Note 7 at 1Co 8:4: In 1Co 8:4-6, Paul acknowledged that those who were arguing that it was okay to eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols were technically correct. The only power of an idol is in the heart of the person who is deceived by it. There is no virtue or power in the physical idol itself.

Yet these "all-knowing" believers had failed to comprehend an issue that was much more important than the purity of the food. Those who had been deceived by the devil into believing that an idol possessed divine powers would be destroyed if they followed the example of their knowledgeable brethren. It wasn't worth it.

Just as there was technically nothing wrong with this food, there was also nothing special about it. They wouldn't be missing anything if they didn't eat it (1Co 8:8), but they would be helping their weak brothers and sisters by abstaining. The choice should be obvious to those who were really thinking straight.

The fact that Paul admitted that there was nothing wrong with the food itself might lead some to believe that his admonition to abstain because of others' consciences was optional. That was not the case at all. The council of Jerusalem, recorded in Ac 15, gave a commandment to the believers to abstain from food that had been sacrificed to idols (Ac 15:20 and 29). Paul had faithfully delivered this commandment to those with whom he shared the Gospel so that the elders at Jerusalem commended him for his actions (Ac 21:25).

Paul picked up this same teaching again in 1Co 10, and there he became even stronger in his condemnation of this practice. He allowed that if someone unknowingly eats meat that has been sacrificed to idols, no damage is done. However, if believers know that the food has first been sacrificed to an idol, they should abstain.

The final word on this subject is that Jesus Himself condemned this practice in Re 2:14. He spoke of bringing judgment on those in the Pergamos church who were teaching others to eat food sacrificed to idols.

So Paul condemned a practice that he acknowledged was not wrong because of the action itself but because of the detrimental effect it would have on others. Thereby, he established a precedent that Christians should follow today.

Note 8 at 1Co 8:4: It is a well-established fact in Scripture that there is only one God. The belief in multiple gods was always condemned by God, yet Jesus and the Holy Spirit are referred to as well as God the Father (see note 1 at Joh 1:1, note 3 at Joh 5:18, note 8 at Joh 5:23, and note 4 at Ac 5:4). Man's attempt to understand this mystery is called the doctrine of the Trinity (see note 2 at Mr 1:10).