Lesson 25
1. Jesus came that we might have life, and that we might have it how?
John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
2. In what four ways did Jesus develop?
Luke 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.
“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.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23.
3. How important is our physical health to God?
3 John 2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
4. What reasonable service does God ask of us?
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.
5. Why is God so concerned about our bodies?
1 Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
6. What will happen to the person who mistreats his body?
1 Corinthians 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
7. As a vital ingredient in man’s restoration, how was Adam to spend his time?
Genesis 3:23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
Physical exercise is a great blessing to man, promoting physical, mental, and spiritual health.
8. What is as good as medicine?
Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
9. What has God asked us to do for others which will benefit our own health?
Isaiah 58:7, 8 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.
10. What should guide our eating habits?
1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
11. What was the original diet of man?
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.
12. On that diet, how long did Adam live?
Genesis 5:5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
13. For several generations, how long did men live?
Seth
Genesis 5:8 And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died. 9And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan:
Enos
Genesis 5:11 And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died. 12And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel
Cainan
Genesis 5:14 And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.
Mahalaleel
Genesis 5:17 And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died.
Jared
Genesis 5:20 And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.
Methuselah
Genesis 5:27 And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.
14. After the flood, what was added to man’s diet?
Genesis 9:3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
15. What immediately happened to man’s life span?
Genesis 11:10,11 These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood: 11And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.
16. After just a few generations, how long did men live?
Genesis 11:32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.
17. God has given permission for only what kind of beasts to be eaten?
Leviticus 11:2, 3 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth. 3Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.
18. Unclean animals such as what, are forbidden?
Leviticus 11:7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.
Unclean animals are defined in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. Large animals which are not clovenfooted, or do not chew the cud, are unclean. Sea food which “hath no fins nor scales” is unclean. Birds of prey and certain other birds are unclean. And so are many small animals such as weasels, mice, lizards, and snails.
19. To whom did God originally make the distinction between clean and unclean animals?
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. 2Of 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.
This was long before there ever was a Jew. It is not just Jews who can be harmed by eating unhealthful things.
Some of the diseases which are commonly associated with pork include trichinosis, toxoplasmosis, salmonella, tapeworms, and undulant fever. Christians who recognize that their bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit will not defile themselves with anything that will dishonor God.
20. When Jesus comes, He will consume together those who eat what three things?
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. 16For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many. 17They 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.
21. God never allowed man to eat flesh with what in it?
Deuteronomy 12:23-25 Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh. 24Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water. 25Thou shalt not eat it; that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD.
Like the prohibition against unclean meats, the restriction against eating blood was not just for the Jews. It dates back to the very beginning of flesh eating, hundreds of years before there was a Jew (Genesis 9:4). Even Gentiles who accepted the Lord were to abstain from eating blood (Leviticus 17:10-15). And the restriction continues to apply for New Testament Christians (Acts 15:20).
22. What two animal products were never to be eaten?
Leviticus 3:17 It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.
Today it is well known that dietary fat is a major cause of heart disease, strokes, diabetes, obesity, and certain cancers—the major killers in western societies. Animal fat, being saturated, is especially harmful.
23. God has promised to satisfy our mouths with what?
Psalm 103:5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
24. What did Daniel purpose in his heart?
Daniel 1:8 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.
25. What did he and his friends request to eat and drink?
Daniel 1:12 Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.
Pulse is vegetable foods. More and more people today are learning that the best diet is the one God originally gave man at his creation.
26. What did this diet do for them?
Daniel 1:15 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.
27. What additional benefits did God give them?
Daniel 1:17 As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
28. Considering all the sickness around us, why has God placed certain restrictions on our lifestyle?
Deuteronomy 6:24 nd the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.
29. What does the Lord want to do for us?
Deuteronomy 7:15 And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.
“And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.” Exodus 23:25.
30. When people violate God’s laws of health, what other god are they serving?
Romans 16:18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
31. What will be their end?
Philippians 3:19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)
32. Every man that strives for the mastery is what?
1 Corinthians 9:25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things.
33. What did Paul say would happen to him if he didn’t keep his body under subjection?
1 Corinthians 9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
For further study on this subject see, Secrets of the Abundant Life
In the Light of God's Word...
I realize that God asks me to do all that I can to keep my mind and body, which belong to Him, in the very best condition.
I choose to glorify God in my body by eating those things which promote health, and by avoiding all that is detrimental to it.
Next Lesson: The Christian and the World
Although it seems less these days, many schools and businesses would set up dress codes for various reasons. Schools mostly for the purpose of minimizing distraction, and businesses, for the same reason and for company representation in a professional manner. Does God have a dress code? If He does should it matter to us? If companies require proper representation, should we expect any less from God? Lesson 26 explores the type of representation that God wants from His people. You'll find that distinction from the world is very important to God and should be to us also.
