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Knowing Christ Crucified
IMITATING CHRIST & GIVING NO OFFENSE: First Corinthians 10.23-11.1
August 15, 1999
All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor. Eat anything that is sold in the meat market, without asking questions for conscience‘ sake; for the earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains. If one of the unbelievers invites you, and you wish to go, eat anything that is set before you, without asking questions for conscience’ sake. But if anyone should say to you, “This is meat sacrificed to idols,” do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience‘ sake; I mean not your own conscience, but the other man’s; for why is my freedom judged by another’s conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I slandered concerning that for which I give thanks? Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God; just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of the many, that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.
What we need are radical Christians who do what is right and always speak the truth no matter what!
We need to be concerned about the glory of God more than anything else no matter who is offended
We must never give up our Christian liberty!
Now, of course, we all do want to be radical Christians, as opposed to superficial Christians. And we should do all things to the glory of God even if that requires us to offend people–that is, to hurt their feelings. And we should always know and acknowledge the freedom for which Christ set us free.
But there is a danger. There is a danger that such statements, which sound so pious and so committed, can actually be rationalizations for self-exaltation. There is the danger that radical Christianity can get defined as simply offending people, rather than defined by the Word of God, which may or may not offend people. Standing up for the truth, can be a self-serving interpretation for someone who always blurts out whatever he thinks to anyone who doesn’t quite see things the same way. And possessing Christian liberty can be taken as a license to always exercise Christian liberty no matter what the consequences might be for others.
Whether this is a concern at any given time or age in the Church is a judgment call. But what is quite clear is that, for the Apostle Paul, it was a great concern. The age in which he lived involved him in just these sorts of conflicts with others, who didn’t think he was radical enough, who though he had other concerns besides God’s glory, and that he compromised the freedoms they should have. The irony is, that in the eyes of many of his contemporaries, Paul seemed like a sell-out–a compromiser who cared more about being accepted by men than honoring God. Listen to his words to the Galatians:
For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.
Paul is responding, we can be sure, to real accusations. To outside observers, he looks like a man-pleaser. He is out there admitting uncircumcised Gentiles into the covenant community. He has table fellowship with them. He eats non-kosher food. We can just imagine how Paul looked to conservative Jews when he himself will admit that
to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law . . . To those who are without law, as without law . . . To the weak I became weak . . .
It isn’t hard to see how this appeared to zealous Jews of Paul’s day, even some of the Christian ones. And it wouldn’t look much better to some of the ex-pagan Gentiles who considered themselves strong, wise, knowledgeable and Spiritual.
Paul has been trying to win the Corinthians away from a false view of themselves as wise, strong, knowledgeable and Spiritual throughout this letter. Our passage this morning is the conclusion and summary of an issue which began in chapter 8. Let’s review what has been going on.
In chapter 8, Paul addressed the issue of meat sacrificed to idols–not idol-meat sold in the public square or served at a private home, but rather meat served in the context of a pagan temple at a pagan worship feast. Some in the Corinthian community thought they could attend such pagan worship without doing anything wrong because they truly knew that there was only one God, and that the idols were nothing. Paul’s response is to say that what matters is not one’s level of knowledge, but rather love for the Brethren. To complement this assertion, he reminds them that the one true God now includes Jesus Christ. Loyalty to Christ will entail loyalty to those for whom Christ died. Such love and true knowledge should cause people to be concerned about how using their alleged freedoms might affect their weaker brothers and sisters.
In chapter 9, Paul appeals to his own ministry as an example of giving up ones rights for the sake of others. Paul had every right to be supported by the congregation in Corinth, but instead he worked with his own hands in order to offer the Gospel without charge.
Finally, in chapter 10, verses 1-22, Paul issues a stern warning. Stop eating at pagan worship festivals. That is idolatry whether you believe in other gods or not. Eating and drinking at such feasts entails becoming a sharer in demons. You do not, no matter how knowledgeable you think you are, have a right to eat at a feast in an idol’s temple. You will provoke the Lord Jesus into a jealous rage if you continue in this behavior, and you will be destroyed just like the generation in the wilderness.
What this means is that Paul was so concerned about the culture of false spiritual elitism in Corinth, that instead of immediately rebuking them for idolatry, he spent several paragraphs exhorting them to show concern for those they thought were their weaker brothers. Eating and drinking to idols was rancid sin, but Paul first asked them to give it up simply because of how it might harm other Christians.
