King James Version
1 Corinthians 8
13 verses with commentary
Food Offered to Idols
Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Now as touching things offered unto idols</strong> (περὶ δὲ τῶν εἰδωλοθύτων, <em>peri de ton eidolothyton</em>)—Paul addresses meat sacrificed in pagan temples, a volatile issue in cosmopolitan Corinth. His pastoral response pivots on a crucial contrast: <strong>Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth</strong> (ἡ γνῶσις φυσιοῖ, ἡ δὲ ἀγάπη οἰκοδομεῖ). The verb <em>physioi</em> (φυσιοῖ, "...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
VIII.
(1) **Now as touching things offered unto idols.**—A new subject is here introduced, and occupies the whole of this chapter. In Corinth and other cities meat was offered for sale which had been used for sacrificial purposes in the heathen temples, having been sold to the dealers by the priests, who received a large share of the sacrifices for themselves, or by the individuals who offered the...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**22. For--**literally, "Since," seeing that. This verse illustrates how the "preaching" of Christ crucified came to be deemed "foolishness" (1Co 1:21).
**a sign--**The oldest manuscripts read "signs." The singular was a later correction from Mt 12:38; 16:1; Joh 2:18. The signs the Jews craved for were not mere miracles, but direct tokens from heaven that Jesus was Messiah (Lu 11:16).
**Greeks...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 8
Chapter Outline
The danger of having a high conceit of knowledge.(1-6)
The mischief of offending weak brethren.(7-13)
**Verses 1-6**
There is no proof of ignorance more common than conceit of knowledge. Much may be known, when nothing is known to good purpose. And those who think they know any thing, and grow vain thereon, are the least likely to make good use of their ...
Read full commentary →And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>If any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know</strong> (καθὼς δεῖ γνῶναι, <em>kathos dei gnonai</em>, "as it is necessary to know")—Paul deflates intellectual pride with devastating irony. The Corinthians' theological sophistication masked spiritual ignorance. True knowledge (<em>gnosis</em> in its proper form) is relational and humble, not merely ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **If any man think that he knoweth any thing . . . .**—There must be a moral as well as a merely intellectual element in knowledge if it is to be true knowledge. Without love to guide us in its use it is not an operative knowledge, and so does not fulfil the true end of knowledge.
It has been suggested (Stanley *in loc*) that “not yet” has here the force of “not in the infirmities of their mor...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23. we--**Paul and Apollos.
**Christ crucified--**The Greek expresses not the mere fact of His crucifixion, but the permanent character acquired by the transaction, whereby He is now a Saviour (Ga 3:1) crucified was the stone on which the Jews stumbled (Mt 21:44). The opposition of Jew and Gentile alike shows that a religion so seemingly contemptible in its origin could not have succeeded if i...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 8
Chapter Outline
The danger of having a high conceit of knowledge.(1-6)
The mischief of offending weak brethren.(7-13)
**Verses 1-6**
There is no proof of ignorance more common than conceit of knowledge. Much may be known, when nothing is known to good purpose. And those who think they know any thing, and grow vain thereon, are the least likely to make good use of their ...
Read full commentary →But if any man love God, the same is known of him.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But if any man love God, the same is known of him</strong> (ἔγνωσται ὑπ' αὐτοῦ, <em>egnostai hyp' autou</em>, "has been known by Him")—Paul reverses the equation: what matters isn't our knowledge of God, but God's knowledge of us. The perfect tense <em>egnostai</em> indicates completed action with ongoing results—God's electing knowledge establishes and sustains the believer.<br><br>This e...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **If any man love God.**—This explains the nature of the love which edifies. Love to God, and therefore love to man, builds up the whole Christian communion. The man gets outside the mere selfish thought of his own indulgence in his liberty. There is the under-thought in these words (“the same is known of Him”) of the identity between knowing God and being known of Him. The latter is the sourc...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24. called--**(compare 1Co 1:26). The same class as the "us which are (being) saved" (1Co 1:18); the elect, who have obeyed the call; called effectually (Ro 8:28, 30).
**Christ--**"Crucified" is not here added, because when the offense of the cross is overcome, "Christ" is received in all His relations, not only in His cross, but in His life and His future kingdom.
**power--**so meeting all ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 8
Chapter Outline
The danger of having a high conceit of knowledge.(1-6)
The mischief of offending weak brethren.(7-13)
**Verses 1-6**
There is no proof of ignorance more common than conceit of knowledge. Much may be known, when nothing is known to good purpose. And those who think they know any thing, and grow vain thereon, are the least likely to make good use of their ...
