In 1 Corinthians 10:14-11:1, Paul unfolds warnings and encouragements to the Corinthian church to keep them from exercising their freedoms in a way that harms others.
Wes
Welcome to the Two Journeys Bible Study podcast. This podcast is just one of the many resources available to you for free from Two Journeys Ministry. If you’re interested in learning more, just head over to twojourneys.org. Now on to today’s episode. This is episode 14 in our 1 Corinthians Bible study podcast. This episode is entitled Idolatry and Christian Freedom, where we’ll discuss 1 Corinthians 10:14-11:1. I’m Wes Treadway and I’m here with Pastor Andy Davis. Andy, what are we going to see in these verses that we’re looking at today?
Andy
Well, I think the beginning statement, verse 14, “Flee from idolatry,” is greatly underestimated by American Christians. And so, part of the purpose of our podcast today is to help people realize what a danger idolatry still is. And then in the end, verse 31, “Whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do it all for the glory of God.” That’s a dominant concept. And so, the danger of idolatry in the front end and walking through that and then doing everything for the glory of God at the end, that’s what we’re going to walk through today.
Wes
Well, let me go ahead and read the passage as we begin:
Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to sensible people: judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you’re disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience- I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. Be imitators of me as I am of Christ.
Andy, how does Paul connect the warning to flee idolatry with what he just said in verses 11 through 13 in this same chapter?
Andy
Well, this is a remarkable section of 1 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 8-10. This whole section is on the issue of meat sacrificed to idols. So just by way of review in chapter 8, Paul is dealing with some knowledgeable Christians who have gotten it on the fact that idols are nothing, and the idol itself is just a chunk of stone or wood or metal. And that meat put in front of such an inanimate object is still just meat, and we have the freedom to eat it. That is true, all foods are clean. But Paul has expanded that to say, wait a minute now, it’s not that simple. Because people are watching you, and your liberty might actually affect them negatively. Their consciences might be wounded. They’re not quite freed yet from their idolatrous worship patterns, and so therefore, we have that principle, love limits liberty in chapter 8.
Then in chapter 9, Paul uses himself as an example, as an apostle, specifically first in the issue of money that he could be receiving for doing the ministry of the word. He had the right for it, but he didn’t use that right. And even though he clearly establishes that those who preach the gospel should make their living from the gospel, he said, “I didn’t use that right. That was me limiting my own liberty for the sake of love.” And then secondly, in terms of his own evangelistic efforts, he became all things to all people, whether Jews or Gentiles. He acted like them in amoral patterns like what you eat and what you dress and rituals and culture, not in moral issues, but in terms of amoral things. Whatever he could do to fit into the culture of the people he was trying to reach, he did it. That was again, love limiting liberty.
But then he transitioned a bit. He said, “Now there’s something else going on here, and that is the system of idolatry that you have recently come out of is very dangerous actually. We are all in danger. Our fleshly drives and desires for meat and sex, for sensual pleasure is a dangerous thing, and we’re all in danger.” If you look at Israel’s history, you realize they were constantly in danger of idolatry. The Jews were consistently idolaters. As Ezekiel 20 makes it plain, they were idolatrous in Egypt before the Exodus, and God warned them about it. Then as they go out through the Red Sea and then at Sinai and then in the desert and then even beyond Joshua, crossing the Jordan and going into the land of Canaan, they consistently were idolatrous. They were struggling with idolatry. Paul knew that about himself.
And so, he said, “I beat my body and make it my slave. I keep myself under strict discipline and you, if you think you’re standing firm, you better take heed lest you fall.” We’re in danger here of the delights of sensual pleasures of sex and meat and that whole lifestyle. So, if you think you’re fine, O educated Christian who’s got the theology right, you are only recently out of that whole idolatry system, you better watch out. All of us need to watch out. We’re in danger. And so, he says in verse 14, “Therefore based on all of those things, flee idolatry. It’s dangerous.” So that’s the connection.
Wes
What analogy does Paul make in verses 15 through 22?
Andy
Well, the command of flee idolatry, and as I said at the intro, I just want to appeal to you as a listener. If you’re a Christian, you live probably in America or wherever you live, idolatry is a bigger danger than you think it is, and so we need to talk about that. We need to talk about the allure of created things rather than the Creator. We all struggle with that. And the verb given here is flee. You got to run from it. It is greatly dangerous to us, so we need to talk about what idols are and we will. But as he’s talking about the idolatrous worship system that was prevalent in Greece and Corinth before the gospel came, he said, “Look, fundamentally, when you are worshiping Christ, you’re participating in Christ.” When you’re worshiping an idol, you’re actually spiritually participating with that religious reality. There’s an actual participation in it.
“If you’re a Christian, …idolatry is a bigger danger than you think it is, and so we need to talk about that. We need to talk about the allure of created things rather than the Creator.”
And so he says, “Look, let’s talk about Lord’s supper. When you partake in the Lord’s supper, you’re actually participating in, spiritually participating in the blood of Jesus. You’re actually participating in the body of Christ.” Now, we don’t believe in real presence. As Baptist, we don’t believe that the wine is actually the blood of Jesus, and the bread is actually the body. But I don’t think Paul’s arguing for that. He’s saying that genuine worship is spiritual union with God. That’s what worship really is. You’re actually one with Jesus through that worship of the Lord’s supper. And so, he’s going to say, “Look, then can you actually then participate in the demonic?” He’s going to argue there’s demonic worship services of paganism without thinking that you are in some sense participating with that spiritual reality.
Wes
How are we participating in the blood and body of Christ when we partake of the Lord’s supper?
Andy
Yeah, I want to say something about that. I love our Lord’s Supper times. And I really do expect, I go into it by faith expecting this participation, this spiritual union, a sense of intimacy with Christ by the ministry of the word and by obedience to the emblems, the ordinance that the Lord set up in the Lord’s supper. We have the bread, and we have the juice, and we say words over it. And by faith, we think about the death of Jesus, once for all never to be repeated. It’s not an endless sacrifice like the Roman Catholics have this endless sacrifice of Jesus lifting him up as the priest is offering Jesus again. We don’t believe in that, and we don’t even believe what others do about real presence like the Lutherans, et cetera.
We don’t believe that, but we do believe in proportion to your faith, you are participating with Jesus. You are thinking intensely about the fact Jesus died for me, Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. And I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” So, when I take that bread and put it in my mouth and chew it and swallow it, I’m thinking about that, Jesus died for me that I might live. When I’m taking that cup and drinking it, I’m thinking actually the blood of Jesus was shed for me. God knew me by name. And so, I am participating in that once for all death by faith. And so, the Lord’s supper reminds me of that.
Wes
What symbolism does Paul bring up with the one loaf in verse 17, and what other example of spiritual participation does Paul mention then in verse 18?
Andy
Yeah. So, the one loaf, we are all part of one body and that’s that sense of that universal body of Christ, and he’s going to talk about that much with the spiritual gifts in chapter 12. We’re all part of one body, and so there’s this one loaf and it’s broken off, pieces come up. And sometimes we actually do celebrate the Lord’s supper with that loaf that gets broken and then pieces of it are taken. And so, we all are one body, we participate in one loaf.
And in verse 18 he talks about the sacrificial system and how those that partook in the sacrificial system would actually eat the meat. God doesn’t eat meat, and so there’s physical meat there. The priests actually would eat from it. And even more the spiritual encounter, you think about Mount Carmel and the prophets of Baal and all that, and then Elijah and then got the sacrifice ready. The animal was laid on the altar and then water was poured all over it. And then he prayed that simple prayer, and fire came down and all the people fell down and said, “The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God” (1 Kings 18:39b). So, there’s a sense of intense participation in the sacrificial system. They’re participating in the altar.
Wes
Now based on verses 19-21, how are demons active in false religious ceremonies and how could Christians be spiritually harmed by participating in such ceremonies even idols themselves are nothing?
Andy
Right. So, the idol itself is nothing. We already said that at the beginning of this podcast, and we’ve said it many times before, the idol itself is a work of a human craftsman. And Isaiah lampoons this where he talks about a craftsman who takes a chunk of wood, cuts it in half, half of it, he burns to make his dinner, a fire, and the other half he turns into a god. And so honestly, this craftsmanship in wood or metal or stone, something like that, it’s just a work of an idol maker’s imagination. And then when he sets it up, Isaiah talks about how he fastens it with chains or nails it with some nails, so it won’t topple. It’s ludicrous. However, there is something else though going on. Deuteronomy 32:17 says that “They worship demons through their idols.”
Now, demons are real spiritual presence. They really do exist. And so therefore, I believe that demons get behind idolatrous worship systems. In fact, I would argue that demons actually start them. They actually initiate the religion by supernatural events that God permits for his own reasons. Like for example, the riot in the book of Acts, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians. Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.” Well, there is this statement made, “Don’t we all, all the people know that this temple is the temple of the great goddess Artemis whose image fell from heaven” (Acts 19:28,35)? Like let’s stop right there. What is he talking about? I don’t know, but something happened.
And so supernatural events that God actually permits for his own purposes then become the nucleating moment of a new religion. So, for example, Islam was started when Muhammad went into a cave at Hira, and an angel came to him. And I don’t deny that there was a supernatural encounter, quite possible there, but all false religious systems are ultimately demonic in their origin. So also with Mormonism, with the angel Moroni that gave Joseph Smith the Book of Mormon. And so, I think that religious systems are started by demons, and I think that demons therefore, are god and goddess impersonators. There is a real spiritual presence, a demonic presence. And so, Paul says those who are participating in these idolatrous services are actually participating with demons. I don’t want you to be in spiritual fellowship with demons.
Wes
Now in verse 21, Paul says, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons.” How is attempting to participate in both of those simultaneously, like spiritual adultery?
Andy
Well, Paul’s very perceptive here, and he knows Jewish history. The Jews didn’t reject Yahweh, they added the other gods. They added Moloch, they added the Asherah, they added the other things. They didn’t deny the existence of Yahweh. And that’s why Elijah said on Mount Carmel, “How long will you keep on limping between two opinions? If the Lord Yahweh is God, then follow him. If Baal is God, then follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). But they remained silent. They’re like, “No, we will hold onto both of them.” They were syncretistic. They added Yahweh to Baal or Baal to Yahweh or Molech. They just added, they accumulated. Look at Solomon. Isn’t that what he did? He didn’t reject that Yahweh is God. He just added the gods of his foreign wives. And so, he ended up with a whole kind of pantheon of many gods and goddesses that he assembled. That is greatly wicked.
And so, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:2-3). And so that’s the jealousy of God. God will not have us adding other gods to him. And so, you can’t do both. Paul is saying, you can’t participate in both the worship of Artemis of the Ephesians and also Jesus. So, he’s destroying syncretism here. He’s destroying any effort to add Jesus to a pantheon. So that probably was in some of their minds, he’s got to crush that. He says, “No, they’re not real gods and goddesses, they’re demons and you can’t participate in both.”
Wes
So, scripture says that our God is a jealous God. How does that play in here? And how is Paul’s question, “Are we stronger than he?” really a warning?
Andy
Yeah. All right, so this is a big, big theme. God is jealous. He uses that feeling, and this is what we’ll call again, we said it again and again, this is what we call an anthropomorphism. This is where the pure Spirit, God, reveals himself to be like a human being so that we can understand his feelings. And so, God here acts somewhat like if I can say it respectfully, a jilted husband. This is a consistent image that you have in the Old Testament of Israel as God’s wife and God as having chosen her out and marrying her. And then she goes after other gods, it’s like her going after other men. So, you have a whole book of the Bible, Hosea, that’s devoted to that where Hosea is called unto marry Gomer, a prostitute. And her running consistently after other men pictures Israel’s running after other gods and goddesses.
And again, in Ezekiel 16 and then again in Ezekiel 23, we have overt, even graphic marital language, what we call sexual language of God’s jealousy. Now in Ezekiel 16, God finds Jerusalem representing the Jews, as an orphaned waif kicking about in her blood shortly after her birth. And God passes by, notices her thrown out in the field exposed, so to speak, so that she would die. And he basically said to her, “Live,” and enabled her to stay alive. So, her very existence depends on God. And then in due time, she grew up and became of marriageable age. She became beautiful and attractive. She went through puberty, and the time came for her to be married. And he noticed that, and he spread the corner of his garment over her in a ceremony that the Jews would’ve recognized as marriage. And he entered into covenant with her, and she became his.
