Nathan McDonald on 1 Corinthians 8:6 and the Ontological Existence of Other Gods and Lords

1 Corinthians 8:6 . . contains Paul’s well-known application of Deut. 6:4 to the Father and to Jesus Christ. That such a thought lies beyond the horizon of the authors of the Deuteronomy hardly needs to be stated; however, there are a number of similarities between Paul’s use of Deuteronomy and the argument set forth above that makes this quotation particularly apt. Even more emphatically we could say that Paul’s reflections in 1 Corinthians 8 provide a better frame of reference with which to approach Deuteronomy that the peculiarly modern concept of “monotheism”. On first appearances Paul’s statements in v. 4 probably drawn from the “strong” Corinthians themselves, seem to exclude the existence of other “gods”. But whilst Paul agrees with the “strong” Corinthians that the idols are nothing, yet he also believes passionately in their power and their existence. In fact, there are many gods and many lords, and in 10.4-22 Paul associates these gods with demons. Thus, Paul’s thought is in tension, a tension that cannot easily be resolved with ontological categories. Paul, it can be argued, is breathing the same spirit as Deuteronomy 32. Other gods exist, but in another sense they are “no-gods” and “demons”. It is only YHWH that is “God”. Paul too wants to express the theme in relational terms. There are indeed many gods that exist, but for us (ημιν) there is only one God. The absolute terms are confessional, not ontological. (Nathan MacDonald, Deuteronomy and the Meaning of “Monotheism” [2d ed.; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2013], 95-96)