Do Everything for the Glory of God (1 Cor. 10:23-11:1)

Do Everything for the Glory of God

1 Cor 10:23 – 11:1

Connection/Tension

When I was single, it felt like orienting my life to be about mission for Jesus came much easier. I was a part of a group of guys, and we were preaching the gospel on the streets of Minneapolis every week. I felt like such a spiritual boss. I thought, Why don’t more Christians do this?

And then I became a pastor, and then I became a husband, and then a homeowner, and then a father… and, I’m sure you can figure it out.

Do you struggle like me to prioritize the things of God? Does mission feel more like an afterthought or an aspiration rather than your lived experience in everyday life?

If so, something in us must change. According to the Bible, we don’t change through behavioral modification, but through new beliefs. In other words, the Christian message is not “Do More!” or “Try Harder!” but rather, “trust more deeply in who God is that doing what he says flows out of you.”

 So if that is true, what new reality must we become more aware of to give ourselves more to God’s mission?  

Context

Since chapter 8, we’ve been in a section about God’s rule over all creation (1 Cor 8:6) and how that reality should play out in the day to day lives of his followers. It affects how we deal with brothers and sisters (1 Cor 8:12), and the lost (1 Cor 9:22).

Last week, we heard a message from Daniel about holding the line and refusing to budge at all when it comes to tolerating the influence of spiritual evil (or even just running away!).

This week, we will hear other side of the coin of that message. While there are some areas we need to hold the line, there are others we need to be flexible for the sake of mission (which will feel like moving towards)- that’s a theme Paul returns to in this passage.

If you are not yet a follower of Jesus, we are so glad you are here. You picked a good week because this passage is all about God’s heart to rescue all people from death and give them new life. Now, let’s get into our passage:

Revelation

I.                    Let no one seek himself (vv. 23 – 30)

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.

Do you see the quotes this verse begins with? The translators are showing us that this is likely a Corinthian “slogan,” that is, a saying they were fond of that they may have included in an earlier letter to Paul.[1]

The slogan, “all things are lawful” points to the freedom of the Christian- which is a true and valid teaching. It means that we have freedom to act in any way that does not go against the word of God or our own conscience. In other words, just because someone else thinks something is wrong does not mean you are not allowed to do that thing. Only God and your conscience get to tell you what is wrong- not other people. Other people can (and should) influence you, but they should not control you.

And yet, this freedom that Christians have is only one aspect of the Christian life. And in the case of the Corinthians, it seems like they were out of balance with that idea and neglecting other important aspects of following Jesus.

That’s what Paul is getting at when he says, “not all things are helpful” and “not all things build up.” It should come as no surprise that Paul does not want Christians to exercise their freedom just for their own sakes, but for the sake of other people. That’s what he means by “Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.”

It has been a theme in this letter of how Christians should orient their lives around God and others (rather than self, 1 Cor 9:22). Now, Paul is going to unpack how that principle should play out in Corinth in one facet of life there:

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.”

Now, Paul brings up what would have been a familiar situation for life in ancient Corinth, purchasing meat in the market and the possibility of buying meat that a pagan priest had sacrificed to an idol. Since it seems that pagan temples likely filled this city, sacrifices to idols likely would have been an important source of food.

Most people did not have to give it a second thought. Christians did not have that luxury. Do you ever feel like that as you must navigate life in our unbelieving city and you must figure out what corporations you should buy from, what media you can consume, and what events it is right and wise to go to? Just the other night, my wife and I went to a comedy show at the Varsity theater, thinking it would be mostly clean, and were like, “what the heck?”

These ancient Christians had to ask, “is it alright for me to purchase and eat food that potentially pagan priests used in a ritual of spiritual darkness?” It makes sense- it seems like a fair question to me. Paul would have had to deal with it himself during his missionary stay in Corinth, and likely himself purchased and ate meat from these markets.[2]

Paul guides the Corinthians into not feeling obligated to ask about if their meat was ethically sourced (in this case spiritually). He gives them freedom to buy and eat whatever is available, regardless of the possibility of it coming from pagan sacrifice.

And I love how Paul supports this guidance that he gives. Do you see what he says in verse 26? The quotation marks are there to indicate he’s referencing something- something the audience would have been familiar with.

So, what is it that Paul references? “The earth is the Lord’s…” is the first line in Psalm 24. Psalm 24 is an old song written by Israel’s greatest king. Maybe the word that should come into your mind is, “epic,” because that’s exactly where this is going. You could even picture David the king singing this song in a low voice over this court.

At the beginning of this song, the human king, David, affirms the rule of the divine king over all things (Ps 24:1). As this song goes on, king David continues to meditate on his divine King, referring to him as the victorious warrior in Israel’s battles, and then four times over, referring to him as “the king of glory.” [3]   

And it is this big reality works its way out in the small realities of everyday life in Corinth (that’s how we are supposed to live our lives). In their case, because there is a high king over all, they can buy meat at the market without worrying about how it got there.

From this point, Paul keeps pushing this epic reality into ordinary life and showing how it works itself out in the lives of ordinary Christians in Corinth,

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.

Before, Paul talked about the situation of buying meat in the market. Now, he takes things a step further, What if an unbeliever invites you over for dinner? Maybe this person worships at a pagan temple and regularly serves meat from those rituals. What then?

Possibly in our own time, this could feel like being invited over to the home of a Muslim family who responds to the daily calls to prayer or a witch or wiccan’s home.

Again, “the earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof.” These Christians have freedom to step into this environment without asking questions and freely eat, because their God is king and rules it all anyways. As a Christian, you should feel a great freedom to enter spaces and homes of all kinds of people- even spiritually dark places or homes- because the God you serve is mightier than the false gods they serve. In the story of Jesus, while many people fled from demon possessed people, it was the demons who fled from Jesus (Mark 5:12).

Paul writes here not to raise any question on the ground of “conscience.” Do you see how many times that word shows up in these few verses (including 28 – 30)?  I count four. “Conscience” is an important theme from earlier in this letter (1 Cor 8:7) that Paul returns to here.

One definition of conscious I came across is, “consciousness of what you believe is right and wrong.” [4] According to the Bible, to act against one’s conscience is sin (Rom 14:23). Doing something you believe to be wrong is wrong. So, for an action to be morally right, it both must agree with God’s word and your own conscience. It both must be right, and you must believe it’s right. And our conscious change as we mature. Lord willing, it conforms to the Scriptures until what we believe and feel is wrong is what the Bible calls wrong, and what’s right is what the Bible calls right (this is called “calibrating” your conscience).

One obvious example: drinking alcohol. The Bible does not forbit drinking alcohol (just drinking it to excess). Yet, some Christians still believe it’s wrong for them to do. In that case, it is wrong, unless their conscience changes as they reflect on this topic more.

Paul seems to be pushing these Corinthians to calibrate their consciences and not worry or feel an obligation about meat that their unbelieving neighbors serve. They shouldn’t feel a need to anxiously ask, “was this sacrificed to an idol?”  Similarly, we should feel freedom to enter others’ homes and environments as an un-anxious presence.  When people use foul language, drink carelessly, or even have items from the occult like a wee gee board or tarot cards, we don’t have to flee as if the darkness will contaminate us- our king reigns there as well. It may be wise to leave at times (or safety may demand it), and yet, there are strategic times to stay, and we shouldn’t be afraid of spiritual powers that our Lord has already conquered.

I’ve entered and ministered in dark places before and seen the Lord bring fruit. I’ve seen some of you serve Jesus in some hard and fallen places and seen good things happen.

There was recently a woman from our church who passed away. Before she passed, many of our members invested deeply in her life and God showed up in huge ways. When we were moving her out of her apartment to a better situation, it was a dark place. There were dark things around like drug paraphernalia. And yet, that’s exactly where the people of God belonged because “the earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof.” 

But then Paul brings up another situation in verse 28,

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?

Now someone in the room volunteers the information, “by the way, sir (or ma’am), that steak comes from a sacrifice I made to Zeus.”

Now the situation has changed. Now, your host and everyone knows you know it comes from pagan sacrifice. Would you still have freedom before God to eat it in that situation? I believe you would (see verses 29 and 30). Yet, the Apostle is calling upon believers not to exercise their right in this situation. For whatever reason (it seems impossible to know for sure today), it seems as if eating in that circumstance would communicate something untrue about the gospel. Some assumption that host would have about pagan sacrifice would make it compromising to the gospel message to eat in this circumstance (perhaps that eating it would show some kind of allegiance towards Zeus).

And so, Paul urges believer not to partake in this situation for the sake of the consciences of the unbeliever- eating in that situation could confuse him of what is good and evil and what is truth and lie.

The book Conscience defines “Christian freedom” this way, “the freedom to discipline yourself to be flexible for the sake of the gospel.”[5] You and I have so much freedom within the wide and good boundaries of Scripture- what human culture says is right and wrong does not enslave us (for example, even though some would find it unethical, you can drive gasoline cars and eat animal products it you want to).

And yet, the primary purpose we have that freedom from God is not to please ourselves or to flaunt our freedom, but to serve others so they can know Jesus. We have this picture of Paul in Corinthians adapting sensitively to different people he meets to not detract from them knowing Jesus (1 Cor 9:22).

In other words, there are moments to have a drink in appropriate cultural and social settings and there are moments to abstain (such as if you are trying to minister to a cultural group here in Minneapolis who think drinking is sin- which some of you do have connections to cultural groups like these and minister to them). The question that determines your choice is, does this make Jesus look beautiful and appealing or not?

Next, Paul wants to show us the heart behind acting this way. This is at the bottom of why we would want to live for others,  

II.                   Seek the glory of God (vv. 31 – 11:1)

31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God

The word “so” is the same word as “therefore” and brings us to the end of this section that began with pronouncing God as the one Lord of heaven and earth (1 Cor 8:4).[6]  What’s the conclusion of his Lordship over all? We do all to his glory (one of the biggest and most important verses in the Bible)

Paul wants us not to live to meet our own preferences, but the everlasting needs of others. To do that, you must orient yourself around something or someone bigger than yourself. You will only sacrifice if you have something bigger than yourself to live for.