In other words, he married her. And then he made her beautiful. He put a crown on her and put rich robes on her and sandals on her feet and jewelry around her. And she became stunning and beautiful. But she used her beauty to allure the gods and goddesses of other nations, basically through people. And so, there was intermarriage, there was lust, there was idolatrous worship very much like in Corinth, and God was jealous over that. And so, there’s an intense pain that you read in Ezekiel 16. God is pained by this. You get the same thing through Hosea. Imagine having to hunt down your wife, go find her out in the streets and say, “I’m going to pay for your time. Now, here are the rules. You must not be with any other men. You must not be a prostitute anymore. You must come and be with me. I’m going to block her in with thorns. Actually, I’m going to hedge her in so she doesn’t run after others.”
Well, all of that, that whole thing is God being jealous. So how do we read that as Christians? We’re like, well, guess what? We’re Gomer. We’re idolatrous Jerusalem running after other gods, and God is jealous. He’s jealous over, and it actually says in 1 Peter that, the spirit that he put in us, envies intensely. It’s a jealous spirit. And so, here’s the idea, we were created, our hearts were created for God. Wes, more than anything I’m learning from Ezekiel, I’m learning from these meditations, everything comes down to the first and greatest commandment. Ultimately, it’s all about this. We were created to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. Anything we love other than God is an idol and God will not have it.
“We were created to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. Anything we love other than God is an idol and God will not have it.”
And so, he goes after us like a fire, a purifying fire to purge us from all idolatry so that we would love him. Now what he’s saying is, God is jealous, and we don’t want to stimulate or arouse his jealousy. And why? Because he’s strong. He’s omnipotent. He’s going to destroy us. You got to read Israel’s history. Why the exiles? It was idolatry. It was God being strong. He’s saying, “I tell you what I’m going to do. I’m going to destroy you.” And so, here’s the thing, you can’t just run after these idolatrous worship systems. You can’t go to the shrines anymore because you’re going to arouse Jesus to jealousy, and he’s going to destroy you. So that’s a warning, definitely.
Wes
The remainder of the verses that we are going to look at in this episode really deal with the fact that Christian freedom should serve others. How does Paul seek to address Christian freedoms in light of all his teaching on meat sacrificed to idols? And if we expand verses 23 and 24, beyond that, how is this an incredibly challenging standard to live up to?
Andy
Well, here in verse 23, he says, “All things are lawful,” but I don’t know about your translation, but mine puts it in quotations. So that seems to be like, like you said, all right, you say, hey, look, everything’s lawful, right? I got it. It’s like oh no, you’ve misunderstood. All right, so let me go with your statement. Everything is permissible or all things are lawful. Sure, but not everything is beneficial. All things are lawful. Yeah, okay. Yes, I’m saying all things are lawful. We’re not under law anymore, but not everything is constructive or not everything edifies.
So fundamentally, he’s trying to recast their understanding of Christian liberty and say, “Let’s start with this.” Edification comes above gratification. That’s the most important thing. Is what I’m doing building up others for the glory of God? Is it building up the church for the glory of God, or am I just gratifying my desires? Maybe I love meat. Fine, you have the freedom to eat meat. I agree that you do. You do not have the freedom to lay with a temple prostitute. It’s a different matter. But you do have the freedom to eat meat. That’s true. But not all of your eating of meat is going to build the body up. So, let’s say edification, the building up of the body of Christ over gratification-your filling your own desires.
Wes
And then verse 24, he goes on and says, “Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.” How does that relate here to this same idea that it’s outward focused in its application?
Andy
The second principle here is others over self. Let’s see what we can do to build others up. Other people are more important than me. Each of us should look not only to our own interests but the interests of others, Philippians 2. And so, I don’t want to just pursue what’s good for me. I want to be certain that what I’m doing is being done for the benefit of others.
Wes
Now, verses 25-29, give us two case studies, two instances where this becomes a real question for those involved. Why does it matter if the origin of the meat is brought up at the dinner table or in the market? And how does it change things for a believer in that situation?
Andy
Yeah, so this is important. The third principle that we’re getting here is liberty over legalism. So that’s still an issue too. We are free to eat. We’re not going back into the old kosher system. Now, Jesus did declare all foods clean. So, enjoy the meat. You like meat, eat it. But let’s talk about some case studies. So, it gives us two case studies. And the first is the meat market, and the second is a pagan family invites you over for dinner. So, this is just how scripture is so incredibly helpful. Paul’s helpful. He’s like I tell you what, you’re in the meat market. You can eat anything there. You want to go get lunch, go get lunch, eat anything there. Unless the meat seller tells you, it’s been offered to a god or goddess, then don’t eat it. Well, why not? Well, the reason is fundamentally, the meat seller and his conscience, or let’s say the pagan family that invites you over and their situation.
So, in the first case, you can eat whatever sold in the meat market because the earth is the Lord’s. God created all things to be richly enjoyed. So, we’re not going to be legalists here or ascetics, so anything in the meat market. But when it comes to the pagan home, again, you’re free to eat anything they set in front of you. As long as they don’t tell you that it was offered to a god or goddess. It’s like, oh, this is my favorite kind of meat. We got it from the temple of Aphrodite, and the priestess offered it to her, and we got a discount. So here you go. It’s like, “I’m going to stop you right there. I can’t eat it.”
Why not? Why does Paul say? It’s like because of their conscience. We want them to come out of that dark religious system, and if I eat that meat now, they won’t understand. They’re going to get mucked up in that. They’re not going to understand Jesus is calling them out of that demonic religious system into a whole new walk with the Lord. And if you eat that meat, you’re going to have a hard time preaching the gospel after you get done eating it.
Wes
And Paul really drives this home in verses 29 and 30. How does he make it clear that when the matter is raised at the dinner table, is the other person’s conscience not his own? And why does he reject anyone’s judgment of his conscience?
Andy
Okay. So, the last question is he’s again trying to protect the Corinthian Christians from legalism. He doesn’t want them going back into the kosher system of clean and unclean that Jesus has fulfilled. It’s done now. We can eat anything. All foods have been declared clean by Jesus. He wants to uphold that. That is true. That was significant. We’re not doing that anymore. That was part of the barrier. The dividing wall of hostility between Jews and Gentiles has been removed in Christ. So that’s important. But at the same time, individuals’ consciences, and the way they think about things, the way they think about religion, the way they understand priests and priestesses and shrines and temples and all that, matters. We’re calling them out of that. And if another person’s conscience is still bound up in that, you’re going to have a hard time preaching the gospel to them. They’re not going to understand what you’re calling them to do. They’re going to think, oh, okay, so I can still go to the temple with prostitutes, and I can still… It’s like, no, you can’t. It’s like, well, but you’re eating it… And they won’t get it.