In this passage this morning, Paul sums up the concerns and principles he has expressed in chapters 8 and 9. But he does so in regard to a different though related topic. Now he addresses two situations in which meat that has been sacrificed to idols is in principle permissible to eat. In verse 25 the Apostle deals with the issue of meat that is sold in the public marketplace. Then in verse 27, Paul addresses the issue of meat that is served to a Christian when he is invited to a meal with a pagan.
To these situations Paul sets forth two major principles which both qualify and undergird one another. His first and foremost principle is that everything we should do should be done to the glory of God by seeking the benefit of others rather than ourselves. His secondary principle is that we are free to eat whatever we want as long as we do it with gratitude.
Those are Paul’s two principles, and he alternates between them in a pattern of ABABA. If you look at the passage and how it is structured, you will notice that verses 23 & 24 say that we seek the good of others–Paul’s first principle. Then verses 25 & 26 assert the secondary principle: Eat whatever you want. But verse 27 through the first part of 29 gives us an exception to the secondary principle (which is how we know it is secondary): We should abstain from eating what we like for the sake of others–a reiteration of his first point. Then the rest of verse 29 & 30 sets forth a defense of eating whatever you want. Finally, the passage ends in the final four verses with Paul exhorting the Corinthians to do all things for the glory of God by seeking the benefits of others.
Let’s deal with the second principle first. Paul asserts that each Corinthian can eat whatever he or she wants. In that sense, all things are lawful. Remember, Paul had to deal with the Corinthians using that slogan to justify sexual immorality. In that case, Paul had to tell them simply to stop their behavior. Here, however, Paul is applying the slogan to various foods. All those sorts of things, are indeed lawful. It may well be that the Corinthians originally got this slogan from Paul, when Paul was telling them not to worry about what they ate or drank. But they applied it to prostitution and dining in the temple of an idol. Paul’s trying to put them back on track.
Having told the Corinthians that they can buy whatever meat they like without questioning where it came from, Paul quotes Psalm 24.1: “The earth is the LORD’S and all it contains.” Paul’s reasoning is a straightforward deduction from the doctrine of monotheism. Since there is only one God, there cannot be some created things which are inherently wrong to enjoy.
A couple of comments are in order here: First of all, as we saw in chapter 8, Paul’s monotheism includes Jesus. Only a few lines earlier, Paul warned the Corinthians against abusing the “table of the Lord” and provoking “the Lord to jealousy.” There is no question that Paul refers to Jesus when he says these things. In context then, this Greek translation of a Hebrew Psalm which states that the Earth belongs to Yahweh, the God of Israel, along with all that it contains ends up saying something significantly different. “The Lord” means Jesus. The earth belongs to Jesus and all it contains. Meat doesn’t come from pagan gods represented by idols; it comes from Jesus.
It is rather ironic that Paul’s reasoning mirrors the reasoning of those who claimed that it was alright to attend feasts in pagan temples. They reasoned that since there was only one God, the gods supposedly represented by the idols did not really exist. So it didn’t matter, they concluded, whether they ate in the presence of an idol or not.
Paul, as we saw, responded that the pagans actually worship demons. There was an objective participation in these demonic realities that went along with participation in the meal. What I’d like you to do right now is ask how did Paul know that there were demons invariably involved in such pagan idol feasts.
I suspect that the answer is given to us in verse 30.
If I partake with thankfulness, why am I slandered concerning that for which I give thanks?
The issue is thankfulness. Remember that the condemnation of the human race consists, as Paul later writes to the Romans,
For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; . . . they . . . served the creature rather than the Creator.
Gratitude is the essence of Godliness. And though this can be simply a feeling in one’s heart, or a quickly whispered prayer, it also ought to consist in public expressions. That’s part of what worship is, the regular giving of thanks to God. But these pagan idol-meals were events set apart to publicly honor and thank pagan gods. If an essential part of eating and drinking to the glory of God involves giving thanks to God, then, by definition, you cannot as a Christian, eat and drink to the glory of God when you are at an event in which the eating and drinking is set apart for giving thanks to another god. Thus, the involvement of demons is not so hard to imagine. If they seek glory for themselves, it is only natural to expect them to be present in order to be the object of the perverse gratitude that is given to the creature rather than the creator.
So monotheism cannot really serve as a justification for attending pagan idol-feasts, because such eating and drinking cannot be done to the glory of God.