Read full commentary →As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols</strong> (περὶ τῆς βρώσεως τῶν εἰδωλοθύτων, <em>peri tes broseos ton eidolothyton</em>)—Paul now applies his love-knowledge principle to the specific case. The theological facts are correct: <strong>an idol is nothing in the world, and there is none other God but one</strong>. The Greek <em>ouden</e...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **As concerning therefore the eating of those things.**—See 1Corinthians 8:1. The subject resumed after the parenthesis. We have, perhaps, in this repetition of the words a characteristic of a letter written by another from the author’s dictation, as was the case with this and other epistles.
**An idol is nothing in the world.**—It is nothing in itself but a piece of wood or metal, and it real...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**25. foolishness of God--**that is, God's plan of salvation which men deem "foolishness."
**weakness of God--**Christ "crucified through weakness" (2Co 13:4, the great stumbling-block of the Jews), yet "living by the power of God." So He perfects strength out of the weakness of His servants (1Co 2:3; 2Co 12:9).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 8
Chapter Outline
The danger of having a high conceit of knowledge.(1-6)
The mischief of offending weak brethren.(7-13)
**Verses 1-6**
There is no proof of ignorance more common than conceit of knowledge. Much may be known, when nothing is known to good purpose. And those who think they know any thing, and grow vain thereon, are the least likely to make good use of their ...
Read full commentary →For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For though there be that are called gods</strong> (εἴπερ εἰσὶν λεγόμενοι θεοί, <em>eiper eisin legomenoi theoi</em>, "if indeed there are so-called gods")—Paul acknowledges polytheism's ubiquity while denying its reality. The participle <em>legomenoi</em> ("called, so-called") is dismissive—these entities are <em>titled</em> gods but lack divine essence. The parenthetical <strong>as there ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **For though there be. . . .**—This is an hypothetic argument. “Be” is the emphatic word of the supposition. Even assuming that there do exist those beings which are called “gods” (we have a right to make such a supposition, for Deuteronomy 10:17, Psalm 105:2-3, speaks of “gods and lords” of another kind), the difference between the heathen, “gods many” and the “lords and gods” of whom the Old...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**26. ye see--**rather, from the prominence of the verb in the Greek, "see" or "consider" (imperative) [Alford from Vulgate and Irenæus].
**your calling ... are called--**Instead of the words in italics, supplied by English Version, supply, "were your callers." What Paul is dwelling on (compare 1Co 1:27, 28) is the weakness of the instrumentality which the Lord employed to convert the world [Hin...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 8
Chapter Outline
The danger of having a high conceit of knowledge.(1-6)
The mischief of offending weak brethren.(7-13)
**Verses 1-6**
There is no proof of ignorance more common than conceit of knowledge. Much may be known, when nothing is known to good purpose. And those who think they know any thing, and grow vain thereon, are the least likely to make good use of their ...
Read full commentary →But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. in: or, for
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But to us there is but one God, the Father</strong> (ἀλλ' ἡμῖν εἷς θεὸς ὁ πατήρ, <em>all' hemin heis theos ho pater</em>)—Paul counters polytheism with a Trinitarian monotheistic confession. The Father is the source <strong>of whom are all things</strong> (ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα, <em>ex hou ta panta</em>)—the preposition <em>ex</em> indicates origin. Creation flows from the Father. Believers exist...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **But to us.**—Though this be so, yet for us Christians there exists but one God the Father, from whom alone every created thing has come, and for (not “in”) whom alone we exist; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things are created (John 1:3), and we Christians created spiritually by Him. All creation is *of* the Father through the Son. All creation is for the Father and likewise *fo...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**27. the foolish things--**a general phrase for all persons and things foolish. Even things (and those, too, foolish things) are chosen by God to confound persons, (and those too persons who are wise). This seems to me the force of the change from neuter to masculine.
**to confound--**The Greek is stronger, "that He might confound (or put to shame)." God confounds the wise by effecting through ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 8
Chapter Outline
The danger of having a high conceit of knowledge.(1-6)
The mischief of offending weak brethren.(7-13)
**Verses 1-6**
There is no proof of ignorance more common than conceit of knowledge. Much may be known, when nothing is known to good purpose. And those who think they know any thing, and grow vain thereon, are the least likely to make good use of their ...
Read full commentary →Do Not Cause Another to Stumble
Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge</strong> (ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐν πᾶσιν ἡ γνῶσις, <em>all' ouk en pasin he gnosis</em>)—Paul pivots from theology to pastoral reality. Not all believers possess the mature understanding that idols are metaphysical zeros. <strong>For some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol</strong>—the phrase "conscience of ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge.**—The Apostle had admitted that in theory all have knowledge which should render the eating of things offered to idols a matter beyond question; but there are some who, as a matter of fact, are not fully grown—have not practically attained that knowledge.
