Vietnam Evangelical Covenant Church – Explain the following verse in your own words: “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.” If someone ran up to you right now and asked how to practice 1 Corinthians 10:31 in eating, drinking or anything else, how would you answer? Do you really understand what the apostle Paul is saying?
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.” This verse invites us to bring glory to God not only in church but in every small thing each day. Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB).
What Does It Mean to Glorify God?
To glorify God is to live so that others see His goodness, holiness and love through our lives.
First Corinthians 10:31 is so familiar that we assume we understand it, even when we don’t. Its meaning seems obvious: glorify God in everything you do. Yes, of course that is true. But what did Paul actually mean by “the glory of God” and “whatever you do”?
If we apply the verse by thanking God for the delicious pizza we are eating, we have missed Paul’s point, although he certainly wants us to thank God for it (1 Corinthians 10:30). Paul had something else, more specific, in mind, something quite relevant to each of us. When we look at the verse in its wider context, we see that Paul’s command to do everything to the glory of God has to do with cultural idols, the Christian conscience and how we live before a watching unbelieving world.
A Wonderful New Freedom
Paul begins his argument at the start of chapter 8. There we see that food was a big issue of Christian freedom in the Corinthian church, especially “food sacrificed to idols” (1 Corinthians 8:1). Nearly every believer in Corinth (except some Jews) had previously worshiped other gods. When they became Christians, they renounced those idols and all the worship associated with them.
The big problem was that idol worship was woven into life, commerce and community; it had enormous cultural influence. Temples of the gods were social centers, functioning much like public dining places (1 Corinthians 8:10). And much of the meat sold in the market and served in homes had been offered to idols (1 Corinthians 10:25, 27). That meant eating meat could be seen as idol worship and a betrayal of the Christian faith (1 Corinthians 8:10).
Wonderfully, some Corinthian Christians discovered that “we know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one” (1 Corinthians 8:4). Since idols are nothing, meat offered to idols is meat offered to nothing (1 Corinthians 10:19–20). So eating meat offered to idols is not idolatry if the one eating knows idols are not real. They were free to eat with a clear conscience. And Paul agreed with them (1 Corinthians 10:26, 29).
The Power of Freedom to Destroy
However, Paul did not approve of how some Christians were using their new freedom. Some Corinthian believers valued enjoying this freedom above the spiritual good of others. First, not every Christian there “possessed this knowledge” (1 Corinthians 8:7). Some, perhaps new converts or those with tender consciences, still felt that eating food offered to idols was a form of idolatry. For them, eating such meat was denying Christ.
Second, others who did not believe idols were real faced a different kind of temptation in eating the meat. Many converts in Corinth paid a very high price to become Christians. Leaving pagan religion meant giving up social customs, family traditions and networks of friendship. Some even lost their jobs. You can imagine the temptation to keep showing some respect to the popular religion to avoid losing work, social standing or family acceptance.
Third, there was the issue of gospel witness to unbelievers watching the Christians. What would pagans think if Christians deliberately ate meat offered to idols? They might conclude Christians worshiped idols just like them, so there was no reason to pay attention to the Christians’ extraordinary claims. And what would Jews think? That Christians were pagans and Christianity a heresy.
So Paul reminds the Corinthians that much more was at stake than eating meat. If Christians with a clear conscience about eating were not careful, their freedom could destroy the faith of other believers (1 Corinthians 8:9–11) or damage the name of Jesus among unbelievers (1 Corinthians 10:27–29).
True Christian Freedom
That is why Paul says, “Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to stumble” (1 Corinthians 8:13). Then throughout chapter 9 he describes the many ways he voluntarily gave up what he, as a Christian, let alone an apostle, was free to do: various foods and drinks, marriage, being paid for his work (1 Corinthians 9:4–7).
The whole orientation of Paul’s life was to bring as many people to the gospel as possible (1 Corinthians 9:22–23), so he tried to remove as many obstacles to the gospel as he could (1 Corinthians 9:12). For Paul, this was true Christian freedom: “Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible” (1 Corinthians 9:19). When Paul heard the Corinthians arguing about whether they were free to eat food offered to idols, he reminded them they were missing the point:
“Everything is permissible,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible,” but not everything is edifying. (1 Corinthians 10:23)
For Paul, this is true Christian freedom: doing whatever is necessary to love our neighbor for the sake of Jesus’ name.
Doing Everything to the Glory of God
This is what Paul had in mind when he wrote, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). We glorify God when, out of love for Him, we give up our rights and freedoms in eating or drinking or anything else to do what is most loving for others, for their “progress and joy in the faith” (Philippians 1:25) or to save some (1 Corinthians 9:22). Paul’s very next verse says, “Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews or Greeks or the church of God” (1 Corinthians 10:32).
Now back to our delicious pizza. God is certainly honored when we wholeheartedly enjoy the fullness of the earth He created for us (1 Corinthians 10:26). Paul is a great champion of our freedom from food restrictions and much else (1 Timothy 4:1–3). He says plainly, “But food does not bring us closer to God: We are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do” (1 Corinthians 8:8). And “every creation of God is good, and nothing that is received with thanksgiving should be rejected, because it is sanctified by the word of God and by prayer” (1 Timothy 4:4–5). So Paul would not be offended if we applied 1 Corinthians 10:31 while enjoying our pizza, as long as we don’t forget that there is a more excellent way to glorify God: sacrificial love.
And this sacrificial love is still needed, especially when it comes to Christian freedoms. We too have cultural idols, weaker brothers and sisters and watching unbelievers. So in “whatever you do,” don’t just use your freedom to pursue what makes you comfortable, but use it to pursue the ultimate spiritual good of your neighbors. As a Christian, you are free from every chain: the outward chains of false teaching and the inward chains of your own selfishness. You are free to enjoy all that God has provided, and free to restrain yourself for love’s sake. Do whatever it takes to glorify God’s name.
(Jon Bloom is an author, board member and co-founder of desiringGod.org. He is the author of Not by Sight, Things Not Seen and Don’t Follow Your Heart. He and his wife live with their five children in the Twin Cities.)
Translated by: Translation Team – Communications Ministry, Vietnam Evangelical Covenant Church
Adapted from: DesiringGod.org
Glorifying God in Everyday Life
Try starting each day with the question: “How can I glorify God today?” It might be working honestly, speaking kindly, helping someone in need or keeping yourself from what displeases God.
Glorifying God does not require great deeds, but faithfulness in small things done for Him.
You may also like: Ministry Isn’t Just for Sunday and How Your Career Could Crush You.
Prayer
Lord, help us glorify Your name in everything, when we eat, drink, work and rest. Let our lives reflect Your goodness to everyone around us. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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