Is the Idol or the Sacrifice Anything 1 Corinthians 10:19

Paul the apostle asked the church members in Corinth as he referred to, “Israel after the flesh;”, “are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar?” In chapter ten and verse nineteen of First Corinthians, Paul asked the Corinthian church members “that the idol is any thing” … “or that which is offered in sacrifice?” where we read:

What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?

The verse begins, “What say I then? that the idol is any thing,”. Paul began with the word, “What” which means “Paul questioned” “say I then” which means “does Paul declare, proclaim and utter”? “that the idol” or “the image, likeness, apparitions, spectrums or phantoms of the mind” “is any thing” which means “is a certain one or some thing”. Paul rhetorically asked the church members does the “idol” have any worth or value at all.

The verse goes on to say, “or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?” Paul continued with the words, “or that” or “the things “which is offered in sacrifice to idols” which is one Greek word “eidōlothytos” and means “flesh that is left over from the heathen sacrifices which was either eaten at the feast or sold by the poor and the miserly in the market” “is any thing” which means “is a certain one or some thing”. Not only were the “idols” nothing, but the “sacrifices” offered upon them were nothing as well.

When we meditate upon these words from Paul, we see how he meant to show the church members that the “idols” and the “sacrifices” upon them were valueless. Though some people attempted to place value upon these items, they were just “things”, and real value is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Though some attempt to have “false gods” and attempt “sacrificial worship” toward them, they are eternally worthless and empty. Jesus Christ desires that people put away worthless “idols” and “sacrifices”, and he wants them to have a “real” and “true” relationship with all who will “believe in, trust in, rely upon and cling to” Him.

Next time Paul asks the Corinthians, “the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.