**Some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28. yea, and things which are not--**Yea is not in the Greek. Also some of the oldest manuscripts omit "and." Thus the clause, "things which are not" (are regarded as naught), is in apposition with "foolish ... weak ... base (that is, lowborn) and despised things." God has chosen all four, though regarded as things that are not, to bring to naught things that are.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-13**
Eating one kind of food, and abstaining from another, have nothing in them to recommend a person to God. But the apostle cautions against putting a stumbling-block in the way of the weak; lest they be made bold to eat what was offered to the idol, not as common food, but as a sacrifice, and thereby be guilty of idolatry. He who has the Spirit of Christ in him, will love those w...
Read full commentary →But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse. are we the better: or, have we the more are we the worse: or, have we the less
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But meat commendeth us not to God</strong> (βρῶμα δὲ ἡμᾶς οὐ παραστήσει τῷ θεῷ, <em>broma de hemas ou parastesei to theo</em>)—Paul asserts food's spiritual neutrality. The verb <em>paristemi</em> (παρίστημι, "commend, present, bring near") is used elsewhere of presenting sacrifices or standing in God's presence. Dietary choices neither advance nor hinder our standing with God.<br><br><str...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **But meat . . . .**—By showing that the eating is a matter of indifference, the Apostle introduces his reason for yielding to the weakness of another. If the weakness involved a matter of our vital relation to God, then to yield would be wrong. But meat will not (future) affect our relationship to God. The concluding words of this verse are inverted in later MSS., as in the English version, a...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**29. no flesh ... glory--**For they who try to glory (boast) because of human greatness and wisdom, are "confounded" or put to shame (1Co 1:27). Flesh, like "the flower of the field," is beautiful, but frail (Is 40:6).
**in his presence--**We are to glory not before Him, but in Him [Bengel].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-13**
Eating one kind of food, and abstaining from another, have nothing in them to recommend a person to God. But the apostle cautions against putting a stumbling-block in the way of the weak; lest they be made bold to eat what was offered to the idol, not as common food, but as a sacrifice, and thereby be guilty of idolatry. He who has the Spirit of Christ in him, will love those w...
Read full commentary →But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak. liberty: or, power
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock</strong> (πρόσκομμα, <em>proskomma</em>, "obstacle, offense")—Paul's warning is sharp. The noun <em>proskomma</em> denotes something that trips someone, causing them to fall. Your <em>exousia</em> (ἐξουσία, "right, liberty, authority") can become another's <em>proskomma</em> (stumbling stone).<br><br><strong>To t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **But take heed.**—On this very account, because the matter is one which *is* indifferent, because there is no right or wrong in it, you must look elsewhere for your guide as to how you ought to act. In things which are not indifferent, right or wrong is the sole test of action. In things indifferent you must look for some other guide, and you must regulate your conduct by the effect it may ha...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**30. But ... ye--**in contrast to them that "glory" in worldly wisdom and greatness.
**of him are--**not of yourselves (Ep 2:8), but of Him (Ro 11:36). From Him ye are (that is, have spiritual life, who once were spiritually among the "things which are not." 1Co 1:28).
**in Christ--**by living union with Him. Not "in the flesh" (1Co 1:26, 29).
**of God--**from God; emanating from Him and se...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-13**
Eating one kind of food, and abstaining from another, have nothing in them to recommend a person to God. But the apostle cautions against putting a stumbling-block in the way of the weak; lest they be made bold to eat what was offered to the idol, not as common food, but as a sacrifice, and thereby be guilty of idolatry. He who has the Spirit of Christ in him, will love those w...
Read full commentary →For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; emboldened: Gr. edified
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple</strong> (ἐν εἰδωλείῳ κατακείμενον, <em>en eidoleio katakeimenon</em>, "reclining in an idol-shrine")—Paul provides a concrete scenario. The verb <em>katakeimai</em> describes the Greco-Roman dining posture (reclining on couches), indicating formal meals, not merely purchasing meat at market. The "strong" believe...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **For if any man** (*i.e.,* any of the weak brethren) **see thee which hast knowledge.**—The fact of your being avowedly advanced in the knowledge of the faith will make your example the more dangerous, because more effective.
