While in college, we did some pretty weird stuff, because, you’re young and dumb. There was this one time when Marika, two of her roommates, and I participated in a jeopardy style gameshow for students. Each group of four had to create an identity for their group and play as if you were that personality. Our group was something, none of us really remember, because you try to forget unpleasant experiences, but I know there’s a picture somewhere that reveals the truth. Now, out of all of us, Marika was the most extroverted person, but I was the most vocal, but as the game progressed, our group just couldn’t keep up. That is until one question. The question was along the lines of, “The 2000 hit song ‘Opps I did it again’ was sung by this artist.”
Now in a split second the name Brittany Spears crossed my mind, so I buzzed in, and for the first time in a while, we had an opportunity to get some points on the board. But as I spoke the name that I was thinking, the name that came out was not the right one. Instead of saying Britney Spears and getting the answer right, I said something like Gwen Stefani. Who, though they looked similar at the time, was obviously not the same person, and as soon as the name slipped out of my mouth, I knew I was wrong. It was all down hill from there, I don’t remember the rest of the game, but I know I was silent for the remainder of it. I was extremely embarrassed, because I knew the answer and messed it up. I had the knowledge, but the knowledge didn’t help me and my team.
And it’s this idea of having knowledge and using it in a way that benefits others that brings us back to our study in 1st Corinthians, where we’re going to be returning to chapters 8,9, and 10; the same three chapters we talked about last week.
And as we open up to 1st Corinthians chapter 8, let’s bring ourselves up to speed on where we’re at in this summer study.
As we saw in the opening of this letter to the Corinthian Church, Paul is calling for the unity of the Church to be restored. The Church’s unity was starting to fracture because several issues had arisen that were not being taken care of.
These issues include: a misunderstanding of Christian leadership, which focused on humans rather than on Jesus; the second was an unwillingness to confront sin, which not only turned a blind eye toward sin, but boasted about it infant of both believers and non-believers; the third was not being content where God has us, trying to become more spiritual by getting out of the very situations God uses to draw us closer to him; and finally as we saw last week, realizing that our relationships with God is both individualized and community oriented. And so we must be willing to get ride of the non-essentials in our lives, if it means helping others grow in their relationships with God.
And it’s with this idea of helping others in their walks with God, that we are going to return to chapters 8, 9, and 10, because within these chapters Paul gives us a way in which we can help each other out in our faith walks.
So let’s read together, starting in verse 1 of chapter 8, and see how we can better help each other grow as children of God.
1 Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. 2 Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. 3 But whoever loves God is known by God.
Now last week we talked about the situation that Paul is addressing here. Food was offered to pagan gods to both cleanse it of evil spirits and to gain favor from those gods. Christians were struggling with the idea of then eating that food when it was offered to them, because it came from a pagan place of worship.
But this week, let’s focus on what Paul writes in these opening verses as he deals with the food offered to these pagan gods. Paul writes in the 1st verse, “We know that ‘We all possess knowledge.’”
The knowledge Paul is talking about is that the pagan gods are not real. In the book of Isaiah, chapter 43 verse 10, God himself says this, “‘You are my witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.’”
God himself states that there are no gods that are before him, meaning that no gods predate him in existence. And that there are no gods that came after him, and the Hebrew literally means, none that he, God himself, created.
Paul is affirming that these things that people are sacrificing food to, are not true gods, but rather, they are idols; things created by human hands from a human desire to control what they cannot. If we drop down to the latter part of verse 4, Paul writes, “‘An idol is nothing at all in the world’ and that ‘There is no God but one.’” Paul is referencing God’s words to Moses in Deuteronomy 4:35, where God says this when referring back to what he did in Egypt, “You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other.”
Now Paul concedes that there are “so-called gods” in verse 5, but these are nothing on the level of the God who has called us out of sin and into new life. These other gods and lords are nothing compared to the God who came to earth, walked among us, died for us, and was resurrected. These gods are pale, lifeless imitations to the true and living God. They are man made, while he is not.
And so it’s this knowledge that Paul is talking about in verse 1. But then after Paul mentions this knowledge of the one true God over all imitations, he writes these words, “But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. 2 Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. 3 But whoever loves God is known by God.”
Knowledge is something that needs to be tempered. Knowledge for knowledge sake is not the best use of it. The practical work of knowledge has to accompany it, or else, it will only lead to a state of pride. This is why Paul says knowledge puffs up. When we know more than others, we can easily get into a place, where our head becomes to big for the room. And this is Paul’s point, knowledge without the temperance of love, is worthless. Because the intent of love is to use knowledge for the betterment of others. And so those who know God and are known by him in close relationship, are those that use their knowledge to build people up in love.
This is the basis for what we talked about last week, with the reality that we are both individuals in our walks with God, and yet we are a part of a community of believers who are to help each other by focusing on the essentials, and letting the non-essentials fall when they need to.
But, Paul isn't just going to leave us trying to figure out how we can use knowledge to help others grow.
No in fact, Paul gives us two examples of how to do this. The first of these examples comes in chapter 9 verses 19 through 23. Paul writes this, “19 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.”
Paul points to using knowledge to help people hear the Gospel. The knowledge that Paul has is his freedom in Christ. You and I, when we accept Jesus as our Savior, we are free. Free from the power of this world over us, free from the chains of sin in our lives, free to do pretty much anything within the bounds that God has prescribed, because Jesus has set us free. Yet, Paul says that he chooses to use his freedom to become a slave. And so his knowledge of freedom is used to bring others to Christ.
And so he is a Jew to Jews, and though he knows that he has been set free from the Mosaic law that the Jews have to follow, he can live within it’s rules, not because it’s required, but rather so that he can show that he can follow the law of Moses, and yet still follow Christ.
To Gentiles or those not under the Mosaic Law, he is like a Gentile, able to converse on a philosophical level, yet all the while having the law of Christ, which is love, be his foundation to that philosophy.
To those who are weak, Paul can live in weakness because Christ gives strength.
Now, I have heard the charge against Paul, that he is being manipulative and two-faced by doing this. But is he though? He is still being true to his faith, and this is the great thing about the faith of following Jesus. The Christian faith is flexible in the sense that it can thrive in a multitude of environments. It thrived in the first century Jewish area where it began. It thrived in the Roman world. It thrived in Ethiopia and other parts of Africa. It thrived on the new continents of America. And it thrives in both hostile areas, like China and the Middle East, and non-hostile, at least for now, areas like the US. Yet, it is consistent, Christ crucified on the behalf of sinners. Unlike other religions that require a cultural embrace in addition to the religion, Christians are as diverse in their culture contexts as those culture contexts are in the world. And when I was with Christians in Honduras, our language and other cultural ways were different, yet our worship to the Lord was the same.
This is what Paul is getting at, whatever the cultural context is, we can be Christlike in it, because Jesus supersedes and penetrates every culture. And so the first example of knowledge tempered with love that Paul gives us, is that we understand that Christ is beyond culture, yet to help those bound by culture, we can work with them to bring about salvation.
Ministries like Blood Water Mission, do this by, much needed drilling fresh water wells in African villages. The Alliance does through groups like CAMA services, where professionals from different business backgrounds go oversees, to what are called creative access countries, and share the Gospel through teaching their expertise. We are called to share the Gospel, and the Gospel is not limited by the world, only by the people entrusted to share it.
The second example that Paul gives us, comes from chapter 10. In the first example we are given a broad way of dealing with culture, but in the second example that we find in chapter 10, we are given a more specific one.
And this is the one that gets many of us in trouble. For me it’s the hardest, because I want to be the smartest one in the room, and I have quickly come to realize, that that’s probably never going to happen, except when I’m alone with the dog, and even then it might not true.
But listen to what Paul writes in chapter 10, starting in verse 1.
1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.
6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.
11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
Paul points back to the Scriptures to help the Corinthians understand their situation. He uses his knowledge of the Word of God to encourage and build up the Church. And he uses the Bible to let his fellow Christians know that they’re not alone in their walk. That there have been others that have gone before them who have set both good and bad examples, and that we can now learn from them.
He’s not using the Scriptures to belittle, he’s not using the Word of God to demean, and he’s not using the Bible to break people down. Instead he’s using his knowledge of what has come before, to show the people just what others have done and the consequences of their actions. And he tells them as an encouragement, “13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
This is encouraging because no matter what I face, others have faced, and God is with me, providing ways for me to avoid sin in my life.
And so Paul gives us our second example of how knowledge needs to be tempered by love: we need to use our understanding of the Bible to lift up our brothers and sisters, and not as a way to bring them down.
It’s easy to try and be the smartest person in the room, and when we are or even when we’re not, it’s easy to use that knowledge to make ourselves greater than those around us. Yet, God wants us to use the knowledge he provides, in a way that builds up his Church. That is what we are called to. I was told once that you don’t really know anything until you’re able to explain it to a five year old and it make sense to them in a non-condescending way.
We are called to love each other, because we are God’s family, we are his Church. Each of us have been give responsibilities and knowledge to do just that. And so my challenge for you this week is twofold. First, we need to repent in our misuse of knowledge. I know have done this many times, someone asks a question or makes a comment, and the thought briefly passes through my mind, “that’ stupid.” We need to repent of things like that, because it’s not. Ignorance is not stupidity, purposeful ignorance is.
Second, we need to seek God to temper our knowledge with love. As we’re reading God’s Word, we need to be asking, “how can what I read, be used to build up the Church?” We need to seek the Holy Spirit to guide our conversations, so that Scriptures are used appropriately, in their context, and for the betterment of our brothers and sisters.
And when we do this, God will be glorified, the Church will be encouraged, and unity will be restored. Amen.
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