Search
We will now talk about clothing and food as they pertain to Christians. First, we will speak about clothing for Christians.
First, let us consider the meaning of clothing. In order to understand the need for clothing, we must go back to the very beginning.
Before man fell into sin, his clothing, perhaps, was a mere form of light around him. He was innocent, and he had no feeling of shame before the fall. Although he did not wear anything, he was not ashamed.
When sin came in, the first effect on man was the realization of his own nakedness; he felt ashamed immediately. Adam and Eve made aprons of fig leaves and put them on. This shows us the basic significance of clothing; it is for covering. Clothing is necessary because we need to cover ourselves. It is a pity that the aprons of fig leaves did not last. The leaves soon dried up, broke into pieces, and disintegrated. God then clothed man with animal skins. He prepared something solid and lasting for man. The purpose of this clothing was to cover the body.
Hence, clothes are for covering the body; they are not for exhibition. Any clothes which do not serve the simple purpose of covering the body are wrong. Clothing is for covering the body.
The Israelites wore sandals in the land of Judea. They did not have socks, and their feet were exposed to the earth. The rest of their body was covered with clothing. Other than their hands, feet, and head, their whole body was covered. When the priests went before God with the blood, the blood was applied to the thumb of the hand, the toe of the foot, and the ear. This shows us that the exposed areas had to be covered by the blood. The blood was not applied to the other parts of the body. The hands, feet, and head were the only areas which needed the blood. The other areas were covered by clothing. This shows us that the purpose of clothing is for covering. We must realize before God that it is proper for man to be covered.
Today's degradation can be traced to man's degeneration to his uncivilized state. In such a state he clothes himself scantily. It is improper for man to be scantily clothed. Clothing is for covering, and any clothing that is not for covering violates God's definition of a covering. The blood is a type. Its spiritual significance points to the need of covering. Man has sinned and needs covering before God. Today any shortening of sleeves or hems, or any clothing which exhibits rather than covers the body, is of the world. God is not pleased with such clothing.
In view of this, the more covering a garment affords, the better it is. I am a sinner, and my need is to be completely covered before the Lord. I do not want any part of my being to be exposed before Him. We are Christians who are saved and who have put our trust in the Lord. However, we have no standing before the Lord unless we are fully covered by Him. We look for covering and pray that our whole being would be fully covered by Him so that every part of our being would be redeemed and saved. According to the type in the Scripture, whatever is not covered by one's clothing must be covered by the blood. Our hands, feet, and head must all be under the blood.
When Adam and Eve sinned, their nakedness exposed their sin. Noah came out of the ark 1,656 years later. He planted a vineyard and became drunk. As a result, he took off his clothes and exposed himself. The first man ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and found himself naked. The next man found himself naked after eating the fruit of the vine. The second fall of man came when he did not put on the clothing he was supposed to put on. Adam fell from a state where he needed no clothing to a state where he needed clothing. Noah fell when he had clothing but did not put it on. In the Bible nakedness is a shame. It is something forbidden by the Scripture. This is the result of the second fall of man.
When God instituted the law at Mount Sinai in Exodus, He commanded the Israelites to build an altar with no steps because He did not want their bodies to be exposed when they went up the steps to offer sacrifices. God abhors the principle of exposure. He does not want man to expose his body. Other than the hands, feet, and head, every part of the body must be covered, and the hands, feet, and head must be covered with the blood. The modern trend of exposing one's body is a violation of God's original principle. God's original purpose is for man to cover himself with clothing. Even when he goes up to the altar to offer sacrifices, he should not expose his body. It is not right for man to be without covering.
The priests' garments were very fine. They were sewn with fine needlework, which allowed for no opening in the seams. God did not permit them to expose themselves. The priests were not allowed to expose themselves in any way before God. Their ephod was especially long. In addition, they had to wear breeches, lest their body be exposed (Exo. 28:42). The Bible is consistent in its emphasis; clothing is for covering, not for exposure. This is one main characteristic of clothing.
God uses the garment as a symbol of our redemption. It is also a symbol of the Lord Jesus Himself. We are clothed with God's salvation, and we are those who have put on Christ Jesus. We are those who have put on the new man. God does not want to see any openings or breaches among us. We are completely clothed with salvation, with Christ, and with the new man. Our whole being is covered by God. We are saved and clothed with salvation.
