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| 1 Corinthians 10:31 | | Date Created: Oct 31, 2004, 10:52 PM |
Every Christian knows 1 Cor. 10:31: "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." The passage has it's own poetic charm and power so it's not surprising that this verse has a life of its own outside of the flow of Paul's argument in 1 Cor. 8:1-11:1. But that's the problem. It has come to be a generic maxim. We are all supposed to glorify God in everything we do. That's fine, as far as it goes. I really don't have any serious problem with the verse being used this way. But in the context of Paul's words to the Corinthians, we ought to remember that he has something very definite in mind. Using 1 Cor. 10:31 as a generic maxim is an acceptable application, but such an application should not be allowed to displace Paul's specific conclusion to the end of a long argument.
Beginning in 8:1 Paul addresses the question of "food offered to idols." Some Corinthian Christians were claiming that it didn't matter whether they participated in the ritual feasts performed in pagan temples. After all, they had "knowledge." They knew that an idol was nothing. And knowing this "secret" gave them the right/authority [Gk: exousia] to sit down at these ritual meals with impunity. Nothing was at stake. if idols are nothing, then why forfeit a good steak for nothing. Similarly, these same knowledgeable Christians would ignore words of warning from fellow believers about these events. These believers were "weak" and the strong were not going to allow them to influence how they acted.
Paul's two fold argument is masterful. It takes 3 chapters to unfold. First, he argues that they must learn to know properly. Some in Corinth do not yet know "as they ought to know" (8:2). People use their knowledge. If one things he "knows" something, but has not "love," his knowledge only serves to "puff up." Knowledge must be used lovingly to "build up." How one knows is just as important as what one knows.
Yes, Paul says, you know this and that. And technically what you "know" is accurate. An idol is nothing. But there are some in the community who have not yet sorted all of this out. They trust in Jesus and are members of the church, but their knowledge is deficient. They love God, but are not sure of everything that this entails. This is true especially of former idol-worshipping pagans who have not yet learned the full truth about the power and existence of the gods to which they used to be enslaved. Not yet anyway. If such a Christian sees you arrogant know-it-alls eating food offer to idols, exercising your "authority" to do so, they may stumble and fall. Paul uses the Greek word skandalon, which refers to tripping up and falling flat on your face. A stumbling block will cause a runner drop out of the race. These "weaker" Christians were in danger of sliding back into pagan idolatry.
Paul warns them: "By your 'knowledge' this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died" (8:11). This is strong language. Paul's first argument against the Corinthian's gnostic arrogance is that they better watch out that what they do does not cause younger, less knowledgeable Christians to perish. No doubt Paul has Jesus' words from Matt. 18:1-14 in mind. At any rate, it is rather striking to consider. Here is a "weak" brother for whom Jesus was willing to give his life, but you guys won't even changer your diet for him. Jesus died for this brother, but you won't give up meat for him.
Then, continuing his argument, Paul spends all of chapter 9 offering himself as an example of someone who gives up his "rights" and uses his knowledge for the benefit of others. Paul has the right/authority to eat and drink, marry, work or refrain from working, and to receive compensation from those to whom he ministers. But he gives up these privileges in order to make sure that no one is offended by his behavior. He does what he does "for the sake of the Gospel" (9:24).
He concludes with this remarkable analogy to running and boxing. Here's a passage that is regularly wrenched out of context and made to mean something other than Paul intended. This passage is not about personal devotions, Bible reading, or general pious behavior. When Paul compares himself to a runner, a boxer, and in general to an athlete he is referring to his disciplined way of denying himself rights and privileges that might cause others either to fail to understand the Gospel or to stumble and fall as Christians. He runs, he trains, he "beats his body" so that he might embody in his life the self-denying behavior of Jesus. This passage has nothing to do with spiritual competition vis-a-vis other believers. In fact, something exactly opposite is in view.
This is his first argument against eating food offered to idols (1 Cor. 8-9). His second admonition (10:1-23) concerns the Israelites and their typological significance for the Corinthian Christians. Eating at pagan tables, participating in pagan ritual meals in their temples means fellowship with demons. With all their "knowledge" they didn't know something that was crucial. Paul seeks to correct their misunderstanding.
But now, what's most interesting to me is that Paul returns in 10:23-11:1 at the end of his extended argument to the place he started. The Corinthians said, "We can do anything we want." But Paul says, "No, you must discipline yourself to do only those things that are beneficial and helpful to others." That's the key to 10:23-24. He doesn't want us here to ask, "Is this behavior helpful for me?" but rather, "Is the behavior helpful to and beneficial for others?" In other words, v. 24 explains vs. 23: "Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor."
After a few more comments about another meat-eating situation, Paul ends with the famous v. 31: "Whatever you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." But read on. "Give no offense. . . in everything I try to please everyone, not seeking my own advantage, but the advantage of many, that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ." I believe this is the key to understanding what Paul means in v. 31. There he speaks of "eating and drinking" reminding his readers of the entire discussion thus far. Doing all to the glory of God means living like Jesus lived. Remember that Jesus glorified God on the cross. Paul has reminded the Corinthians of this earlier in the epistle.
We are used to thinking of the glory of God as his power, authority, and knowledge. God's glory is manifest in the fact that he rules and reigns and performs mighty acts of power. But "to glorify God" in this passage has to do with how we live in relation to others. The glory of the divine life is that it is a shared life. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each live for the others. Giving and receiving is the eternal mode of glorified divine life. If we are to manifest the divine glory on earth, we can only do so loving and serving one another. You see, "glorifying God" in this passage does not have to do with acquiring individual virtues or honing one's personal piety, at least not in the abstract. Rather, this is about living gloriously in community. Imitating Jesus and also Paul by using our knowledge in love to build up our brothers and sisters in Christ. |
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