1 Corinthians 10:23-30 ~ 20140615 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org
06/15 1 Corinthians 10:23-30 Let No One Seek His Own Good Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20140615_1cor10_23-30.mp3
23 Πάντα ἔξεστιν· ἀλλ’ οὐ πάντα συμφέρει. πάντα ἔξεστιν· ἀλλ’ οὐ πάντα οἰκοδομεῖ. 24 μηδεὶς τὸ ἑαυτοῦ ζητείτω ἀλλὰ τὸ τοῦ ἑτέρου. 25 πᾶν τὸ ἐν μακέλλῳ πωλούμενον ἐσθίετε μηδὲν ἀνακρίνοντες διὰ τὴν συνείδησιν, 26 τοῦ κυρίου γὰρ ἡ γῆ καὶ τὸ πλήρωμα αὐτῆς. 27 εἴ τις καλεῖ ὑμᾶς τῶν ἀπίστων καὶ θέλετε πορεύεσθαι, πᾶν τὸ παρατιθέμενον ὑμῖν ἐσθίετε μηδὲν ἀνακρίνοντες διὰ τὴν συνείδησιν· 28 ἐὰν δέ τις ὑμῖν εἴπῃ· Τοῦτο ἱερόθυτόν ἐστιν, μὴ ἐσθίετε δι’ ἐκεῖνον τὸν μηνύσαντα καὶ τὴν συνείδησιν· 29 συνείδησιν δὲ λέγω οὐχὶ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἀλλὰ τὴν τοῦ ἑτέρου· ἱνατί γὰρ ἡ ἐλευθερία μου κρίνεται ὑπὸ ἄλλης συνειδήσεως; 30 εἰ ἐγὼ χάριτι μετέχω, τί βλασφημοῦμαι ὑπὲρ οὗ ἐγὼ εὐχαριστῶ; 31 Εἴτε οὖν ἐσθίετε εἴτε πίνετε εἴτε τι ποιεῖτε, πάντα εἰς δόξαν θεοῦ ποιεῖτε. 32 ἀπρόσκοποι καὶ Ἰουδαίοις γίνεσθε καὶ Ἕλλησιν καὶ τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ, 33 καθὼς κἀγὼ πάντα πᾶσιν ἀρέσκω, μὴ ζητῶν τὸ ἐμαυτοῦ σύμφορον ἀλλὰ τὸ τῶν πολλῶν, ἵνα σωθῶσιν.
11:1 μιμηταί μου γίνεσθε, καθὼς κἀγὼ Χριστοῦ.
1 Corinthians 10 [ESV2011]
14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18 Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
23 “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. 25 Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 26 For “the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof.” 27 If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— 29 I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience? 30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks? 31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, 33 just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.
11:1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
Paul is addressing some serious sin issues in the church in Corinth. They had picked up the slogan 'all things are lawful' and used it to justify all manner of abominable practices. Paul gently but firmly leads them on a journey to train them how to think. He could have easily come down hard on them with his authority as apostle. Instead, he reasons with them and teaches them how to think through the issues biblically. Back in 6:12, he quotes their slogan 'all things are lawful for me' which they used to justify sexual immorality, and responds “but not all things are helpful. 'All things are lawful for me,' but I will not be enslaved by anything.” In 6:18 he commands them 'flee from sexual immorality' and he concludes “you are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
In chapters 8-10 he has taken up their propensity to indulge in banquets hosted at pagan temples. The knowledge of the Corinthians that 'an idol has no real existence' leads them to the freedom to indulge in idolatrous festivities. Paul points out that this so-called knowledge is more akin to the pride of the devil than the God of love. We are called to live in love, and love builds others up. The arrogant and self-centered knowledge of the Corinthians may prove to destroy a brother for whom Christ died, and so sin against Christ. He affirms the fact that they do indeed have rights and freedoms in Christ. But he holds himself up as an example of how a follower of Jesus can forgo legitimate God given rights for the sake of the gospel. He warns that insisting on my liberties may not only endanger a weaker brother or sister in Christ, it may also have a lethal effect on my own relationship with God. He holds himself up as an example of the danger of disqualification, or the danger of being demonstrated phony or false even after fruitful ministry. In chapter 10 he points to the example of Israel in the wilderness, most of whom played too close to the edge in seeking to gratify their desires, and a whole generation was destroyed in the wilderness. He warns them of the grave danger of self-confidence, he reminds them that we all will face temptation, and he encourages them with the absolute faithfulness of God. Then in 10:14 he gives his clear command on the issue of idolatry: 'Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.' He warns that participation in communion, which is participation in the body and blood of the Lord Jesus, is mutually exclusive with eating at the table of demons, who in reality are the ones being worshiped at idolatrous pagan celebrations.
