›I Corinthians 8:1-3
›Love and Knowledge
1 Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. 2 If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.
(I Corinthians 8:1-3, ESV)
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›Main Point
› How we treat others is not to be found in our knowledge alone, but in how we treat one another
› If we have knowledge but treat others poorly, then the knowledge we have is worthless
› Love, however, always builds up
› Paul turns their own knowledge on its head with a greater understanding of knowledge
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›Application Points
›Love and Knowledge
– Prior to engaging the Corinthians in their questions or comments, he continually strived to remind them of the Gospel
– Some will find it odd that he begins by focusing the conversation on food sacrificed to idols…only to talk about love and knowledge
– Why does he do this?
– Oftentimes we can set the two against each other, love and knowledge
– It isn’t that Paul is setting up a dichotomy between love and knowledge in regards to all things
– Our ability to know is not the foundation when it comes to our interactions with others
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›Application Points
›Love and Knowledge (2)
– Relationships matter
– We do not speak the truth of our knowledge just so show how knowledgeable we are
– This itself is knowledge being bestowed upon us
– Love does what knowledge, itself, cannot do
– We need to be wary of this
– A professor once commented that the more he learned about God the less he felt
– We should make sure we do not lose the relational in the process
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›Application Points
›Love and Knowledge (3)
– I know many individuals who are incredibly knowledgeable about God
– They learn about His character
– This can lead them to not doing what they ought to do
– God is Sovereign
– There will some who will think, “Why pray? Why do?”
– The knowledge can be directed toward apathy
– It can lead to presumptions on our part
– It can lead us to becoming very unloving
– Paul is not setting us up with choose one over the other
– It is about what the true and good pursuit of knowledge will lead to
– It does not lead to pride
– That we need to learn anything at all implies we are finite
›Application Points
›Love and Knowledge (4)
– They will begin to realize the vast amount of knowledge they do not possess
– It reminds us that there are others more knowledgeable than ourselves
– No matter how much I get to know someone, I will never know them completely
– This realization of our finiteness then leads to another problem
– How can finite beings know anything with certainty?
– Some will say we can be certain of things we experience with our senses
– There are problems with this
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›Application Points
›Love and Knowledge (5)
– First there are those with cognitive malfunction
– How can we be certain of our experiences when we have so many examples of cognitive dissonance in our world?
– It also makes us think of alternative possibilities for our existence and experiences
– The matrix…brains in vats…demonic illusions
– Whether these are likely or probable is not the point…that they are even possible is what causes concern for those with a finite nature
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›Application Points
›Love and Knowledge (6)
– Under such circumstances can we know anything with certainty?
– Do we know anything with certainty?
– If we do know anything with certainty then the problem is flipped on its head, how do we have certainty at all…
– Finite beings cannot know by themselves anything with certainty, that is not the case for an infinite God
– Finite beings cannot know with certainty unless there is an infinite Being who gives them this information
– We know things with certainty, therefore an infinite Being exists
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›Application Points
›Love and Knowledge (7)
– What do we know with certainty?
– A triangle is not a circle
– The number 1 is not the same as the number 2
– Murder is evil
– We do know things with certainty despite our finiteness
– Why the strange rabbit trail?
– Because this knowledge gives us humility
– We are utterly dependent on God for everything
– It leads us to then not boast in ourselves or our knowledge
– It means we should submit to God because He alone can give truth
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›Application Points
›Love and Knowledge (8)
– This knowledge does not puff up
– It leads us to love God more
– It leads to fear and humility
– They claim, “All of us possess knowledge.”
– They make the bold claim that their knowledge is sufficient
– Yet this is no different than last chapter concerning celibacy and marriage
– Paul argued both were equally good
– Paul is setting up another building on the foundation of Christ
– When they lack love they are wrong
– That we would seek to love and build up others in the knowledge we have been given in Christ
– To be honest with our own finiteness and rejoice in the incredible infinite God we adore
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›Application Points
› The Gospel of Christ
– Origins
– Fall
– Redemption
– Glorification
