JEAN'S BIBLE STUDY COM

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1Cor 8,1-13

(108f) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Balance >> Conscience is the balance between God and man – Paul’s argument pertains to the idea that there is no such thing as an idol in the world and there is no God but one, yet not all men have this knowledge. Paul compared knowledge to love and then to conscience, referring to the weak in faith, saying that it doesn’t matter if their knowledge is right or wrong; it only matters that they believe it. If what they believe is wrong, by that their conscience is defiled, in that they not believe the truth while believing a lie. The fact that we know the truth, then, in every way that we support their false beliefs we are not walking according to love, and if we expose their false beliefs in a right attitude and motive, they may hate us for it, but such is the nature of love in this world.

(159f) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit godliness >> Counterfeit freedom

1Cor 8,1-3

(22k) Sin >> Pride glorifies self >> Being wise in your own eyes – The advantages of knowledge are consumed by arrogance, but there are no pitfalls to love, except to be hated for possessing it and manifesting it in this world. If anyone thinks he knows God, he does not know Him as he should, for love is an experiential form of knowledge, and for this reason God has called us to know him through love. If we think we have come to know God by merely amassing facts and information about Him, then Paul asks what is more important, to know about God or to be known by Him? The only way to be known by Him is through love.

1Cor 8-1,2

(80b) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word in spiritual warfare >> To deliver yourself from bondage -- These verses go with verses 7-13. Believing what is false is like carbon monoxide poisoning. The molecule acts like an oxygen molecule, tricking the body to receiving it, but once imbedded in the alveoli, oxygen can no longer bond to the tiny sacs in the lungs and the person suffocates. In the same way, those who believe what is false prohibit themselves from believing the truth.

(96g) Thy kingdom come >> Attitude >> Positive attitude about yourself – Faith is based on knowledge, yet Paul spoke about knowledge as though it were a necessary evil. In fact, some people take verses like this and say it is unnecessary to study the Bible, since all it does is make us arrogant, but a comment like that is probably more arrogant than most Bible thumpers. Can we really carry on a relationship with God apart from knowledge? Love is matured knowledge! The better we understand our faith in Jesus, the better we understand God, and the better our faith grows into love. True faith is knowledge that has been infused with the Holy Spirit, like a match to a candle that transforms the wax into a flame. In the same way, the Holy Spirit transforms our knowledge into faith. It's knowledge apart from the Holy Spirit makes us arrogant. Once God burns His knowledge into our heart, He gives the capacity for love and removes the dross of haughtiness. See also: Faith and love; Eph 5-9,10; 43b

1Cor 8-1

(54l) Paradox >> Opposites >> Do not let that which is a good thing be spoken of as evil -- This verse goes with verse 11

(139h) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Edification

(173e) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Catholicism >> Scripture that contradicts the catholic faith >> Catholics who are converted to the faith -- This verse goes with verses 4-13

(173g) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Catholicism >> Unholy sacrifice (Penance) >> Offering sacrifice without God’s approval >> Sacrifice against the will of God -- This verse goes with verses 4-10

(195h) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Idolatry >> Worshipping other gods >> Worshipping other gods as a servant -- This verse goes with verses 4-7

1Cor 8,2-7

(94n) Thy kingdom come >> Perspective is your personal reality >> How you interpret your point of view – Proverbs 23-7 says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he,” and Rom 14-14 says, “To him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.” We who know God know that eating food that is sacrificed to an idol does not condemn us, yet if we eat in the presence of those who believe in idols, we will be encouraging them to believe what is false. Eating things sacrificed to idols condones idol worship, defiling the conscience of those who have inclinations to believe in such things. For this reason Paul starts out this chapter saying it is better to walk in love than to walk in knowledge. Gal 5-13 says, "For you, brothers, were called for freedom. Only don’t use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants to one another." If we walk in love, we will be careful not to offend our brother’s conscience, but if we walk in knowledge, it might weaken your brother’s conscience if he sees us eating at an idols temple.

