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The particular questions with which the apostle here deals may be of comparatively little interest to us, but, as usual in, such cases, he brings to bear on them principles that affect the moral life of man in every age. So far as he speaks of the right or wrong of eating that which has been offered in sacrifice to idols, or attending heathen festivals, he is treating of what may have been of great moment to Corinthian Christians in apostolic times, but does not much concern us now. When, however, he says, "All things are lawful for me," etc.; "Let no man seek his own," etc.; "The earth is the Lord's," etc.; "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God," he is laying down laws that are of universal and eternal obligation. Our aim must be to distinguish this vital and enduring element from all that is local and temporary; to extract from that which may seem foreign to our interest those Divine lessons that bear on the deepest realities of our individual and social life. Here, then, lies one grand condition of all true nobility of character and deed. Every man is great and honourable in proportion as he makes the "glory of God" the definite and conscious aim of his existence. "Whether therefore ye eat or drink," etc. Note respecting this apostolic exhortation -

I. THE GROUND ON WHICH IT RESTS - the absolute sovereignty of God's claims. The twofold character of this Divine right is recognized.

1. Natural proprietorship. "The earth is the Lord's," etc. (vers. 26, 28; Psalm 24:12); "Of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever" (Romans 11:36). The end of all creatural existence must needs be the glory of him who created it. In proportion as we recognize the fact that all the springs of our being are in God, that all the faculties of our nature, all the resources, materials, and relations of our life are from him, we shall feel that our existence answers its true end, life is worth living, just so far as it fulfils his purposes.

2. Personal redemption. There is a more tender but not less powerful claim established by that marvellous act of grace of which the "table of the Lord," with its "cup of blessing" and its "broken bread," is the perpetual memorial. "Ye are not your own, ye are bought with a price," etc. (ch. 6:19, 20). Here is a proprietorship superadded to that of the original and natural relation. See the fatherhood of God as it appears in the cross of Jesus, and the sovereignty of his claims comes home to you, not with the mere force of natural authority, but with the resistless persuasiveness of unparalleled self surrendering love.

II. THE SENSE OF MORAL FREEDOM IN US TO WHICH IT MAKES ITS APPEAL. The essential dignity of our nature is implied in this assertion of God's claims over us. The inferior creatures show forth his glory by fulfilling the ends for which he has created them, but their service is rendered by a law and necessity of their being which they have no power to resist. The myriad forms of lower life that people the earth and air and sea cannot but obey the instincts of their nature, and in that blind, instinctive obedience the end of their existence is attained. To us alone belongs the mysterious, self regulating power by which it lies with ourselves to determine whether we will respond to the Divine appeal or refuse to do so. These inferior creatures of God, all of which in themselves "are good" (1 Timothy 4:4), are intended to be the instruments of our higher purpose. We are "crowned with glory and honour" above them all, that we may interpret their voices and utilize their powers in presenting to him our living tribute of gratitude and love and service. Our daily life, in its deeper moral meaning, proclaims how far this is really the case with us. As every new day dawns upon us, God throws it upon us afresh to decide whether we will" use the world" as we ought to use it by living to his glory, or will "abuse it" by following the impulses of our own self will and serving the idols of our own imagination or carnal appetite.

III. THE FAMILIAR COMMONPLACE FIELD OF INTEREST IN WHICH IT IS TO BE FULFILLED. "Whether ye eat or drink," etc. The simplest materials of our life are to be consecrated to his service, and the meanest doings of life are to be made designedly a tribute to his praise. We greatly err if we imagine certain things to be so purely physical or so trivial as to have nothing to do with the sublimer interests and responsibilities of our being. You learn the deepest truth of things only when you come to see spiritual principles and laws and issues enshrined in them; that everything, in fact, in the root of it, in its inmost heart and core, is spiritual, and bears some relation to that higher part of us which will endure for ever. No doubt life is for the most part an aggregate of many little things. To some it may seem but a monotonous round of trivialities - the same things done day after day in the same way and to the same end, and that an end of very little moment. But may not the noblest principles of moral feeling and life, as motive powers, be underlying these seemingly insignificant activities, and making them really great? Infuse something of the wealth of a devout and godly soul into them, and the meanest doings of your life become no longer mean, That inner, invisible greatness of holy thought and feeling makes them great. There is no motive so lofty but it may be brought to bear upon the so called trifles that make up the story of our days. The minutest movements of the material world around us are effected by the same forces as govern the most majestic.

"The very law that moulds a tear
And makes it trickle from its source,
That law preserves the earth a sphere
And guides the planets in their course." So may the grand motives of reverence for God and love to the Saviour give shape and beauty, consistence and harmony, to everything we do. And then, he who "seeth not as man seeth," who recognizes none of our distinctions of great and. small, will accept it as a welcome tribute to his praise. The poor widow's consecration of her "two mites" to the Lord's treasury, the "cup of cold water" given to the disciple in the name of a disciple, the simplest act of real Christian service and self sacrificing love, these are as pleasing to him as the heroism of a Paul compassing sea and land with painful toil and travail that he may win souls, or a Luther daring the dark powers of earth and hell in his brave witness for the truth. Learn to fill your common everyday life with the inspiration of a high and holy purpose. This will make it far other than it seems to be, more real, more satisfying, less like a mere feverish pursuit of unsubstantial shadows. It will then become a thing of imperishable beauty and worth. Its outward incidents will be but as the scaffolding within which the structure of a holy character and glorious destiny is being raised. The outer form of it will be a matter of small concern to you so that that interior work is going on well. Take this spiritual view of things, and yours shall be indeed a consecrated life, in which every work you do will be as a "sacrament," and every step you take will lead you nearer to your home in God. - W.

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Parallel Verses

KJV: Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

WEB: Whether therefore you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.