“If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know;” 1 Corinthians 8:2
Paul has been writing to a Church that he loves immensely. As Proverbs tells us, “Faithful are the wounds of a Friend” and he has been doing exactly that for the past 7 Chapters. Here, he delivers another Pride Withering Blow, similar to the one in Chapter 4. This is how he opens his instruction to the Church on “things sacrificed to Idols”. You can imagine one of those hearing this read, thinking to himself, “oh, things sacrificed to Idols? I got this!” and then hears “Paul’s Rebuke”. Case Closed!
As we consider what this means for us, it’s one of those Verses that just smacks you between the eyes! In its context, Paul has just said in verse 1, “Knowledge makes arrogant”. This adds to the sweeping indictment of today’s verse! Further on, in a similar vein, Paul warns “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.” What’s the great takeaway from all this, that Knowledge is Unimportant? NO, of course not!!! It is that Love and Humility are MUCH MORE SO! May we all grasp with fresh desire God’s Way over ours.