1 Corinthians 8:5 Commentary and Bible Study

As humans we are worshipping creatures. The religions of the world have many gods, and of course, men speak of their gods and what they will do for them. They have gods in heaven, and gods in the earth, gods of the sun and of the moon, gods of the mountains and of the valleys, gods of the rivers and the seas, and gods of every conceivable created thing. They invent new gods, and personify every aspect of creation and turn it into a god. They make gods in their own image with characteristics of fallen human beings, gods that squabble and fight, steal and lie, hate and murder. They worship the creature rather than the Creator who is forever blessed. These gods are represented by idols, and the idol worshipper believes that there are gods behind the idol. They can do harm, and the worshipper has to placate their bad temper. The idol gives you the invisible god in visible form. It gives you what you want, and allows you to write an alternative morality, while satisfying the religious urge. These gods are invented by human beings, and what is the value of a god that man has made, when the true God made all things and created man also without consulting him? Idolatry is perhaps the greatest cause of separation between God and man, yet it is everywhere.Modern man has idols too. What do men worship today? There are any number of idols: idols of the screen, of the stage; sports idols, idols of narcotics, idols of sensation of sexual experience. Man makes an idol of himself, and believes he can do anything, solve any problem. Then there are mystical gods, which only a few can understand – elitist idols. We are made to be not only worshipping but dependent, but we make fools of ourselves selectin what is not divine. If you reject the true god, you must have something else instead. The second commandment forbids the making of any idol or the worship of any other than the true God who made heaven and earth. He cannot be represented by an idol, by an image, because it is impossible to represent him by an image. How can you make an image of infinite power, of infinite wisdom, of omnipresence and omniscience? These things cannot be represented, and God therefore forbids any attempt to represent him in created form. Any idol has the effect of obscuring the true God, rather than illuminating him. An idol must be an obstacle to finding the true God, for we do not know God at all, unless we know him as he really is.There are many beings which the world calls gods and lords (he is referring to idols), but they are in name only and have no reality. However, even if we were to concede that they exist (and certainly their adherents do make such claims), we see things entirely differently. ‘To us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.’ Paul is not simply stating the opposing Christian belief in one God, but is arguing why it must be so. The Christian view of God is not just one opinion among many, it is the only valid explanation for the origin of all things. Calvin says, ‘Whatever has its origin from what is foreign to itself. is not eternal, and, consequently, is not God. All things have their origin from one Being: he alone, therefore, is God.’ As soon as there are many gods, none of them is ultimate; none of them is the source of all things; their origin cannot be explained; none of them can be eternal, for the eternal Being must be the source of all things, but these gods share that ultimacy with each other which is a contradiction in terms. God the Father is the origin of all things, and we exist in him, in that ‘we subsist in God, as it was by him that we were once created’ (Calvin). God the Son had his own distinct role in the creation of all things. He was the instrumental cause of all things: ‘by whom, or through whom are all things’, and we exist by his workmanship and creative power. So too does everything else that exists, for ‘all things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.’ That is the only valid explanation of all things.