1 Corinthians 8:6 teaches that there is one God, the Father, from whom all things come and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were made and through whom we now live. Paul wrote this to the church in Corinth, a city full of temples and idols, to help believers think clearly about whether it was right to eat meat that had been offered to idols.
Yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we live through him.
1 Corinthians 8:6 (WEB)
What 1 Corinthians 8:6 Means
Paul begins with the word “yet,” which sets this statement against the claim that idols and many “gods” and “lords” exist in the world. He admits that people speak of many gods, but he says that for believers the truth is different: there is only one God. The phrase “of whom are all things, and we for him” means that God is the source of everything that exists and the goal toward which human life is directed. We were made by him and for him.
The second half speaks of Jesus Christ as Lord and says that “through whom are all things, and we live through him.” Paul gives Christ a share in the work of creation and in the life of believers, placing him right alongside the Father without blurring the two. The verse does not offer a detailed doctrine of how the Father and Son relate. It states, in a few words, that the one God is known in the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that both are involved in creating the world and sustaining the life of those who belong to God.
The Context of 1 Corinthians 8:6
First Corinthians was written by the apostle Paul, traditionally dated to the mid 50s AD, to a congregation he had planted in Corinth. The church was divided over several issues, and one of them was whether Christians could eat meat sold in the market that had first been sacrificed to pagan gods. Some members who had recently left idolatry felt they should avoid such meat entirely, while others who understood that idols are nothing felt free to eat it.
Just before verse 6, Paul says that love for God matters more than knowledge (verse 3) and that idols have no real power (verse 4). Just after, he warns that the freedom to eat must not become a stumbling block for weaker believers (verse 9). Read in this setting, verse 6 is the foundation for Paul’s argument: because God is one and Christ is Lord, the believer’s freedom rests on a clear confession of who God is, and that freedom must be exercised with love for others.
Key Phrases in 1 Corinthians 8:6
Deuteronomy 6:4
Hear, Israel: The LORD is our God. The LORD is one.
(WEB)
This verse is the great confession of Israel that the Lord is one. Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 8:6 draws directly on this foundation, showing that the oneness of God remains central even as Christ is named as Lord alongside the Father.
Colossians 1:16
For by him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and for him.
(WEB)
Paul makes a similar claim here, saying that all things were created through Christ and for him. Reading the two passages together shows how consistently the apostle associates Jesus with the work of creation.
A Short Prayer From 1 Corinthians 8:6
Father, you are the one from whom all things come, and you are the one for whom I live. Thank you that you are not a distant idea but the God who gave me life and knows my name. Lord Jesus, thank you that all things were made through you and that I live through you each day. Teach me to rest in this truth when my decisions feel heavy and my convictions are tested. Help me to hold my freedom with love for others, so that my life points them toward you. Amen.