Each time we put on our clothing, our inner eyes need to be opened to Christ and salvation. Before we put on our garment, we were naked. We were not covered at all before God, and we could not hide from God's light or His judgment. Thank God! Today we are clothed. Before God we have put on His salvation and His righteousness. We have put on the garment which God has given to us. We have put on Christ and the new man. The completeness of the covering of our garment symbolizes the completeness of the covering we have received from the Lord. This significance must not be overlooked. How marvelous it is that God is merciful enough to cover us! We are completely covered before God.
The principle of clothing is for covering. Christians should not wear any clothing which does not cover them. Any garment which exposes one's body should be discarded. The purpose of clothing is for covering, not for exposing. No one should make or wear any clothing which is in the principle of exposure rather than covering. The principle of exposure is incompatible with the principle of a Christian.
Second, Leviticus says that a man can be plagued with leprosy. A house and a piece of garment can also be plagued with leprosy. Much of today's clothing on earth, especially ladies' dresses, are plagued with leprosy. We must deal with the subject of clothing in a sober way.
Leviticus 13 shows us two different ways to deal with a garment plagued with leprosy. Some garments had to be sent to the priest. The priest would examine the leprosy on them. If the leprosy grew and spread, the garment had to be burned; it had to be removed completely. It could no longer be used. In some cases leprosy may not have spread; the garment merely turned dark. The priest would then cut out part of the fabric and have the garment washed. If the leprosy remained, the garment had to be burned. After the priest washed the garment and cut off the undesirable parts, if the leprosy stopped, the garment could be spared.
A new believer must pay attention to the matter of clothing. If you have any doubt about any of your clothes, you should bring them to the priest for examination. The Lord is the High Priest today. You must ask Him whether or not you can wear this clothing. Do not think that this is a small matter. Clothing is a big issue to a new believer. If you do not know which clothes are plagued with leprosy, you should bring them to the Priest and let the Lord tell you whether they are plagued.
Remember that a person has to separate himself from a leper. A house plagued with leprosy had to be torn down and a garment plagued with leprosy had to be burned. Of course, today you do not need to burn your clothing. But at least you must not wear those things anymore. There are many garments which are plagued with leprosy. Many of them can be worn again after the sleeves are lengthened and the dress dyed to a different color or changed to a different style. Some clothing can be kept after it is examined by the priest and altered a little. Some clothing has the nature of leprosy even after it is examined and altered. It must be thrown away. As soon as a person believes in the Lord, he has to present his clothes piece by piece to the Lord and allow Him to examine each one in detail. He should let the Lord tell him whether or not the clothing is appropriate for him. All of it must be dealt with piece by piece.
I hope new believers will behave as Christians when they present themselves before men. I do not want to see anyone doubting a Christian's genuineness because of the kind of clothes he or she wears. Others will say whether or not we are Christians by the kind of clothes we wear. A cleansed person would never wear plagued clothing. Our leprosy has been cleansed and our sins are forgiven. From now on, we should not wear any leprosy-infested garments.
New believers must present everything in their wardrobe piece by piece to the Lord and pray over each item. Do not expect others to come and tell you what is good and what is not. You must bring everything to the Lord yourself and let the Lord judge you. You must ask the Lord, "I have become a believer now. Is this clothing all right? Is this clothing right?" Some items of clothing have to be thrown away, while others must be altered. Let the Lord teach you what to do. Some garments cannot be altered at all. You must decide for yourself whether sin is involved in a certain garment. Your clothing has much to do with you. This matter must be dealt with soberly.
The Bible forbids men to wear women's clothing and vice versa (Deut. 22:5). The tendency today is to annul the distinction between men's and women's clothing. Already this distinction is becoming less and less. If the world continues this trend, there will soon be no difference between the two. All the brothers and sisters have to pay attention to this matter. Men should not wear women's clothing, and women should not wear men's clothing. You must maintain the separation established by God. Men must wear men's clothes and women must wear women's clothes. Anything which confuses the distinction in gender does not glorify God. God's people and His children must learn to have proper distinction in their clothing.
Let us talk about the sisters' clothing first. Generally speaking, the matter of clothing is simpler with the brothers than with the sisters. The sisters' clothing poses more problems than the brothers' clothing. We will read two portions of the Word carefully.