1Cor 8-2

(178a) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Presumption (Hinduism) >> Presuming the will of God >> Presumption fills in the blanks – We will never “arrive” at perfect knowledge in this life, for the more we learn and the more we know about God, the more we realize how little know about Him. When Jesus fed the four thousand in the desert with a hand basket of food, reaching in and pulling out another fish and another loaf of bread, He never ran out until everyone had their fill. Knowing God is just the opposite of that; the more we know, the less we know. If we develop the attitude that we know Him better than anyone else, we have reached the apex of our knowledge. We heave baskets of knowledge into our brain and then look inside to see what’s there, and at the bottom is a tiny dot; that is what we know about God, which gives a proper mindset and attitude to learn more about Him, because our basket is not full, and so we continue learning. After dumping truckloads, we look again and see that the dot has hardly grown. Those who think their mind is full and have no room for another thought about God, their estimation will actually be true. They won’t stuff another thought in their brains about God, because their pride won’t let them. Note what Paul said in verse three, “But anyone who loves God is known by him.” Paul is saying that love is the key of knowledge. The person who knows but does not love probably doesn’t know God at all, for God is love (1Jn 4-8). He may know a lot about God, but most of that knowledge is skewed, because he never puts any of it into practice.

1Cor 8-3

(208f) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Being the friend of God >> Relationship with God through obedience >> We are His friends if we keep His commandments

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1Cor 8,4-13

(173e) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Catholicism >> Scripture that contradicts the catholic faith >> Catholics who are converted to the faith -- These verses go with verse 1. Do not take communion in the Catholic Church, who believe the bread and wine transform into the body and blood of Christ, or in any other church that believes taking communion commends us to God. Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of Me" (Lk 22-19); He didn't tell us to take communion as some kind of remedy to our sinful nature. Such demon-spawned beliefs epitomize the very concept of food sacrificed to idols. Paul said in verse 8 that food will neither commend us nor condemn us before God. However, if we go into a church that believes communion commends us to God and we partake of it, we will be helping them believe in their false doctrine of transubstantiation, and in this way we will not be advocating the true doctrines of the faith.

1Cor 8,4-10

(173g) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Catholicism >> Unholy sacrifice (Penance) >> Offering sacrifice without God’s approval >> Sacrifice against the will of God -- These verses go with verse 1 

1Cor 8,4-7

(195h) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Idolatry >> Worshipping other gods >> Worshipping other gods as a servant -- These verses go with verse 1. Of all the statues of Baal and names of gods man worshipped in Paul’s day—some were more malevolent than others—our society is just as steeped in idolatry. For example, we watch movies that steel two hours from our lives and teach us that we control our own destiny, which conflicts with Scripture. The list continues of all the gods we worship in our world as we live according to their dictates, being almost impossible to avoid them. Then we wag our heads at people in Old Testament times and in Paul’s day who knelt before idols. We say, ‘What fools they were,’ when we are really doing the same things and don’t even realize it.

1Cor 8,4-6

(183f) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Spirit of Error (Anti-Christ / Anti-Semitism) >> Nursery for the Spirit of error >> Ignorance

(255h) Trinity >> Father, Son and Holy Spirit >> Three in one >> There is only one God

1Cor 8-6

(66b) Authority >> Lordship of Christ >> He is Lord over all creation >> over the elements

(114k) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Working God’s grace through Christ >> Jesus is the way to the Father

(212b) Sovereignty >> God is infinite >> He is the creator >> The creation glorifies God >> God created all things through Christ

(213j) Sovereignty >> God is infinite >> Jesus owns you >> His will becomes our will >> As a master owns a servant

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1Cor 8,7-13 

(1f) Responsibility >> Avoid offending God >> become all things to all men >> Conform without compromise

(2i) Responsibility >> Avoid offending God >> Get out of His way >> Do not touch the apple of His eye >> Do not offend the weak in faith

(9j) Responsibility >> Strengthen one another >> Bear one another’s burdens – A lack of knowledge is a trademark of the "weak". It is their burden that we who have knowledge are obligated to bear. We do not know how they will interpret what we say and do, for they are searching for freedom, except that they have not yet trained their minds to seek freedom outlined in scripture, and can easily be swayed to accept an inferior freedom that will further entangle them into the world’s web of sin.

