NOTES for Co1 8:5-6

⁵For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)

⁶But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

In Gospel times there were many religions in the pagan world. And Paul, of course, knew this very well: he was born in Tarsus, a pagan city. In his life he had to see many different gods and cults. And he does not try to deny their existence at all, but only gives them the proper assessment. "So-called gods," he says of them. And he adds: in the world there are indeed many gods, and many lords too. But God with a capital letter is one. In this way the apostle defines the attitude of Christianity, and of monotheism in general, toward paganism.

Christians, like other monotheists, look at religious life quite realistically. It is pointless to deny what is reality for a pagan. In the end, gods are generated not by nature but by man. He creates gods for himself in his own image and likeness and makes them his lords, although it seems to him that these gods exist for his sake, that they protect him and help him.

In practice, however, it turns out that he cannot live without them. The gods created by human imagination really become lords for a person, his masters, not imaginary at all but quite real. And only the true God, the One with a capital letter, frees a person. This is no wonder: fallen man will not create for himself gods that could free him from himself. That would most resemble trying to pull oneself out of a swamp by one's own hair. The true God is different: man did not create Him. On the contrary, He created man, and only He can save His creation and free it from sin.

Only people do not always understand this. Fallen man is still more accustomed to his own gods. They may not always be able to help, but they do not demand that he give up a fallen but familiar and customary world. The true God, in saving, will lead him into His Kingdom. There is no other way to help a person. And here one must decide on serious change, or remain with one's own gods, one's own sins, and one's own masters.

Other notes

For Co1 8:1-6

¹Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.

²And if any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.

³But if any man love God, the same is known of him.

⁴As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.

⁵For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)

⁶But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

A person spends a large part of his life trying to acquire certain knowledge - formally beginning at age 7... Read more

A person spends a large part of his life trying to acquire certain knowledge - formally beginning at age 7, though in fact much earlier, and at least until age 23, and often longer, he studies, studies, studies. For what? Ask any first grader why he goes to school, and he will answer, "To get knowledge." Knowledge, information, is the second most important capital in our civilization after money. And it should be noted that from this point of view the 21st century is no different from the 1st. The apostle Paul himself, as we know, was a very learned man. And suddenly, quite unexpectedly, we hear from him: "If anyone thinks that he knows anything, he does not yet know as he ought to know." What is this? How can it be? Does this mean that we spend most of our life acquiring knowledge, and it turns out that we know nothing?! And how ought one to know?

In fact, Paul's thought is very simple. Our dry, intellectual knowledge, memorized and learned by rote, on which we spend so much effort, is a treasure we acquire on earth, not in heaven. Before the face of God it is nothing; it will not bring us even one iota closer to the central mystery of Christianity, the mystery of the Lord's Cross and His Resurrection. From the point of view of rational logic, both are meaningless, paradoxical, and inexplicable. And no matter how many theological constructions we create, nothing will change in our life, because the essence of the Good News will remain an abstraction for us. The apostle points out only one path by which we can comprehend it: Love. There is indeed no logic in God's infinite and patient love for the world, love unto the Cross. It is only by His love that we are all alive, because our life is His gift, not according to our merits, but according to His Love for each of us. Simply because only by Christ, that is, only thanks to Him, do we all exist.

This means there is only one way to reach eternity, to make sure that our life has not been lived in vain: to carry into the world His love, which is the one treasure that can be gathered in heaven and not on earth. Does this mean that there is no need to study? Not at all. We simply must always remember what we live for and keep asking ourselves why we need this knowledge. We must remember that intellectual baggage is not the goal, but one possible means of becoming what God intended us to be. And we must also remember that we can receive true knowledge only in communion with God.

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