle #2:

I will do nothing that defiles my body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

• By using this principle, the believer maintains his purity and freedom from sin.
• Read 1Cor 8:1-3 Introduction to a new theme
• Paul begins this section of the book with an introduction to what will be his theme from chapters 8 through 10.
• His new theme is Christian liberty and his pertinent example is diet.
• Should Christians eat meat that was offered to idols?
• In the context of our time and culture, we might say that this is not an important topic. However, in Paul’s day and culture, this was a very important topic.
• Even though we may not easily see the importance to us, this topic is very relevant to us today, as we will see.
• Some background on Paul’s time period and the Corinthian culture: Where’s the best beef?
• Diet in the pagan culture of the city of Corinth was extremely important, as it still is with many cult religious groups.
• The best place to purchase the best quality of meat in Corinth was a very large area around the temple of Apollo where they sold meat that had been offered in sacrifice to idols.
• In the Greek culture of Corinth, the people believed that evil spirits entered the flesh of animals. Taking that animal to the temple as a sacrifice, cleansed the animal from any evil spirit.
• The pagan people in Corinth brought the very best of their animals to that temple to sacrifice them to their pagan gods. They believed that the idol ate the spirit of the animal whether that spirit was good or evil. The flesh of the animal that was left after the sacrifice was considered clean and quickly taken to the meat market next to the temple and sold.
• Diet in the Jewish culture of the Old Testament and into the New Testament was, and still is, very important.
• God gave the Israelites dietary restrictions beginning in the book of Genesis when he first declared that there were “clean” and “unclean” animals. (Gen 7:2)
• This aspect of dividing animals into these two categories became part of the Law of Moses in the books of Exodus, Deuteronomy, and Leviticus.
• God told the Israelites not to eat of animals that were designated “unclean”. (Deu 14:1-3) Why?
• Modern science has discovered that certain animals created by God for the purpose of cleansing the earth are “unclean” for food for humans. These animals are called, scavengers, because they eat the garbage, the refuse, and other dead animals. These scavengers are found in the sea, on land, and in the air.
• Therefore, it was for the safety and protection of his people that God demonstrated his love when He said that they were not to eat of these kinds of animals that can cause serious effects on human health.
• Modern man, Christian or not, eats freely the majority of these animals today. Modern science has made them acceptable for human consumption without harm to human health. For example, pork is prone to a worm that causes the disease of trichinosis and results in death. Many Jews, even today, do not eat it. However, science has taught us to cook pork fully to avoid this health hazard.
• You can imagine the problem in the Corinthian church where:
• =1= some of the people were Jews who grew up with dietary restrictions and insisted that Gentile Christians should keep those same Old Testament restrictions.
• =2= others in the church were Gentiles who came out of that pagan culture that worshipped Aphrodite and Apollo. They wanted to show that they had made a total separation from that pagan culture. In this way their friends and family would know they now belonged to Christ. It was their testimony of a new life in Christ.
• =3= a third group of Christians knew about their liberty in Christ that they could put to the side the restrictions as unimportant in a time of grace.
• Like other types of carnality that entered that church and caused divisions and strife in that church, this issue became a big problem that threatened to further divide the church.
• This same issue raised its head in other churches where Jews and pagan gentiles came to know Christ and fellowshipped together in churches where Paul ministered.
• However, this was not the first time this issue occurred. Remember in Acts 10:15 God showed Peter the vision of all kinds of unclean animals as determined in the Law of Moses. God was indicating to Peter that they were in a different epoch of time, a period of grace. Christians now have spiritual liberty and nothing was considered unclean.
• The problem in the Corinthian church:
• Some believers thought that it was not a sin to eat meat offered to idols because in Christ we are free.
• Other believers thought it was a sin to eat meat offered to idols because it was a compromise with pagan idolatry.
• When these two groups ate together in fellowship, some were offended by the actions of the others.
• The root cause of the problem and the root of the answer:
• Paul says that knowledge puffs up one’s pride. Each side of the argument claimed to have the more excellent knowledge of what people should do and should not do. It was pride in that knowledge that caused the argument and the division in the Corinthian church.
• In contrast, Paul says that the Christian should have love because love fills a person while pride is nothing more than hot air. Therefore, love is the answer to pride.
• Read 1Cor 8:4-6
• The reality of the problem with meat offered to idols:
• =1= Due to the fact that God is the only true God in this world, all other gods are fakes.
• =2= Therefore, if all idols and gods are nothing in spiritual reality, then nothing happened to the meat that was placed in front of an idol.
• =3= As a result, Christians were free in Jesus Christ to eat anything they wanted to eat.
• What is the freedom in Christ that Paul explains?
• Through the blood of Jesus Christ, the believer is free from the Old Testament Law and ordinances that guided the believer’s conduct outwardly.
• Read Col 2:14-17
• Now, in this age of grace, the believer is free to be guided by the Holy Spirit inwardly.