So, it’s better to just abstain and say, “Look, until you can fully understand, I’m not eating any of this. Let me preach the gospel. Let me tell you how Jesus died and let me tell you about the gods and goddesses, how they really are demons and there is darkness, and I want to call you out of that.”
So fundamentally, I want to help another person’s defiled, chained conscience to be set free by faith in Jesus. But I’m not going to let their conscience bind me to tell me that there is such a thing as a spiritual virus that can go on a chunk of meat. It’s still just meat. So, I’m not going in for legalism, but I want to set them free into a new religion which is following Christ. So, he’s walking a tight line there, but he’s being, I think, very clear about that.
Wes
Now, verse 31 is well known and expands this principle beyond even just the practicalities of how to interact in the meat market or at a dinner party. What does it mean to do something for the glory of God? And how does the fact that something mundane could be done for the glory of God, give significance to those moments in our lives like washing dishes or doing a secular job or picking up the kids from a friend’s house?
Andy
Oh man, this is incredible. And I always say 1 Corinthians 10:31, one of the most significant verses in all of the Bible. And that is this, “Everything that exists in the universe, exists because God wanted glory from it, that God created everything for his glory.” It is the reason why Jonathan Edwards wrote a treatise on the end for which God created the world. Why did he create everything? Why do things exist? This is a very important question we have to ask. Why do I exist? Why does a banana exist? Why does meat exist that we enjoy the flavor of? Why does my tongue with taste buds exist? Why do the stars exist? Why does everything exist? God did everything for the praise of his glory. Now, what is that? The glory of God is the radiant display of the attributes of God. And what are the attributes of God?
Well, various attributes such as his self-existence, his power, his wisdom, his love, his long-suffering or patience, his wrath, his justice. There’s a whole array of attributes. And as these things are put on radiant or bright shining display, God is glorified. And so, if I do everything for the glory of God, I’m doing things, first of all, that I might display the glory of God, that people might see the glory of God in me or that I might myself, enjoy the glory of God. Like if I’m walking through a field and I notice a wildflower, and I bend down and I pluck that wildflower. And I look at its petals, its colors like you could imagine a violet or something like that. I look at its intense purples and the different shades of the purple, some part of the pedal being a darker purple, and another part of the being a little bit lighter. And I see the stamen or something right in the center, and that’s where all the little yellow powder is where the bees come and pollinate or something like that.
And I think, you know something? This wildflower exists because God made it that way. He made it beautiful. He made it delicate. And Jesus said, consider the lilies of the field. Everything glorifies God, but nothing glorifies God more than human beings who were created in the image of God. And of human beings nothing glorifies God more than our salvation through faith in Christ. So, everything can be and should be for the glory of God. If I eat for the glory of God, I’m understanding God made this food, it’s nourishing to my body and that glorifies God. It’s amazing how the digestive system and the nutrients come and feed my cells and enable them to keep living. The fact that it tastes good was for the glory of God. God didn’t need to make taste or taste buds or different flavors, but he did. So, I can eat for the glory of God, being very God-centered in my eating. Same thing with my drinking. And ultimately my eating and drinking is not my reason for existence. My reason for existence is that I might myself, glorify God by how I live. So, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, even simple things like washing the dishes can be for the glory of God. That’s how we should live our lives.
Wes
What does it mean then, to cause someone to stumble, and how does this line up with Paul’s overall teaching on the limits of Christian freedom?
Andy
Well, it goes back to the other person’s weak conscience. They’re struggling. They’ve not come out of the idolatrous system yet like they need to. And if I do something that makes them stumble, that’s wrong. That would not be for the glory of God. What I want to do is I want to build that person up. If they’re a Christian, and they’re stumbling, I want to build them up so that they can see meat properly and understand paganism properly and understand demons properly. I want to help them get up to spiritual maturity on all these topics. If they’re not Christians yet, I want to rescue them out of Satan’s dark kingdom by the proclamation of the gospel. If I make them stumble, how is that beneficial? I want to live for them. So that’s the second aspect. First greatest commandment is to love God, but secondly, to love my neighbor as myself, to live for their benefit and not cause them to stumble.
Wes
How does Paul then set himself up as an example of the proper and loving use of Christian freedom?
Andy
Well, these have been complex issues. We have three full chapters on this, and we need guides. We don’t know what to do. It’s like we’re in a minefield and we don’t even know that there are mines under our feet. They’re hidden from us, and so we need guides. And Paul, as the apostle to the Gentiles, filled with the Holy Spirit, writing these inherent perfect words is our guide. He said, “No, you don’t know how to get out of this. Just follow me.” He’s like holding a light up on a staff, and he’s saying, “Follow me and I’ll get you out of this dark place where you don’t know how to live. Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.” We need role models. And so, Wes, you and I are pastors, and we should live in such a way that we can say this to some degree, follow my example as I follow the example of Christ. We all need role models, and Paul is the greatest role model there’s ever been in church history.
Wes
It’s so vital. I think you and I have both talked before about those who came alongside us in our Christian walk and modeled for us what it looked like to follow Jesus. And how impactful that was, that we would even still be talking about them and following Jesus to this day in part because of the example that they gave us. Andy, what final thoughts do you have for us on these verses that we’ve been looking at?
Andy
All right, so let’s go back to the beginning of the podcast today. Two great verses that are vital. Verse 14, “Flee idolatry.” I think we need to understand, whatever captivates your imagination and your thought life, whatever gives you security against your fears, whatever brings you ultimate pleasure, whatever organizes your life and your efforts, whatever you spend your money on, and your energy and your time on, these things are the ultimate value of your life. It should be God; it should be Jesus Christ. If it’s any created thing, it’s an idol. We need to flee idolatry. We need to realize its danger.
We need to also realize the danger of sensual pleasures of sex and meat and all those things that were woven into those idolatrous systems. Satan was no dummy. He knew that something had to entice people to do these things, and so he wove them in. Those things are still around today. We need to watch out. But ultimately, verse 31, what a great verse. “Whatever we do, whether we eat or drink, whatever we do, do it all for the glory of God.” Be God-centered in your eating and drinking. Be God-centered in everything you do and put God on display for his glory.
