In 1 Cor 8:4-6, the volume of the
echo of the Shema is increased, as the reference to those who love God
is followed by a claim that God is one. Remarkably, it was also followed by a
claim that Jesus is the one Lord:
(4) Hence, as to the eating of
food offered to idols, we know that “no idols in the world really exists,” and
that “there is no God but one (οὐδεὶς θεὸς εἰ μὴ εἷς).”
(5) Indeed, even though there may
be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as in fact there are many gods and many
lords—
(6) yet for us there is one God
(εἷς θεός), the Father from whom are all things are for whom we exist and one
Lord, Jesus Christ (εἷς κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς), through whom are all things and through whom we exist (1 Cor
8:4-6; emphasis added).
The Corinthians have used the
slogans “no idol in the world really exists” and “there is no God but one” to
argue for their liberty to eat sacrificial meat. In 1 Cor 8:5-6, Paul qualifies
the first slogan which denies the existence of idols to say that there are many
“so-called” (λεγομενοι) gods and lords. Paul does not
deny that these powers exist in the world, only that they are not gods “for us”
(ημιν; cf. 1 Cor 10:20-21). (Lori Ann
Robinson Baron, "The Shema in John's Gospel Against its Backgrounds
in Second Temple Judaism," PhD diss., Duke University, 2015, 237)