Enter the “king of glory” from Psalm 24. He’s the one we serve- he’s the one worth sacrificing for. Calvin says, “there is no part of our life, and no action so minute, that it ought not to be directed to the glory of God.”[7]

Why do you “eat and drink” in some situations and not in others? Is it your own comfort and preferences? No, it’s more people knowing and loving the one who they’ve been searching for- the one all our hearts long to know. We long for the glory of this king, and we are supposed to live to direct others to it.

The word “glory” means “splendor” as in royal or kingly splendor.[8] Y’all, the Bible is written in a different historical context than our own, so we must use our imaginations to understand its images and ideas. As far as the idea of “glory” you could think of a king, in beautiful, resplendent robes, elevated above his court. His palace is secure and has rich abundance. His people are loyal to him and love his wise and just rule. This would be a glorious king.  The idea of “glory” is the outward projection or depiction of inward worthiness or value.[9]

Now, God’s glory is not depicted through the physical beauty- that’s because it’s a spiritual kingdom rather than earthly one (that’s just the image to help us understand). His receives glory from human hearts that love him, know him, and rejoice in him. It’s the reality that this king is worthy of our worship and passion that shows how glorious he is.

Most people don’t want to serve a king (and the West got rid of them) because their character is not worth the pomp that surrounds them. The difference with our king is that he’s worthy and that he’s worthy of more. He’s worthy of more worship. He’s worthy of more souls. He’s worthy of more glory.

That’s why we try to orient every detail our lives around his agenda rather than our own. That’s why our own purposes fade into the background and his into the fore. This is why we willingly limit our freedoms in certain situations, for the sake of love, so that more people can know our God and serve him gladly.

“to eat or drink, or whatever we do” and direct it towards “the glory of God” is to make every decision, even small ones, in light of the biggest reality in the world- Jesus the king is worthy. Everything in this passage rests on this foundation. The “king of glory” from Psalm 24 is the one who is worthy of to live and die for.

Then, Paul concludes this section with these verses,

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.

11:1Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.                      

He’s unpacking and reiterating what he means by “do all to the glory of God.” In Minnesota, we can take a verse like this wrongly and think, “I knew I was supposed to live to never bother anyone and not have conflict.” But, that’s not what Paul means by these words “no offense” or trying “to please” everyone. Gordon Fee says,

“To ‘give offense,’ therefore, does not so much mean to ‘hurt someone’s feelings’ as to behave in such a way as to prevent someone else from hearing the gospel, or to alienate someone who is already a brother or sister.”[10]

Paul is living sensitively and strategically to “save” others. Paul’s just doing what Jesus did. Jesus, the king, had the freedom to call heavenly armies to his aid and kill his enemies (Matt 26:53). And he didn’t- so others could live. Paul is saying Jesus lived this way so that I could live this way so that you could live this way. Family, this is the way. This is the pattern. Our parents formed us a certain way, the world formed us a certain way, and Jesus wants to reform us in this way. This is what it is to “follow Jesus in everyday life.”

Application

So family, is there anyone or anything you’ve cut yourself off from that God wants you to reengage with for the sake of mission? Maybe that person makes you uncomfortable, but being uncomfortable doesn’t mean you’re in sin. In fact, Jesus had to pass through discomfort to fulfill God’s plan, and it’s our love for the glory of God that will enable us to pass through discomfort also.

There was this season in my life I ministered to some teenagers in St. Paul. They used all kinds of words I can’t repeat. They would show up high. They didn’t come hang out with me so they could hear some white guy lecture them. They showed up to play ball. And so, surrounded by darkness, I tried as best as I could to be like Jesus. Unafraid of the darkness and fighting against it. I love what Jesus said in Matthew 16 that, “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” In our city and our time of spiritual darkness, it’s time for us all to take one more step forward in this direction.

We are called to enter spaces where darkness holds sway and rescue people with the truth of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. And we are called to rescue not with strength- but through weakness- by being flexible and sensitive to others go gain a hearing for Christ. People must trust you before they will listen to you, and so we strive to gain their trust so that God can gain their worship.

Family, we must orient our lives around the pursuit of souls for the glory of king Jesus.

[1] John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), 1 Co 6:12.

[2] Ibid, 525.

[3]  Roy E. Ciampa and Brian S. Rosner, “1 Corinthians,” in Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, UK: Baker Academic; Apollos, 2007), 729.

[4] Naselli, Crowley, and Carson, Conscience, 42.

[5] Ibid, 132.

[6] Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, ed. Ned B. Stonehouse et al., Revised Edition., The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 537.

[7] Calvin, Calvin’s Commentaries on I and II Corinthians, 347.

[8] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 257.

[9] John Piper, referencing Isaiah 6:3, made this point.

[10] Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, ed. Ned B. Stonehouse et al., Revised Edition., The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 539.