Unwelcomed Gods
Introduction
In the unit of thought stretching from 10:23–11:1 the apostle introduces the last scenario under which he will analyze the matter of eating food offered to idols. Given the use of quotation marks at 10:23 in the NIV, one sees Paul giving rejoinders to slogans of freedom and liberty coming from believers in Corinth. The twofold repetition of the slogan “everything is permissible” (πάντα ἔξεστιν, panta exestin) is therefore understood to be the slogan for the philosophy of those who are unconcerned about the consequences of their freedom in the matter of eating food offered to idols. In a response that has some similarities to the contrast between knowledge and love in 8:1ff, Paul here teaches that permission is not the final and sole criterion when determining whether an action is right or wrong. While one certainly needs to ask the question regarding permissibility in ethical matters, Paul emphasizes that one must also ask the question about whether actions are beneficial.21 Paul’s second rejoinder in this verse “but not everything is constructive” has strong verbal parallels to Paul’s wording in 8:1. The Greek verb (οἰκοδομέω, oikodomēo) translated “is constructive” in 10:23 was more accurately translated at 8:1 as “builds up.”
10:26 for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”
The radical monotheism expressed in Ps 24:1 and quoted by Paul here frees the believer from concerns about idolatrous contamination of the food he eats. As long as the believer is not involved in overt worship of an idol, Paul is able to cut the cord between the idolatrous contamination of the meat in a temple sacrifice and its adverse impact upon believers. Since the gods and goddesses of Greece and Rome do not exist, and since everything in the earth belongs to Yahweh, the believer in the Roman colony of Corinth is freed to participate without fear in the consumption of this food.
As long as the believer is not involved in overt worship of an idol, Paul is able to cut the cord between the idolatrous contamination of the meat in a temple sacrifice and its adverse impact upon believers. Since the gods and goddesses of Greece and Rome do not exist, and since everything in the earth belongs to Yahweh, the believer in the Roman colony of Corinth is freed to participate without fear in the consumption of this food.
Paul does not specify the particular occasion for this meal. Based upon the ancient evidence available to us, one could speculate about any number of possible occasions for a believer to be invited to dine with unbelievers. If the believer wants to go, Paul says, he may with a clear conscience eat what is put before him. Based upon the implications of the radical monotheism of 10:26, Paul says in 10:27 that the Christian is under no obligation to inquire about the nature of the food and its contact with temple ceremonies.
This is a completely different term from that which Paul has been using throughout this section which reflects his Christian convictions and refers to idol food. The term that Paul has been using throughout this section is εἰδωλόθυτον (eidōlothyton) and is a pejorative term reflecting his Christian convictions that his food is not sacred food, but rather food that has been offered to an idol. The term “idol” is of course itself a negative term reflecting a Christian conviction and not the convictions of a pagan who believed in these deities.
Once the believer then has learned from the pagan at the meal that this food had been offered to a deity, Paul says that the believer should not consume the food
Witherington argues, “because the host was trying to be sensitive to the Christian’s religious persuasion and perhaps assume that Christian’s adherence to some derivative sort of Judaism, would like Jews, not partake of such food.… So Paul says to abstain for the pagan’s sake so as to uphold a good image of moral consistency in the pagan’s eye.” 23
While we often think of the offended conscience as belonging to a fellow believer, 10:32ff makes it clear that Paul is concerned about the conscience both of the Christian and the non-Christian. Paul’s use of the catchword “my freedom” in 10:29 alerts us to the fact that he is having to persuade fellow saints who are not accustomed to having their freedoms curtailed by the thoughts and opinions of others. The issue of the curtailment of personal freedoms picks up on Paul’s treatment of this issue throughout ch. 9.
The occurrence of the two words “thankfulness” and “thank” in this verse points to a situation where believers (who were not so concerned about the good of others; 10:24) would have elevated their own thankful attitude as the sole criterion for whether it was right to eat or not. Once again the apostle is driving his readership to see the point that the sole criterion is not what pleases or satisfies self. Rather the believer must be concerned about how his actions impact others.