• Read 1Cor 8:7-13 The power of love
• Paul did not stop his explanation by telling them which of the two sides he would vote for if the resolution of the problem was determined by popular vote because it was not a matter of right or wrong.
• Paul said that he would vote in favor of those who knew the Bible. He said that the Christian could decide to eat the meat or not, and that it was the believer’s decision.
• Notice that Paul does not believe in legalism in churches to control believers’ behavior. He does not make a hard and fast rule and nail it to the church door. The decision is left for the Christian to decide. Why?
• Freedom in Christ means that the Holy Spirit inside the believer helps the believer to make wise decisions.
• It is the Holy Spirit who has the responsibility of convicting people of their sins.
• It is the Holy Spirit who has the responsibility to mature the believer.
• If churches make a list of rules to govern Christian behavior, they assume the job of the Holy Spirit. Man does an inadequate job of encouraging people to live according to God’s standards in contrast with the more excellent work done by the Holy Spirit.
• If churches make a list of rules to govern Christian behavior, it destroys the unity in the church for there is always someone who takes it upon himself to be judge and jury over others in the church. We have already seen Paul say that they were not to judge each other.
• Therefore, the better method is freedom in Christ, permitting the Holy Spirit in each believer to help him make wise decisions.
• Since to eat meat or not to eat meat was not the important issue, what was the important issue?
• The important issue is Christian liberty tempered with love.
• Some believers are weak Christians, like the majority in the Corinthian church. They did not understand that idols were nothing. They were without knowledge. Having just come out of a pagan religion, their minds still held the concept that idols and gods were powerful.
• Therefore, with a weak conscience, they could not eat meat offered to those gods, and they complained about the other Christians who had no problem with living free in Christ.
• The mature Christian believer will consider how his actions affect other Christians.
• In other words, because of the divisions in the Corinthian church, this issue of eating meat only perpetuated these divisions.
• This lack of love that failed to limit personal freedom so as to unite the body of Christ was another evidence of carnality in that church.
• Paul admonished the Corinthian Christians for a lack of love one for another.
• They were using their Christian liberty without responsibility and the result was damage to the cause of Christ in the lives of other believers. (11)
• Summary and Application:
• What is the principle that should guide your decisions in life?
• We have already seen Paul give us two principles for guiding our decisions in life:

• Principle #1 = I will do nothing that places me in any kind of worldly bondage. (6:12)
• Principle #2 = I will do nothing that defiles my body, the temple of the Holy Spirit, because I have been bought with a price. (6:19-20)

• Now we can add a third principle to our list:

• Principle #3 = The believer should always consider the consequences of his decision on immature Christians.

He will restrict his liberty to do something or not to do something with supreme love for other people.

• Christian liberty must always be tempered with love for other believers.
• Paul said that knowledge of Christian liberty puffed up one’s pride but love fills up our being to touch others for Christ.
• Paul will emphasize this principle later in the book and give us other principles related to the principle in this lesson.

HOMEWORK
1 CORINTHIANS 9
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher for correction.

• Application of 1Cor 8
• In your Christian walk with the Lord, have you ever considered Principle #3 before making decisions?
• If so, write your testimony here.
• If not, pray and ask God to remind you of this principle, the next time you make a decision to use your Christian liberty.

• Preparation for 1Cor 9
• Read 1Cor 9:1-18
• How is Paul’s personal ministry an example of Principle #3?
• Read 1Cor 9:19-23
• What is Paul’s motivation for not using his Christian liberty?

• Memory Verse: 1Cor 9:19