Freedom From Self-Seeking
In 10:23-11:1, he concludes this 3 chapter discussion of idolatry with some clear practical advice on how to apply biblical truth in some real life situations. He returns to their slogan 'all things are lawful,' and he qualifies 'but not all things are helpful.' Not all things are advantageous. Not all things will contribute to your own personal well-being. Some things will not benefit me. Participation in some things will destroy me. Eating at the table of demons, inciting the wrath of almighty God against me will not contribute to my personal happiness or my eternal good.
'All things are lawful' but not all things build up. Not all things edify. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Jesus has set us free, free from the slavery of self-seeking, free to seek the good of others. Paul says:
24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.
This is a foundational principle for Christian living. Literally, it says 'let no one seek his own, but that of the other.' 'Good' 'benefit' 'interest' 'well-being' or 'advantage' are implied by the context. Seek that which helps, that which builds up, that which benefits the other. Do not seek your own.
This is a command, and, like all God's commands, it is for our good. If only we can grasp this, this will be so freeing! Do not seek your own. Don't go after your own advantage. Stop concerning yourself with your own rights. Stop seeking your own. But if I don't defend my own rights, who will? If I don't stand up for myself, who will? If I don't seek my own advantage, who will? God! God will.
Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Seek first the kingdom of God. Let no one seek his own, but that of the other. Jesus links this freedom from seeking our own with the danger of idolatry.
Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
Do not be anxious about your life, about your body, about your own. If you do, it will become your master, and you cannot serve two masters. Seeking your own is idolatry. Do not seek your own, but that of the other. 'Your heavenly Father feeds' (6:26); 'God so clothes' (6:30); 'your heavenly Father knows that you need them all' (6:32); 'all these things will be added to you' (6:33). Allow God to liberate you from the bondage of self-seeking. Go after the needs of others with reckless abandon!
Eat Everything in the Market!
Paul demonstrates how God graciously provides with two practical examples from everyday life. Paul has already forbidden any eating in a pagan temple, but now he addresses two other common occurrences that would face a believer in Corinth, and gives some surprisingly liberating counsel on what to do in these situations. Corinth was full of pagan temples, and it would be difficult, if not impossible to find a butcher shop that was not connected in some way with those temples. The word order of the original builds the suspense more than most of our English translations. Everything which is in the butcher shop for sale, devour it, investigating nothing on account of conscience. This is a radical command coming from the lips of a former Pharisee. Pharisaic Judaism required scrupulous investigation into the background of any food, and if there was any question as to the origin of the meat, the rule was 'when in doubt, don't!' Paul here invites the believer to walk into a butcher shop, carts heaping with fish, various cuts of meat on display, whole skinned animals hanging from hooks, maybe cow, lamb, goat, pig, camel, chicken, and he says 'eat it all!' Don't ask any questions. You are free to eat whatever you want.
Everything Belongs to God
And he gives the reason in verse 26.
26 For “the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof.”
This is a quote from Psalm 24:1. In the beginning God created ...everything! And God said 'be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth' and God saw that it was good. God created everything, and everything belongs to God. Deuteronomy 10:14 says:
Deuteronomy 10:14 Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it.
God says to Job:
Job 41:11 Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.
God tells his people:
Psalms 50:9 I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds. 10 For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. 12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine.
God created everything, so everything belongs to God. God gave animals to man for food, so whatever you find in the butcher shop you can buy and eat. But Paul, what if that meat had been sacrificed to a demon before it showed up in the butcher shop? You said just a few versed back that we are to have no fellowship with demons. Paul says 'The earth and everything in it belongs to the Lord.' By participating in a demonic feast at a pagan temple, you are involving yourself in worship of that false god. But once the meat has left the demon's turf, it is just meat, nothing more. It is God's meat that God created, and God gave it to provide for his people. Regardless of what pagans have done with it to defile it, God is God, and it still belongs to God. So eat up! Ask no questions because of conscience. Don't fear that a demon might sneak in to possess your body because someone said a voodoo hex over your quarter pounder before they brought it to your table. God is sovereign over the whole earth.
Eat Everything at an Unbeliever's House!
Paul mentions another scenario as likely for the Corinthians as it is for us today.