Wes
Well, this has been episode 14 in our 1 Corinthians Bible study podcast. We want to invite you to join us next time for episode 15 entitled, Godly Order in the Public Worship of the Church, where we’ll discuss 1 Corinthians 11:2-34. Thank you for listening to the Two Journeys podcast and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Wes
Welcome to the Two Journeys Bible Study podcast. This podcast is just one of the many resources available to you for free from Two Journeys Ministry. If you’re interested in learning more, just head over to twojourneys.org. Now on to today’s episode. This is episode 14 in our 1 Corinthians Bible study podcast. This episode is entitled Idolatry and Christian Freedom, where we’ll discuss 1 Corinthians 10:14-11:1. I’m Wes Treadway and I’m here with Pastor Andy Davis. Andy, what are we going to see in these verses that we’re looking at today?
Andy
Well, I think the beginning statement, verse 14, “Flee from idolatry,” is greatly underestimated by American Christians. And so, part of the purpose of our podcast today is to help people realize what a danger idolatry still is. And then in the end, verse 31, “Whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do it all for the glory of God.” That’s a dominant concept. And so, the danger of idolatry in the front end and walking through that and then doing everything for the glory of God at the end, that’s what we’re going to walk through today.
Wes
Well, let me go ahead and read the passage as we begin:
Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to sensible people: judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you’re disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience- I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. Be imitators of me as I am of Christ.
Andy, how does Paul connect the warning to flee idolatry with what he just said in verses 11 through 13 in this same chapter?
Andy
Well, this is a remarkable section of 1 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 8-10. This whole section is on the issue of meat sacrificed to idols. So just by way of review in chapter 8, Paul is dealing with some knowledgeable Christians who have gotten it on the fact that idols are nothing, and the idol itself is just a chunk of stone or wood or metal. And that meat put in front of such an inanimate object is still just meat, and we have the freedom to eat it. That is true, all foods are clean. But Paul has expanded that to say, wait a minute now, it’s not that simple. Because people are watching you, and your liberty might actually affect them negatively. Their consciences might be wounded. They’re not quite freed yet from their idolatrous worship patterns, and so therefore, we have that principle, love limits liberty in chapter 8.
Then in chapter 9, Paul uses himself as an example, as an apostle, specifically first in the issue of money that he could be receiving for doing the ministry of the word. He had the right for it, but he didn’t use that right. And even though he clearly establishes that those who preach the gospel should make their living from the gospel, he said, “I didn’t use that right. That was me limiting my own liberty for the sake of love.” And then secondly, in terms of his own evangelistic efforts, he became all things to all people, whether Jews or Gentiles. He acted like them in amoral patterns like what you eat and what you dress and rituals and culture, not in moral issues, but in terms of amoral things. Whatever he could do to fit into the culture of the people he was trying to reach, he did it. That was again, love limiting liberty.
But then he transitioned a bit. He said, “Now there’s something else going on here, and that is the system of idolatry that you have recently come out of is very dangerous actually. We are all in danger. Our fleshly drives and desires for meat and sex, for sensual pleasure is a dangerous thing, and we’re all in danger.” If you look at Israel’s history, you realize they were constantly in danger of idolatry. The Jews were consistently idolaters. As Ezekiel 20 makes it plain, they were idolatrous in Egypt before the Exodus, and God warned them about it. Then as they go out through the Red Sea and then at Sinai and then in the desert and then even beyond Joshua, crossing the Jordan and going into the land of Canaan, they consistently were idolatrous. They were struggling with idolatry. Paul knew that about himself.
And so, he said, “I beat my body and make it my slave. I keep myself under strict discipline and you, if you think you’re standing firm, you better take heed lest you fall.” We’re in danger here of the delights of sensual pleasures of sex and meat and that whole lifestyle. So, if you think you’re fine, O educated Christian who’s got the theology right, you are only recently out of that whole idolatry system, you better watch out. All of us need to watch out. We’re in danger. And so, he says in verse 14, “Therefore based on all of those things, flee idolatry. It’s dangerous.” So that’s the connection.
Wes
What analogy does Paul make in verses 15 through 22?
Andy
Well, the command of flee idolatry, and as I said at the intro, I just want to appeal to you as a listener. If you’re a Christian, you live probably in America or wherever you live, idolatry is a bigger danger than you think it is, and so we need to talk about that. We need to talk about the allure of created things rather than the Creator. We all struggle with that. And the verb given here is flee. You got to run from it. It is greatly dangerous to us, so we need to talk about what idols are and we will. But as he’s talking about the idolatrous worship system that was prevalent in Greece and Corinth before the gospel came, he said, “Look, fundamentally, when you are worshiping Christ, you’re participating in Christ.” When you’re worshiping an idol, you’re actually spiritually participating with that religious reality. There’s an actual participation in it.
“If you’re a Christian, …idolatry is a bigger danger than you think it is, and so we need to talk about that. We need to talk about the allure of created things rather than the Creator.”
And so he says, “Look, let’s talk about Lord’s supper. When you partake in the Lord’s supper, you’re actually participating in, spiritually participating in the blood of Jesus. You’re actually participating in the body of Christ.” Now, we don’t believe in real presence. As Baptist, we don’t believe that the wine is actually the blood of Jesus, and the bread is actually the body. But I don’t think Paul’s arguing for that. He’s saying that genuine worship is spiritual union with God. That’s what worship really is. You’re actually one with Jesus through that worship of the Lord’s supper. And so, he’s going to say, “Look, then can you actually then participate in the demonic?” He’s going to argue there’s demonic worship services of paganism without thinking that you are in some sense participating with that spiritual reality.
Wes
How are we participating in the blood and body of Christ when we partake of the Lord’s supper?
Andy
Yeah, I want to say something about that. I love our Lord’s Supper times. And I really do expect, I go into it by faith expecting this participation, this spiritual union, a sense of intimacy with Christ by the ministry of the word and by obedience to the emblems, the ordinance that the Lord set up in the Lord’s supper. We have the bread, and we have the juice, and we say words over it. And by faith, we think about the death of Jesus, once for all never to be repeated. It’s not an endless sacrifice like the Roman Catholics have this endless sacrifice of Jesus lifting him up as the priest is offering Jesus again. We don’t believe in that, and we don’t even believe what others do about real presence like the Lutherans, et cetera.
We don’t believe that, but we do believe in proportion to your faith, you are participating with Jesus. You are thinking intensely about the fact Jesus died for me, Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. And I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” So, when I take that bread and put it in my mouth and chew it and swallow it, I’m thinking about that, Jesus died for me that I might live. When I’m taking that cup and drinking it, I’m thinking actually the blood of Jesus was shed for me. God knew me by name. And so, I am participating in that once for all death by faith. And so, the Lord’s supper reminds me of that.