**Sit at meat in the idol’s temple.**—Some went so far as to not only eat, but eat in the precincts of the heathen temple. The Apostle being concerned now only with the...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**31. glory in ... Lord--**(Jr 9:23, 24)--in opposition to "flesh glorying in His presence" (1Co 1:29). In contrast to morbid slavish self-abasement, Paul joins with humility the elevating consciousness of our true dignity in Christ. He who glories is to glory in the Lord, not in the flesh, nor in the world.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-13**
Eating one kind of food, and abstaining from another, have nothing in them to recommend a person to God. But the apostle cautions against putting a stumbling-block in the way of the weak; lest they be made bold to eat what was offered to the idol, not as common food, but as a sacrifice, and thereby be guilty of idolatry. He who has the Spirit of Christ in him, will love those w...
Read full commentary →And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish</strong> (ἀπόλλυται γὰρ ὁ ἀσθενῶν ἐν τῇ σῇ γνώσει, <em>apollytai gar ho asthenon en te se gnosei</em>)—the present tense <em>apollytai</em> ("is perishing, being destroyed") depicts ongoing spiritual ruin, not necessarily final apostasy (though Paul's warning is dire). Your <em>gnosis</em> (knowledge), used without love, becomes an in...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **And through thy knowledge shall . . .**—Better, *and by means of thy knowledge the weak one perishes*—*the brother for whom Christ died.* It is not, as in the English version, a question, but it is the expansion and interpretation of the previous statement. There is a great variety of readings in the MSS., but the weight of evidence is in favour of this reading. Christ *died* for him. The s...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-13**
Eating one kind of food, and abstaining from another, have nothing in them to recommend a person to God. But the apostle cautions against putting a stumbling-block in the way of the weak; lest they be made bold to eat what was offered to the idol, not as common food, but as a sacrifice, and thereby be guilty of idolatry. He who has the Spirit of Christ in him, will love those w...
Read full commentary →But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience</strong> (τύπτοντες αὐτῶν τὴν συνείδησιν ἀσθενοῦσαν, <em>typtontes auton ten syneidesin astheousan</em>, "striking their weak conscience")—the verb <em>typto</em> (τύπτω, "strike, beat, wound") is violent. Flaunting liberty doesn't merely disappoint but brutalizes the weak believer's conscience. The participle structu...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **When ye sin so.**—When you sin in this way—and he explains further what the sin is: “Striking a blow upon their weak consciences”—you sin against Christ. You wound a member of that body which is His. (See Matthew 25:40.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 2
1Co 2:1-16. Paul's Subject of Preaching, Christ Crucified, Not in Worldly, but in Heavenly, Wisdom among the Perfect.
**1. And I--**"So I" [Conybeare] as one of the "foolish, weak, and despised" instruments employed by God (1Co 1:27, 28); "glorying in the Lord," not in man's wisdom (1Co 1:31). Compare 1Co 1:23, "We."
**when I came--**(Ac 18:1, &c.). Paul might, had he pleased, ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-13**
Eating one kind of food, and abstaining from another, have nothing in them to recommend a person to God. But the apostle cautions against putting a stumbling-block in the way of the weak; lest they be made bold to eat what was offered to the idol, not as common food, but as a sacrifice, and thereby be guilty of idolatry. He who has the Spirit of Christ in him, will love those w...
Read full commentary →Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth , lest I make my brother to offend.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth</strong> (οὐ μὴ φάγω κρέα εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, <em>ou me phago krea eis ton aiona</em>, "I will never eat meat forever")—Paul's emphatic double negative (<em>ou me</em>) expresses absolute resolve. He personally pledges perpetual vegetarianism if meat-eating causes a brother to stumble. This isn't hypothet...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Wherefore.**—He states his own solemn determination, arising from the considerations which have just been urged. If a matter of food cause a brother to fall in his Christian course, I will certainly never again eat any kind of flesh, lest I should be the cause of so making him to fall.
It is noticeable that St. Paul in discussing this question makes no reference whatever to the decision of ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
2. The Greek implies, "The only definite thing that I made it my business to know among you, was to know Jesus Christ (His person) and Him crucified (His office)" [Alford], not exalted on the earthly throne of David, but executed as the vilest malefactor. The historical fact of Christ's crucifixion had probably been put less prominently forward by the seekers after human wisdom in the Corinthian c...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-13**
Eating one kind of food, and abstaining from another, have nothing in them to recommend a person to God. But the apostle cautions against putting a stumbling-block in the way of the weak; lest they be made bold to eat what was offered to the idol, not as common food, but as a sacrifice, and thereby be guilty of idolatry. He who has the Spirit of Christ in him, will love those w...
Read full commentary →