John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
2. In what four ways did Jesus develop?
Luke 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.
“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.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23.
3. How important is our physical health to God?
3 John 2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
4. What reasonable service does God ask of us?
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.
5. Why is God so concerned about our bodies?
1 Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
6. What will happen to the person who mistreats his body?
1 Corinthians 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
7. As a vital ingredient in man’s restoration, how was Adam to spend his time?
Genesis 3:23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
Physical exercise is a great blessing to man, promoting physical, mental, and spiritual health.
8. What is as good as medicine?
Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
9. What has God asked us to do for others which will benefit our own health?
Isaiah 58:7, 8 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.
10. What should guide our eating habits?
1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
11. What was the original diet of man?
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.
12. On that diet, how long did Adam live?
Genesis 5:5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
13. For several generations, how long did men live?
Seth
Genesis 5:8 And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died. 9And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan:
Enos
Genesis 5:11 And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died. 12And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel
Cainan
Genesis 5:14 And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.
Mahalaleel
Genesis 5:17 And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died.
Jared
Genesis 5:20 And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.
Methuselah
Genesis 5:27 And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.
14. After the flood, what was added to man’s diet?
Genesis 9:3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
15. What immediately happened to man’s life span?
Genesis 11:10,11 These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood: 11And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.
16. After just a few generations, how long did men live?
Genesis 11:32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.
17. God has given permission for only what kind of beasts to be eaten?
Leviticus 11:2, 3 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth. 3Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.
18. Unclean animals such as what, are forbidden?
Leviticus 11:7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.
Unclean animals are defined in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. Large animals which are not clovenfooted, or do not chew the cud, are unclean. Sea food which “hath no fins nor scales” is unclean. Birds of prey and certain other birds are unclean. And so are many small animals such as weasels, mice, lizards, and snails.
19. To whom did God originally make the distinction between clean and unclean animals?
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. 2Of 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.
This was long before there ever was a Jew. It is not just Jews who can be harmed by eating unhealthful things.
Some of the diseases which are commonly associated with pork include trichinosis, toxoplasmosis, salmonella, tapeworms, and undulant fever. Christians who recognize that their bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit will not defile themselves with anything that will dishonor God.
20. When Jesus comes, He will consume together those who eat what three things?
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. 16For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many. 17They 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.
21. God never allowed man to eat flesh with what in it?
Deuteronomy 12:23-25 Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh. 24Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water. 25Thou shalt not eat it; that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD.
Like the prohibition against unclean meats, the restriction against eating blood was not just for the Jews. It dates back to the very beginning of flesh eating, hundreds of years before there was a Jew (Genesis 9:4). Even Gentiles who accepted the Lord were to abstain from eating blood (Leviticus 17:10-15). And the restriction continues to apply for New Testament Christians (Acts 15:20).
22. What two animal products were never to be eaten?
Leviticus 3:17 It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.
Today it is well known that dietary fat is a major cause of heart disease, strokes, diabetes, obesity, and certain cancers—the major killers in western societies. Animal fat, being saturated, is especially harmful.
23. God has promised to satisfy our mouths with what?
Psalm 103:5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
24. What did Daniel purpose in his heart?
Daniel 1:8 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.
25. What did he and his friends request to eat and drink?
Daniel 1:12 Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.
Pulse is vegetable foods. More and more people today are learning that the best diet is the one God originally gave man at his creation.
26. What did this diet do for them?
Daniel 1:15 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.
27. What additional benefits did God give them?
Daniel 1:17 As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
28. Considering all the sickness around us, why has God placed certain restrictions on our lifestyle?
Deuteronomy 6:24 nd the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.
29. What does the Lord want to do for us?
Deuteronomy 7:15 And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.
“And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.” Exodus 23:25.
30. When people violate God’s laws of health, what other god are they serving?
Romans 16:18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
31. What will be their end?
Philippians 3:19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)
32. Every man that strives for the mastery is what?
1 Corinthians 9:25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things.
33. What did Paul say would happen to him if he didn’t keep his body under subjection?
1 Corinthians 9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
For further study on this subject see, Secrets of the Abundant Life
In the Light of God's Word...
I realize that God asks me to do all that I can to keep my mind and body, which belong to Him, in the very best condition.
I choose to glorify God in my body by eating those things which promote health, and by avoiding all that is detrimental to it.
Next Lesson: The Christian and the World
Although it seems less these days, many schools and businesses would set up dress codes for various reasons. Schools mostly for the purpose of minimizing distraction, and businesses, for the same reason and for company representation in a professional manner. Does God have a dress code? If He does should it matter to us? If companies require proper representation, should we expect any less from God? Lesson 26 explores the type of representation that God wants from His people. You'll find that distinction from the world is very important to God and should be to us also.