First Peter 3:3-5 says, "Let your adorning not be the outward plaiting of hair and putting on of gold or clothing with garments, but the hidden man of the heart in the incorruptible adornment of a meek and quiet spirit, which is very costly in the sight of God. For in this manner formerly the holy women also, who hoped in God, adorned themselves."
This is the only passage in the Bible that contains the phrase holy women. The phrase holy men is found in many portions of the Word. But this is the only place that speaks of "holy women." For in this manner the holy women adorned themselves, subjecting themselves to their own husbands. The holy women adorned themselves with a meek and quiet spirit.
Peter's word indicates that many sisters tended to adorn themselves with plaiting of hair, gold, and apparel. He did not feel happy about the way they dressed. The plaiting of hair and ornaments of jewelry are not suitable, nor is beautiful apparel. We are not saying that sisters should be careless in their clothing. If they are careless, it means that there is something wrong with their character. If a sister dresses herself in a careless, untidy, and unclean way, it means that she is a careless and loose person. This is not what Peter meant.
Peter was saying that it is wrong for women to plait their hair in the manner he described. The phrase plaiting of hair in the original text means to fashion the hair in many styles. Throughout history, many styles have been designed to plait the hair. Putting on of gold means to wear jewelry. Christians cannot do this. Clothing with garments may refer to colorful and stylish dresses. Peter's emphasis is that sisters should not adorn themselves with the plaiting of hair and the putting on of gold and costly garments. Instead, they should adorn themselves with a meek and quiet spirit.
Sometimes a woman dresses herself fancily yet has a temper like a lion. You cannot help but feel that her person is incompatible with what she wears. She would be better off not wearing fancy dresses at all. It is unfitting for a fancily dressed woman to shout in rage. If a woman is meek and submissive, she has put on good apparel already. A woman who serves God should not pay too much attention to her clothing. As Christians we should not place too much emphasis on clothing.
Let us look at 1 Timothy 2:9-11: "Similarly, that women adorn themselves in proper clothing with modesty and sobriety, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly clothing, but, what befits women professing godly reverence, by good works. Let a woman learn in quietness in all subjection."
One of God's basic requirements for the sister is modesty. It is good to feel modest and to be conscious of shame. This is a natural protection for the sisters. Sisters who are conscious of shame and who are modest are protected naturally. Do not wear dresses which are contrary to your sense of shame. You must exercise sobriety. Do not wear immodest clothes. Immodesty is contrary to sobriety. Always wear "proper clothing." Every sister knows what is proper in her particular community. We should always wear clothes which are considered proper by those around us. A Christian should not wear clothes which provide an opportunity for heathens to say, "Do Christians wear such things too?" Our standard must never be lower than that of the heathens'. We must learn to have modesty and sobriety and must know what constitutes "proper clothing."
Verse 9 continues: "Not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly clothing." This particularly refers to the curling of hair. Peter was referring to the many fashions that women apply to their hair. Curling the hair means making many curls like clusters of vines. Women were already concerned with fashion two thousand years ago. Today many think that it is fashionable to curl their hair into clusters. Actually, this is something very ancient; it was being done two thousand years ago. Costly clothing is spoken of here as well. Some dresses have the same value but are priced differently. We should not wear the costly ones or spend extra money on them.
Sisters must take care of propriety in their clothing. We have no intention, nor did Paul or Peter, to ask a sister to be careless, loose, or unconcerned about her attire. Neither should we set our mind on fancy dresses and costly clothing. Sisters should wear proper clothing; they should learn to manage their wardrobe properly. They should set their wardrobe in proper order, using ordinary material at reasonable cost. No sister should be unconcerned about the way she attires herself.
Some sisters spend too much time on their clothing. They pay too much attention to fancy clothes and costly dresses. Other sisters do not care for the tidiness and the cleanliness of their attire; they are very careless about their clothing. This shows that they are sloppy. A woman's dress is a true reflection of her character. If one does not pay attention to personal grooming and cleanliness, such a person is loose, sloppy, and careless. Our clothing must be proper, neat, and clean. It must be simple, but clean.
Leviticus 8:30 says that, according to the command of God, "Moses took some of the anointing oil...and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, on his sons and on the garments of his sons with him; and he sanctified Aaron, his garments, and his sons and the garments of his sons with him." Thus, our clothing must be sealed with the mark of holiness. There should be the seal of the Holy Spirit, the seal of the anointing oil, on our clothing. When one is anointed, his garment is also anointed, and both are sanctified together.
