Thursday
Evening Bible Study
August
28, 2014
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid to die? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it
build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision Is the church loved? Target 4400 words / 3500 words
Next Week: God’s Not Dead
In Paul's day, Corinth was the capitol of the province of Achaia (southern
Greece), and was the most important city in Greece.
Corinth was quite the cosmopolitan city.
All merchant traffic flowing north and south, as well as east and west,
flowed through Corinth.
Corinth was also the center of the world’s greatest immorality.
The Temple of Aphrodite stood on the hill overlooking the city, and every
night 1,000 male and female prostitutes would come down into the city and
encourage the citizens to “worship” the goddess of love.
Paul had established the church in Corinth in AD 51 on his second
missionary journey. 0
He had spent 18 months teaching and
building the church before moving on.
It is now AD 56, and Paul is across the Aegean Sea in the city of
Ephesus. He’s
received a letter telling about the problems and questions in Corinth, and now
he’s writing back.
The first issue raised was about the divisions in the church.
(1 Corinthians 1:11 NKJV) For it has been declared to me
concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there
are contentions among you.
The second issue had to do with immorality
(1 Co 5:1 NKJV) —1 It is actually reported that there is sexual
immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the
Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife!
The third issue was about lawsuits
(1 Co 6:1 NKJV) —1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law
before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?
The fourth issue was about marriage.
8:1-13 Things Offered to Idols
The next question Paul answers for the Corinthians had to do with meat
sacrificed to idols.
Both Greeks and Romans practiced animal sacrifices.
Normally the less desirable portions of the animal were
burned on the altar, while the best portions were eaten.
If it was a sacrifice given by a family or
individual, then that family or individual would get the meat.
If the sacrifice was some sort of public or state
function, then the meat would be sold at the meat market located behind the
temple.
This would be some of the best meat, and it was always a lot cheaper than
shopping at the Vons down the street.
For the Gentile believer that grew up in the Greek/Roman culture, there
were questions about this kind of meat.
They couldn’t help but think that this meat was connected
to the goddess Aphrodite, or the god Mercury, or whatever “god” had been
worshipped.
(Early concerns
for “Mercury poisoning…”)
To be honest, this wasn’t an issue for the more
mature believer.
Those who were older in the faith knew that meat couldn’t
be “contaminated” by idols.
They would save money by purchasing their steaks for Labor
Day at the Aphrodite temple.
They wouldn’t blink an eye if a
pagan friend asked them over to a feast at their house.
The questions the more immature Corinthians asked went something like this:
“Is it okay to buy and eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols?”
“What if my friend asks me over to
his house and he serves meat sacrificed to idols?”
We don’t face this issue today for the most part.
Most of us don’t have any experience with “meat
sacrificed to idols”.
Yet the principles that Paul teaches here apply in many things today that weren’t an issue in Paul’s day.
:1 Now concerning things offered to idols: We know
that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.
:1 Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies
knowledge – gnosis
– knowledge signifies in general intelligence, understanding
This is knowledge based on
experience.
puffs up – phusioo – to inflate, blow up, to cause to
swell up
love – agape
– affection, good will, love, benevolence
Love based on a choice to value
another person, characterized by giving.
edifies – oikodomeo – to
build a house, erect a building; to restore by building, to rebuild, repair
Lesson
Knowledge vs. love
Knowledge isn’t a bad thing.
We have lots to learn about God, the Bible, and how God
wants us to live.
We’re going to see that one of the things that can
help you tell the difference between a “stronger” and a “weaker” brother is
knowledge.
The stronger brother has a more complete “knowledge” of
God and His ways.
People can get quite proud in the amount of
knowledge they can acquire, even though sometimes they don’t know as much as
they boast they do…
I think there’s something inside some of us that
is afraid of “being wrong” or feeling “stupid”, so we try to act smart and
argue our case to others.
Christians can be no different.
There can be little different groups of Christians who
get into studying certain things.
Some get into studying the cults and can become quite proud in their
ability to tell you what year Joseph Smith claimed to acquire his magic
glasses. Other groups study prophecy and
can tell you all the ins and outs of the pre-trib and
post-trib views, Gog and Magog,
and what kind of sandwiches we’ll eat in the
Millennium.
Knowledge can be beneficial. All these different kinds of knowledge of
Christian things can be helpful.
Yet if having a
lot of “knowledge” is the only thing we shoot for, we are most likely going to
become one arrogant son-of-a-gun.
A famous preacher once said,
“Some Christians grow; others just swell.”
