1 Corinthians 8:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up.

NIV: Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that 'We all possess knowledge.' But knowledge puffs up while love builds up.

NASB: Now concerning food sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes one conceited, but love edifies people.

CSB: Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that "we all have knowledge." Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

NLT: Now regarding your question about food that has been offered to idols. Yes, we know that 'we all have knowledge' about this issue. But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church.

KJV: Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.

NKJV: Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.

Paul turns the corner from his instruction about marriage and sexuality to a new issue. In previous verses, Paul referred to some letter written to him by the church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 7:1). The issue he discusses here seems to be another topic raised in that earlier message. Based on the context of the following chapters, it's possible that they are challenging his former teaching about eating food that has been offered to idols.

Paul begins to tackle this issue in chapter 8 and then seems to leave it behind in chapter 9 and the first part of chapter 10. Taken as a whole, all three chapters lead up to his final declarations about when it is acceptable for a Christian to eat food that may have been offered to an idol and when it is not.

In challenging him and his former teaching on the issue, the Corinthians may have been the ones to originally say "all of us possess knowledge." Just as Paul seems to quote a phrase in 1 Corinthians 7:1, he appears to do the same in this verse. The believers in Corinth might mean this expression in the sense that they, too, understand this issue and feel qualified to declare it is moral to eat idol food. Paul does not disagree with their initial idea. All believers do possess knowledge about God through the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14–15).

However, Paul responds that knowledge alone is not enough. Knowledge on its own merely puffs a person up. This comes from a Greek root word, phuisoo, which literally means to inflate or blow something up, as one would with a balloon. Describing a person, it implies arrogance and egotism. Paul contrasts this with one of several Greek words translated as "love." In this case, he applies agapē, a self-sacrificial love. That kind of love builds people up. As Paul will famously write in chapter 13, someone who has knowledge without love is nothing.

Paul will go on to show that love for others is one reason these Christians must not knowingly eat food offered to idols.

First Corinthians 8:1–13 begins Paul's longer response to the question of attending functions in idol temples or eating food offered to idols. This appears to blend Paul's own statements with references to the Corinthians' own remarks. It seems the Corinthians had previously written to Paul saying they are not ''worshiping'' the idols. They know idols don't really exist and that only God is real. Paul replies that the problem here is not lack of knowledge but lack of love. Some brothers and sisters in Christ cannot eat idol food with clear consciences. Those who are stronger risk leading those who are weaker into sin and, in that way, sinning themselves.

Paul responds to Corinthian objections about restrictions on eating in idol temples, or eating food offered to idols. Those were activities deeply integrated into everyday Corinthian society. Paul agrees that idols are nothing and food is only food. The problem is that some Christians from idol-worshiping backgrounds cannot eat idol food with a clear conscience. To do so is sin, for them. If those with stronger consciences—those who understand the truth better—lead their weaker brothers into sin, they themselves will also be guilty of sinning against their brothers and against Christ.

First Corinthians 8 begins Paul's response to another issue raised by the Corinthians. Earlier passages dealt with sexuality; this section discusses idolatry and food. Paul agrees that idols don't truly exist and only God is real. The problem is that some of the less-developed Christians aren't convinced of that. For those believers, they violate their consciences by eating idol food. Even if it's misguided, violating one's conscience is a sin (Romans 14:23). If those with stronger consciences lead these weaker brothers and sisters into sin, they will be guilty of sin themselves. Paul continues to balance liberty with care for others over the next chapters.

First Corinthians is one of the more practical books of the New Testament. Paul writes to a church immersed in a city associated with trade, but also with corruption and immorality. These believers are struggling to properly apply spiritual gifts and to resist the ungodly practices of the surrounding culture. Paul's letter gives instructions for real-life concerns such as marriage and spirituality. He also deals with the importance of unity and gives one of the Bible's more well-known descriptions of love in chapter 13.