In Numbers 15:38 God also commanded the Israelites to make tassels on the corners of their garments and put a cord of blue upon the tassel of each corner. Blue is the color of heaven. This serves to remind men of the heavenly things. A believer's clothing must have a heavenly taste to it. It must not express the world. Do not follow the world in its freedom and fancy. We should have the expression of heaven in our clothing. Our clothing, as well as ourselves, should be fully sanctified.
I would like to say a general word according to my personal opinion on clothing. I am not saying that every child of God should dress the same way. I have no intention to ask all the sisters to ignore outward beauty altogether. I am not saying that all the brothers and sisters should use the cheapest fabric and the worst materials for their clothing. The Bible has no such commandment. When John came, he was clothed with camel's skin. But when the Lord Jesus came, His undergarment was a seamless garment, the best of the time. There is one basic principle of Christian clothing — God has given everyone the freedom to wear what he likes. We are free to choose the materials we like and to pick the style we prefer.
However, we should take note of one thing: No one should wear anything that draws attention to his clothes rather than to his person. No Christian should do this. If our clothing always draws others' attention to us, there is something wrong with it. What we wear should express our being. If I put a bouquet of flowers into a vase and others only pay attention to the vase, something is wrong with the vase. Clothing is meant to express the person. Our clothing should not usurp who we are. The worst thing would be for us to wear clothing that draws attention away from our person to our appearance. This is a great mistake.
Another matter needs special attention: A person's clothes should match his status. Do not dress too poorly and do not dress too well. Please bear in mind that poor clothing attracts attention in the same way that fancy clothing does. We should not pay that much attention to our clothing, neither should we draw the attention of others to it. It is wrong to give others the impression that we are particularly well dressed. However, it is also wrong to be so poorly dressed that others begin to feel uneasy about us. Our clothing must match our status. Others should not feel that we are too much or too poor in our attire. Our clothing must glorify the Lord.
Furthermore, our clothing should not arouse our own consciousness. Some people are always conscious of what they wear. This means that something is wrong with their attire. They have become a coat hanger to their clothes, and their clothes have become more important than they are. They are not wearing their clothes. Instead, their clothes are wearing them. They are always conscious of what they are wearing. They pay too much attention to their appearance. This means that their dress is either too good or too poor. When a person is poorly dressed, he becomes conscious of his clothes in the company of others. When he wears fancy attire, he becomes conscious of his clothes as well. Both are wrong.
It is best to wear something which does not arouse your attention or the attention of others. Your clothes should be very ordinary. At the same time, it should match your status and should be worthy of Christ. Anything that goes beyond this limit is improper. It is a great thing to present a Christian testimony in our attire today. This means that others can identify us as Christians by our appearance.
Let us come next to the matter of food.
In Genesis 2 God gave man food to sustain his life. This happened before man sinned. The matter of food is found as early as Genesis 2. Clothing began in Genesis 3, but food began prior to man's fall. God ordained that man should partake of fruits of every kind. Before man sinned, the God-ordained food for man was fruit.
In Genesis 3, after man fell, God gave man herbs for food and ordained that man would eat bread in the sweat of his face. This was God's food for man in Genesis 3. When we come to Genesis 4, God put His seal of approval upon Abel but not Cain, even though no ordinance of any kind had yet been instituted. Cain was a farmer, and Abel was a keeper of sheep. Abel shepherded sheep, and God's seal of approval was upon him. He offered sacrifices to God, and God accepted him. Cain was a tiller of the ground. He brought the produce of the land to God, but God did not accept his sacrifice. Genesis 4 does not say anything about God's will. But when we come to Genesis 9, God gave the animals to man for food (v. 3), just as He had given fruit to man for food in the beginning.
Why did God give animals to man for food? First, this indicates that man has a need for food. But this is not all. Man's need for food before the fall was different from his need for food after the fall. We must understand the meaning of food. Food sustains our life. If a man does not eat, he will die. No one can live and survive without eating. In addition to eating herbs, vegetables, and fruits, God ordained that man should take meat in order to live and survive. In other words, God shows us that after sin entered the world, life must be sacrificed to preserve life. There is the need for an animal to lose its life to maintain our life. After sin entered this world, there was a need for the shedding of blood to maintain life. This is the reason that man's food after the fall is different from his food before the fall. Christians should not be vegetarians; they should be free to take meat.
