Ephesians 5:29 “For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.”
This section falls under the heading of that which God counsels us, because it is not considered sinful to the saint that chooses not to follow God’s counsel in this area. As God’s tenants He expects us to be good stewards of our earthly bodies, and we do that by eating correctly, doing the right amount of exercise and giving our body’s sufficient rest. Not only are there numerous scriptures that teach us these concepts, but it is also just good common sense. In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit equates the way that we feed our physical bodies to the way the Lord feeds His church. Our Lord feeds us spiritually with the right food at the right time and so we should follow after His example with our natural diet.
Exodus 16:15-16 “So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. (16) This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: 'Let every man gather it according to each one's need, one omer for each person, according to the number of persons; let every man take for those who are in his tent.'”.
Although most would agree with the concept of eating a balanced diet, we live in a society that is becoming increasingly overweight. The reason for that is simple. Our bodies store fat when we eat more than our bodies use in expended energy. Clearly those who are overweight consistently eat more than their bodies are able to expend in energy used, and their bodies therefore store the excess food as fat. Remember all things are lawful to the saint but not all things are helpful (1 Corinthians 6:12). And so it is entirely lawful to the saint to eat as much as they want, but nevertheless it is not helpful to the saint for them to be overweight. And so if God were in charge of our diets none of us would be overweight. Why do I say that? Simply because the Lord knows just how much our bodies need, for He made them, and that is the amount that He would give us to eat, nothing more and nothing less. We know that, because that is how He fed the children of Israel for forty years in the wilderness. In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit reveals to us that God fed the children of Israel with one omer of manna every day, and that amount of food was completely sufficient for their needs and none of them were overweight. So how do we know that? The Lord teaches us that their clothes and shoes continued to fit them throughout the forty years they were in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 8:4).
Luke 12:23 “Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.”
And so in our natural diets we should learn to follow God’s example of giving our bodies the right amount of food they need, nothing more and nothing less. In the above quoted passage of scripture the Lord Jesus put food into the correct perspective, for our Lord Jesus tells us that life is more than food. The context of this passage is that our Lord was speaking about people who worry about what they are going to eat. And so we see that food should never dominate the thought life of the believer. The apostle Paul also put food into its correct perspective, for he tells us that food is necessary for our energy requirements and nothing more (1 Corinthians 6:13). As an aside, let me say that being slightly overweight is not considered sinful, gluttony on the other hand is, for in that instance the saint has allowed their bodies to dominate them instead of the other way around. In the same manner drinking alcohol is also not considered sinful; drunkenness on the other hand is, for in that instance the saint has also allowed their bodies to dominate them instead of the other way around.
Romans 14:14 “I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.”
And so the message is very clear, we should enjoy what we eat and we should give God thanks for the food that He gives us. But as believers, we are to view food as just a necessary part of living and nothing more. With regards to what we eat, the Holy Spirit in the above quoted passage of scripture instructs us that it is up to the individual believer to decide what they want to eat, for unlike the Old Testament saint, the New Testament saint has no dietary restrictions placed upon them i.e. kosher foods.
Michael E.B. Maher
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