3 Theological Truths from 1 Corinthians 8:1-6

We’re back again with Paul addressing questions raised by the Corinthians. Remember in chapter 7 verse 1, an issue regarding sexual temptation and sexual relations with women was raised. There the people were saying that it is good not to have sexual relations with a woman given how great the temptation surrounding sex is. But Paul says you shouldn’t give up sexual relations with your spouse because that opens the door to more temptation in your life. Instead, you should embrace it as God’s good gift and enjoy it with thankfulness.

Similarly, today Paul addresses a question about eating food offered to idols. What was the problem here? In the times the Corinthian believers lived there was the practice of offering food as sacrifices to their false gods. These people used to have feasts in their temples and before the feast began, they would offer the food as a sacrifice, then they would eat. When the feast was done, the leftovers would be kept by the priest of the temple and sold in the marketplace. You should know that Paul and Corinthians are talking about the food sold in the marketplace. The food that was eaten in the temple during the feast was a different matter. What we’re seeing here is leftover food from the feast sold in the market. Now, the Corinthians are saying it’s okay to eat such food because we know the idols the food was offered to are not real. Verse 1 says “all of us possess knowledge”. If you look at the phrase, it’s in double quotes indicating that Paul is using a phrase that the Corinthians wrote in their letter to him. So, the Corinthians are saying we possess knowledge. What is this knowledge? It’s in verse 4-6. The knowledge is of the reality that there is only one true God and one Lord, Jesus Christ. These idols are not real, so the food offered to them has no meaning. Therefore, it’s okay to eat that food. So some Corinthian believers rather arrogantly say that have knowledge so don’t tell us to refrain from eating that food. Moreover, the sacrifice to idols was a common occurrence that it was impossible for the believers to escape situations where that kind of food would come before them.

And what is Paul’s response? Yes, we all have knowledge, including us the apostles. But this knowledge makes you proud. This knowledge makes you grow arrogant. This knowledge hurts you and others. But love on the other hand? Love builds up. If anyone thinks he knows something, he doesn’t know yet as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God. If you say you have knowledge then you should be humbled. Because knowledge of God means knowing that God is so much more holier than you thought He was, so much more powerful than you thought He was, so much more infinite than you thought He was, and so much more in control and sovereign than you thought He was. And it doesn’t end with knowledge of God, there’s the knowledge of self. You should be heart broken when your knowledge leads you to realise that you’re much more sinful than you thought you were, much more helpless than you thought you were, much more impure than you thought you were. But you should also be able to rejoice because inspite of this, God is much more merciful than you can imagine, much more patient than you can think, much more loving than you can grasp, much more faithful than you can conceive. If you have knowledge of these things then you’ll actually respond with love. And love who specifically? Those who don’t have knowledge. You may know that eating food offered to idols is fine, but there are many who can’t reconcile that with their faith. So for the sake of that weak brother or sister, you will not eat such food. You don’t want them to stumble because of you. This is what the passage is about. And it has practical implications for us. But today, I don’t want to focus on what these implications are. Today I want to focus on the theological insight that comes from Paul’s words. When Paul was responding to the Corinthians, he shed some light on the theology that informed and ought to inform their actions. Imagine you’re going on trip with your friends and family. As you driving up the winding roads you notice that the scenery is so beautiful that you have to stop the car, get out and take it all in. Soon you’ll be heading for your destination but just for a few moments you want to enjoy God’s beauty. In the same way, I’m hoping that we can enjoy God’s truth in today’s passage before heading to the main issue of the whole chapter, which we’ll be hearing next Sunday. For today, we have six verses and all six are packed with doctrine that has significance for our lives. And not only that, I believe these doctrines will bring you comfort and reassurance for today. I have three points and my first point will be from the middle of the passage, the second point from the end of the passage and the last point from the beginning of the passage. So we won’t be moving in a linear fashion as we usually do but I’m hoping and believing it’ll still make sense. 

So, what is the first doctrine present in this passage? It is that we exist for God.

1. We exist for God (v6a)

“yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist”

The first one is a big one. Paul is saying yes it is known to them that “an idol has no real existence”  and that there is “no God but one”. When in verse 5 Paul says “For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— “ he is meaning to say that the non-believers of that time consider the existence of many gods and many lords because the were people who followed the Greek religion, the Roman religion, then the few other cults of that time. So for them there are many gods and lords. But for the Christians like Paul, the believers in Corinth, and you and me, there is one God. And contrary to the false gods and lords of that time, everything comes from God. It’s written in the verse “there is one God the Father from whom are all things” Everything that you see, touch, hear, taste, smell comes from God. Psalm 24:1 says “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof” or another translation says “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it”. Everything comes from God and everything belongs to God. Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” The very first verse says that God created the heavens and the earth. The first three words, “In the beginning” that is the beginning of time itself. Before the creation of the world, what was time? What were days and months and years? There was no such thing as time and there was nothing at all. Yet there was God. And “In the beginning” God was there to bring forth everything. 