This does not mean that meat will necessarily do our body any good. Whether or not it is good for our body is a different thing. We are not medical researchers. Researchers claim that animal protein is better than vegetable protein. The basic principle with us is that since sin has entered the world, man can no longer have life without the sacrifice of life. After man sinned, he could no longer receive life without death. Life can only come through death. Without death, man cannot live. In order for man to live, there is the need for the shedding of blood. When we have death, we have life. This is the basic principle of eating after the fall.
Since the time of Abel, and in particular after the flood, God placed this way before men. Being a vegetarian is a subconscious declaration that we can live without death, that we can live without the shedding of blood. By eating meat, we are indicating that we cannot live without death and the shedding of blood. Is this principle clear? This is the reason that God gave animals to man for food after the flood. Man can no longer have life without the loss of life. Thank God! Christ gave up His life. Now we can receive life.
Romans 14 indicates that some people still believed that they could be vegetarians like Adam before the fall. Some of them only ate vegetables. Paul told us not to criticize these ones. He told us not to stop them or to condemn them. Those who eat meat should not judge those who do not, and those who do not eat meat should not judge those who do. However, Paul pointed out one thing: Those who only eat vegetables are weak (v. 2). Do not criticize them for their weakness. But this does not mean that vegetarianism is right. It only means that we do not want to embarrass others over the matter of food.
However, we must realize that Christian redemption involves life out of death. Before there can be life, there must first be death. Vegetables alone are not enough; death must precede life. Life is sustained through death. This is a fundamental Christian principle. Some may be weak in their conscience and may only eat vegetables. We should not expose their weakness. But a Christian's stand is that meat is needed because it sustains life.
First Timothy 4 says that there will be the teachings of demons that forbid marriage and command abstaining from foods (vv. 1, 3). D. M. Panton has shed some clear light on this. He said that only by abstaining from marriage and foods can one's soul power be developed. We must realize that we are not those who abstain from meat. In the last days there will be such things as abstinence from foods. This is the teaching of demons; it is not the teaching of the Lord. Some abstain from meat because they do not know the Christian principle of life through death. Eating only vegetables means that one's life is maintained by the vegetable life alone and that he has no need of a Savior, no need of death, and no need of salvation. We must be clear about this principle.
Second, there is one thing which Christians should not take — blood.
Abstinence from blood is a consistent teaching throughout the Bible. When God spoke to Noah in Genesis 9, He forbade men from taking the blood of the animals (v. 4). Taking blood was something forbidden by God.
Leviticus 17:10-16 clearly and repeatedly says that man should not eat the blood of any beast. God did not allow His people to eat animal blood. Whoever ate blood would be cut off by God; He would not recognize such a one as one of His people.
In the New Testament we find the record of the first council in Jerusalem in Acts 15, in which the church met to settle the great issue of the law. James, Peter, Paul, Barnabas, and other apostles of the Lord decided that God's children should be free from the law, but at the same time that they should abstain from sacrifices offered to idols, from fornication, and from blood.
Blood is something that bears a great significance, not only during the time of Noah and in Leviticus, but also at the time of the book of Acts. In the dispensation of the patriarchs, God forbade Noah from taking animal blood. In the dispensation of the law, God spoke through the mouth of Moses and forbade the same thing. In the dispensation of grace, God banned the same thing through the apostles. This matter is forbidden in all three dispensations. Blood is not to be taken in the dispensation of the patriarchs, the dispensation of the law, or the dispensation of grace.
There must be a reason for this observance. Men of the past did not understand this, but one day God's Son came to the world and pronounced that He was the bread from heaven and that He came to be man's food. Many did not know what He meant. He said that His flesh was true food and His blood was true drink. The Lord repeated over and over again in John 6 that His blood was the true drink and that a man must drink His blood before he can receive His life. He also said that unless a man drank His blood, he would not have life in himself. Those who drink His blood will be raised up in the last day and will receive life from Him. The Lord repeated this many times.
