1 Corinthians 8 NLT

Outline

I.                  Introduction (1:1-9)

2. Divisions in the Church (1:10;4:21)

A.    The Fact of the Divisions (1:10-17)

• The Causes of the Divisions (1:18;4:13)
1. A wrong conception of the Christian message (1:18;3:4)
2. A wrong conception of Christian ministry and ministers (3:5;4:5)
3. A wrong conception of the Christian (4:6-13)
• The Exhortation to End the Divisions (4:14-21)

                     III.         Moral and Ethical Disorders in the Life of the Church (chs. 5-6)

• Laxity in Church Discipline (ch. 5)
• Lawsuits before Non-Christian Judges (6:1-11)
• Sexual Immorality (6:12-20)

                     IV.         Instruction on Marriage (ch. 7)

• General Principles (7:1-7)
• The Problems of the Married (7:8-24)
• The Problems of the Unmarried (7:25-40)

                      V.         Instruction on Questionable Practices (8:1;11:1)

• The Principles Involved (ch. 8)
• The Principles Illustrated (ch. 9)
• A Warning from the History of Israel (10:1-22)
• The Principles Applied (10:23;11:1)

VI.         Instruction on Public Worship (11:2;14:40)

• Propriety in Worship (11:2-16)
• The Lord's Supper (11:17-34)
• Spiritual Gifts (chs. 12-14)
1. The test of the gifts (12:1-3)
2. The unity of the gifts (12:4-11)
3. The diversity of the gifts (12:12-31a)
4. The necessity of exercising the gifts in love (12:31b;13:13)
5. The superiority of prophecy over tongues (14:1-25)
6. Rules governing public worship (14:26-40)

VII.         Instruction on the Resurrection (ch. 15)

• The Certainty of the Resurrection (15:1-34)
• The Consideration of Certain Objections (15:35-57)
• The Concluding Appeal (15:58)

Conclusion: Practical and Personal Matters (ch. 16

1 Corinthians 8 NLT

1 Now regarding your question about food that has been offered to idols. Yes, we know that “we all have knowledge” about this issue. But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church. 

2Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. 

3But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes. 

4 So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God. 

5 There may be so-called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods and many lords. 

6 But for us, There is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created, and for whom we live. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and through whom we live. 

7 However, not all believers know this. Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are violated. 

8 It’s true that we can’t win God’s approval by what we eat. We don’t lose anything if we don’t eat it, and we don’t gain anything if we do. 

9 But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble. 

10 For if others see you—with your “superior knowledge”—eating in the temple of an idol, won’t they be encouraged to violate their conscience by eating food that has been offered to an idol? 

11So because of your superior knowledge, a weak believer for whom Christ died will be destroyed. 

12 And when you sin against other believers by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ. 

13 So if what I eat causes another believer to sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live—for I don’t want to cause another believer to stumble.