(12e) Servant >> Bad examples – To be weak in faith is to have an affinity for accepting information permitting certain liberties in the flesh, which has the effect of further placing them in bondage. We become bad examples of the Christian life and lead the weak down a blind ally when we practice our freedom in front of them; and we will be ultimately responsible for their actions along with our own. Therefore, we are to be mindful of new converts, and be on your best behavior around them, because they are impressionable.

(55g) Paradox >> Opposites >> The mature are no stronger than the weak in faith – Ignorance defines the weak in faith. When we are faced with the knowledge of God, do we receive it and grow in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ to maturity, or do we reject it in order to remain ignorant? Ignorance in the presence of knowledge is willful ignorance.

(72j) Authority >> Hierarchy of authority >> More Authority The More Responsibility >> The strong shall help the weak

(80b) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word in spiritual warfare >> To deliver yourself from bondage -- These verses go with verses 1&2

(126l) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Patience >> Be patient with your brother – Paul is appealing to us about how we should relate to each other in the Church and to what level we should curb our behavior to avoid offending our brother. He said we should take every precaution to protect the weak in faith, because Christ died for them. Our purpose as Christians is to win souls to Jesus and keep those who already believe strong in faith. In Paul’s time there were some Christians who were accustom to worshipping idols. How could they be Christians and worship idols? Isn’t that the first commandment in the law, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20-3)? This is the first and foremost commandment, yet some Christians violate it, the weak in faith, babes in Christ who are not yet grounded in the Scriptures. Breaking the law has the power to erode our faith in Jesus through an evil conscience, yet there are many believers who claim to know the Scriptures and say the law is no longer in effect. That is like saying that the war is over so we can let down our guard, but if we step on a land mine it will blow off our leg just as well as if the war were still going. Paul wants us to be careful with the weak in faith, because we don’t want to give him the wrong idea that since we are walking under grace we can live against the law. The ultimate goal of all Christians should be maturity.

(131d) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Brother depends on you >> To help build the temple

(139j) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Tearing down the temple through disobedience

(196h) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Immaturity >> Not mature enough to love God – People go to school for years and get a master’s degree or a PHD (Piled Higher and Deeper), and when they finally get a job, they must work seventy hours a week and be completely devoted to their vocation like they should be to Christ, and they can’t say no to their boss because there is a line of people waiting to fill their position. This is an example of idol worship, taking us away from God’s will, chasing after a dream we have about the world, never asking God what He wants us to do. New converts see this and model after us, and before long they are stripped of their faith from generation to generation. We don’t realize we are idol worshippers even as there were in Paul’s day, because we don’t recall bending our knee to any statues. We are ignorant as those who are weak in faith, and just as arrogant. We don’t have anybody as our example to model the true priorities of Christianity, following along the ways of the world.

(234k) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> Be a blessing >> Be a blessing and love your brother

1Cor 8,7-12

(197j) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Man withers when he is in control >> Unfaithfulness >> Unfaithful to your own conscience

1Cor 8-7

(155d) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Witness of the believer >> Conscience >> An evil conscience keeps us from believing God >> Knowledge of evil testifies against our deeds

1Cor 8-8

(234b) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the glory of God >> Seeking the glory of His favor

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1Cor 8,9-13

(203g) Denying Christ >> Dishonor God >> Dishonor God by dishonoring your brother

1Cor 8-9

(118k) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Freedom >> Law of the spirit >> Law of liberty – Paul is saying that if a weaker brother sees us dining in an idol’s temple, he may think that worshipping other gods is okay when it isn't. Again, we who are mature should curtail our freedom in Christ if it makes our brother stumble or walk as though freedom were greater than love when it isn't. Paul talked about the freedom we have in Christ on several occasions in reference to the fact that we are not constrained by laws and regulations. Nevertheless, we are not allowed to wound the conscience of a weaker brother for the sake of freedom. Rather, we are all the more obligated to be responsible with it, so the person who thinks Christianity is all about rules and regulations is not offended by our liberty. We who are mature live by the direction of the Holy Spirit, and our goal is to wean the weak off rules and regulations and to be led by the Spirit, who will lead them to fulfill the law in a state of freedom. The Holy Spirit has replaced these rules and regulations so that our liberties transcend even the Laws of Moses. We have knowledge that there really is no such thing as an idol in the world or any other god besides the God of heaven. These so-called gods exist only in the minds of men, and demons hide behind their faces, so when they worship idols, they worship the demons behind them. The process of carrying out our faith is cultivating the hearing ear and obeying the Holy Spirit, leading to the good works that God has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Eph 2-10). In this way we know the difference between sin and righteousness, whereas those who are weak in faith do not. Walking on this trail is more important to God than perfecting godliness, in that we accomplish both, but off the trail we accomplish neither. Those who do not understand God’s specific purpose think the general concept of being a good person is all that Christianity offers; therefore, we must keep our behavior excellent among them, though God has given us liberty to live at peace without fear of sin.

