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Particulars of Christianity:
305 Liberty in Christ


Liberty, 1 Corinthians 10, and Idolatry

Liberty in Christ: Extended Introduction
Liberty in Christ: Introduction
Definitions and New Testament Survey
Synonyms for Liberty in Christ
Liberty and Death
Liberty, the Law, and the 10 Commandments
Origin of the Law of Liberty
Liberty and Yet Prohibition
Incorporating Pagan Practices in the Old Testament
"Christianizing" Pagan Practices
What is Observing Times?
Liberty, Bondage, and Righteousness
Liberty and Meat Sacrificed to Idols
Liberty and 1 Corinthians 8
Liberty, 1 Corinthians 10, and Idolatry
Liberty, 1 Corinthians 10, and Your Neighbor
Summary and Practical Applications
Addendum: Romans 14, the Conscience, and Morality



As we will see as we move on into 1 Corinthians 10 where Paul resumes his instructions on the topic of eating sacrificed meat, in this chapter, Paul actually refutes the practice of eating meat sacrificed to idols on the grounds that it violates both of the commands of the Law of Christ, the Law of Liberty.

1 Corinthians 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. 9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.

Even the way Paul begins chapter 10 tells us he is about to uphold the prohibition of eating meat sacrificed to idols given by the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 and 21. Notice that, as is Paul's custom when presenting an argument, he refers back to an Old Testament example. In this particular Old Testament example, Paul is paralleling how even though the Israelites were baptized into Moses, just as we are baptized into Christ, and even though those Israelites drank from the Rock that was Christ, afterward, many of them displeased God and were overthrown.

How? They were overthrown because they partook of idolatry and fornication, which are the exact same two things prohibited by the apostles in Acts 15 and 21. These are also the exact same two things Jesus condemns people for teaching in Revelation 2:14,20. In what way does Paul say they became idolaters? In verse 7 he says they became idolaters when they "sat down to eat and drink." We must remember Paul's association of eating and drinking here with idolatry as we move ahead into verses 14-22, where Paul will discuss the practice of eating food and drinking drink that have been offered to idols.

Lastly, we should notice that Paul says if we follow in the footsteps of these Israelites who by their eating and drinking became idolaters even after they partook of Christ, then we too, will tempt Christ.

Let's continue with 1 Corinthians 10.

1 Corinthians 10:14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.

Verse 14 is a critical one. Having just laid out a comparison to the Israelites of Exodus who by eating and drinking a feast unto an idol became idolaters, Paul concludes here in verse 14, "Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry." It is clear that in this context of eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols and following this example of the Israelites who ate and drank at the feast to an idol, when Paul writes "wherefore, flee from idolatry" what Paul means is "flee from eating and drinking sacrifices to idols."

And Paul goes on to explain why.

At this point we must once again note that the Law of Christ as Paul calls is or the Law of Liberty as James calls it had two commands given by Christ in Matthew 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-31, and Luke 10:26-27. What Jesus calls the "first and greatest" of those two commands was to love God with all your being, having no gods before him. This meant abstaining from idolatry. And the second of these two commands was to love your neighbor as yourself.

What is most interesting about Paul's arguments in 1 Corinthians 10 is that 1 Corinthians 10 is divided into two sections. In the first section in 1 Corinthians 10:14-23, Paul refutes the eating of meat sacrificed to idols on the grounds that it violates the first command of the Law of Liberty. In the second section in 1 Corinthians 10:24-33, Paul refutes the eating of meat sacrificed to idols on the grounds that it violates the second command of the Law of Liberty.

So, by stating that eating meat sacrificed to idols violates both commands of the Law of Liberty, the Law of Christ, Paul is actually saying that eating sacrificed meat violates, rather than demonstrates, the liberty we have in Christ Jesus.

What follows next in 1 Corinthians 10 is very significant. In verse 15-18, Paul gives two examples, one from the present practices of the Church of his day and one from the Old Testament practices of Israel.

1 Corinthians 10:15 I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say. 16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17 For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. 18 Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar?

Both of these examples are designed to show one thing and only one thing. With both of these examples Paul is demonstrating that by partaking of a sacrifice, by eating it, by drinking it, we commune with and become one with the other people who are partaking of it AND we are communing with and partaking of the one to whom the sacrifice was made.

In fact, this is also why in the very next chapter of 1 Corinthians Paul says the following.

1 Corinthians 11: 20 When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper. 21 For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. 22 What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.
...29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

When the Corinthians were coming together weekly to eat the Lord's Supper, Paul says they were treating it as if it were not the Lord's Supper at all. Instead, according to Paul, they were eating without waiting for each other and consuming greedily to the point of feeding their hunger as if this were just a regular meal. Some are even getting drunk. In verse 22, Paul instructs that normal meals should be eaten in the home, so that the Lord's Supper will not be treated as mere food and drink. Last, Paul concludes since the Lord's Supper is a sacrificial meal by which we fellowship of the Lord Jesus Christ, each other, and God (to whom the sacrifice was made), those who eat and drink of the Lord's Supper while unconcerned with its sacrificial nature, bring damnation on themselves. So we see, Paul is warning the Corinthians not to ignore the fact that sacrificial meals convey spiritual fellowship and to treat a sacrificial meal as though it were merely a regular meal is so dangerous that it can even threaten our very lives.

In the case of the Lord's Supper, by eating the bread and drinking from the cup, we became one with the Christians who do so with us AND we also partake of Jesus Christ. In the case of the Old Testament Israelites, those who ate the sacrifices on the altar partook of the altar and so communed and fellowshipped with God to whom the sacrifice had been offered.

