(Tap footnote to read it. Old Testament quotations are underlined. "Love" with a caret ("^love") is agapé.1"agapé" The Greek words ἀγάπη (agapé, noun), and ἀγαπάω (agapaó; verb) are typically translated "love". However, unlike our English word "love" – which primarily speaks of affection and feelings – agapé centers on choice and behavior. It’s the "love" based on will, choice, behavior, and action; not feelings. (Feelings-based love is the Greek word φιλέω (phileó), which properly means "brotherly love/affection".) Thus, you could hate someone passionately and still treat him with "agapé". Agapé "love" is best understood as the pursuit of what is most beneficial to someone or something, regardless of the cost to yourself or the type of response received from the person or thing. It can also indicate a preference for someone or something over other things. )
Things Sacrificed to Idols
- Now, about things sacrificed to idols. We *know that we all have knowledge; knowledge puffs up, but ^love builds up.
- If anyone thinks to have known anything, he didn’t yet know as it’s required to know.
- But if anyone ^loves God, he is *known by Him.
- Therefore, about food sacrificed to idols; we have known that an idol in the world is nothing, and that there’s no God except One.
- For indeed, even if some are being called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords),
- But to us, there’s one God – the Father – from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord – Jesus the Anointed – through1or “because of”, as the Greek word can – and does – mean either depending on the context. It also quite possible Paul left it slightly ambiguous, and intended both meanings. whom all things exist, and we exist through2or “because of”; see previous note. Him.
- But this knowledge isn’t in all men. And until now, some are accustomed to eating food sacrificed to an idol as if the idol is real; and their conscience – being weak – is defiled.3“is defiled” could also be translated “they defile themselves” as the endings for the passive voice and middle voice are the exact same for this Greek word. The idea is these Christians with a weak conscience believes the food is consecrated to the idol, and thus eating food consecrated to another god would displease the True God. While Paul says that since the other “god” don’t even exist, the food can’t be consecrated to a god who doesn’t exist.
- But food won’t bring us closer to God; we neither fall short if we don’t eat, nor excel if we do eat.
- But beware, lest your liberty in this somehow becomes a stumbling block to the weak.
- For if someone sees you (the man who has knowledge) reclining at the table in an idol’s temple, with his conscience being weak, won’t he be encouraged to eat the things sacrificed to idols?
- For then the man who’s weak is ruined by your knowledge, the brother for whom the Anointed died.
- And thus, in sinning against the brothers and wounding their conscience which is weak, you sin against the Anointed.
- Therefore, if food ensnares my brother, I definitely won’t eat meat sacrificed to idols through the age, so I won’t ensnare my brother.
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