Wes
What symbolism does Paul bring up with the one loaf in verse 17, and what other example of spiritual participation does Paul mention then in verse 18?
Andy
Yeah. So, the one loaf, we are all part of one body and that’s that sense of that universal body of Christ, and he’s going to talk about that much with the spiritual gifts in chapter 12. We’re all part of one body, and so there’s this one loaf and it’s broken off, pieces come up. And sometimes we actually do celebrate the Lord’s supper with that loaf that gets broken and then pieces of it are taken. And so, we all are one body, we participate in one loaf.
And in verse 18 he talks about the sacrificial system and how those that partook in the sacrificial system would actually eat the meat. God doesn’t eat meat, and so there’s physical meat there. The priests actually would eat from it. And even more the spiritual encounter, you think about Mount Carmel and the prophets of Baal and all that, and then Elijah and then got the sacrifice ready. The animal was laid on the altar and then water was poured all over it. And then he prayed that simple prayer, and fire came down and all the people fell down and said, “The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God” (1 Kings 18:39b). So, there’s a sense of intense participation in the sacrificial system. They’re participating in the altar.
Wes
Now based on verses 19-21, how are demons active in false religious ceremonies and how could Christians be spiritually harmed by participating in such ceremonies even idols themselves are nothing?
Andy
Right. So, the idol itself is nothing. We already said that at the beginning of this podcast, and we’ve said it many times before, the idol itself is a work of a human craftsman. And Isaiah lampoons this where he talks about a craftsman who takes a chunk of wood, cuts it in half, half of it, he burns to make his dinner, a fire, and the other half he turns into a god. And so honestly, this craftsmanship in wood or metal or stone, something like that, it’s just a work of an idol maker’s imagination. And then when he sets it up, Isaiah talks about how he fastens it with chains or nails it with some nails, so it won’t topple. It’s ludicrous. However, there is something else though going on. Deuteronomy 32:17 says that “They worship demons through their idols.”
Now, demons are real spiritual presence. They really do exist. And so therefore, I believe that demons get behind idolatrous worship systems. In fact, I would argue that demons actually start them. They actually initiate the religion by supernatural events that God permits for his own reasons. Like for example, the riot in the book of Acts, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians. Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.” Well, there is this statement made, “Don’t we all, all the people know that this temple is the temple of the great goddess Artemis whose image fell from heaven” (Acts 19:28,35)? Like let’s stop right there. What is he talking about? I don’t know, but something happened.
And so supernatural events that God actually permits for his own purposes then become the nucleating moment of a new religion. So, for example, Islam was started when Muhammad went into a cave at Hira, and an angel came to him. And I don’t deny that there was a supernatural encounter, quite possible there, but all false religious systems are ultimately demonic in their origin. So also with Mormonism, with the angel Moroni that gave Joseph Smith the Book of Mormon. And so, I think that religious systems are started by demons, and I think that demons therefore, are god and goddess impersonators. There is a real spiritual presence, a demonic presence. And so, Paul says those who are participating in these idolatrous services are actually participating with demons. I don’t want you to be in spiritual fellowship with demons.
Wes
Now in verse 21, Paul says, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons.” How is attempting to participate in both of those simultaneously, like spiritual adultery?
Andy
Well, Paul’s very perceptive here, and he knows Jewish history. The Jews didn’t reject Yahweh, they added the other gods. They added Moloch, they added the Asherah, they added the other things. They didn’t deny the existence of Yahweh. And that’s why Elijah said on Mount Carmel, “How long will you keep on limping between two opinions? If the Lord Yahweh is God, then follow him. If Baal is God, then follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). But they remained silent. They’re like, “No, we will hold onto both of them.” They were syncretistic. They added Yahweh to Baal or Baal to Yahweh or Molech. They just added, they accumulated. Look at Solomon. Isn’t that what he did? He didn’t reject that Yahweh is God. He just added the gods of his foreign wives. And so, he ended up with a whole kind of pantheon of many gods and goddesses that he assembled. That is greatly wicked.
And so, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:2-3). And so that’s the jealousy of God. God will not have us adding other gods to him. And so, you can’t do both. Paul is saying, you can’t participate in both the worship of Artemis of the Ephesians and also Jesus. So, he’s destroying syncretism here. He’s destroying any effort to add Jesus to a pantheon. So that probably was in some of their minds, he’s got to crush that. He says, “No, they’re not real gods and goddesses, they’re demons and you can’t participate in both.”
Wes
So, scripture says that our God is a jealous God. How does that play in here? And how is Paul’s question, “Are we stronger than he?” really a warning?
Andy
Yeah. All right, so this is a big, big theme. God is jealous. He uses that feeling, and this is what we’ll call again, we said it again and again, this is what we call an anthropomorphism. This is where the pure Spirit, God, reveals himself to be like a human being so that we can understand his feelings. And so, God here acts somewhat like if I can say it respectfully, a jilted husband. This is a consistent image that you have in the Old Testament of Israel as God’s wife and God as having chosen her out and marrying her. And then she goes after other gods, it’s like her going after other men. So, you have a whole book of the Bible, Hosea, that’s devoted to that where Hosea is called unto marry Gomer, a prostitute. And her running consistently after other men pictures Israel’s running after other gods and goddesses.
And again, in Ezekiel 16 and then again in Ezekiel 23, we have overt, even graphic marital language, what we call sexual language of God’s jealousy. Now in Ezekiel 16, God finds Jerusalem representing the Jews, as an orphaned waif kicking about in her blood shortly after her birth. And God passes by, notices her thrown out in the field exposed, so to speak, so that she would die. And he basically said to her, “Live,” and enabled her to stay alive. So, her very existence depends on God. And then in due time, she grew up and became of marriageable age. She became beautiful and attractive. She went through puberty, and the time came for her to be married. And he noticed that, and he spread the corner of his garment over her in a ceremony that the Jews would’ve recognized as marriage. And he entered into covenant with her, and she became his.
