The Temple of God and Counsels on Dietary Habits
We have not been focussing on the health message because it is God’s will that we pay closer attention on the wonderful message of the Godhead and the righteousness of Christ, which have made us what we are today, which we have come to learn of it, without a doubt, from the year 2015 till now. Regardless of this, we do not wish to shun away from our duty to share with you other teachings of the Bible that surround and point to the gospel.
The apostle John says, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in good health, even as thy soul prospereth.” (3 John 2). Health is one of the blessings that God yearns to give to everyone. This is what every individual desire to have because they know that without it they cannot be truly happy. However, very few find it. Why? Besides the genetically contracted diseases, there are other factors responsible for poor health, like the tendency to under eat, lack of exercise, consumption of intoxicating substances, unhealthy sexual practices etc. But when we take into consideration all the factors, it all boils down to the birth and pervasiveness of sin. Many do not fall sick on account of a plague sent by God, or because of an epidemic; oh, no, no, it is because of sin, because of their longing to go against the laws of God and live their lives according to their carnal desires. This is the natural law, “for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7).
Many people take special care of themselves by visiting the doctor when they fall ill, but when they gave regained their health, they resume their intemperate lifestyle only to fall sick again and causing them to run to the doctor for help. This cycle continues till they die. They have the desire to be cured of their illnesses but to forsake the evil habits that cause the illness in the very first place, they do not want. However, when we turn to the Bible, it teaches us how to truly regain our health by obedience to God, and how to take care of oneself, for God intends that each one of us glorify Him in body and spirit, rather than have someone else taking care of our health for us.
Our being - the spirit and the body
As living beings, we are made up of ‘body’ and ‘spirit.’ (Mathew 10:28; Job 32:8). The spirit forms the core of our being and our life. The body, on the other hand, is a vessel in which our spirit dwells. Both body and spirit, are the gifts of God, and God who created us wants us to be “good stewards” who take good care of these things. (1 Peter 4:10) The apostle Paul wrote, “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Corinthians 6:20).
Both the body and the spirit have been adversely affected as a result of sickness and the curse that came as a result of Adam’s fall. All bear witness to this fact but few know of the great love of God that He is willing to heal us through Christ. And God who is infinitely wise have fashioned salvation in such a way that the spirit holds a more prominent place than the body. Our spirit can be renewed, pure, holy, and one with God the moment we accept Christ in our hearts (Ephesians 3:17; 2 Corinthians 5:17), while our body will continue in the downward path of deterioration as time goes by, till it returns to the dust (Genesis 3:19) or, perhaps our enemies may destroy our bodies but the spirit that has been saved is “hid in Christ with God” and Christ will restore it unto us when He shall come again to wake us up from the grave. (Matthew 10:28; Colossians 3:3). If we have the Son of God in our hearts, we ought to be sure of eternal life even in this very moment as we are still in this corruptible and dying body. (1 John 5:12). God is also pleased to see “that the life of Jesus in be made manifest in our mortal flesh” (2 Corinthians 4:11). So, when Christ finally comes again in the glory of the Father, He will change this corruptible and dying body in an instant. (1 Corinthians 15:52,53).
For now, as this spirit is confined in this dying body, this body is still part and parcel of our being. Therefore, we have a responsibility to take good care of it. As we have read in 3 John 2, apart from the things that God wants for us in this life, He strongly desires that we are both physically and spiritually healthy.
The relation between the body and the spirit
“For the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (James 2:26). When we refer to the spirit, we understand that it is inclusive of the “mind” and “being” of a person. Both the body and the spirit are co-related. God had formulated the natural law in such a way that it functions in this manner. One cannot be independent of the other. For instance, when you are down with flu and at the same time you are overburdened with worries and fears, the sickness will get worse. When one part of the body falls ill, it affects the other parts of the body. So, when we abuse our bodies it will certainly have an adverse effect on our mind and our well-being, and they will no longer be in a condition that God intends them to be. The following verses from the Holy Scriptures show us how the body and the spirit interact and affect each other.
“And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your heats be overcharged with surfeiting.” (Luke 21:34)
“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22)
“A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.” (Proverbs 14:30)
The body - the temple of God
“God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands." (Acts 17:24). So, what is the dwelling place of God on this earth? The Bible tells us, “What! Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and your spirit which are God’s.” (1 Corinthians 6:19,20)
There are those who think that they have the liberty to do whatsoever they wish with their own lives. But the truth is, that we are not our own, but we belong to God; the first reason being that we were created by God, and the second reason is that we have been redeemed. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. And who is the Holy Spirit? He is the Spirit of God and of Christ (Romans 8:9, John 14:23) and not another divine being distinct from the Two. When we ponder on the fact that our bodies are holy and pure, does not this place us in a situation where it is our responsibility to take good care of our bodies?
The apostle Paul says, “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” (1 Corinthians 3:17). Our filthy body and spirit are made pure or holy because we are cleansed and sanctified “by the washing and regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour.” (Titus 3:5.6) Therefore, God is pleased to dwell in the heart that has been cleansed by the blood of His Son. Do you see how much God loves you, He wants to dwell in you. O, my friends, because there is no justification for those who do not appreciate the love that God has for them, and who find pleasure in in the carnal desires of the flesh. We have been warned that God will destroy him who destroys or pollutes the holy temple. And keep in mind – the Bible does not say that God will destroy him ‘who does not clean the temple of God’ but him who does not maintain ‘that which have already been made clean.’
