Devotional 21 November 2025

November 21, 2025 • Steve Torres

1 Corinthians 8:5-6.jpg

“Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that ‘an idol has no real existence,’ and that ‘there is no God but one.’ For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many ‘gods’ and many ‘lords’—yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” (1 Cor 8:4–6, ESV)

Paul begins by affirming a truth the Corinthians already understood: idols are nothing. Scripture repeatedly mocks the powerlessness of false gods: they are crafted by human hands, unable to speak or act (Isa 44:9–20; Ps 115:4–8). And Paul agrees: “there is no God but one” (Deut 6:4; Isa 45:5). But Paul knows that correct theology can be used in incorrect ways. The Corinthians were using their accurate knowledge as a justification for behavior that ignored how their actions shaped allegiance: both theirs and others’.

So Paul widens the frame. The world is full of “gods” and “lords” (v.5), not real deities but real objects of devotion. Anything that governs a person’s choices becomes a functional “lord.” For some, it was idols in temples; for others, it was social status, reputation, appetite, or cultural expectation. Paul has already warned them: “I will not be dominated by anything” (1 Cor 6:12), and “do not become bondservants of men” (1 Cor 7:23). Even if idols are nothing, the allegiances people form around them are very real.

This is why Paul anchors everything in the Christian confession of verse 6. The Shema declares, “The LORD is one” (Deut 6:4), and Paul applies this truth to the Father and the Son: “one God, the Father… and one Lord, Jesus Christ.” The Father is the source and goal of our existence: “from whom are all things and for whom we exist.” Christ is the mediator and sustainer of creation: “through whom are all things and through whom we exist” (John 1:3; Col 1:16–17; Heb 1:2–3). This is not abstract theology, it is the foundation of Christian life.

The question is no longer: Are idols real? The real question is: Who is my Lord? What governs my choices? What shapes my freedom? What determines how I act?

Idols may be nothing, but allegiance is everything. Christians do not live according to the emptiness of false gods but according to the fullness of the One who made us and redeemed us. We exist from the Father, through the Son, and for the glory of God alone (Rom 11:36).