1 Corinthians 8:4

Plain English Version

All right, now I will answer your question about the food that people give to those statues that they think are gods. We Christians know that a statue is not really a god at all. We know that there is only the one God.

Cross References

Mark 12:29

Jesus said to him, “The most important law is this one, ‘Listen to me, you Israel people, our God is the only God. He is the number one boss over everybody.

Acts 14:15

“What are you doing? Why are you doing this? Don’t do it. We are just men, like you. We are telling you good news, and we are saying that you have to stop showing respect to things that are not the true God. You have to turn around and follow the God that is alive. He made the sky, and the earth, and the sea, and everything in them.

Acts 15:20

We have to write them a letter, to tell them not to worry about getting that young man operation. But we’ll tell them to follow just these rules, – If somebody reckons that a statue is a god, and if they give food to that statue to show respect to it, don’t eat any of that food. – And don’t sleep with somebody that you are not married to, as if they are your wife or husband. – And if somebody holds an animal’s neck really tight to kill it, don’t eat its meat. – And don’t eat the blood of animals.

Acts 19:26

But that man, Paul, he talks to big mobs of people, and he says, ‘Don’t buy those things. Those statues that people say are gods, they are not gods at all. It was people that made them, so don’t show respect to them.’ Lots of people here in Ephesus listened to him, and now even the people from other towns in this Asia country agree with him, and they don’t want to buy the things we make.

1 Corinthians 8:1

I will answer your next question now, about those statues that some people make, and they think those statues are gods. They give food to those statues, and they reckon the statues give that food power. Then those people eat that food, or they sell it to other people. And you Christians asked me, “Can we eat that food that they gave to those statues?” That’s what you asked me. Well, before I answer your question, I want you to remember this. All of us know something, but if we think we know more than other people, we start thinking wrong, like we reckon we are really smart. No, we can’t try to be smart. Instead, we have to love people. If we love other people, it helps them to get strong.

1 Corinthians 8:10

It’s like this. Some of you Christians know it’s all right to eat food in that place where people show respect to those statues. But if you go and eat that food, another Christian might see you there. If that other Christian doesn’t know what to think about that food, they might think that you are showing respect to that statue when you eat that food, so that Christian will think it’s all right to show respect to that statue. And then that Christian will show respect to that statue, and that is wrong.

1 Corinthians 8:11

So you will wreck that other Christian that is not so sure about these things. You see, you yourself know that food has no power, but if then you eat it, and that makes another Christian go wrong, you are doing wrong because you wreck that other Christian. And Jesus Christ died for that person.

Galatians 4:8

At first you didn’t know God. Those other bad spirits were your bosses. Those spirits are not gods at all, but you couldn’t get free from them.

Ephesians 4:6

And there is only one God. He is the father of all of us. He is the biggest boss over everything, and he lives inside all of us to get all of us to do what he wants.

1 Timothy 1:17

That shows that God is really great. He is the biggest boss, and he lives for ever, even though nobody can see him. He is the only one that is God. Everybody has to really praise him and say he is great, and they have to do that for ever and ever. That’s right.

1 Timothy 2:5

You see, there is only one God, and there is only one man that can stand between God and us people, to bring us back to God and ask him not to punish us. That man is Jesus Christ.

Jude 1:25

He is the only God. He gets our leader, Jesus Christ, to save us. So everyone has to always thank him and remember how great he is. He has all power. Everyone has to do whatever he says. He always had that power. He had it right from the start of time. And he will have all that power for ever. That is true. From Jude