F. Food Sacrificed to Idols (8:1-11:1)

The shift from sexual issues in chs. 5-7 to food sacrificed to idols in chs. 8-10 appears abrupt at first glance. But in ancient practice idolatry and immorality were inevitably linked (see 5:9-11; 6:9-10). The introductory formula (now about) in 8:1 and 7:1 seems to indicate that both topics were raised in the Corinthians' letter to Paul.

Despite the new topic, Paul’s approach is thoroughly consistent with the tone and argumentative approach of the rest of the letter. He quotes the slogan We all possess knowledge (8:1), and, like earlier slogans, immediately relativizes it by appealing to superior principles. The opening chapters of the letter prepare us to expect Paul’s devaluation of alleged human knowledge. The presumptuous claim of knowledge makes people arrogant (puffs up, niv; cf. 4:19; 5:2). Love is not arrogant (13:4); on the contrary, love builds up (8:1). A commitment to building up other people challenges the slogan that everything is permissible (10:23; see 6:12; 8:9). Similarly, “building up” is a significant criterion in Paul’s assessment of spiritual gifts in ch. 14 (seven times; see also 3:9-16).

In 1Co 8-10 Paul addresses three distinct issues related to the general subject of food sacrificed to idols: eating sacrificial food at pagan temples (8:9-13; 10:14-22); purchasing for home consumption the same food sold in the marketplace (10:25-26); eating this food in the home of an unbeliever (vv.27-30).

Paul’s lengthy discussions of his surrendered apostolic rights in ch. 9 is not intended to defend his challenged apostolic status. His positive example illustrates and substantiates his reasoning in chs. 8-10, which significantly, concludes with an appeal for the Corinthians to imitate his example (11:1). Israel’s negative example in ch. 10 challenges the Corinthians' false sense of security and impresses on them the serious consequences of irresponsible behavior—the risk of forfeiting their salvation.

Paul’s insistence on the centrality of the love ethic historically has found a sympathetic hearing among Wesleyans. Orthodox knowledge cannot displace the priority of love. This stance is not antiintellectual; it is prorelational. Communal responsibilities take precedence over individual rights. Traditionally, Wesleyans have been more likely to err on the side of legalism than of license. Thus we should note Paul’s intention not to put anyone in bondage to another’s overly scrupulous conscience. Today some Christians seem to have become so “enlightened” that, like the Corinthians, they take offense at Paul’s insistence that there are absolutes. We all need to be reminded that love may call us to surrender our personal rights in the interests of communal needs.

Paul’s shift to the first person singular in 8:13 provides the necessary transition from his critique of the Corinthians' insistence on their rights to the presentation of his personal example of not exercising his apostolic rights. The key issue is not apostleship (see 9:1, 2, 5), but freedom/rights (9:1, 4, 5, 6, 12 [twice], 18, 19). Although in this section the issue of food sacrificed to idols moves into the background, it is never out of sight. The function of ch. 9 is to substantiate and illustrate Paul’s argument as to the proper approach to eating food offered to idols in ch. 8 on other, presumably less sensitive, grounds. His example of foregoing personal rights as a concession to the needs of others urges the Corinthians to put aside their alleged right to continue to frequent pagan cultic meals in the interests of their fellow believers.

Paul rehearses Israel’s disobedience in the wilderness as an example of behavior the Corinthians are not to imitate. This serves as a typological warning that even the “knowledgeable” Corinthians might fail to obtain eschatological salvation. Christian liberty unchecked may deteriorate into license and endanger not only the weak but the strong Christian as well. Repeatedly Paul challenges the imagined security of his enlightened hearers.

Paul concludes his arguments against idolatry begun in 8:1 with this final exhortation. He repeats the slogan quoted earlier (10:23; cf. 6:12) before amending it in 10:24. The correction (but not everything is constructive) connects this passage closely with Paul’s repeated concern for building up others (8:1, 10; 14:3, 4, 5, 10, 17, 26).

Although Paul agrees in principle with “the knowledgeable,” he spells out conditions under which meat possibly offered to idols may be eaten or should be refused (10:25-30). He urges his hearers to eat to the glory of God and, like him, to take care not to cause fellow Christians to sin (vv.31-32; cf. 8:13). He recommends his personal example of pleasing everyone in every way by not seeking his own advantage (10:33; cf. v.24) and concludes his exhortation in 11:1 with a call to imitate his Christlike model (cf. Ro 15:1-3, 7-8).

Paul urges readers to renounce their personal rights in the interests of what is beneficial (10:23; cf. 6:12; 12:7) or constructive (10:23; cf. 3:9-14; 8:1, 10; 14:3, 4, 5, 10, 17, 26). Love and “building up” are more crucial than knowledge and rights. Their insistence upon their right to eat food sacrificed to idols is only one expression of their fundamental misunderstanding of the Christian life. The issue is not with specific terms or issues, but the difference between a self- and other-centered approach to life. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others (10:24; see v.33; 13:5; 14:12).

Paul is not prepared to sacrifice personal freedom for petty reasons. Nevertheless, he is more than willing freely to surrender it for the good of others. His concern here is to distinguish between situations when freedom may operate and when it must be relinquished. In 10:25-27 Paul explains when one is free to eat; in 10:28-30 he explains when one is free to refrain.

Much of the food available in meat markets throughout the Greco-Roman world had once been offered in pagan sacrifices to idols. Paul considers the prior history of the food one eats totally irrelevant. He rejects the Jewish requirement to investigate the source of the meat. Freedom prevails since God is its ultimate source (10:26; citing Ps 24:1). In 10:25-27 two issues are held together by their shared advice, in effect, “Don't ask whether the food was previously offered in a sacrifice to an idol. It is not a moral issue.” Although Paul forbids eating at pagan temples (10:1-22), here he insists that the issue is not food itself but the situation in which it is eaten. In religiously neutral situations, the source of the food is a matter of indifference.

Paul cites two examples of such situations: the public meat market where food is purchased for home consumption and private meals in a nonbeliever’s home. Because the origin of meat market food is irrelevant, and because the sanctity of Christians is not threatened by association with unbelievers (see 7:12-16; 9:20-22), the same advice applies at a private meal in the home of an unbeliever: Eat . . . without raising questions of conscience (10:27; cf. v.25). If, however, an unbeliever tells Christians in either situation, This has been offered in sacrifice, they must not eat it (v.28). The pagan world was fully aware of Jewish scruples over such food. If the unbeliever felt compelled to warn Christians of the origin of the food, they were not to offend his expectations of them (Fee, 485).

In 10:29b-30 Paul turns from the second person plural imperative (vv.25-29a) to the first person singular. He defends not his past conduct, but Christian freedom. Christian freedom is not restricted by the conscience of another person. What is a moral issue to one person is not necessarily so to another. Christians refrain from eating in certain situations, not because the information someone supplies changes the character of the food, but because it changes the character of the situation. I am free to eat anything because I give thanks to God for the food. But I am free to refuse to eat out of concern for my informants because I put their interests ahead of mine (v.24).

In 10:31-11:1 Paul concludes and summarizes his discussion of food sacrificed to idols (chs. 8-10), expanding the implications of the issue to include not only eating and drinking but whatever you do (10:31). Ultimately, his concern is not to restrict his hearers' freedom, but to turn them from preoccupation with their rights to two decisive principles. First, everything must be done “for the glory of God” (v.31). Second, nothing must be done to cause another to sin (v.32; cf. 8:9). His restriction of his personal rights in the interests of others is the basis for his concluding appeal: “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (11:1; see Ro 15:1-3).