St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians 8:8-13; 9:1-2
Brethren, food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. Only take care lest this liberty of yours somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if any one sees you, a man of knowledge, at table in an idol’s temple, might he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? And so by your knowledge this weak man is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. Thus, sinning against your brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food is a cause of my brother’s falling, I will never eat meat, lest I cause my brother to fall. Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
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In today’s modern world we think it a little strange that such a fuss was made by Paul in relation to whether or not food that had been presented to pagan gods was capable of being eaten by Christians. However, this was a very real and live issue for Paul when he set about seeking to convert people to Christ. At that time pagan sacrifice was endemic. Of course not all that was sacrificed was burnt for the gods. In fact a large proportion was given back for consumption either through sale or through sacred feasts which were shared by the people. Paul’s principal concern was to ensure that the people did not become obsessed with what to eat or what not to eat but also at the same time that they did not, through the consumption of food dedicated to a pagan god, reject Christ and along with that Christianity.
Further, some Corinthians – ostensibly Christians – felt that they were somehow superior to the pagans. They believed that they had special knowledge. Their line of argument was as follows: we know that there are no pagan gods; therefore, any sacrifice to such gods was in effect a non-sacrifice because there is only one God; as a result there is no significance of pagan piety attached so we can eat whatever we want to. Other Corinthians felt that if the food had been offered to a pagan god then the food, per se, was tainted and not fit for consumption by the believing Christian. So, the two opposite points of view began to confront each other – some people arguing that you could eat whatever you wanted and others arguing that there were limits to what you could eat. Moreover, they took fixed positions which led not only to disputes but also to bringing out the worst in human nature.
“We have the truth” each side would say. Arrogance began to emerge. No longer did Christian brother look upon Christian brother with love and affection but rather with anger and suspicion that they were preaching a false god. So, love for God and love for each other began to fade and in its place discord began to grow.
This was a dilemma for Paul so he commences the articulation of true doctrine by reminding everyone that an idol is nothing in this world and that there is no God except One. It doesn’t matter what the pagans say about the existence of many gods. For us Christians there is only God the Father, from whom all things exist, the Lord Jesus Christ from whom all things as well as we ourselves exist and the Holy Spirit that enlivens us all. After all, Christ told us to be not anxious about our life, about what we eat or what we drink or about the clothing we put on our body? And did not Christ say: is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Further, did not Christ say I desire mercy and not sacrifice?
All this would indicate that the issue of what to eat and whether it had been sacrificed to idols or not, for the true Christian, was beside the point. However, we as Christians, developed in the faith, have an obligation not to scandalise those who are spiritually weaker than us. They expect we Christians to be different so therefore if they see us eating meat sacrificed to idols they may form the view that there is no real difference between Christ and an idol because food sacrificed to an idol is eaten by Christians and this monotheistic God is in effect no different to any of the other Pantheon of gods. Hence their conscience becomes defiled and they are led astray.
Paul now draws to the nub of the argument. The proposition is that food will not present us to God or deny us from God. As true Christians we believe that food is made for the stomach and the stomach made for food. In other words, in this world, food keeps us alive. However, both food and the body will be rendered destroyed by God. Why? Because all things come to pass in this world. Food belongs in this world and the physical body belongs in this world. Does not Paul himself say when he talks of the resurrection in chapter 15 that the body is sown in corruption, yet it is raised in incorruption? Does he not say further that it is sown in dishonour but raised in glory? Does he not make the point that the body is sown in weakness and yet it is raised in power? What is sown as a natural body is raised, through Christ, as a spiritual body?
Indeed, there is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body – the same as a physical body yet different. We know that to be true because at the time of the resurrection of Christ, Mary Magdalen did not recognise Christ until he had spoken to her. Even more in point Christ tells Mary: do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to my father.
So, the issue for Paul isn’t so much what we can or cannot eat, it is an issue of ensuring that no brother, weak in the faith ,falls away by saying: well there is no difference between the church of Christ and the temple of a pagan god because the same Christian can sit in one to pray and in another to recline for a meal at an idol temple. In that way your brother is led astray and destroyed. This brother that you destroy is the one that Christ gave his life for. Therefore if I cause my brother to fall then I have caused grievous sin against Christ. In other words Paul who preaches salvation, and wants all men to be saved, in effect brings down the weak person and casts him away from Christ – and all this is done by the simple partaking of a meal that had been previously dedicated to an idol. Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again says Paul, so that I may not cause my brother to stumble.
Take note, says Paul, you who are Christians, know that I am an apostle. As an apostle I proclaim the word of Christ. As an apostle you, my dear Corinthian, bear testimony to me and are also the seal of my apostleship in the Lord, therefore each and every one of you should be saved for the Lord. In that way, I, as an apostle, present you to the world as exemplars in the Christian faith.