Theology in Application
Commitment to the Covenant Lord
Regarding Christ as the covenant Lord of his people is often overlooked in modern Christian circles, but it accurately describes the one who protects, loves, and cares for his people yet is also their judge. Often Christians, caught up in the glory of receiving God’s saving grace through faith in Christ, forget his rule and lordship. He alone must be worshipped, and his commands are to be obeyed by a people he has called to be holy (1:2; cf. 1 Pet 1:13–15). Paul’s emphasis on Christ as Lord has been consistent throughout his epistle (note especially the first nine verses of the book). His peoples’ priorities must be his priorities. His thoughts are to be their thoughts. The prioritizing of the Lord’s will in every area of life is Christ’s desire for his people, but it should also be their desire to follow, obey, and serve him. Fleeing idolatry of all sorts must therefore be a primary focus of Christian life, for it is the other side of the primary and positive focus of pursuing Christ alone (cf. 1 Pet 4:3–5). 1 Corinthians 10:13 has already indicated that such a route is possible thanks to God’s own faithfulness.
However, it is all too easy to rationalize idolatries and sin and even consider them to be “not so serious” because of God’s amazing, life-giving grace in Christ. If Christians have noted how God has gifted them with grace-gifts, they can especially fall into this trap. A Christian’s thinking can move all too easily from “I see God at work in my life” to “I see God at work in my life despite my sin; therefore, my sin can’t be too important.” It is perhaps not a matter of denying sin so much as not realizing what sin reveals about allegiance to the Lord (cf. Rom 6:1–4). Such an attitude is to presume upon God. In the end it is to reject him despite his love, and to let other “gods” become the focus. We have already touched on many ways in which “gods” rear their heads in today’s world.
While gospel ministers and teachers will frequently and rightly teach about the evils of such “gods” (e.g., sexual immorality, material possessions, covetousness, sport, the family) and how they affect our lives and how we need to repent, there is a great need to present this in the context of the biblical theme of covenant accountability to the Lord. When certain sins are singled out as having the power to control Christians without being placed in the context that Paul gives us in these verses, sin can become separated from the discussion of Christ’s lordship. Then the greater spiritual background in which “demons” are real is obscured, and so the heinous, covenant-breaking nature of our idolatries is also diminished. It is crucial for all who claim to be part of Christ’s church to understand that who or what they worship reveals their heart and ultimately their position of standing or falling before the Lord. Fleeing idolatry should be a preoccupation that in itself will inevitably reveal a person’s dependence on the Lord himself. There can be no dual loyalties. Having heard the strong warnings here, however, we also need to remember that those who truly belong to the Lord, though in serious danger of being led astray to or by false gods or demonic activity are actually “possessed” by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 3:16; 2 Cor 5:5; Rom 8:14). It is important that Christians heed the warnings of Paul in this passage and others against temptations and idolatry and what lies behind idolatry. Yet it also is crucial that they recognise that the Spirit is the one who protects them and in the end upholds them and delivers them from a demonic takeover. It is significant that 10:13 with its promise that “God is faithful” comes before 10:14 and a section that deals with the dangers of idolatry.
One Bread, One Body
Paul says more about the Lord’s Supper in chapter 11. Although in chapter 10 Paul is making a point about pagan meals by analogy with the Supper, it is important to note how Paul draws attention to the unity of the body being revealed in the covenant meal. The Lord’s presence at this meal is taken for granted as Paul makes his argument, but the emphasis on the unity of his people as a “body” is also vital. Later Paul will develop the “body” metaphor, but here he insists that the meal itself signifies the community’s commitment to Christ as Lord. Often people see the Lord’s Supper, or communion, as about an individual’s relationship with the Lord. It is certainly this, but this passage again draws attention to the fact that all individuals are part of the greater community. Eating and drinking together says something about the church’s united commitment to each other in her service of the Lord.
This corporate dimension of covenant accountability is another teaching often obscured in the modern church impacted by a society in which individualism has taken on the nature of one of the “gods.” In the church’s table fellowship around the Supper, Christians express their “covenant participation” and accountability to the Lord alone as he spiritually sits with them. However, in doing this they express their accountability to one another and their care for one another. Here the church as a whole is reminded it is “one body” as its members seek to follow the Lord and rejoice in their redemption.
The loss in many churches of being given a piece of bread to eat from one loaf and of drinking from one larger cup has diminished something of the vivid picture that Paul here describes. Christ’s death brought not just “me” to himself but all with whom I worship, and to whom I am now bound in covenant relationship under the same Lord. In this Supper I am reminded that together we must be a people who defy demons, who defy other “gods,” and who worship the Lord Christ alone. Together we hold one another accountable for our worship; indeed, if we do not, the Lord will come to judge. The covenant judgment of the Lord on the church is vividly described as Jesus warns some of the seven churches in the book of Revelation that he will come and remove the “lampstand” (see Rev 1:20; 2:5, 16, 22–23; 3:3, 19).