This is a marvelous thing. All three of the basic dispensations in the Bible forbid the eating of blood. Yet Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, said, "My blood is true drink" (v. 55). He charged men to take His blood. Do you see this? God forbids us from eating the blood of animals, yet those who take the Lord's blood are saved. What does this mean? This means that after one takes the Lord's blood, he cannot take any other kind of blood. There is only one kind of blood which we can take.
In other words, God's ordinance regarding abstinence from blood tells us that there is only one redemption and one salvation. We cannot have another redemption besides this one. We cannot have another salvation besides this one. Only the blood of Jesus of Nazareth can be taken. All other blood is forbidden. The Lord's blood signifies redemption. It also signifies salvation. Rejecting other kinds of blood means that we reject other kinds of salvation. I know of no other salvation except the salvation of Jesus. There is only one kind of blood for me, not two. Only one kind of blood can save me. I will not accept any other blood.
This may be a small thing to you, but it is one of our many crucial testimonies. As Christians, we bear many testimonies. This is one of them. Other religions may ask why we do not take animal blood. We have to tell them that we have already taken blood. By not taking other blood, we make a strong testimony before men. We do not take other blood because we have taken one kind of blood. We have taken this blood; therefore, we cannot drink any other blood. The blood of Jesus of Nazareth is our only redemption. We can no longer accept any other redemption. We have already accepted the Lord's redemption, and we have rejected all other ways of salvation. This is why we do not take animal blood.
In Leviticus 17, as well as in other portions of the Old Testament, there is also an ordinance against eating strangled animals. Acts 15 says that anything strangled should not be eaten. This is also related to the blood. The blood of a strangled animal is not separated from the meat. We do not take other blood because we maintain that there is only one salvation in the universe. This is reason that God's children should reject all other blood; they should not eat it at all.
In Leviticus 11 God gave the Israelites a list of clean beasts which they could eat and a list of unclean beasts, such as creeping things, which they could not eat. Some fish in the sea are edible, while others are not. Similarly, some fowls in the air are edible, while others are not. Carnivorous birds are not edible. Fish that have fins and scales are edible, while those that do not have fins and scales are not. Leviticus contains a list of ordinances regarding what is clean and what is unclean, and what can be eaten and what cannot be eaten. This list encompasses fish in the sea, birds in the air, creeping things, and beasts on earth.
Many have pondered on the significance of the regulations in Leviticus 11. Should the New Testament believers keep the same regulations? Let us turn to Acts 10. As Peter was praying on the housetop, a trance came upon him and he saw heaven opened. A certain vessel like a great sheet descended, being let down by four corners onto the earth, in which were all the four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth and birds of heaven. These were all forbidden by God in Leviticus 11. God said to Peter, "Rise up, Peter; slay and eat!" (Acts 10:13). Peter was a Jew; he had kept the law. He said to the Lord, "By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything common and unclean" (v. 14). Then a voice came to him the second time, saying, "The things that God has cleansed, do not make common" (v. 15). This occurred three times. Afterward, the vessel was immediately taken up into heaven.
We need to realize that the ordinances in Leviticus 11 give us a hint of the teaching in Acts 10. God's mind is not on what kind of fish one can eat; His mind is not on what kind of animal one can eat. Did God not think of such things when He gave all the living creatures to Noah for food? In Noah's time there was no distinction between clean and unclean; everything could be eaten. Why then was there a distinction of the clean and unclean in Leviticus 11? During Noah's time God had not made a choice concerning His own people on earth. By the time of Leviticus, however, God had made a choice — He had chosen Israel. The Israelites came out of Egypt and were chosen to be God's people. Hence, there was a separation between God's people and those who were not His people. God did not raise the matter of choice during the time of Noah. The matter of clean and unclean only occurred at the time of the exodus when there was a separation between the Jews and the Gentiles. The question of who were God's people and who were not became an issue at that time. From that time forward, there was a distinction between clean things which were edible and unclean things which were not edible. One group of people could enter the fellowship, while the other group could not. God was pleased with one group of people but not with the other. Food became a symbol of this distinction. Food is not merely food; it is something that shows a principle. Edible things indicate things that are pleasing to God, while forbidden things indicate things that are not pleasing to God.