But, in the case of meat bought in the open market, everything changes. Eating such meat, no matter where it has been, does not involve giving thanks to false gods. Monotheism means that eating such meat is fine. Why? Because monotheism means that God made all things. There can ultimately be no dualism for people who believe in one God our Father and in one Lord, Jesus Christ. Dualism would require a belief in two gods or two ultimate principles so that one of the two gods can be viewed as the author of evil things which are unlawful to touch.
But if monotheism is true, then all things are lawful as long as one uses them rightly. And using them rightly ultimately involves using them with thankfulness to the glory of the God who made them.
Yet there is more to doing things to the glory of God than gratitude. Paul makes this more clear when he addresses his second situation, beginning in verse 27:
If one of the unbelievers invites you, and you wish to go, eat anything that is set before you, without asking questions for conscience’ sake. But if anyone should say to you, “This is meat sacrificed to idols,” do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience’ sake; I mean not for your own conscience, but for the other man’s; for why is my freedom judged by another’s conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I slandered concerning that for which I give thanks?
Here we have again a strong statement for Christian liberty. If there are weak in Corinth who are claiming that it is wrong to eat any meat that has ever been offered to an idol (we can’t be sure one way or another) then Paul makes it very clear that he does in fact agree with the “strong.” All things–that is, the proper uses of all created things–are lawful.
But isn’t it staggering how Paul qualifies what is the proper use of such meat? You can enjoy it, but not at someone else’s expense. Not in such a way as will lead them into sin.
All things are lawful but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor.
Paul began his discussion of idol meat by mentioning back at the start of chapter 8 what it is that is lawful but does not edify and what it is that does edify.
Knowledge puffs up but love builds up. Knowledge makes arrogant but love edifies.
And so it is in Paul’s wrap up. What is important is not knowing what your rights and liberties are so that you can exercise those freedoms. Rather what is important is loving Christ and your brothers and sisters in Him and being willing to give up your rights for their sake.
But even though Paul is referring back to his first framing of the problem in chapter 8, verse 1, there is something significantly different about our passage this morning. In chapter 8, Paul’s concern was for “the brother for whose sake Christ died.” Here, the “neighbor” mentioned in chapter 10, verse 24, isn’t the brother or sister, but the unbelieving pagan. It is the pagan who invites you over to dinner at his house for whom Paul is concerned.
This is what I find so staggering. Paul is concerned for the pagan who might tell the Christian that certain meat had been offered to an idol. Now, Paul seems to be speaking here of a pagan who informs the Christian out of concern for the Christian’s own moral code. It would be interesting to know what Paul would say to a Christian who was intentionally trapped by an unbelieving host into having nothing but idol-meat to eat, but that is not the issue here. Paul wants to make sure that Christians don’t end up somehow endorsing idolatry by what they eat. Regard all meat as a good gift from God and give thanks for it, but if you are informed that it has been used in giving thanks to false gods, or rather demons, then abstain from that dish for the sake of your host and the other unbelieving guests who you wish to see turn from idols to the living God.
Paul’s conclusion makes his concern for unbelievers perfectly clear.
Whether then you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense either to Jews or Greeks or to the church of God, just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of the many, that they may be saved.
Giving no offense, incidently, from the context, does not refer to hurting someone’s feelings or violating their moral code, but rather to encouraging a person in sin. And Paul is telling the Corinthians to give no offense to either unbelievers or believers. The Jews and Greeks mentioned there are unbelieving Jews and Greeks. If there is any doubt about this, consider what Paul said earlier to the Corinthians, in chapter 1, verses 22 and 23:
For indeed Jews ask for signs, and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness.
It is these people, to whom Paul preaches a stumbling block and foolishness, that he also says we are not to offend. Indeed, he seeks their profit, not his own. And indeed, be has in this passage defined as part of the glory of God, concern for believers and unbelievers. Seeking God’s glory means pursuing the profit of others.
So it is not enough to understand your rights and privileges and blessings from God. You have to use them for the sake of others. That is what it means to be a radical Christian; not to speak the truth no matter what, but to speak the truth in love for the sake of building up the body. Concern for God’s glory does not mean apathy towards offending others, but rather a heartfelt desire not to offend if possible. Christian liberty is not something to be taken advantage of, but something to be given up for the sake of the edification of the church and the salvation of others.
