Our bodies must be kept in a healthy condition if our spiritual natures are to be in health. The condition of the body affects the condition of the mind. When the health of the body is neglected and bad physical habits are established, the religious life also suffers.
Exodus 15:26: "... If thou wilt diligently hearken
to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and
wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these
diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that
healeth thee."
[Further Study]
Psalms 103:2-3 "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and
forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy
diseases;"
1 Corinthians 3:16-17: "Know ye not that ye are
the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 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 6:19-20: "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 in your spirit, which are God's."
Romans 12:1: "I beseech you therefore, brethren,
by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."
1 Corinthians 10:31: "Whether therefore ye eat, or
drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."
[Further Study]
1 Thessalonians 5:23 "And the very God of peace
sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved
blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Daniel 1:8-16 "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 of the prince of the eunuchs that he
might not defile himself. Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love
with the prince of the eunuchs. And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I
fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink: for why should he
see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort? then shall ye
make me endanger my head to the king. Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of
the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, Prove thy servants,
I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.
Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the
children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy
servants. So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. And at
the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all
the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat. Thus Melzar took away the
portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse."
Genesis 1:29: "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 the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat (food)."
Man's original diet consisted of fruits, nuts, grains, and legumes.
Genesis 3:18: "Thorns also and thistles shall it
bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field."
After sin entered, vegetables were added, perhaps because our
first parents were deprived of certain nutrients found in the tree of
life.
Genesis 3:24 "So he drove out the man; and he
placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned
every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."
Genesis 9:3: "Every moving thing that liveth shall
be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things."
Before the flood God gave no permission for man to eat the flesh
of animals. Then, because vegetation had been destroyed by the
flood, God allowed the use of flesh food for the first time. For this
purpose the clean animals had been taken into the ark by sevens
and the unclean by twos (Genesis 7:1-2). Even though this verse
seems to be an unrestricted permit to eat any kind of animal,
please note that it was not without limits. God said, "Even as the
green herb have I given you all things." In the same way that God
had given vegetation, so now He gives flesh. But all vegetation
was not good to eat. There were weeds and poisonous plants that
could not be eaten. It is also interesting to note that this
instruction was given to Noah immediately after leaving the ark.
Since it takes two (male and female) to propagate a species, and
only two of the unclean were saved in the ark, it is certain that
God did not give license to eat the unclean animals. If He had,
the unclean species would have been exterminated, and none
would exist today. As we study the Bible we find that man's
lifespan was drastically reduced after flesh food was introduced
into his diet.
Genesis 7:1-2 "And the LORD said unto Noah,
Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before
me in this generation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens,
the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and
his female."
Genesis 9:4: "But flesh with the life thereof,
which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat."
[Further Study]
Acts 15:20, 28-29 "But that we write unto them,
that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things
strangled, and from blood. . . . For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us,
to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; That ye abstain
from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from
fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well."
Our wise Heavenly Father knows that disease is communicated through the blood, therefore required that it be drained from the animal's body before eating.
Leviticus 11:3, 7-10: "Whatsoever parteth the
hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.
. . . And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth
not the cud, he is unclean to you. Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase
shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you. These shall ye eat of all that are in
the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the
rivers, them shall ye eat. And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in
the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the
waters, they shall be an abomination unto you."
[Further Study]
Deuteronomy 14:2-20
2 For thou art an holy
people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people
unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.
3 Thou shalt not eat
any abominable thing.
4 These are the beasts
which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat,
5 The hart, and the
roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and
the chamois.
6 And every beast that
parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws, and cheweth the cud among the
beasts, that ye shall eat.
7 Nevertheless these ye
shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as
the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the
hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you.
8 And the swine, because
it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not
eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase.
9 These ye shall eat of
all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat:
10 And whatsoever hath not fins and scales
ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you.
11 Of all clean birds ye shall eat.
12 But these are they of which ye shall
not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the osprey,
13 And the glede, and the kite, and the
vulture after his kind,
14 And every raven after his kind,
15 And the owl, and the night hawk, and
the cuckoo, and the hawk after his kind,
16 The little owl, and the great owl, and
the swan,
17 And the pelican, and the gier eagle,
and the cormorant,
18 And the stork, and the heron after her
kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.
19 And every creeping thing that flieth is
unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten.
20 But of all clean fowls ye may eat.
Unclean creatures are God's scavengers to cleanse the earth. It is impossible for the flesh of any creature to be healthy when filth is their natural element. They are composed of what they eat. Even if they are fed good food their digestive system is different than clean animals which still renders them unfit for food. Please read all of Leviticus 11.
Acts 10:9-15, 28: "On the morrow,
as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went
up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: and he became very
hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into
a trance, and saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto
him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let
down to the earth: wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the
earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter
said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common
or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God
hath cleansed, that call not thou common. . . . And he said unto
them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is
a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but
God hath showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean."
Some people contend that Christ cleansed all food when He was here, but, if so, Peter knew nothing about it. He had spent three and a half years with the Master and listened to His instructions. Yet Peter had gathered no intimation that those unclean animals could be eaten. This vision was symbolic, and he was shown that he should not refer to Gentiles as unclean.
Isaiah 66:15-17: "For, behold, the Lord will come
with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and
his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with
all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many. They that sanctify themselves,
and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's
flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together saith the Lord."
Deuteronomy 14:3: "Thou shalt not eat any
abominable thing."
[Further Study]
Revelation 21:27 "And there shall in no wise
enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or
maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life."
Proverbs20:1: "Wine is a mocker, strong drink
is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise."
1 Corinthians 6:9-10: "Know ye not that the
unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? ... nor thieves, nor covetous,
nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God."
[Further Study]
Proverbs 23:29-35 "Who hath woe? who hath sorrow?
who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath
redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.
Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup,
when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth
like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter
perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea,
or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say,
and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I
will seek it yet again."
1 Corinthians 9:25: "And every man that striveth
for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible
crown; but we an incorruptible."
[Further Study]
Acts 24:25; "And as he reasoned of righteousness,
temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this
time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee."
Galatians 5:22, 23 "But the fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness,
temperance: against such there is no law."
Titus 1:8 "But a lover of hospitality, a
lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;"
2 Peter 1:6 "And beside this, giving all
diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge
temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness
brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity."
True temperance is abstaining from all things harmful and using moderately that which is good. Christians who desire to glorify God in their bodies will not use tobacco, alcohol, harmful drugs, large quantities of sugar, or anything that will knowingly defile their body temple. They will endeavor to stay physically fit that they may be blameless before God; body, soul, and spirit.
1 John 3:2-3: "Beloved, now are we the sons of
God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall
appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that
hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure."