1 Corinthians 8:4-6

Applebury's Comments

Text

1 Corinthians 8:4-6. Concerning therefore the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no God but one. 5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or on earth; as there are gods many, and lords many; 6 yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we unto him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through him.

The Truth About Idols and About God (4-6)

Commentary

Concerning therefore eating things sacrificed to idols.After discussing love as the principle that is to regulate knowledge, the apostle comes to grips with the real issue about idols and the use of food that has been sacrificed to them. His remark tends to support the suggestion that the Corinthians had arrogantly stated their position on the matter rather than asking for information.

we know that no idol is anything in the world.The Greek, literally rendered, is as follows: We know that nothing idol in world. Obviously we must supply the verb and two articles to make sense in English: We know that nothing is an idol in the world. But the thought is clear: Nothing in the world is an object of worship. A tree is not an object of worship, nor a stream, nor a mountain, nor the heavenly bodies. And if these things are not gods, certainly no idol made by man's hands is to be considered as an object of worship. Paul declared in his speech at Athens that we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and device of man (Acts 17:29). The God that made the worlds and all things therein, he being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands: neither is he served by men's hands as though he needed anything, seeing he himself giveth to all life, and breath, and all things (Acts 17:24-25).

The idol, then, does not represent any real god. It is the projection, in some way, of man's own concept of God. It is perhaps the expression of what man needs from God. Idolatry expressed this largely, though not exclusively, as materialistic needs.

there is no God but one.This is the basic issue of Christian theology. It is clearly stated in the Old Testament and upheld in the New Testament. Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah: and thou shalt love Jehovah thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). Jesus upheld this view on various occasions. See Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:29-30; Luke 10:27. Speaking to the Samaritan woman, He said, God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth (John 4:23). John's prologue gives us three basic thoughts on this issue: (1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; (2) And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father) full of grace and truth; and (3) No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. Paul wrote to the Colossians, in him dwelleth all the fulness of the God-head bodily (Colossians 2:9). Perhaps the clearest explanation of the Christian doctrine of the Godhead is given by Paul in his letter to the Philippians: Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man; he humbled himself as a man, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross. Wherefore God highly exalted him, and gave unto him the name which is above every name; that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things on-earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:5-11).

This knowledge is essential to the understanding of the problem faced by the church at Corinth. To love God and to be known by Him is to be considerate of the brother who has not fully comprehended the doctrine of the Godhead.

For though there be that are called gods.In his teaching about the one true God, Paul is not unaware of the fact that many people believed there were many gods and many lords. As a matter of fact, almost everything was a god to the pagan. His was a religion of fear and works by which he hoped to gain favor with his god. Christianity, on the other hand, is the religion of grace and faithfaith expressed in obedience to the revealed will of Christ. Paul recognized the problem: What was the man who did not know the truth about God but thought that his idols were gods to do about such things as eating food that had been used in connection with the worship of idols?

to us there is one God.To the Christian, there is only one God, the Father. It is not surprising that many new converts from paganism did not fully understand this truth. Consequently, he did not understand about eating food sacrificed to idols. He had been used to thinking of almost everything in the heavens and on the earth as gods. It was difficult to grasp the essential teaching of Christianity about the only God.

of whom are all things, and we unto him.God, the Father, is the creator of the heavens and the earth and all that is in them, How is it possible for man to imagine that he can make a god?

God had a purpose in the creation of man: Man was created to glorify Him. As to the Christian, Paul declared that in Christ, God chose us before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:4-6). God chose the believer in Christ; the believerand that means all who will, Jew or Greekchooses God the Father as He is revealed in Christ.

one Lord, Jesus Christ.The word Lord was used by the Jews instead of Jehovah, a name that refers to the eternal, living God. New Testament quotations from the Old Testament are usually from the Septuagint version, which accounts for the fact that the word Lord is found in the New Testament instead of Jehovah which is found in the Old. So when Paul calls Jesus Christ Lord, he is affirming in the most positive manner possible the deity of Jesus the Christ.

through whom are all things, and we through him.Christ is presented as the agent of creation, and the Father as the source of all things. All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made (John 1:3). The same idea is given by the writer of Hebrews as he speaks of the Son through whom God made the worlds (Hebrews 1:2). Paul speaks of Him in the Colossian letter as the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and unto him; and he is before all things, and in him all things consist (Colossians 1:15-17).

We Christians are made new creatures through Him. Note Paul's remark to the Ephesians: Even as truth is in Jesus: that ye put away, as concerning your former life, the old man, that waxeth corrupt after the lusts of deceit; and that ye be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, that after God hath been created in righteousness and holiness of truth (Ephesians 4:21-24).