New Testament 5
Lecture 4
1 Corinthians 8 – 11:1
Did You Lose Sleep 
•	Over eating______________offered to a pagan idol?
•	Whether you should accept an invitation to a cultic meal in a ______________These seem remote issues to us. But they were real to the Corinthians.
The Critical Issue
•	Is that every believer lives in a______________that is ignorant of God
•	Is that every believer lives his/her life in the midst of a congregation that has varied levels of understanding and maturity within its ranks.
•	Those who have recently been saved out of paganism need ______________ consideration by the others.
Meat Offered to Idols (8:1-13)
•	Corinth had pagan ______________ and they would offer ______________ to the gods.  Only special portions were offered to the gods and the rest could be sent to the local “______________” meat market owned and operated by the priests of the idol.  This was normally the best quality and cheapest meat in town. Giving a dinner party in your home, you would buy some of this meat.
What should a Christian do?
•	If invited to a cultic meal at a pagan ______________, should he go?
•	Was he permitted to ______________ meat at the local temple market?
•	If invited to the ______________ of a pagan friend for dinner, was he free to accept?
The Church at Corinth
•	Was sharply divided by this issue. Some boasted of knowing they could eat this meat and it would do them no harm. Paul did not dispute that claim, but it concerned him that one’s freedom may harm a brother. Verse 1 “______________” puffs up, but love builds up. If knowledge is the only criterion for fellowship, it would tear up a church. Love is necessary too.
8:4-6
•	At first, Paul stand with the more mature of the church. Her shares their feelings that an “______________” is really nothing and there is one God only (v. 4).  Corinth was full of idols and images of gods, yet Paul denied their real existence. Verse 6 allows Paul to affirm there is one God, the Father by which all things exist and the one LJC.
How Does 4-6 affect Meat to Idols?
•	Since an idol represents something that does not exist, meat consecrated to it could not profane anyone. ______________ can ______________ and ______________ it without being defiled. Christian freedom makes all such superstitions worthless.
8:7-12
•	Paul reminds the mature that not all Christians were this mature. See v. 7…Verse 8 indicates that some of the mature may have been flaunting their freedom in the faces of their less mature brothers. They may have hoped to shock such immature ones into maturity by this act. What is Paul’s advise in v. 9? This could happen if the immature saw them eating. What is said in verses 11-12?
8:13
•	What is the requirement here? ______________. What does it require? There is to be a place where Christians limit themselves for the sake of other brothers.  “If food will cause the fall of my brother, I will never eat meat.”
9:1-27 Summarized
•	In Chapter 8 Paul encouraged his more mature Christians to not use their ______________ to ______________ the ______________ brothers.  To do so would be to abandon the principle of love in Christian conduct. Instead, forego such liberties. This would lead to a scrutiny of the live of one giving such advice.
9:1-3
•	Paul was aware that many would be checking his own life to see if he lived according to that principle.  He indicates four areas in which concern for others led him to renounce or limit his own rights or liberties:
•	1) ______________ (v5) 
•	2) ______________ support (v4,6-18); 
•	3) ______________ bias (V19-23)
•	4) self-discipline (v24-27)
9:5 Marriage
•	The question is rhetorical. That means Paul was not seeking information. It was really an emphatic way to stress and make his point. He did have the right to ______________ a ______________ ______________. But he yielded out of consideration of his ministry to others.
9:4, 6-18
•	Paul is especially sensitive to this issue of ______________ support in relation to the Corinthian church. Some must have been ready to question his motives if he accepted the money.  
Notice His Argument to receive support:
1) Examples from everyday life – (v.7):  
•	a) ______________ who does not serve at his own expense.
•	b) ______________ owner eats produce
•	c) shepherd gets ______________ from herd
2) Appeals to Scripture (v8-12)
•	A) Deut 25:4 – an ______________ is able to receive food while threshing.
3) Points to Temple Service (V13)
•	Those who serve in the ______________received from the sacrificial offerings. Numbers 18:8-32 and Deut 18:1-8 describe the custom among the Jews.
4) Appeals to the teachings of Jesus 
•	A) His appeal is what is found in out gospel of Matthew 10:9-10 and Luke 10:7. Paul probably had heard these and now put them in his letter. 
•	Look at verse 12…what is Paul’s conclusion? Give me money? What about verse 15? What motivated Paul to ______________? Money or the Divine compulsion? Summarize verse 18.
