1 Corinthians 8:1
“Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.” Someone might, in reading this statement, think that Paul was “anti” knowledge. This is certainly not so. Paul does not condemn, or even minimize, the value of knowledge. Rather, he here condemns certain attitudes that can be present in those who have knowledge.
If it is not tempered by love, knowledge can cause a man to be prideful and dismissive of others. This was the case with regard to the eating of meat offered up to idols. Some knew such was acceptable to God, and as a result were dismissive of their weaker brethren who did not have that knowledge. Rather than refraining from eating, to protect their brother, they instead were willing to risk their brother’s eternal welfare as they flaunted their superior knowledge of God’s will. Such is antithetical to Christ’s cause (vs. 12-13). Love must temper our knowledge!