It’s only love, agape love that is worth anything.
The issue isn’t
really how much you know, but how much you care about the people around you that
counts.
There’s an old saying that goes,
“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”
:2 And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he
knows nothing yet as he ought to know.
:2 he knows anything – oida – to see; to know
Knowledge by mental perception as opposed to knowledge by personal
experience (gnosis, ginosko)
The first “knows” is oida,
the next two are gnosis.
If anyone thinks that he has figured
it all out, he hasn’t experienced anything, he doesn’t
have any personal experiential knowledge as he should.
:2 he knows nothing
Lesson
Limits to knowledge
When I start to think that I’ve “arrived” because
I know so much about a certain subject, I am probably not in a very healthy
place.
Solomon was the smartest/wisest man ever (outside of Jesus). He wrote,
(Ecclesiastes
11:5 NKJV) As you do not know what is
the way of the wind, Or how the
bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, So you do
not know the works of God who makes everything.
It’s healthy to know your limits.
The book of Job is a difficult book
about messy, real life problems.
Though Job’s problems didn’t stem from him committing some kind of sin, Job wasn’t
without problems.
Job’s complaining about what he
perceived God was doing was just a little off.
There came a day when God showed up to remind Job who He was.
(Job 38:1–2 NKJV) —1 Then the Lord
answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: 2
“Who is this who darkens counsel By words without knowledge?
In other words,
Job didn’t know what he was talking about.
:3 But if anyone loves God, this one is known by
Him.
:3 this one is known by Him
known – ginosko – to learn
to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel
This is knowledge by “experience”.
There is one kind of “knowledge” that is better than all the rest, being
“known” by God.
Lesson
Getting “known”
Some people make it their life’s work to study certain people.
Some people make a living studying every word and every speech that the
President of the United States makes, without ever really knowing him, and certainly
without him knowing them.
Some people make it their obsession to know everything about a baseball
player, and are constantly trying to figure out why their favorite player is or
isn’t hitting well this season. Yet few actually know the player, let alone be known by
him.
Some people make it their life’s goal to study about God.
It is possible to study about God without ever coming to actually know God.
Sometimes you can tell it in their writings because they
lack the “warmth” of talking about God like He’s
someone they talk to on a regular basis.
They act more like a reporter writing an article about the president.
What a tragedy to know facts about God,
but without knowing Him, and Him knowing us.
God wants us to have a living, loving, working relationship with Him.
One of the things you tend to do with a person you are close to is to share
a meal with them.
Jesus said,
(Revelation
3:20 NKJV) Behold, I stand at the door and
knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I
will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
Jesus doesn’t want to be outside
of our lives, He wants to be a part of our lives.
We use terms to describe a living relationship with God as
“accepting Christ”, or “asking Jesus into your heart”.
This is what happens when we recognize our need for God,
and we willingly invite Him to be a part of our lives and trust Him to do that
very thing.
:4 Therefore concerning the eating of things
offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that
there is no other God but one.
:4 thing offered to idols – eidolothuton –
sacrificed to idols, the flesh left over from the heathen sacrifices
:4 we know – oida – to see; to know
Knowledge by mental perception as
opposed to knowledge by personal experience (gnosis, ginosko)
:4 that there is no other God but
one
We can figure out from the Scriptures that there is nothing
behind the “idols” that men build temples to.
God says through the prophet Isaiah.
(Isaiah 43:10–11 NKJV) —10 “You are My witnesses,” says
the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me. 11 I, even I, am the Lord, And
besides Me there is no savior.
(Isaiah 44:8 NKJV) Do not fear, nor be afraid; Have I not
told you from that time, and declared it? You are My
witnesses. Is there a
God besides Me?
Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.’ ”
(Isaiah 45:22 NKJV) —22 “Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.
:5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether
in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords),
:6 yet for 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 through whom we live.
:5 so-called gods
Just because there is no other true “God”, doesn’t
mean that there isn’t a bit of truth to the idea that there are powerful,
supernatural beings.
Paul will write a little further on to the Corinthians,
(1 Corinthians
10:20a NKJV) Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons
and not to God…
It is possible that there is a kernel of truth in the old “myths” about Zeus,
Apollo, and the other gods.
It is possible that ancient men had interaction
with demons masquerading as “gods”, and indeed a demon in comparison to man
would seem like a “god”.
:6 yet for us there is one God
The bottom line truth is that there is only one God.
He is the Creator, the originator
of all things – “of whom are all things”.
He is the goal of all creation – we
were made “for Him”.
You as His creation will not find
your higher purpose in life until you are living your life “for Him”.
There is also only one Savior, the
Lord Jesus.
It is through Him that we are saved.
It is through His life in us that
we exist and live.
:7 However, there is not in everyone that
knowledge; for some, with consciousness of the idol, until now eat it as
a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.
:7 there is not in everyone that
knowledge
knowledge – gnosis
– knowledge signifies in general intelligence, understanding
Knowledge by experience
Not every believer in Corinth was mature enough to realize that there are
no other “gods”. Paul calls these the
“weaker” brothers.
Paul wrote to the Romans that it
was the “weaker” person, the more immature one that didn’t
understand that food didn’t affect your relationship with Christ.
(Romans 14:1 NKJV) Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to
disputes over doubtful things.
:7 consciousness – suneidesis – the
consciousness of anything; conscience
:7 as a thing offered to an idol
These less mature believers would eat an Aphrodite Avocado Burger and start
feeling all guilty because they would think that they were eating Aphrodite’s
food, and participating in the worship of Aphrodite.
Though there was no such “god” as Aphrodite.
:7 their conscience, being weak, is defiled
conscience – suneidesis – the
consciousness of anything; conscience
weak – asthenes – weak,
infirm, feeble
defiled – moluno – to
pollute, stain, contaminate, defile
It is possible to have your conscience become stained by something that isn’t true.
You are “defiled” simply because you believe you are.
Lesson
Real guilt
There are real things that can really defile you.
Paul has already talked at some length about immorality.
(1
Corinthians 6:18–20 NKJV) —18 Flee
sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who
commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19 Or do you
not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you,
whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body
and in your spirit, which are God’s.
If you are involved in some kind of sexual thing outside
of marriage, you are defiling yourself, both your body and your conscience.
If you don’t feel guilty, you
should.
What do you do about things you ought to feel guilty over?
Ask God for forgiveness.
(1
John 1:9 NKJV) If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
Stop. We call this
“repentance”.
If you ask God for forgiveness but have
no intention of changing, you are fooling yourself.
We saw last week in Haggai that the people were still
“unclean”
(Haggai
2:14 NKJV) Then Haggai answered and said, “ ‘So is this people, and so is this nation before Me,’
says the Lord, ‘and so is every
work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean.
Their lack of repentance kept them in a state of being
unclean.
Work at changing your ways. You don’t have to be
perfect at stopping, but you need to work at it.
Lesson
False Guilt
Some people grew up thinking that happiness came from certain things.
And then they come to Christ and begin to evaluate
all the things they used to do before they were a Christian. Ormi begins to
wonder if it was okay to eat cookies. And he stops.
And then you come along with a great big Mrs.
Fields’ Chocolate Chip Cookie, enjoying every bite.
Ormi thinks he’s going
to try eating cookies again, but feels very guilty.
There are some things that don’t actually defile
us, but because we haven’t matured in our faith and in what we believe, we feel
“defiled”.
I grew up pretty much believing that smoking and drinking were things that
Christians didn’t do.
But to be honest, I’ve learned
through the years that the Bible doesn’t specifically prohibit smoking.
It may not be smart to smoke, but I don’t
think it’s a sin.
You might tell me that a smoker is “defiling” God’s
Temple. But it
probably wouldn’t take me long to examine your personal diet and find that you
too defile God’s Temple by what you eat.
The Bible does not condemn the drinking of alcohol.
The Bible only condemns drunkenness.
The alcoholic knows that they need to stay away from
alcohol simply because they can’t stop once they
start.
Yet for many people, an occasional drink is just fine.
Jesus actually turned water into … wine. Paul told Timothy to drink a little … wine …
for his health’s sake.
What do you do about things you feel guilty over when you shouldn’t?
For now, it’s best to just avoid
them.
It helps to work at reeducating your brain to know these
things don’t condemn you before God.
This is how “knowledge” can be good. It helps us learn that there are some things
we shouldn’t feel guilty about.
You do need to be careful about thinking you can just force feed people knowledge and they will no longer feel
“guilty”.
Warren Wiersbe wrote, “You cannot
force-feed immature believers and transform them into giants.”
If you still feel uneasy about those things that aren’t really bad, then don’t do them.
Paul wrote to the Romans:
(Romans
14:23 NKJV) But he who
doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from
faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.
If you can’t do that thing and
feel okay about it, don’t worry about it, but it’s probably okay that you don’t
do it.
