Twin City church of Christ Blog
“Apr 15, 2024 - Knowledge Puffs Up, Love Builds Up”
Categories: 2024 Reading DevotionalsKnowledge Puffs Up, Love Builds Up
Reading: 1 Corinthians 8:1-6
In the next three chapters, Paul will address “food offered to idols”(1 Cor 8:1). This is meat from animals sacrificed to pagan gods, which was then sold in the meat market in cities like Corinth. Should Christians eat this? “Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that ‘all of us possess knowledge.’ This ‘knowledge’ puffs up, but love builds up”(1 Cor 8:1). There is clearly a division of opinion on this topic in Corinth, which seems to center on people who describe what “we know” and others whose conscience is weak and feel unable to partake (v. 9). Paul stresses that knowledge does not always solve problems between people. For one, knowledge can lead to us thinking more of ourselves than is warranted: “If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know”(1 Cor 8:2). Knowledge can puff up, but love builds up.
There are some things that we know that can aid in the discussion. “We know that ‘an idol has no real existence,’ and that ‘there is no God but one’”(1 Cor 8:4). Despite the abundance of pagan “gods,” “for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist”(1 Cor 8:6). In other words, Zeus and Poseidon may wear the name “god,” but they are not real. Yet just because we know that doesn’t mean that our conscience is prepared to dismiss their worshipers, temples, and sacrifices as innocuous. There is more to this issue than knowledge.
Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Knowledge can lead me to disdain others who don’t know what I know (v. 7). Many topics have an essential truth component, yet cannot be fully understood without addressing our hearts. How will my actions affect others? How do I apply this truth in love? If I am not prepared to live with love toward my brother, all my knowledge does me (and him) no good.
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One Thing to Think About: Can I love my brother even when I disagree with him?
One Thing to Pray For: Willingness to allow both knowledge and love to inform my judgment
