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<aside> 📅 This page was originally posted on my Blogger version of the blog on December 29, 2018 The content below has a few minor tweaks for clarity, and additional references, and some updated information.
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1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. 4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: 5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. 6 If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained. 7 But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. 1 Timothy 4:1-7 KJV
1 Timothy 4:1-7 is one—of two—of the only arguments for eating unclean foods that ever made the slightest bit of sense to me. It's a fairly convincing passage because, here, Paul is telling Timothy about some of the false doctrines that will appear in the end of days, and one such doctrine is abstaining from meats. Paul goes on to say that "every creature of God is good and not to be refused." Sounds not only like permission to eat whatever we want but a warning to be wary of those suggesting otherwise! However, as with all passages in the Bible, you have to put these words into context, and once you do, he's not giving us permission to eat unclean meat.
The main difficulty of understanding what is written in the Bible stems from people assigning their interpretation based upon modern times and their own personal culture. However, the Bible was written thousands of years ago. Both the language and the culture of the people writing and reading the text was different from our own. To show how quickly phrases, words, and references can change, I have two examples:
When I was in middle school, I met an elderly lady from Alaska. After she described the scenery to me, I remarked that it sounded "cool." She immediately began to agree and explain the chilliness of the weather, but I meant "cool" as in hip, awesome, or interesting. Fast forward about 10 years and my younger cousin was going on about how much she loved the song "As Long As You Love Me." I agreed that I liked the song, but when she started singing it, she wasn't singing the song I was thinking of—she was referencing the more current hit by Justin Bieber and I was referencing the 90's hit by the Backstreet Boys.
My point: Biblical passages have to be put into the context of the people writing them and the time period in which they wrote. Since there's also a language change, studying the original text is helpful as well. At some point, I plan to take a class on Hebrew and Greek to help me when I study the word.
Another important point of context for each passage is what other passages in the Bible say about the topic. Malachi 3:6 tells us that God does not change, which means if He didn't like it when Moses was writing it, He doesn't like it now. One example where God appears to change is when He grants Noah permission to eat flesh. Prior to this, everyone was vegetarian (or at least they were supposed to be vegetarian). Did God change His mind about killing animals for the purpose of food? No. In Isaiah 1:11 God says He hates the sacrifices and gets no pleasure from the blood. Remember, back then, people didn't go to the grocery store or the local burger place to get meat for their meals. The way they got meat was by first sacrificing an animal to God; it was the meat from this sacrifice that they ate (Exodus 12:1-10). If God didn't like needless sacrifices of the animals He created, do you think He delights in us killing the same animals in the name of gluttony? God simply allowed additional sources of nourishment because of the need that arose from flooding the planet. A secondary theory is that this a part of what he used to diminish the length of our life in punishment of the events preceding the flood.[12] We'll get into that in a different post.
In short, Paul's teachings cannot contradict the teachings of God; if they do, then Paul would be a false prophet.
You may not think much of it, but I think it's important to define meat. Like the mix up I experienced with the lady from Alaska, words have a tendency to change, even if only in connotation, over time. Meat is one of those words. During the time the Bible was first translated to English, meat was used to describe any food substance. Even today, you can see the evidence of this if you look up "meat" in a dictionary. Merriam-Webster lists the top definition of meat as food or the edible part of something.[1] We think of meat as the flesh of an animal: chicken, turkey, beef, pork, etc.
Evidence of the Bible using "meat" to mean food as opposed to flesh can be seen in Genesis 1:29 and Leviticus 2:1. In these verses meat has nothing to do with flesh. This tells us that we need to be careful when interpreting the word "meat" in the Bible.
The word translated to "meat" in 1 Timothy 1:3 is βρωμάτων, which actually means "food of any kind."**[3][4]** So, the command Paul is referencing isn't specifically tied to flesh. Now, as we continue into verse 4, Paul references creatures (κτίσμα**[5][6]**), which indicates a focus on flesh. There are fewer restrictions on non-flesh foods so while the false doctrine might require unnecessary fasting of all foods, the real issue Paul is addressing is specific to the flesh.
Once we establish that Paul is in fact addressing an issue related to flesh, it still seems like the passage is giving the OK to eat anything, right? Especially if that's what you've been taught your whole life and that's what you want it to mean. However, the clauses at the end of verse 3 and verse 4 add meaning that is often over looked. Notice that both verses reference "thanksgiving." In 1 Timothy 1:3-4, Paul makes it clear that he isn't actually talking about any food, he's talking about the food that was created to be received with thanksgiving. What did God create to be received with thanksgiving? Herbs and fruit from plants bearing seeds (Genesis 1:29;3:18) and clean meats (Leviticus 11).