In other words, he married her. And then he made her beautiful. He put a crown on her and put rich robes on her and sandals on her feet and jewelry around her. And she became stunning and beautiful. But she used her beauty to allure the gods and goddesses of other nations, basically through people. And so, there was intermarriage, there was lust, there was idolatrous worship very much like in Corinth, and God was jealous over that. And so, there’s an intense pain that you read in Ezekiel 16. God is pained by this. You get the same thing through Hosea. Imagine having to hunt down your wife, go find her out in the streets and say, “I’m going to pay for your time. Now, here are the rules. You must not be with any other men. You must not be a prostitute anymore. You must come and be with me. I’m going to block her in with thorns. Actually, I’m going to hedge her in so she doesn’t run after others.”
Well, all of that, that whole thing is God being jealous. So how do we read that as Christians? We’re like, well, guess what? We’re Gomer. We’re idolatrous Jerusalem running after other gods, and God is jealous. He’s jealous over, and it actually says in 1 Peter that, the spirit that he put in us, envies intensely. It’s a jealous spirit. And so, here’s the idea, we were created, our hearts were created for God. Wes, more than anything I’m learning from Ezekiel, I’m learning from these meditations, everything comes down to the first and greatest commandment. Ultimately, it’s all about this. We were created to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. Anything we love other than God is an idol and God will not have it.
“We were created to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. Anything we love other than God is an idol and God will not have it.”
And so, he goes after us like a fire, a purifying fire to purge us from all idolatry so that we would love him. Now what he’s saying is, God is jealous, and we don’t want to stimulate or arouse his jealousy. And why? Because he’s strong. He’s omnipotent. He’s going to destroy us. You got to read Israel’s history. Why the exiles? It was idolatry. It was God being strong. He’s saying, “I tell you what I’m going to do. I’m going to destroy you.” And so, here’s the thing, you can’t just run after these idolatrous worship systems. You can’t go to the shrines anymore because you’re going to arouse Jesus to jealousy, and he’s going to destroy you. So that’s a warning, definitely.
Wes
The remainder of the verses that we are going to look at in this episode really deal with the fact that Christian freedom should serve others. How does Paul seek to address Christian freedoms in light of all his teaching on meat sacrificed to idols? And if we expand verses 23 and 24, beyond that, how is this an incredibly challenging standard to live up to?
Andy
Well, here in verse 23, he says, “All things are lawful,” but I don’t know about your translation, but mine puts it in quotations. So that seems to be like, like you said, all right, you say, hey, look, everything’s lawful, right? I got it. It’s like oh no, you’ve misunderstood. All right, so let me go with your statement. Everything is permissible or all things are lawful. Sure, but not everything is beneficial. All things are lawful. Yeah, okay. Yes, I’m saying all things are lawful. We’re not under law anymore, but not everything is constructive or not everything edifies.
So fundamentally, he’s trying to recast their understanding of Christian liberty and say, “Let’s start with this.” Edification comes above gratification. That’s the most important thing. Is what I’m doing building up others for the glory of God? Is it building up the church for the glory of God, or am I just gratifying my desires? Maybe I love meat. Fine, you have the freedom to eat meat. I agree that you do. You do not have the freedom to lay with a temple prostitute. It’s a different matter. But you do have the freedom to eat meat. That’s true. But not all of your eating of meat is going to build the body up. So, let’s say edification, the building up of the body of Christ over gratification-your filling your own desires.
Wes
And then verse 24, he goes on and says, “Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.” How does that relate here to this same idea that it’s outward focused in its application?
Andy
The second principle here is others over self. Let’s see what we can do to build others up. Other people are more important than me. Each of us should look not only to our own interests but the interests of others, Philippians 2. And so, I don’t want to just pursue what’s good for me. I want to be certain that what I’m doing is being done for the benefit of others.
Wes
Now, verses 25-29, give us two case studies, two instances where this becomes a real question for those involved. Why does it matter if the origin of the meat is brought up at the dinner table or in the market? And how does it change things for a believer in that situation?
Andy
Yeah, so this is important. The third principle that we’re getting here is liberty over legalism. So that’s still an issue too. We are free to eat. We’re not going back into the old kosher system. Now, Jesus did declare all foods clean. So, enjoy the meat. You like meat, eat it. But let’s talk about some case studies. So, it gives us two case studies. And the first is the meat market, and the second is a pagan family invites you over for dinner. So, this is just how scripture is so incredibly helpful. Paul’s helpful. He’s like I tell you what, you’re in the meat market. You can eat anything there. You want to go get lunch, go get lunch, eat anything there. Unless the meat seller tells you, it’s been offered to a god or goddess, then don’t eat it. Well, why not? Well, the reason is fundamentally, the meat seller and his conscience, or let’s say the pagan family that invites you over and their situation.
So, in the first case, you can eat whatever sold in the meat market because the earth is the Lord’s. God created all things to be richly enjoyed. So, we’re not going to be legalists here or ascetics, so anything in the meat market. But when it comes to the pagan home, again, you’re free to eat anything they set in front of you. As long as they don’t tell you that it was offered to a god or goddess. It’s like, oh, this is my favorite kind of meat. We got it from the temple of Aphrodite, and the priestess offered it to her, and we got a discount. So here you go. It’s like, “I’m going to stop you right there. I can’t eat it.”
Why not? Why does Paul say? It’s like because of their conscience. We want them to come out of that dark religious system, and if I eat that meat now, they won’t understand. They’re going to get mucked up in that. They’re not going to understand Jesus is calling them out of that demonic religious system into a whole new walk with the Lord. And if you eat that meat, you’re going to have a hard time preaching the gospel after you get done eating it.
Wes
And Paul really drives this home in verses 29 and 30. How does he make it clear that when the matter is raised at the dinner table, is the other person’s conscience not his own? And why does he reject anyone’s judgment of his conscience?
Andy
Okay. So, the last question is he’s again trying to protect the Corinthian Christians from legalism. He doesn’t want them going back into the kosher system of clean and unclean that Jesus has fulfilled. It’s done now. We can eat anything. All foods have been declared clean by Jesus. He wants to uphold that. That is true. That was significant. We’re not doing that anymore. That was part of the barrier. The dividing wall of hostility between Jews and Gentiles has been removed in Christ. So that’s important. But at the same time, individuals’ consciences, and the way they think about things, the way they think about religion, the way they understand priests and priestesses and shrines and temples and all that, matters. We’re calling them out of that. And if another person’s conscience is still bound up in that, you’re going to have a hard time preaching the gospel to them. They’re not going to understand what you’re calling them to do. They’re going to think, oh, okay, so I can still go to the temple with prostitutes, and I can still… It’s like, no, you can’t. It’s like, well, but you’re eating it… And they won’t get it.