9:19-23 Cultural Bias 
•	Where was Paul able to witness:
•	Antioch of Pisidia – synagogue (Acts 13:14-52)
•	Lystra – excited pagan crowd in the open air (Acts 14:8-18)
•	Athens – philosophers (Acts 17:16-34)
•	Jerusalem – defense to mob (Acts 22:1-21)
•	Caesarea Maritima – Festus, Agrippa and Bernice (Acts 25:23-26:32)
Paul’s Missionary Feats
•	Were unsurpassed by any church in Acts. Why? It was his flexibility and willingness to take risks involving his cultural base. He was able to determine between the______________and ______________. He adjusted to the cultural basis of his audience.  This meant he set aside traditions and personal soap boxes to preach the gospel 
What does he say in 9:22? 
•	Is this compromising the ______________? McGorman says, “No! Compromise does not know where to stand, and cultural rigidity does not know where to bend.”
9: 24-27 Self-Discipline
•	Paul moves from discussing his ______________ for the good of others and the gospel. Now he speaks about the inner problems of human appetites. He uses various athletic metaphors. The Isthmian games were held every two years, then these would be fresh in the minds of the Corinthians. 
The Athletes
•	Undergo strict ______________ or ______________ in order to be prepared to play in the games. Every athlete felt that no amount of self-control was too high a price to pay in order to get the prize – a victor’s wreath (v.25). Look what an athlete will do to win the prize, should not a Christian be as disciplined to win some to Christ? 
The Images
•	The ______________ – Paul does not flail his arms in the air. He is no shadow boxer (v 26). Instead he deals his body death blows when the bodily appetites want  control (v27).  The word translated “pommel” means to “strike under the eye, to deliver a knock out punch.”
•	What was Paul’s motivation for such discipline? Verse 27…
10:1-11:1
•	Paul will use this chapter to teach the Corinthians to avoid presuming on God’s grace and mercy. Paul might have asked the Corinthians a question like this, “How close to ______________ can you get without being an idolater?”  The self-designated spiritual elite seemed to be exploring this question. They felt they were the superior Christians in the flock and they had superior insights (v.1)
Israel’s Folly (10:1-5)
•	The Christians in Corinth had experienced ______________ and the ______________ ______________ and felt their standing with God was unalterably secure.  So, what if they chose to participate in cultic meals dedicated to idols? No harm done. Paul’s seeks to refute their argument by looking back into the history of Israel. 
The History of Israel
•	V. 1-2…We see Israel’s baptism…
•	V 3-4…He showed how Israel had also participated in meals provided by supernatural means by God. To Paul these are analogous to the Lord’s Supper.
•	Yet, “Baptism” and “Lord’s Supper” did not guarantee entrance into the Promised Land. They did not continue in faith and obedience. They lapsed into sin as seen in verses 6-10. They perished in the desert.
(10:6-13) Admonition for the Day 
•	If self-trust and self-will had such dire consequences for Israel in the time of Moses, shouldn’t that same sins be avoided by Christians? What is said in verse 6? These are a warning for us?
 Notice the 5 examples of sin:
•	1. Desiring ______________ (v6-Num 14:4-34)
•	2. Worshipping ______________ (v7-ex 32:1-6)
•	3. Sexual immorality (v8-Num25: 1-9)
•	4. Putting the Lord to the Test (v9-Num21:4-9)
•	5. ______________ (10-Num16:1-50)
•	Read verses 12-13 and see the warnings for us.
10:14-22 Flee Idolatry
•	Paul addresses the sexual immorality and idolatry. His urgent counsel was to flee, seek safety in flight (v14). He relates this to taking the Lord’s Supper and being in the body of the Lord (v.16).  He appeals also the meaning of the Jewish sacrifices (v18). Paul does not refute what he said earlier about idols, but here he says that those who sacrifice to idols are doing so to demons and not to God. How can one who is related to God, do so? (v21) This would provoke God to jealousy (v22).
10:23-11:1 Special Instructions
•	What is his advice in 25-26? What is his advice to the one who eats in another’s ______________? Were they to ask or remain ______________? 
•	What were they to do if a believer who was present took offense that the meat had been dedicated to the idols? See verses 27-29. 
•	What is Paul’s final advice to all this in verses 30-32? And 11:1?