Lover Corrals Knowlege and Knowledge Is Subject to Love - 1 Corinthians 7-8

 1 Corinthians 8:2-3 (ESV)

If anyone 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.

To understand the above sentence pulled out chapter eight, we have to know what Paul is talking about.  The Corinthian believers had requested that Paul would help them clarify an issue the early church (and our church today ... but in different subjects).   The question was about Christian liberty and freedom.   The specific question in this passage is meat offered to idols. As the church began to grow and more and more Gentiles were coming to Christ,  more and more of the Body of Christ was made up of individuals who had, at one time, worshipped gods and idols.  Paul’s point in the entire chapter is that even though we know that there is ONLY ONE God, some in the Body have a conscious level about their old worship habits.  The question was, “How far can the believer without the high conscious level about idol worship go in their indulging in the world, when those with a high conscious level are watching or participating?   Meat offered to the idol was a big deal.  The Greeks would offer the meat because they believed that demonic host could enter the meat and subsequently enter the body.  So, the offered the meat to purify it.  One-third was burnt, one-third went the priest of that god, and one-third could be eaten.  It would be eaten in the home, at weddings, at occasions of group activities.  So, the question to the Corinth believers was, “Can we eat the meat or not?”   Paul will give them several reasons in the subsequent verses, but in the above verses he tells them the overriding principle to follow.  Yes, some have the “knowledge” about the meat offering to gods and idols that idols to false gods means nothing.   There is nothing in a idol but the material it was made from.   But, Paul gives us a very important truth in these verses:  Knowing strong Biblical truth is NOT ENOUGH to navigate our Christian walk.   If you think you have superior knowledge about a Biblical situation that is not enough.  Real accumulation of knowledge ought to make you more and more questing more knowledge.   It was said, “The pursuit of knowledge is moving from an unconscious state of ignorance to a conscious state of ignorance.”  Knowledge doesn’t end when you know something. It is only the beginning.   Paul states that knowledge must be accompanied by love.   Love is the ultimate guide to these areas of dispute.  Being loved by God and loving God is the overriding principle to deal with matters of conscience and Christian liberty.  Paul will give more direction in the following verses but he sets the stage by saying don’t think just because you know something others don’t that you have the freedom do to what you want at the expense of others.  Knowledge of God and about God obligates you to the love like God.  Jesus is the prime example for us.  He set aside His “rights” to give His life a ransom for others.   Love must corral knowledge and knowledge is submissive to love.