Daily Bread 2011 - 1 Timothy 4
Instructions to Timothy
1 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3 They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.6 If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. 7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
What Does This Mean?
By this time false teachers were already infiltrating the church. One of the most prevalent heresies was “Gnosticism”. One of the versions of Gnosticism, was “asceticism” that preached a strict dualism. I.e. the spirit is good and the body is bad. Therefore they advocated denying all bodily pleasures in order to connect to a higher spiritual plane. In this dualism, body/flesh was bad, and spirit was good. To connect with the spirit and deny the body and all material pleasure was to become like god.
The problem with this was Jesus came in a body, and his body was resurrected therefore affirming the body as good. The aforementioned heresy also denies the Creation story when man created male and female in His image and said, “It is good”. Paul reminds us of this in 1 Corinthians when he says, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, whom you have from God, therefore glorify God in your bodies.” And he says in Romans 12:1-2, “I urge you in view of God’s mercy to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, which is holy and acceptable to God and your spiritual act of worship.”
What Does This Mean For Us?
Our bodies, like any part of us, can be used for good and for evil. There are certain disciplines that help our bodies to be more in tune to the living sacrifice Paul urges us to offer our bodies as. As we fast from certain things, it is not to deny ourselves, but to train our bodies to be a vessel of God’s Spirit and useful for His purposes. When we work out our bodies and care for them, it creates a healthiness that nurtures our soul and spirit and peace of mind. This is quite different than the worship of the body we see in our culture today.
Paul tells us that everything created is good and not to be rejected. This is a healthy correction to a fundamentalist piety that rejects anything “pleasurable” just on the grounds it can’t be good for us if it is “pleasurable”. God created things for us to enjoy within the boundaries He has given us to protect us from our sinful nature become addicted to things. For instance, the bible often forbids drunkenness (one of the qualifications for elders/deacons last chapter mentions this) but doesn’t say having a glass of wine or a beer is sinful. If we receive the pleasurable things in this life with thanksgiving, we are more likely to use them in a moderate, healthy way.
Heavenly Father thanks for all you have given us and created for us that is good. As we receive the good things you have given us with thanks may we consecrated everything by Your Word and not set up rules and legalisms that have nothing to do with godliness. In Your name, Amen.
1 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3 They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.6 If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. 7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
What Does This Mean?
By this time false teachers were already infiltrating the church. One of the most prevalent heresies was “Gnosticism”. One of the versions of Gnosticism, was “asceticism” that preached a strict dualism. I.e. the spirit is good and the body is bad. Therefore they advocated denying all bodily pleasures in order to connect to a higher spiritual plane. In this dualism, body/flesh was bad, and spirit was good. To connect with the spirit and deny the body and all material pleasure was to become like god.
The problem with this was Jesus came in a body, and his body was resurrected therefore affirming the body as good. The aforementioned heresy also denies the Creation story when man created male and female in His image and said, “It is good”. Paul reminds us of this in 1 Corinthians when he says, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, whom you have from God, therefore glorify God in your bodies.” And he says in Romans 12:1-2, “I urge you in view of God’s mercy to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, which is holy and acceptable to God and your spiritual act of worship.”
What Does This Mean For Us?
Our bodies, like any part of us, can be used for good and for evil. There are certain disciplines that help our bodies to be more in tune to the living sacrifice Paul urges us to offer our bodies as. As we fast from certain things, it is not to deny ourselves, but to train our bodies to be a vessel of God’s Spirit and useful for His purposes. When we work out our bodies and care for them, it creates a healthiness that nurtures our soul and spirit and peace of mind. This is quite different than the worship of the body we see in our culture today.
Paul tells us that everything created is good and not to be rejected. This is a healthy correction to a fundamentalist piety that rejects anything “pleasurable” just on the grounds it can’t be good for us if it is “pleasurable”. God created things for us to enjoy within the boundaries He has given us to protect us from our sinful nature become addicted to things. For instance, the bible often forbids drunkenness (one of the qualifications for elders/deacons last chapter mentions this) but doesn’t say having a glass of wine or a beer is sinful. If we receive the pleasurable things in this life with thanksgiving, we are more likely to use them in a moderate, healthy way.
Heavenly Father thanks for all you have given us and created for us that is good. As we receive the good things you have given us with thanks may we consecrated everything by Your Word and not set up rules and legalisms that have nothing to do with godliness. In Your name, Amen.
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