1 Corinthians 8:5Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Therefore the Apostle uses the very words of his opponents to prepare his own teaching. He shows that the Greeks assert the existence of many gods, whom they also call lords, but they do not exist at all and are known only by names. For this is what he said: "For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, as there are many gods and many lords." The same beings were called both gods and lords.

The phrase "whether in heaven or on earth" he says according to Greek mythology. Some gods were called heavenly, such as Zeus, Apollo, Hera, and Athena. Others were called earthly, such as springs, rivers, the so-called nymphs, Heracles, Dionysus, Asclepius, and thousands of others.

Seeing that the more perfect did the same, they took part in those suppers and suffered great harm from it. They did not touch what was set before them with the disposition of the perfect. They touched it as food sacrificed to idols, and by this idolatrous worship was maintained. At the same time, the perfect themselves fell into no small sin, defiling themselves by demonic tables. These Corinthians, if one speaks abstractly and without relation to practice, had a correct view of idols. The Apostle fully agrees with it. He proclaims with great force the teaching of the one God, that there is no other God but One. He proclaims the unity of His Only-begotten Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and the vanity of the so-called gods. Yet at the same time he teaches that this correct view of idols is not to be taken abstractly. In practical application, in eating what is sacrificed to idols, and in relation to others before whose eyes it is done, it becomes not only incorrect but unworthy of a Christian. Christians must consider the influence of their opinions and actions not only on themselves, but also on others. For Christians, the fundamental guiding principle of life must be not knowledge, but love. Knowledge often leads to pride and division, but love always leads to edification and strengthening. Christians must have love first toward God, and then toward men. Yet both forms of love are incompatible with eating what is sacrificed to idols. Therefore, if a man eats what is sacrificed to idols and thinks he acts according to knowledge, he is mistaken. He shows that he does not know the fundamental Christian law of love. In general, he lacks full knowledge, which depends on God and love for Him. In this teaching the Apostle Paul repeats the teaching of Jesus Christ Himself, Who says, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word” (Jn 14:23). He also stands very close to John the Theologian, who taught, “Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love has not known God, for God is love” (1 Jn 4:7-8). “Knowledge has need of love,” says St. John Chrysostom. “He who loves, as one who fulfills the chief of all commandments, can quickly acquire knowledge with the help of love, even if he has certain deficiencies. But he who has knowledge without love not only gains nothing, but often loses even what he has.” Blessed Theodoret, as if summing up the Apostle’s thoughts, writes: “We need much knowledge, and in the present life it is impossible to acquire perfect knowledge. Therefore let us love God, that we may be counted worthy of His providential care for us. This is what the Apostle expressed in the words, ‘He who loves God is known by Him.’ That is, he is counted worthy of His care.” Or, as Blessed Theophylact says, “He is made known to God and receives knowledge from Him. Though even then he possesses it imperfectly.” Dwelling on the Apostle’s well-known saying about the unity of the Godhead, our commentators chiefly concentrate on explaining the equal honor of the Father and the Son. Thus St. John Chrysostom says: “You will say that God, the Father, is called the one God. Therefore the name God does not belong to the Son. But see that the same is said of the Son, and the Son is called the one Lord. Yet we do not say that therefore the name Lord belongs to Him alone. Just as the Son’s being called the one Lord does not prevent the Father from being Lord, so the Father’s being called the one God does not prevent the Son from being God. And the same God as the Father.” The same is seen in the words, “through Whom are all things, and we through Him,” which refer to creation and salvation. “We are from God in two ways: by being and by faith. The same must be understood of Christ. Through Him the human race was brought from non-being into being, and from error to truth” (Chrysostom).

Saint Chrysostom says: "Since he said that an idol is nothing and there is no other God, while there were idols and so-called gods, he adds, so that they might not think he denied the obvious. 'even if there are so-called gods.' Though there are gods, they are not simply gods, but so-called gods, that is, not truly existing, but only so named. 'Whether in heaven or on earth.' By heaven he means the sun, moon, and other luminaries, for the pagans worshiped these also. By earth he means demons and all deified men."

Theodoret writes: "The Greeks assert the existence of many gods, whom they also call lords, but they do not exist at all and are known only by names. According to Greek mythology, some gods were called heavenly, such as Zeus, Apollo, Hera, and Athena. Others were called earthly, such as springs, rivers, the so-called nymphs, Heracles, Dionysus, Asclepius, and thousands of others."