(162kb) Works of the devil >> Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >> Bondage >> Being slaves of men >> In bondage to the burdens of men >> In bondage to freedom (licentiousness)

1Cor 8,10-13

(21c) Sin >> Disobedience >> Unfaithful – Worshipping idols is just as much a sin to us as it was in Paul's day. Moreover, many people think Christianity is about believing a set of doctrines regarding Jesus dying on the cross for the sins of the world; but if there is no mention of the Holy Spirit, then believing in a set of doctrines is no different from observing the Laws of Moses. The gospel of Christ is all about the indwelling Holy Spirit, and believing in Jesus' blood sacrifice is how God made Himself available to us.

(155a) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Witness of the believer >> Conscience >> Having a good conscience >> Doing right to the best of our knowledge

1Cor 8-11

(54l) Paradox >> Opposites >> Do not let that which is a good thing be spoken of as evil -- This verse goes with verse 1. If they see mature Christians doing things that can be construed as idol worship, they would be inadvertently encouraging such behavior. For example, if they saw us going into a bar, it would strengthen their conscience to remain a Christian alcoholic, which we know is an oxymoron. Nevertheless, we know that beer will not condemn us before God, but those struggling with alcoholism who may be considering Christianity, may see us and get the idea that they can overindulge as Christians. In this way we would weaken our brother’s faith in the truth, and for this reason Paul starts out this chapter saying it is better to walk in love than to walk in knowledge.

1Cor 8-13

(187c) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Die to the flesh >> Ministry of dying to self >> Die to self to minister to people >> die to self to help the weak

1Cor 9,1-6

(191h) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Result of putting off the old man >> Set apart >> God sanctifies us through His calling

1Cor 9-1,2

(152d) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> Witnesses of the father >> Apostles >> Fruitful results prove apostleship – The Churches that Paul established through his preaching and teaching were the seal of his apostleship. An apostle has converts, for who ever heard of an apostle that never made converts? This is the difference between an apostle and an evangelist: an evangelist makes converts while an apostle makes churches from converts. The Corinthian Church was one of many churches on Paul’s long list achievements that proved he indeed saw the Lord on the road to Damascus and heard the word spoken to Him that changed his life on that faithful day, which partly explains his deep concern for all the Churches under his care.

1Cor 9-1

(104j) Thy kingdom come >> Pure in heart shall see God >> Shall see Jesus >> We shall see His face – A lot about what Paul had been saying in these last few chapters is about attitude, and in this chapter he tells about his ministry, using a little rhetoric to ask, “Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?” That is something few can say. Although the original apostles walked with Him for the entire length of His ministry, they did not see Him in His glorified state, but Paul did, and now he is leader of the early church. This suggests that Jesus is more influential in the spirit than He was in the flesh. The other apostles walked with Jesus for 3½ years, but Paul had a one-minute conversation with Him, and now he is lead apostle, who transformed the world, and whose influence is with us to this day.