Now, with these two examples, Paul is laying a precedent. He is building a PATTERN. And having established that pattern, Paul now applies that very pattern to his third example in verses 19-21.

1 Corinthians 10:19 What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? 20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. 21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.

These 3 verses are so critical to the entire passage, that it almost impossible to overemphasize their significance. They are loaded with significant statements.

Can Christians eat meat sacrificed to idols so long as they eat it "unto God?" In verse 20, Paul clearly answers "no" to this question. And why? Because as Paul has already established, to eat or drink of a sacrifice is to fellowship with the other people who are partaking and to fellowship with the being to whom the sacrifice has been offered.

In the case of Christians, by eating the bread and drinking the cup of Christ we fellowship with both God and each other, since the sacrifice of Christ was a sacrifice to God. In the case of the Israelites, when they ate of the altar they fellowshipped with God to whom the sacrifice had been made. In the case of things sacrificed to idols, if we eat or drink of them, we likewise fellowship with the pagans AND with the being to whom those sacrifices is made. That this is what Paul meant is proven by the fact that he concludes this sentence with "I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils." Clearly what Paul is depicting here is that since these meats and drinks are offered to devils, to partake of them is to fellowship with devils.

As Paul clearly says in verse 20, those sacrifices are made to demons, so to eat or drink them is to fellowship with demons. Furthermore, as Paul also says, one cannot eat or drink those sacrifices "unto God" because those sacrifices are not made to God but to devils.

And, in verse 21, Paul gets even more specific to make sure we don't miss the point. In verse 21, Paul spells it out exactly saying we "cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils" and we "cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils." If we could eat and drink that which was offered to idols so long as we did so in our hearts "unto God" and gave God thanks for it, then it would be possible to eat and drink at both the table of the Lord and the table of devils. But it is not possible to eat and drink at both tables because by the very act of eating and the very act of drinking we partake of those who offer the sacrifice and the being to whom the sacrifice is given. This is the nature of a sacrifice. And so, because the things offered to idols are offered to devils, not God, Paul says we cannot eat and drink these things unto the Lord.

So, while in 1 Corinthians 8:8, Paul acknowledges the declaration made by Jesus in Matthew 15:11,17-20 and Mark 7:15-20 that food of its own nature cannot defile a man, Paul here demonstrates with these 3 examples that the nature of a sacrifice can defile a man. And since these meals are by their very nature sacrifices, they then become spiritual and not just mere meat or drink.

Just as Paul began the chapter in verses 2 and 3 by saying that the Israelites of Exodus "all at the same spiritual meat" and "all did drink the same spiritual drink," Paul now explains that sacrificial food and drinks become spiritual food and drink because the nature of a sacrifice conveys spiritual fellowship with those who offer the sacrifice and with the being to whom the sacrifice is made.

It is not the meat or the drink that defiles us when we partake of food and drink that has been sacrificed. It is who we are fellowshipping with that defiles us.

And here is Paul's conclusion to this section.

1 Corinthians 10:22 Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?

Paul has just said that we "cannot eat at the Lord's table and at the table of devils." Now, in the very next verse he says "Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?" What does Paul mean by this question?

First, by using the phrase "provoke the Lord to jealousy" Paul is referring back to the second commandment from Exodus 20:1-6, where God himself states the following reason why the Israelites are forbidden to practice idolatry.

Exodus 20:1 And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

The first commandment is found in verse 3. Verse 4 then begins the second commandment. And by quoting this line from the second commandment found in Exodus 20 with regard to God's jealousy being aroused by idolatry, Paul is clearly upholding that this second commandment was still binding on Christians and that eating at the table of devils violated that commandment.

However, by attaching the phrase "provoking the Lord" to the word "jealousy" Paul is also simultaneously referencing all of the following passages in which God's people provoked him to anger by mingling in idolatrous practices including the "observing of times." (See Deuteronomy 4:25, Deuteronomy 32:16-17, Judges 2:12, 1 Kings 14:9, 1 Kings 15:30, 1 Kings 16:2, 1 Kings 22:53, 2 Kings 17:11, 2 Kings 17:17, 2 Kings 21:6, 2 Kings 22:17, and 2 Chronicles 33:6.)

This is why Paul begins this section in verse 14-23 with "flee from idolatry." Paul clearly feels that by eating and drinking things that had been sacrificed to devils Christians were provoking the Lord to jealousy in the same way that the Israelites did in the Old Testament. Paul clearly feels that to eat and drink of sacrifices offered to devils is to break the first two commandments given by God in Exodus 20:1-6 and, therefore, also to break the first commandment of the Law of Christ, the Law of Liberty, given by Christ Jesus in Matthew 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-31, and Luke 10:26-27.

Finally, Paul concludes this section with these words.

1 Corinthians 10:23 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.

Now, many Christians read the words "all things are lawful for me" and they forget or ignore the rest of Paul's argument. Thus, they conclude that Paul is declaring it perfectly acceptable to eat meat sacrificed to idols. But this is not at all the case.

As we have said, one of the three aspects of our "liberty in Christ" is our freedom from the Law of Moses. So, when Paul says "all things are lawful for me" he is simply referring to the fact that we are free FROM the Law of Moses. And Paul is clearly telling the Corinthians that this freedom from the Law of Moses does not make it acceptable for them to eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols. This reference to what is "lawful" only refers to the Law of Moses and does NOT refer to what is a "matter of liberty" under the Law of Christ.