I should mention, in passing at least, that Paul is still firmly on the foundation of Biblical monotheism here. Just as the fact that there is one God means that all things are good gifts from Him, so it also means that all people should not seek for blessing from anyone else. Our job is not simply to represent the judgment of God to unbelievers, but also to represent the generosity and love of God. This reasoning may not be clearly on the surface of this particular passage, but it certainly fits and is elsewhere explicitly stated by Paul. Romans 10.12:
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon Him.
If we are God’s people, we must represent Him. We must represent Him in how we behave toward one another–not exercising our own rights for our own sakes, but exercising them or abstaining from them for the sake of others. We must also represent Him in how we behave toward unbelievers–not with callous disregard for their welfare, but with concern for their salvation. That is what radical Christianity is really all about, if the teaching of the Apostle Paul is taken seriously. That is how we do all things to the glory of God.
And so Paul concludes:
Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.
This verse can be read out of context in a way that makes it seem as if Paul thought he was without sin. I have heard of Pastors confidently using this passage to tell their members that they need to try to act just like they do.
Well, it is the duty of every pastor to set an example for his flock. However, there is something else going on in the context of First Corinthians which gives this exhortation a very concrete meaning.
Remember that the Corinthians were, according to chapter 9, verse 3, sitting in judgment over the Apostle Paul. Why? Because he had worked with his own hands to support himself instead of being paid by the Corinthians for his work in the Gospel. Paul’s reply was that he was giving up his right as an Apostle for the sake of the Gospel. Likewise, in chapters 1 and 2, Paul was found wanting by the Corinthians because his manner of speech was not all that impressive. Paul’s reply was that it made perfect sense that God, who would save the world through crucifixion, would spread news of that salvation by Paul’s faltering lips. In both cases, Paul points out that the very things for which they criticize him are in fact things that follow from the example of Christ crucified.
So when Paul exhorts the Corinthians to imitate him, the context would dictate that he wants them to imitate him in certain ways–specifically, he wants them to imitate him by giving up their own rights and their own alleged wisdom in order to bring glory to God by serving others. He wants them to be all things to all men, just as he is. He wants them to show concern for the weak. Paul’s self-sacrifice is not something for which he should be judged, but rather it is something for which he should be emulated. Why? Because Paul’s self-sacrifice is a dim reflection of Jesus’ self-sacrifice.
Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.
In other words:
The very things I do which make you doubt whether I am a true Apostle are the things which you yourselves ought to do, because in doing those things I am merely following the self-sacrificial example of Jesus Christ.
Paul wants them to imitate him in certain ways–the ways he lists in this paragraph. Paul edifies. Paul does not seek His own good, but that of His neighbor. Paul gives no offense to–that is, he does not lead into sin–Jews or Greeks or the church of God. Paul pleases all men in all things, not seeking His own profit, but the profit of the many. It was for those reasons that Paul’s practice was to become all things to all men. It was this agenda which caused him not to receive payment as a Minister of the Gospel, but rather to work another job on the side.
And in chapter 11, verse 1, Paul reminds the Corinthians that he is simply carrying on the pattern laid down by Christ, who came not to be served, but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many. In His earthly life, Christ edified. Christ did not seek His own good, but that of His neighbor. Christ gave no offense to–that is, he does not lead into sin–Jews or Greeks or the church of God. Christ pleased all men in all things, not seeking His own profit, but the profit of the many. And as exalted at the right hand of the Father, Christ continues His ministry by the power of the Spirit through the ministry of the Church.
So let us bring this to an end, by remembering whose example we are called to imitate. We are called to imitate Christ, and Christ is God. We are called to imitate God. God edifies. God does not seek His own good, but that of His neighbor. God gives no offense to–that is, he does not lead into sin–Jews or Greeks or the church of God. God pleases all men in all things, not seeking His own profit, but the profit of the many.
That’s what is entailed by knowing nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. If Jesus is God, as we all say we believe, then Christ’s giving Himself up to crucifixion is not some external act which God does while remaining largely unaffected. No, the crucifixion reveals to us God’s inner being. Christ crucified is the essential revelation of the true God. Ultimately, it all comes down to theology–not a system of doctrines per se, built on one another like geometric proofs–but a vision of Who God really is. If God is who we say He is, according to the Gospel, then we must edify. We must not seek our own good, but that of our neighbor. We must give no offense to–that is, we must not lead into sin–Jews or Greeks or the church of God. We must please all men in all things, not seeking our own profit, but the profit of the many.
Let us pray then that, as the people of God, we will be able to properly represent Him and imitate Him in our lives.
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