So, it’s better to just abstain and say, “Look, until you can fully understand, I’m not eating any of this. Let me preach the gospel. Let me tell you how Jesus died and let me tell you about the gods and goddesses, how they really are demons and there is darkness, and I want to call you out of that.”
So fundamentally, I want to help another person’s defiled, chained conscience to be set free by faith in Jesus. But I’m not going to let their conscience bind me to tell me that there is such a thing as a spiritual virus that can go on a chunk of meat. It’s still just meat. So, I’m not going in for legalism, but I want to set them free into a new religion which is following Christ. So, he’s walking a tight line there, but he’s being, I think, very clear about that.
Wes
Now, verse 31 is well known and expands this principle beyond even just the practicalities of how to interact in the meat market or at a dinner party. What does it mean to do something for the glory of God? And how does the fact that something mundane could be done for the glory of God, give significance to those moments in our lives like washing dishes or doing a secular job or picking up the kids from a friend’s house?
Andy
Oh man, this is incredible. And I always say 1 Corinthians 10:31, one of the most significant verses in all of the Bible. And that is this, “Everything that exists in the universe, exists because God wanted glory from it, that God created everything for his glory.” It is the reason why Jonathan Edwards wrote a treatise on the end for which God created the world. Why did he create everything? Why do things exist? This is a very important question we have to ask. Why do I exist? Why does a banana exist? Why does meat exist that we enjoy the flavor of? Why does my tongue with taste buds exist? Why do the stars exist? Why does everything exist? God did everything for the praise of his glory. Now, what is that? The glory of God is the radiant display of the attributes of God. And what are the attributes of God?
Well, various attributes such as his self-existence, his power, his wisdom, his love, his long-suffering or patience, his wrath, his justice. There’s a whole array of attributes. And as these things are put on radiant or bright shining display, God is glorified. And so, if I do everything for the glory of God, I’m doing things, first of all, that I might display the glory of God, that people might see the glory of God in me or that I might myself, enjoy the glory of God. Like if I’m walking through a field and I notice a wildflower, and I bend down and I pluck that wildflower. And I look at its petals, its colors like you could imagine a violet or something like that. I look at its intense purples and the different shades of the purple, some part of the pedal being a darker purple, and another part of the being a little bit lighter. And I see the stamen or something right in the center, and that’s where all the little yellow powder is where the bees come and pollinate or something like that.
And I think, you know something? This wildflower exists because God made it that way. He made it beautiful. He made it delicate. And Jesus said, consider the lilies of the field. Everything glorifies God, but nothing glorifies God more than human beings who were created in the image of God. And of human beings nothing glorifies God more than our salvation through faith in Christ. So, everything can be and should be for the glory of God. If I eat for the glory of God, I’m understanding God made this food, it’s nourishing to my body and that glorifies God. It’s amazing how the digestive system and the nutrients come and feed my cells and enable them to keep living. The fact that it tastes good was for the glory of God. God didn’t need to make taste or taste buds or different flavors, but he did. So, I can eat for the glory of God, being very God-centered in my eating. Same thing with my drinking. And ultimately my eating and drinking is not my reason for existence. My reason for existence is that I might myself, glorify God by how I live. So, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, even simple things like washing the dishes can be for the glory of God. That’s how we should live our lives.
Wes
What does it mean then, to cause someone to stumble, and how does this line up with Paul’s overall teaching on the limits of Christian freedom?
Andy
Well, it goes back to the other person’s weak conscience. They’re struggling. They’ve not come out of the idolatrous system yet like they need to. And if I do something that makes them stumble, that’s wrong. That would not be for the glory of God. What I want to do is I want to build that person up. If they’re a Christian, and they’re stumbling, I want to build them up so that they can see meat properly and understand paganism properly and understand demons properly. I want to help them get up to spiritual maturity on all these topics. If they’re not Christians yet, I want to rescue them out of Satan’s dark kingdom by the proclamation of the gospel. If I make them stumble, how is that beneficial? I want to live for them. So that’s the second aspect. First greatest commandment is to love God, but secondly, to love my neighbor as myself, to live for their benefit and not cause them to stumble.
Wes
How does Paul then set himself up as an example of the proper and loving use of Christian freedom?
Andy
Well, these have been complex issues. We have three full chapters on this, and we need guides. We don’t know what to do. It’s like we’re in a minefield and we don’t even know that there are mines under our feet. They’re hidden from us, and so we need guides. And Paul, as the apostle to the Gentiles, filled with the Holy Spirit, writing these inherent perfect words is our guide. He said, “No, you don’t know how to get out of this. Just follow me.” He’s like holding a light up on a staff, and he’s saying, “Follow me and I’ll get you out of this dark place where you don’t know how to live. Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.” We need role models. And so, Wes, you and I are pastors, and we should live in such a way that we can say this to some degree, follow my example as I follow the example of Christ. We all need role models, and Paul is the greatest role model there’s ever been in church history.
Wes
It’s so vital. I think you and I have both talked before about those who came alongside us in our Christian walk and modeled for us what it looked like to follow Jesus. And how impactful that was, that we would even still be talking about them and following Jesus to this day in part because of the example that they gave us. Andy, what final thoughts do you have for us on these verses that we’ve been looking at?
Andy
All right, so let’s go back to the beginning of the podcast today. Two great verses that are vital. Verse 14, “Flee idolatry.” I think we need to understand, whatever captivates your imagination and your thought life, whatever gives you security against your fears, whatever brings you ultimate pleasure, whatever organizes your life and your efforts, whatever you spend your money on, and your energy and your time on, these things are the ultimate value of your life. It should be God; it should be Jesus Christ. If it’s any created thing, it’s an idol. We need to flee idolatry. We need to realize its danger.
We need to also realize the danger of sensual pleasures of sex and meat and all those things that were woven into those idolatrous systems. Satan was no dummy. He knew that something had to entice people to do these things, and so he wove them in. Those things are still around today. We need to watch out. But ultimately, verse 31, what a great verse. “Whatever we do, whether we eat or drink, whatever we do, do it all for the glory of God.” Be God-centered in your eating and drinking. Be God-centered in everything you do and put God on display for his glory.
Wes
Well, this has been episode 14 in our 1 Corinthians Bible study podcast. We want to invite you to join us next time for episode 15 entitled, Godly Order in the Public Worship of the Church, where we’ll discuss 1 Corinthians 11:2-34. Thank you for listening to the Two Journeys podcast and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
