Think

158 Finding a Humble Way of Knowing
imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought
to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.
The sequence of thought here is almost baffling. Gordon Fee says,
“The most striking thing about this opening paragraph is how non
sequitur it seems to be.” 1 Yes, “seems” is the right word. Paul would
take us deeper by making us think.
Smart, Proud, and Loveless
At this point in 1 Corinthians, Paul is taking up the issue of whether
Christians can eat food offered to idols. After these introductory
sentences, he continues, “Therefore, as to the eating of food offered
to idols, we know that ‘an idol has no real existence,’ and that ‘there
is no God but one’” (1 Cor. 8:4). Notice the word know. This “knowledge”
(which is true) had become a cause for being “puffed up” for
some at Corinth. How do we know this? Because verses 7, 9, and 11
show that some in the church were using this knowledge to flaunt
their right to eat freely without any care for the weaker Christians.
Paul warns them that “not all possess this knowledge” (v. 7)—
contrary to what they were saying (“all of us possess knowledge”).
That means those who do not have that knowledge are liable to
drawing destructive conclusions from others’ freedom to eat all
things. So he pleads with them to act lovingly: “Take care that this
right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the
weak” (v. 9). He cautioned them not to handle their “knowledge”
so carelessly, because “by your knowledge this weak person is
destroyed” (v.11).
So the issue in Corinth is that knowledge was producing pride,
and pride was destroying love. So he says, “This ‘knowledge’ puffs
up, but love builds up.” Knowledge is susceptible to pride because
it is the result of getting, not giving. Knowledge is a possession. It
is something we have attained. So we are prone to boast about it.
1 Gordon H. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987), 364.