1 Corinthians 8-10

I Corinthians 8

¹Now about things offered to images: we all seem to ourselves to have knowledge. Knowledge gives pride, but love gives true strength.

²If anyone seems to himself to have knowledge, so far he has not the right sort of knowledge about anything;

³But if anyone has love for God, God has knowledge of him.

⁴So, then, as to the question of taking food offered to images, we are certain that an image is nothing in the world, and that there is no God but one.

⁵For though there are those who have the name of gods, in heaven or on earth, as there are a number of gods and a number of lords,

⁶There is for us only one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we are for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we have our being through him.

⁷Still, all men have not that knowledge: but some, being used till now to the image, are conscious that they are taking food which has been offered to the image; and because they are not strong in the faith, their minds are troubled.

⁸But God's approval of us is not based on the food we take: if we do not take it we are no worse for it; and if we take it we are no better.

⁹But take care that this power of yours does not give cause for trouble to the feeble.

¹⁰For if a man sees you, who have knowledge, taking food as a guest in the house of an image, will it not give him, if he is feeble, the idea that he may take food offered to images?

¹¹And so, through your knowledge, you are the cause of destruction to your brother, for whom Christ underwent death.

¹²And in this way, doing evil to the brothers, and causing trouble to those whose faith is feeble, you are sinning against Christ.

¹³For this reason, if food is a cause of trouble to my brother, I will give up taking meat for ever, so that I may not be a cause of trouble to my brother.

I Corinthians 9

¹Am I not free? am I not an Apostle? have I not seen Jesus our Lord? are you not my work in the Lord?

²If to others I am not an Apostle, at least I am one to you: for the fact that you are Christians is the sign that I am an Apostle.

³My answer to those who are judging me is this.

⁴Have we no right to take food and drink?

⁵Have we no right to take about with us a Christian wife, like the rest of the Apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?

⁶Or I only and Barnabas, have we no right to take a rest from work?

⁷Who ever goes to war without looking to someone to be responsible for his payment? who puts in vines and does not take the fruit of them? or who takes care of sheep without drinking of their milk?

⁸Am I talking as a man? does not the law say the same?

⁹For it says in the law of Moses, It is not right to keep the ox from taking the grain when he is crushing it. Is it for the oxen that God is giving orders?

¹⁰Or has he us in mind? Yes, it was said for us; because it is right for the ploughman to do his ploughing in hope, and for him who is crushing the grain to do his work hoping for a part in the fruits of it.

¹¹If we have been planting the things of the Spirit for you, does it seem a great thing for you to give us a part in your things of this world?

¹²If others have a part in this right over you, have we not even more? But we did not make use of our right, so that we might put nothing in the way of the good news of Christ.

¹³Do you not see that the servants of the holy things get their living from the Temple, and the servants of the altar have their part in the food which is offered on the altar?

¹⁴Even so did the Lord give orders that the preachers of the good news might get their living from the good news.

¹⁵But I have not made use of any of these things: and I am not writing this in the hope that it may be so for me: for it would be better for me to undergo death, than for any man to make this pride of mine of no effect.

¹⁶For if I am a preacher of the good news, I have no cause for pride in this; because I am forced to do so, for a curse is on me if I do not.

¹⁷But if I do it gladly, I have a reward; and if not, I am under orders to do it.

¹⁸What then is my reward? This, that when I am giving the good news, I may give it without payment, not making use of my rights as a preacher of the good news.

¹⁹For though I was free from all men, I made myself a servant to all, so that more might have salvation.

²⁰And to the Jews I was as a Jew, so that I might give the good news to them; to those under the law I was the same, not as being myself under the law, but so that I might give the good news to those under the law.

²¹To those without the law I was as one without the law, not as being without law to God, but as under law to Christ, so that I might give the good news to those without the law.

²²To the feeble, I was as one who is feeble, so that they might have salvation: I have been all things to all men, so that some at least might have salvation.

²³And I do all things for the cause of the good news, so that I may have a part in it.

²⁴Do you not see that in a running competition all take part, but only one gets the reward? So let your minds be fixed on the reward.

²⁵And every man who takes part in the sports has self-control in all things. Now they do it to get a crown which is of this world, but we for an eternal crown.

²⁶So then I am running, not uncertainly; so I am fighting, not as one who gives blows in the air:

²⁷But I give blows to my body, and keep it under control, for fear that, after having given the good news to others, I myself might not have God's approval.

I Corinthians 10

¹For it is my desire, my brothers, that you may keep in mind how all our fathers were under the cloud, and they all went through the sea;

²And they all had baptism from Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

³And they all took the same holy food;

⁴And the same holy drink: for they all took of the water from the holy rock which came after them: and the rock was Christ.

⁵But with most of them God was not pleased: for they came to their end in the waste land.

⁶Now these things were for an example to us, so that our hearts might not go after evil things, as they did.

⁷Then do not go after false gods, as some of them did; as it is said in the holy Writings, After resting and feasting, the people got up to take their pleasure.

⁸Again, let us not give way to the desires of the flesh, as some of them did, of whom twenty-three thousand came to their end in one day.

⁹And let us not put the Lord to the test, as some of them did, and came to their death by snakes.

¹⁰And do not say evil things against the Lord, as some of them did, and destruction overtook them.

¹¹Now these things were done as an example; and were put down in writing for our teaching, on whom the last days have come.

¹²So let him who seems to himself to be safe go in fear of a fall.

¹³You have been put to no test but such as is common to man: and God is true, who will not let any test come on you which you are not able to undergo; but he will make with the test a way out of it, so that you may be able to go through it.

¹⁴For this cause, my dear brothers, give no worship to false gods.

¹⁵What I am saying is for wise men, do you be the judges of it.

¹⁶The cup of blessing which we take, does it not give us a part in the blood of Christ? and is not the broken bread a taking part in the body of Christ?

¹⁷Because we, being a number of persons, are one bread, we are one body: for we all take part in the one bread.

¹⁸See Israel after the flesh: do not those who take as food the offerings of the altar take a part in the altar?

¹⁹Do I say, then, that what is offered to images is anything, or that the image is anything?

²⁰What I say is that the things offered by the Gentiles are offered to evil spirits and not to God; and it is not my desire for you to have any part with evil spirits.

²¹It is not possible for you, at the same time, to take the cup of the Lord and the cup of evil spirits; you may not take part in the table of the Lord and the table of evil spirits.

²²Or may we be the cause of envy to the Lord? are we stronger than he?

²³We are free to do all things, but there are things which it is not wise to do. We are free to do all things, but not all things are for the common good.

²⁴Let a man give attention not only to what is good for himself, but equally to his neighbour's good.

²⁵Whatever meat may be had at the public market, take as food without question of right or wrong;

²⁶For the earth is the Lord's and all things in it.

²⁷If a Gentile makes a feast for you, and you are pleased to go as a guest, take whatever is put before you, without question of right or wrong.

²⁸But if anyone says to you, This food has been used as an offering, do not take it, on account of him who said it, and on account of his sense of right and wrong:

²⁹Right and wrong, I say, not for you, but for the other man; for the fact that I am free is not dependent on another man's sense of right or wrong.

³⁰But if I give praise to God for the food which I take, let no man say evil of me for that reason.

³¹So then, if it is a question of food or drink, or any other thing, whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

³²Give no cause of trouble to Jews, or to Greeks, or to the church of God.

³³Even as I give way to all men in all things, not looking for profit for myself, but for the good of others, that they may get salvation.