:8 But food does not commend us to God; for
neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse.
:8 commend – paristemi – to place beside or near; to stand
beside, stand by or near, to be at hand, be present
:8 are we the better – perisseuo – to
exceed a fixed number of measure, to be left over and above a certain number or
measure; to abound, overflow
:8 are we the worse – hustereo – behind;
to come late or too tardily; to suffer want, to be devoid of, to lack (be
inferior) in excellence, worth
Eating or not eating certain foods really doesn’t
have an effect on your relationship with God.
That’s not to say that eating certain foods can’t
affect your health, otherwise I’d be living on an ice-cream diet.
But they can’t affect your spiritual health.
:9 But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours
become a stumbling block to those who are weak.
:9 liberty – exousia – power of choice, liberty of doing as
one pleases
:9 stumbling block – proskomma – a
stumbling block; an obstacle in the way which if one strikes his foot against
he stumbles or falls
I may be one of the “stronger brothers” who doesn’t
have a problem eating meat sacrificed to idols, but I need to be careful that
my “liberty” to eat this kind of meat might not cause a “weaker” brother to
stumble.
How would they stumble?
:10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple,
will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things
offered to idols?
:10 knowledge – gnosis –
knowledge signifies in general intelligence, understanding
Knowledge by experience
:10 idol’s temple – eidoleion – an
idol’s temple, temple consecrated to idols
:10 be emboldened – oikodomeo – to
build a house, erect a building; to build (up from the foundation); to restore
by building, to rebuild, repair
This is the word we usually
translate “edify” or “build up”.
Here the idea is a person being
“built up” to do something that they think is wrong.
:10 be emboldened to eat
The idea is that if a “weaker” brother sees me eating idol meat, right
there in Aphrodite’s temple, will that cause him to think that it’s okay to do what I’m doing?
And in his mind, he is thinking that I am now worshipping
Aphrodite by eating in her temple, when all I’m doing is enjoying a nice burger.
:11 And because of your knowledge shall the weak
brother perish, for whom Christ died?
:11 shall the weak brother perish
perish – apollumi – to
destroy; to perish, to be lost, ruined, destroyed
Perhaps the idea is that the weaker brother, seeing me use my “liberty” to
eat meat sacrificed to idols, decides that it must be okay to keep worshipping
Aphrodite.
Perhaps he enters into a lifestyle that takes him further and further away
from Christ until he no longer believes in Christ.
He might become one of those bitter people who say, “Christians think
they’re so good, but they’re all hypocrites”.
My “knowledge” has allowed me to eat meat sacrificed to idols, but in the
end, it has led someone down a dark path.
:12 But when you thus sin against the brethren,
and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.
:12 wound – tupto – to strike, beat, smite
:12 you sin against Christ
That “weaker brother” is a member of the body of Christ.
Your wounding of their conscience wounds Christ.
:13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I
will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.
:13 Therefore – dioper – on which very account
This is the direct conclusion of
Paul’s answer to their question about eating meat sacrificed to idols.
:13 I will never again eat meat
Lesson
Love vs. knowledge
It is more important that we love people than that we impress them with our
“knowledge”.
Paul will write the Romans,
(Romans
14:15 NKJV) Yet if your brother is grieved
because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy
with your food the one for whom Christ died.
I think there’s a limit to where we take this.
I don’t think that when we are not around a
“stumbling” believer that we need to necessarily stop doing the things that
stumbles them.
The bigger concern is when we are in the presence of
others who are stumbled by certain things.
There are some who are “overly sensitive” and claim
to be “stumbled” by every little thing.
They are against every little thing…
Play Marx
Brothers I’m Against It.
I’m not sure it’s a healthy thing
to make their “rules” be my rules.
Paul will write to the Corinthians,
(1 Corinthians 10:29b NKJV) …For why is
my liberty judged by another man’s conscience?
And yet the bottom line is that love will lay down it’s rights.
Love is concerned about how its actions will affect others. Love is willing to sacrifice it’s own rights for the sake of
others, even when it’s a silly thing to do.
Illustration
There is no greater picture of this than that of Jesus
Himself.
He laid aside all His rights as God in heaven, and became
a man, humbling Himself to a death on a cross, all for our sake.
So what do you do when you have an alcoholic friend and you go out to
dinner?
Do you order a drink?
If you are a smoker and your friend is trying to quit, what do you do?
Suppose your friend is struggling with their diet and the waitress comes up to your table and asks if you want to
order dessert.