27 If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience.
Recognize how radical this instruction is coming from the pen of a former Pharisee! The list of dietary regulations and sanitary procedures went on and on and on. In Jerusalem, it's hard to find a cheeseburger or a pizza with cheese and meat on it because in Deuteronomy 14:21 it say not to boil a young goat in its mother's milk. To be kosher you have to keep separate sinks, counters, ovens, dishes, utensils and dishwashers for milk products and meat products. Hand washing has to be done in a very specific way. And the rules go on and on and on.
When God called Peter to visit Cornelius' house, Peter said:
Acts 10:28 ...“You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.
This was a big deal in Antioch. Paul tells us in Galatians 2 that Peter was eating with the Gentiles, but then caved to Jewish pressure and withdrew from them. Paul confronts him publicly, because 'their conduct was not in step with the gospel' (Gal.2:14). Jesus transformed everything! Jesus ate with unwashed hands. Jesus ate with prostitutes and tax collectors and sinners. Because Jesus has come, if an unbeliever invites you to dinner and you choose to go, devour everything that is put in front of you without investigating anything because of conscience. The second half of this sentence is exactly parallel to verse 25 dealing with the meat market. You don't need to go check their kitchen. You don't need to ask where the food came from. You don't need to ask what it is. It doesn't matter where it came from. Just eat up! Enjoy, because the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof.
Exception
Verse 28 introduces an exception to this principle.
28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— 29 I do not mean your conscience, but his.
There is a lot of discussion over who the someone is that says 'this has been offered in sacrifice'. It could be a fellow believer also invited to the unbeliever's home for dinner. More likely it may be another unbelieving guest, or possibly even the host. This verse uses a softer word 'temple sacrifice' rather than 'idol sacrifice' that Paul has used up to this point in the discussion. This would be the word that a pagan would use to refer to their sacrifice, and it would be a less offensive way for a fellow believer to identify the origin of the meat in the presence of unbelievers. It doesn't really matter who said it, the text says 'someone'. For the sake of that person, believer or unbeliever, do not eat.
If it was a fellow believer, they have violated what Paul just said 'eat everything set before you without investigating'. They have been nosing around the kitchen. They are one of those who Paul mentioned in chapter 8, 'not all possess this knowledge, those whose conscience, being weak, is defiled'. Do not destroy the brother for whom Christ died simply because you desire to indulge.
If it was another guest or even the host, knowing your exclusive devotion to Christ, they may be offering a friendly warning, or even a test to see what is really most important to you. The question has changed the nature of the meal. The one who mentioned it believes (rightly) that followers of Jesus don't participate in idolatry. To eat now would be to acknowledge the idol to whom the food was sacrificed. For the sake of the gospel, the unbeliever needs to understand that we do not add Jesus to what we already have. 'We have Apollo and Aphrodite and Zeus, and you say Jesus is a god? Oh, we can honor him too. No, Jesus is exclusive. Turning to Jesus means turning away from everything else you were trusting in. That is what it means to repent. This dinner invitation is an opportunity for the gospel. The steak looks really good. Seek not your own but that of the other. For the sake of the one who informed you, for his conscience sake, do not eat.
Liberty and Conscience
Paul has instructed us to eat everything sold in the market without investigating because everything ultimately belongs to God and he has told us to eat everything served to you by an unbelieving friend without investigating for the sake of conscience. He now returns to further explain this liberty.
29 ...For why should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience? 30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?
I am bound to follow the guidance of my own conscience. I am not bound to follow yours. My liberty is not judged by your conscience. I am free to partake with thankfulness. 1 Timothy addresses false teachers who:
1 Timothy 4:3 ... and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.
Everything created by God is good, created to be received with thanksgiving. It is holy or set apart by the word of God and by prayer. I am free, free to eat everything. But to be free to eat does not mean I am bound to eat, for that would not be freedom. I am free to do what I want to do, whether to eat or not eat. What I most want to do no longer has to do with eating or drinking. What I most want to do is advance the gospel. So whether I eat or not depends on what will serve to advance the gospel in the given situation. If for the sake of the gospel it would be advantageous to eat, then I will indulge. If it would benefit others and advance the gospel to decline, then I will not eat. I am not mastered by my appetite. I have been given the freedom to not seek my own, but that of the other.
We have been given amazing freedom in Christ. We are free from Pharisaic regulations and dietary laws. We are free to not worry about where our food came from because “the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof.” We are free to sit down with an unbeliever at a meal and enjoy friendship. And we should. We should seize every opportunity to proclaim the good news that Jesus died for sinners to set them free. Free from sin, free from self seeking, free to recklessly pursue the good of others.