After the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, God told Peter to rise up, slay, and eat. From that time forward, God's grace came upon the unclean Gentiles. Today everyone can be chosen. What God considered as unclean in the Old Testament is considered clean in the New Testament. Leviticus 11 is overruled. Today the Israelites are not the only ones who are God's people; both the Gentiles and the Israelites are now God's people. Ephesians 2 shows that both Gentiles and Jews have come to God. The two have become one and can receive grace together.
God told Peter three times: "The things that God has cleansed, do not make common" (Acts 10:15). These words explained the vision. Those from the house of Cornelius knocked at the door as soon as the vision went away. When Peter went down, he began to understand the vision he had seen on the housetop. He realized that the Gentiles were also entitled to grace. Spontaneously, he took some brothers with him to the house of a Gentile. Later, as he was testifying, God manifested His grace to the Gentiles even as He had to the Jews.
Our testimony differs from that of the Jews. Today the Jews are God's people, and the Gentiles are also God's people. If we refrain from eating some things, we are saying that the Jews are God's people but that we are not. The commandment today is to rise up, slay, and eat. We should no longer just eat clean things and refrain from eating unclean things. What God considers clean, we must not consider unclean.
We eat both the clean and the unclean to testify to the fact that both the Jews and the Gentiles are now God's people. In the Old Testament, only clean things were eaten, which meant that only the Israelites were God's people. It was right to eat only one kind of food during that time. It is also right to eat both kinds today. Today we are not standing on the ground of Leviticus 11. Rather, we stand on the ground that the Gentiles and the Jews have received grace together and that God has abolished all distinctions between them. Our food is a testimony to this fact.
Fourth, 1 Corinthians has much to say concerning things sacrificed to idols.
First Corinthians 8 tells us that idols mean nothing. God is God, and idols are just vanity. To those who are advanced in knowledge, it is all right to eat things sacrificed to idols since idols are nothing. There may be evil spirits behind the idols, but God is much greater than the evil spirits. He who dwells in us is greater than he who is in the world.
Nevertheless, many new believers worshipped idols in the temple in the past. They had dealings with the idols, and they are ignorant of the meaning of fellowship with demons. If they see someone who has knowledge eating in the temple, they will think that they can do the same as well. The conduct may be the same, but the condition of the heart may be different. You eat because you realize that idols are vanity, but it is wrong for them to eat, because in their hearts the idols are something. You may cause them to sin if you are careless about your eating.
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 8 that it is better for believers not to eat things sacrificed to idols, because this will stumble the weak brothers. It is better not to eat such things at all. Paul considered those who ate only vegetables to be weak. But 1 Corinthians says that it is better to refrain from things offered to idols. We have to catch the emphasis of the writer here. God's children must know that idols are vanity and nothing. But they should not cause others to be stumbled through them. This being the case, it is better not to eat things sacrificed to idols at all.
This principle has nothing to do with demons; it has to do with the weak brothers. We must be clear about this. Many are concerned about the demons; they are the weak ones. We do not eat because we do not want to stumble our brothers, not because of the demons. Satan has no power over us. Idols have no power over us. We are not afraid of demons. But before God we must learn to care for our brothers. I do not eat because I do not want to stumble my brothers.
Finally, I will give a word of personal opinion. Eating means a great deal in the Bible. We should keep this significance in mind.
Food, like clothing, is governed by certain principles. The first principle concerning food is that it is for the nourishment of the body. We should eat more of that which nourishes and less of that which does not nourish us. We should never make the belly our god or spend too much energy on food. As God's children, we must realize that food is for the nourishment of the body and for the preservation of our physical life.
God's children should be content with food and clothing. The birds of heaven do not sow, neither do they reap, yet God feeds them. This has to do with eating. The lilies of the field toil not, neither do they spin, yet they are better clothed than Solomon. This has to do with clothing. Everything is in God's hand. Today we need only to seek God's kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to us (Matt. 6:26-33). I like the word added. What is the meaning of added? If I ask, "How much is three plus zero?" you would say, "It does not make sense to add zero to three. It makes no sense to add zero to anything. Zero plus three is redundant." What can you add to a number? It only makes sense to add a positive number to something. For example, you can add one to three. You should seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. This means that to those who have God's kingdom and His righteousness, God will add food and clothing. I hope that all the brothers and sisters will seek God's kingdom and His righteousness. To those who have God's kingdom and who live in God's righteousness, the rest will be added to them. I hope that God's children will know how to maintain a proper testimony among men in the matter of clothing and food.
