1 Corinthians 8:1b-2
If we were armed with nothing more than just this verse alone, we might be led to believe that knowledge was bad. But, that belief would contradict other verses such as Proverbs 18:15 which reads, “The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out.” Therefore, the first thing we must do is when reading such verses is to try and understand the context in which it was written.
Here, Paul is responding to questions that the church in Corinth had regarding food sacrificed to idols. A group of believers in the church had some knowledge about their freedoms in Christ, in particular, the freedom from Kashrut (the dietary laws). They understood that nothing they ate would make the clean or unclean in eyes of God. But what they didn’t understand, is what many Christians today don’t seem to understand, is that being right is not always right. Not when it comes at the expense of others. In this case, not all the believers in the Corinthian church understood, or accepted, this new found freedom in Christ. Nor were they being edified by those who did as they practiced this freedom in their midst. As a result, this knowledge was creating dissention in the body, and what was meant to build them up was now tearing them down.
It is sad, but many Christians seem to be more concerned with being right, than being edifying; they seem to be more concerned with proving their convictions, than they are with those of whom they are trying to prove it. As a result, instead of creating one body, they tear the body into many pieces.
There is nothing wrong with knowledge, “the ears of the wise seek it out.” But when the practice of that knowledge comes at the expense of those who don’t yet understand it, then that knowledge is void of love. And without love, the only person we edify is ourselves. Therefore, when it comes to knowledge and our freedoms in Christ, “do everything in love (1 Cor. 16:14).” [mp]
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Michael D'Urbano
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