FOOD FOR THE BODY, FOOD FOR THE SOUL

1 Timothy 4:1-5; Acts 10:9-16

“For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.” 1 Tim. 4:4-5 (ESV)

Many quibble about food saying some foods are not “Biblical” and should not be eaten because they read or heard somewhere we’re told to avoid certain foods because they are “unclean.”  Well, some foods were indeed said to be unclean.  Pork, for example, was considered unclean, as well as certain others.  We know now that there can be issues with pork unless it is cooked well, and in those days it was not as well known how to deal with this and was considered best left alone, though there were other issues involved in how pigs are raised and live.

While this may be true, foods considered unclean were also often those offered to idols which made them unclean.  In about as many places where certain foods as being unclean are mentioned, there are mentioned in other passages in the scriptures that if it is prayed for in the name of Christ with thanks it is not problematic to our souls.

Peter’s experience with the sheet that was lowered in his vision on the roof in Acts 10:9-16, demonstrated that food is clean if God says it is clean.  Aside from a few animals that might be considered less healthy, the uncleanness of foods was primarily about spiritual cleanliness, not health.  When Peter attempted to resist what God put before him, God made it clear to him that he was not to call “unclean” what He (God) had made or called clean.

All food, if properly prepared, and received with thanks to God Who created it, is clean.  We live by grace, not by the laws of an obsolete covenant.  Heb. 8:13, says “What is old and obsolete” is passing away.  It no longer has relevance in our lives.  The New Covenant in Christ, established when He went through the Heavenly Holy of Holies, made all things new. 

So as long as you accept your food with thanksgiving, being grateful to God who created it, it will be clean.  “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.

Rev. Douglas K. Johnson