For meat destroy not the work of God
The Syriac reads it, "the works of God"; referring either to
righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, of which the
kingdom of God consists; or to the weak brother, who both as a
creature, and as a new creature, is the workmanship of God; and
to the good work of grace, the work of faith upon his soul, which
is the work of God; or rather to his peace, and the peace of the
church of Christ, which is both the will and work of God; peace
is what he calls his people to, and what he himself is the author
of; and may be destroyed, and sometimes is, by trifling things;
whereas a true believer, though ever so weak, cannot be
destroyed, nor the good work of God upon his soul be lost, nor
any part of it; not the work of faith, which Christ prays for
that it fail not, and is both the author and finisher of; but the
work of peace and edification in particular persons, and in a
church, may be destroyed, but it is pity it should, by so small a
matter, so trivial a thing as meat, or the use of anything that
is indifferent:
all things indeed are pure.
The Ethiopic version adds, "to the pure"; to them that have pure
consciences, sprinkled by the blood of Christ, and have no doubt
or scruple about eating things indifferent; but this addition
seems to be taken out of ( Titus 1:15 ) ; though it
may serve to explain the sense, which is, that all sorts of food,
without any distinction, may be eaten; there is nothing common or
unclean, every creature in itself is good, and every Christian
may lawfully eat thereof, with moderation and thankfulness. This
is a concession which stands thus corrected and restrained,
but it is evil for that man who eateth with
offence.
The Arabic version adds, "of his neighbour"; which is a good
interpretation of the passage; for the apostle means not with
offence to a man's own conscience, though so to eat is an evil
too, but with offence to a fellow Christian; it is not an evil in
itself to eat, but when this circumstance of offending another
thereby attends it; it is evil, though not in itself, yet in its
consequences; it offends a weak brother, displeases Christ, who
would not have one of his little ones offended, and brings a woe
upon the person by whom the offence comes. The Ethiopic version
reads, "who eats inordinately"; which to be sure is sinful, but
is not the meaning here.