Now for the main part, that is, the second half of the sentence, “and for whom we exist”. We exist for whom? For God. This verse unlocks the purpose of your life. Genesis 2:2 “And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. .” The Bible says that in seven days God finished creating the heavens and the earth and all the host of them. In the process of creation, He even made man and women. Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27 gives the answer to what God created, or rather who God created, man and women. 1 Corinthians 8:6 gives the answer to why God created man and women. He created them for Him. He created you and me for Himself. We don’t exist for our jobs, we don’t exist for our friends, we don’t exist for our spouse or children, we exist for God. And what does existing for God mean? There is something called “The Westminster Shorter Catechism”, which is a series of 107 questions and answers that summarise the major truths of the Bible. The very first question in the Westminister Shorter Catechism is: “What is the chief end of man?” Or in other words, what is the main goal of men and women? The answer to that is “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever”. Existing for God means glorifying Him. And glorifying God means using every fibre of our being, our strength, our mind, our hearts, everything to praise, honour and worship God. We honour God with our words, we honour God by our obedience to Him, with our good works, we honour Him through our repentance, and with our love for one another and the care for the poor and needy. We honour Him by preaching the gospel to those who have not heard it. We honour God when we do our jobs faithfully and diligently or when we study well. We also honour God by enjoying His gifts, like music, sports, movies, food, and various crafts like painting, writing, carpentry, or enjoying His creation by travelling, trekking, hiking, we glorify Him by taking care of our health and bodies through exercise. The question I want you to ask yourself is, “Do you know you exist for God?” and if you do, “How are you existing for Him or how are you glorifying Him?”. But if you didn’t know you exist for God maybe today God is telling you that. If you try to exist for any other reason, you will be left unsatisfied. No matter what you gain in life, how successful, how beautiful your family is, how much money you make, you’ll be left wanting for more, it is like a bottomless pit, you can’t fill it up no matter how much you put in. To be truly satisfied, you need to accept that you were created for God. Your sole purpose in life is to glorify God. Coming to terms with that sets you on a path to fulfilment and eternal life. 

That leads me to my second point, which is we exist through God.

2. We exist through God (v6b)

“and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”

One thing this verse highlightings is how one Lord, that is Jesus Christ, is the true Lord. All other “lords” as mentioned in verse 5 are false lords. In the beginning of the verse, Paul says from God the Father all things come. Here it says through the Lord Jesus are all things. What this verse tells us is that `just as the Father was involved in creating the whole world, the Son was equally involved. The heavens and the earth came from the Father through the Son and to complete the trinity, by the power of the Spirit. Jesus is God as much as Father and Spirit is God. The three are one but separate, three in one. Not three gods but one. John 1:1-3 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” And again in Colossians 1:16-17, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” These verses also reenforce the doctrine truth that Jesus is God and all creation was created through Him and for Him.

But the part I want to focus on is the second half of the sentence “through whom we exist”.

You know there’s a certain impossibleness to glorifying God. How are we, weak creatures that we are, supposed to worship the Lord with 100% devotion all the time? Let me tell you, God demands nothing less than our 100% devotion. It says in Deuteronomy 6:5 “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.’ How much? With half your soul? With a quarter of your mind? With 3/4th of your heart? No with all, fully, absolute. Can you do that? Can you give 100% all the time? That’s a tough ask. Sounds impossible. Then there’s the problem of sin. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23. Forget about loving God fully, we’re not even worthy to stand in His presence. Are we to glorify God like this? Will God accept our worship? Will God accept us? If you’re born again then you know the answer. Whoever sitting here or listening online is a born again believer, then you can say with a shout, you can say with full confidence, you can yes with thankfulness, yes God will accept me, God will accept my worship, I can worship the Lord with 100% devotion because I exist through Jesus Christ my Redeemer, my Shepherd, my Lord and my God. I’m not living my Christian life alone, I’m not isolated, I have my Lord Jesus through whom I’m living. The greek word for “through” is dia. Other translations of the word dia are “because of”, “on account of”. So we can rephrase the verse like this: “one Lord Jesus Christ through whom are all things and on account of whom we exist”. It’s not only talking about existing in the physical world but also living spiritually and eternally. Look at 1 John 4:9 “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” The same Greek word for through is used here. Jesus Christ came into this world so that we may exist through Him. We might live through Him. And that should be a comfort for you because whatever is the requirements of worthiness are, Jesus Christ took care of it for us. 1 John 4:10 says, “ In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” Propitiation means to satisfy or appease. Sin needed to be paid for because God’s was going to punish that sin, your sin and my sin. But with Jesus’s sacrifice, there is no more fear of punishment. 

So brothers and sisters, what does this mean for us? It means right now, you’re living through Jesus, if you’ve repented of your sins and turned to Him. This is true for you now. Your life is in His hands, your life is in His life. John 14:9 says, “Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.” Because He lives, you will live in eternity and right now. So you keep striving to live a holy life, say no to sin, when discouragement and doubt knock at the door, remember that you’re victory is sure in Jesus because you exist through Him and He will carry you to the end.

And now for my final point, we don’t just exist for God even though is the greatest privilege, we don’t just exist through God, our sole comfort but we’re also known by God.

3. We are known by God (v3)

“But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.”

• Paul’s explanation about knowledge and love
• It is greater to love than walk around with knowledge
• Those who love God show evidence that they are known by Him
• Loving God is not a precondition for Him to know us. He knows us therefore we love
• The Greek word ginóskó means it’s to know personally and well, the same word is used for knowing sexually
• He knows us, our frame, the number of hairs on our head, we are not just another solider, servant, son or daughter
• To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us.
• God sees you at you worst but still loves you.