Bible Strands
1 Corinthians 8:12
By sinning against your brothers in this way and wounding their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul addresses the Corinthian believers during a dispute over Christian liberty and food offered to idols. He speaks at the precise moment they are weighing their rights against the spiritual fragility of newer converts.
The words — ἁμαρτὴνοντες (hamartanontes) translates to "sinning," and τύπτοντες (tuptontes) translates to "wounding." The text states that wounding a brother's weak conscience is itself a sin against Christ.
The thread — The warning against causing believers to stumble appears in Matthew 18:6 and Matthew 25:45, while the principle of corporate spiritual impact is noted in 1 Corinthians 12:12. The passage links the physical act of wounding a conscience directly to the spiritual offense of sinning against Christ.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to subordinate personal freedom to the protection of a weaker believer's faith. It demands the plain recognition that harming another Christian's conscience is equivalent to offending Christ himself.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.
Cross-references
- Matthew 18:6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
- Matthew 25:45 Then the King will answer, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’
- 1 Corinthians 12:12 The body is a unit, though it is composed of many parts. And although its parts are many, they all form one body. So it is with Christ.
- Genesis 20:9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and asked, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such tremendous guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done.”
- Genesis 42:22 And Reuben responded, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you would not listen. Now we must account for his blood!”
- Exodus 16:8 And Moses added, “The LORD will give you meat to eat this evening and bread to fill you in the morning, for He has heard your grumbling against Him. Who are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against the LORD.”
- Exodus 32:21 “What did this people do to you,” Moses asked Aaron, “that you have led them into so great a sin?”
- 1 Samuel 2:25 If a man sins against another man, God can intercede for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to their father, since the LORD intended to put them to death.
- 1 Samuel 19:4 Then Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul and said to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David; he has not sinned against you. In fact, his actions have been highly beneficial to you.
- 1 Samuel 24:11 See, my father, look at the corner of your robe in my hand. For I cut it off, but I did not kill you. Know and see that there is no evil or rebellion in my hands. I have not sinned against you, even though you are hunting me down to take my life.