1 Corinthians 10:31

My Notes

What Does 1 Corinthians 10:31 Mean?

Paul issues one of the most comprehensive commands in his letters: whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink — Paul begins with the most basic, mundane, universal human activities: eating and drinking. Not preaching, not worshipping, not performing miracles. Eating and drinking — the things every person does multiple times every day. If these activities can be done to God's glory, nothing is excluded.

Or whatsoever ye do — the scope expands to totality. Whatsoever eliminates every exception. No activity falls outside the command. Every human action — from the most sacred to the most ordinary — is included.

Do all to the glory of God — the singular aim. Glory (doxa) is the manifest excellence, the visible splendor of God. To do something to the glory of God means to do it in a way that displays, reflects, or magnifies God's character. The command transforms every activity into potential worship.

The context is the ongoing discussion about food offered to idols (chapters 8-10). Paul has argued that believers have freedom in Christ but that freedom must be governed by love and by the effect on others' consciences. The concluding principle is: whatever you decide about disputable matters, the governing question is God's glory. Does this choice glorify God? That is the test.

The verse eliminates the sacred-secular divide. There is no category of activity that is inherently outside the scope of glorifying God. Eating glorifies God when done with gratitude. Working glorifies God when done with integrity. Resting glorifies God when done with trust. The command is not about performing religious acts constantly. It is about orienting every act — including the ordinary — toward God's glory.

Reflection Questions

• 1.How does starting with 'eat or drink' — the most mundane activities — establish that nothing is excluded from glorifying God?
• 2.What does it practically look like to eat, work, or rest 'to the glory of God'?
• 3.How does this verse eliminate the sacred-secular divide in daily life?
• 4.What ordinary activity in your day could you begin doing more intentionally to the glory of God?

Devotional

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Eat to the glory of God. Drink to the glory of God. The most ordinary, repeated, unremarkable activities of your day — and Paul says: do them for God's glory. Not just the Sunday activities. Not just the prayer and worship moments. The eating. The drinking. The everything.

Or whatsoever ye do. Whatsoever. Driving to work. Making breakfast. Answering emails. Folding laundry. Having a conversation. Going to sleep. Whatsoever — there is no activity so small, so routine, so apparently secular that it cannot be done to the glory of God.

Do all to the glory of God. All. The word eliminates exceptions. You do not get to section off parts of your life as God-irrelevant. Every activity is an opportunity to display God's character — through gratitude, integrity, kindness, excellence, faithfulness, or simply through the awareness that the most mundane moment of your day can be aimed at something eternal.

This verse does not demand that every moment be intense spiritual experience. It demands that every moment be aimed in the right direction. The eating does not have to feel religious. It has to be done with the awareness that even this — this meal, this drink, this ordinary moment — can reflect the God you belong to.

The question is not: is this activity spiritual enough? The question is: am I doing this in a way that reflects God's glory? That question applies to everything. And when you orient everything toward one aim — his glory — the distinction between sacred and secular disappears. All of life becomes worship.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture