4 As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. 5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) 6 But 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. (1 Corinthians 8:4-6 KJV)
Food Offered to Idols
In this passage, Paul shows the vanity of idols. Concerning eating food sacrificed to idols, he says, “We know that an idol is nothing in the world,” meaning that heathen idols have no divinity or real existence (1 Corinthians 8:4). In the Old Testament, they are called “lying vanities” because they are merely imaginary gods, powerless to affect God’s creation. They cannot pollute what God has made, nor make it unfit for His people to eat. “For every creature of God is good if it is received with thanksgiving” (1 Timothy 4:4). The idols of the heathen have no power to change the nature of anything, for “there is no other God but one.” The unity of the Godhead is a fundamental principle of Christianity and of all true religion.
Though there are those who are “called gods” in heaven and on earth—“gods many and lords many” (1 Corinthians 8:5)—these are only names. The heathens worshiped many deities, some heavenly, considered superior, and others earthly, often men who had been deified and thought to mediate between mortals and celestial beings. But all their divinity and mediation were imaginary; their gods were only titles without substance.
For us, “there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist” (1 Corinthians 8:6). We Christians know that there is one Creator, the source of all being, who made, preserves, and governs all things. He is not a local or national god but Lord over all creation, for all things are from Him and for Him. He is called “the Father” not to exclude the Son or the Holy Spirit from the Godhead but to distinguish Him from created beings. The Father is the fountain and foundation of the Trinity—the first person of the Godhead, from whom the Son and Spirit proceed. Yet the Father, Son, and Spirit together are one God, not three separate gods.
To us, “there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist” (1 Corinthians 8:6). He is the one Mediator between God and humanity (1 Timothy 2:5). Unlike the many supposed mediators of the heathen, Jesus Christ alone stands between God and man. By Him all things were created, and through Him all are sustained. God has made this very Jesus “both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36), giving Him “a name that is above every name” (Philippians 2:9-10), that at His name every knee should bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord.
Thus, Christians acknowledge only one Lord and one Mediator—Jesus Christ, who administers all things under God and reconciles humanity to Him. All other so-called lords or mediators are imaginary. It is our great privilege as believers that we know the true God and the true Mediator between God and man—“the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent” (John 17:3).