John Calvin Commentary 1 Corinthians 8:1

"Now concerning things sacrificed to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but love edifieth." — 1 Corinthians 8:1 (ASV)

He now passes on to another question, which he had merely touched upon in the sixth chapter, without fully discussing. For when he had spoken of the avarice of the Corinthians, and had drawn that discussion to a close with this statement—Neither covetous, nor extortioners, nor fornicators, etc., shall inherit the kingdom of God, he passed on to speak of the liberty of Christians—All things are lawful for me.

He had taken occasion from this to speak of fornication, and from that, of marriage. Now, therefore, he at length develops what he had touched upon regarding intermediate things—how we should restrain our liberty in such matters.

By intermediate things, I mean those that are neither good nor bad in themselves, but indifferent. God has put these in our power, but in their use, we should observe moderation, so that there may be a difference between liberty and licentiousness.

At the beginning, he selects one instance, distinguished above all the others, where the Corinthians grievously offended: their having been present at the sacred banquets held by idolaters in honor of their gods, and eating indiscriminately of the meats offered to them. As this gave much occasion for offense, the Apostle teaches them that they rashly perverted the liberty granted them by the Lord.

Concerning things offered to idols. He begins with a concession, in which he voluntarily grants and allows them everything that they were prepared to demand or object. “I see what your pretext is: you make Christian liberty your pretext. You claim that you have knowledge, and that not one of you is so ignorant as not to know that there is but one God. I grant all this to be true, but what good is that knowledge which is ruinous to the brothers and sisters?” Thus, he grants them what they demand, but in such a way as to show that their excuses are empty and useless.

Knowledge puffeth up. He shows, from the effects, how frivolous it is to boast of knowledge when love is lacking. “What good is knowledge of a kind that puffs us up and elates us, while it is the role of love to edify?”

This passage, which is otherwise somewhat obscure due to its brevity, may easily be understood in this way: “Whatever is devoid of love is of no importance in the sight of God; furthermore, it is displeasing to him, and even more so, anything that is openly contrary to love. Now, the knowledge of which you boast, O Corinthians, is altogether opposed to love, for it puffs up people with pride and leads to contempt for the brothers and sisters, while love is concerned for the welfare of brothers and sisters and exhorts us to edify them. Accursed, then, be that knowledge which makes people proud and is not regulated by a desire to edify.”

Paul, however, did not mean that this should be considered a fault of learning—that those who are learned are often self-complacent and admire themselves, accompanied with contempt for others. Nor did he understand this to be the natural tendency of learning—to produce arrogance. Instead, he simply meant to show what effect knowledge has in an individual who does not have the fear of God and love for the brothers and sisters, for the wicked abuse all the gifts of God to exalt themselves.

Thus riches, honors, dignities, nobility, beauty, and other things of that nature, puff up, because people, elated by a mistaken confidence in these things, very frequently become insolent. Nor is it always so, for we see that many who are rich and beautiful, abounding in honors, and distinguished for dignity and nobility, are nevertheless of a modest disposition and not at all tainted with pride.

And even when it does happen, it is nevertheless not proper for us to blame what we know to be gifts of God. For in the first place, that would be unfair and unreasonable; and further, by blaming things that are not blameworthy, we would exempt the persons themselves from blame, who alone are at fault. My meaning is this— “If riches naturally tend to make people proud, then a rich person, if proud, is free from blame, for the evil arises from riches.”

We must, therefore, lay it down as a settled principle that knowledge is good in itself. But as piety is its only foundation, it becomes empty and useless in wicked people; as love is its true seasoning, where that is lacking, it is tasteless. Truly, where there is not that thorough knowledge of God which humbles us and teaches us to do good to the brothers and sisters, it is not so much knowledge as an empty notion of it, even in those who are considered the most learned.

At the same time, knowledge is by no means to be blamed for this, any more than a sword if it falls into the hands of a madman. Let this be said in response to certain fanatics who furiously declaim against all the liberal arts and sciences, as if their only use were to puff people up, and were not of the greatest advantage as aids in common life. Now those very persons who defame them in this manner are ready to burst with pride, so much so that they verify the old proverb— “Nothing is so arrogant as ignorance.”