(117j) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Eyes of your spirit >> Seeing through the eyes of your spirit >> Acknowledging the presence of God

(119a) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Freedom >> Law of the spirit >> Freedom from the law -- This verse goes with verse 19

(129d) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Bearing the fruit of evangelism >> Bearing the fruit of the gospel

1Cor 9,2-6

(56d) Paradox >> Opposites >> humble yourself to be used of God

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1Cor 9,3-23

(11k) Servant >> Paul’s example of God’s standard – Pastors today have paid positions, where he works for the benefit of the congregation; for their sakes he has committed his life to their spiritual health and well-being. He preaches the gospel to them, shepherds the flock and manages their spiritual lives. He is their instructor, their teacher and trainer; he is their example of Christianity. He dedicates his life to the faith, and therefore while he is in the field threshing, he has the right to receive blessings from the congregation. However, back in the first century pastors generally worked for free; sometimes they held down jobs while their circumstances were afforded to them, such as free room and board but no salary. Paul said, “I have used none of these things” (v15); he was like the ox threshing in the field with a muzzle on his mouth.

(167b) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Carnality/Secularism (mindset of the world) >> The carnal mind is set on the flesh >> Carnal mind cares only for itself – In Corinth Paul was on his own, forced to meet his own needs. The Corinthians were extremely self-centered, never thinking about anybody else; the Corinthian Church was like the Church in America today; we have regressed to their level, concerned only about ourselves. Paul asked nothing from the Corinthians so nobody could accuse him of selfish motives. The Corinthians looked for ways to accuse Paul instead of respecting him as their leader and elder and minister of the gospel as the one who led them to Christ and risked his life doing it. God had given him the right to receive blessings from the people he served; yet he asked nothing from them because of their lack of maturity.

(189b) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Holy sacrifice >> Holy offering

1Cor 9,3-6

(7b) Responsibility >> Protecting the Gospel >> Defend the word of God by obeying it – These verses go with verses 11-23.

(12g) Servant >> Bond servant >> Their relationship with God – To better understand the relationship between God and His bondservants, see also Eph 4-1, which states that they are prisoners of His will. This may sound like a bad thing, but this concept is cast in view of the contrast of our fleshly appetites to make it appear that we are prisoners of His will, when in fact we want to serve Him, but to do so we must suppress other competitive desires. Paul and the other apostles could not just get married like other people because they had a job to do that required all of their attention. They didn’t even have a right to eat and drink—what does that mean? The apostles didn’t have the liberty to take large sums of time to relax and enjoy their lives, but continued serving God. A bond servant is highly disciplined and extremely focused and sacrificial, willing to give up anything to achieve his life-goal. It is not the choice of the man to be a bondservant but is God's choosing, and the man's only contribution is to let God do as he pleases with the man's life.

(17c) Sin >> Unrighteous judgment >> Judging in the flesh >> Evaluating circumstances by the carnal mind

(101f) Thy kingdom come >> Zeal >> Fulfill your calling with zeal -- These verses go with verses 11-27

(152a) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> Witnesses of the father >> Apostles >> Enduring hardship proves apostleship – Paul had critics in the Corinthian Church, and his defense to them amounted to a little offbeat rhetoric. He asked whether he had a right to eat and drink, and of course he did. Then he asked whether he had a right to take along a believing wife as the other apostles... of course he did. Was Paul married? No, he wasn’t. Although he had these rights he traded them for a better ministry. Keep in mind that Paul’s advise to remain single in chapter seven was completely unheeded even by the apostles, so that Paul and Barnabas were the only unmarried apostles of the early church. Remaining single was not very popular advice, yet God stood behind him. In the same context he asked his next question, “Or do only Barnabas and I not have a right to refrain from working” (did the double-negative carry a tone of sarcasm)? Barnabas must have been a man like Paul, gritty, committed beyond reason, yet even then probably found it difficult to with Paul.

(188e) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Suffering the will of God in your life -- These verses go with verses 12-19

1Cor 9-5

(3g) Responsibility >> To the Family >> Remaining single is better than divorce – This is a rhetorical question, implying that Paul did have a right to get married if he wanted; nevertheless, remaining single was the choice that God wanted Paul to make as a means of securing undistracted devotion to his ministry. He chose not to get married so he could concentrate on God and the Church, but having a wife would have divided his interests and hence interfered with his ministry. All of us who believe in Jesus have room for gratitude that Paul remained single, for he and the other apostles made the gospel available to us.

1Cor 9-6

(101j) Thy kingdom come >> Ambition >> Be an ambitious businessman for God >> Ambitious in the business world of this life