How do we destroy or pollute the body? We do this by indulging in carnal practices, laziness and many other evil habits that are detrimental to our health. There is yet another way in which we pollute our bodies that I wish to address at this time – our food habits. This is what has been said about Daniel, “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. (Daniel 8:1) Concerning unclean foods, read Leviticus 11, and concerning fermented wine, read Proverbs 23:29-32. Have we been polluting ourselves through ‘unclean foods,’ ‘intoxicating food or drinks’ and ‘things which are not bread’? If you have polluted yourself, God wants you to repent and forsake the unclean thing.
You ask, “How will I forsake these things?” It is by the same manner in which you have forsaken other sins, and by the same faith and power that Christ has given freely unto you when you first believed in Him, it only requires that you abide in Christ as He once said, “Abide in me and I in you.” (John 15:4). The Bible says, “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk, even as he walked.” (1 John 2:6; also see Colossains 2:6; Galatians 5:25). Not only that we abide in Christ by faith, but we should also walk by faith. Provide evidence for your faith by doing the will of God. When Christ walked on water, He did not simply wish that Peter should keep his eyes on Him but also to walk towards Him. Faith that works is faith that endures.
Is there a reason why God forbids us from doing certain things? It is written, “No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” (Psalms 84:11). This means that if God forbids us from doing a certain thing, it is because it is harmful to us. It is here that faith is demanded of us to trust in the advice and admonishment of God regarding dietary habits. Do you trust that the heavenly Father will take care of you more than what your earthly parents would? Jesus tells us about the parenthood of the Father in these wonderful words, “If the son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" (Luke 11:11-13)
How then shall we take care of the temple of God which is our body? We have read that the apostle Paul said, “Therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:20). How shall we glorify God in body and spirit? Paul himself gives the answer when he says, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31). It is by doing all things in accordance with the will of God. This means that we ought to eat the food that God permits us, and not the unclean food that are forbidden. We can never glorify God if we go against His will.
The best kinds of food
“Eat ye that which is good.” (Isaiah 55:2). It is also written, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood.” (Leviticus 17:11). For this very reason, the blood in man’s body is the most important substance. The blood is responsible for building and sustaining the different parts of our body. Science have also discovered that:
Health depends on the quality of the blood.
Food turns to blood.
The quality of the blood depends on the quality of food that we consume.
Therefore, our health primarily depends on the kind of food that we choose to eat. Temperance and exercise are secondary factors. Can we know exactly what are the food items that are best for us? To know the food that is best for us, we should know the original diet that God recommended to man.
“And God said, Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, … I have given EVERY GREEN HERB for meat: and it was so.” (Genesis 1:29-30)
The original diet that God gave to man in the garden of Eden included “ALL THE GREEN HERBS” which comprised of: 1)seed bearing herbs and 2) fruits. Seed bearing herbs comprise of nuts, grains and seeds.
• Nuts – cashew nuts, almonds, coconuts etc. • Grains – rice, wheat, corn etc. • Seeds – sunflower seeds, pulses etc.
God gave the above categories of food items along with fruits as food, in the garden of Eden. But after man was expelled from the garden of Eden, God included vegetables in the list of food items. God said to Adam, “Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee: and thou shall eat the herb of the field.” (Genesis 3:18). Even after sin, man’s diet comprised only of vegetations, and it did not include flesh which God had not intended to be so from the very beginning. The eating of flesh was permitted only at the outbreak of the flood owing to the large-scale destruction of vegetation caused by the deluge. (Read Genesis 9:3-4). Vegetarian diet has always been the diet that proves to be more beneficial than non-vegetarian diet. Therefore, try to cut down on your consumption of meat and if you desire, you can stop eating meat altogether. God will give you the grace to accomplish this feat.
Once again, the original diet that God gave to man included: 1)Seed bearing herbs, 2)Fruits and 3)Vegetables. These are the best food items for us. Daniel understood this, and for this reason he said to Melzar, “Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.” (Daniel 1:12). The dietary habits recommended by God from the very beginning proved to be a blessing filled with health and vigour that the antediluvians lived as long as seven hundred to eight hundred years. (Genesis 5).
Counsels on eating habits
Eat on time and abstain from blood and fat of animals.
“Eat in due season.” (Ecclesiastes 10:17). “Ye eat neither fat nor blood.” (Leviticus 3:17).
Do not be gluttonous.
“And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.” (Proverbs 23:2). “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting.” (Luke 21:34)
It is written that, in the last days men will give preference to physical food over spiritual food – the reading and obedience of God’s word. Just before the second advent of Jesus, the character of men will be “as it was in the days of Lot,” in that, “they did eat, they drank.” God wants us to take care of our spirit as much as we take care of our bodies. For it is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4).
Your eating time should be a happy time.
“And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God." (Ecclesiastes 3:13).
Why did God give the health laws? “And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, … for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.” (Deuteronomy 6:24) God knows what is best for us, therefore, He gives us these statues to protect us from diseases.
Place all your trust in God and all things shall be good unto you. God says, “Attend to my words; incline thy ear unto my sayings… for they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.” (Proverbs 4:20-22). “For I will restore unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD.” (Jeremiah 30:17).
Glorify God in the body and the spirit so that the world may see and know that Christ is the wisest teacher, a reliable instructor of the law of the spirit, to heal the broken hearted, to give men His Spirit in order to heal them, which we all recognize as the new birth in the Spirit.
In closing, we would like to draw your attention to Christ alone. The Bible that speaks to us concerning health, tells us also about the Saviour. Jesus Himself says, “[Ye] search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me that ye might have life. (John 5:39,40). All teachings point to Jesus. The stories of His acts of healing the sick are intended to strengthen our belief that He is the ultimate healer of our worn-out spirits. In Christ, all are blessed. For this reason, cast your eyes upon Him. Amen.
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