| International Sunday School Lessons |
Lesson for February 4, 1940
Holding Life Sacred
(A Principle of Temperate Living)
Genesis 1:27-31; I Corinthians 6:19, 20; II Corinthians 6:16; 7:1
GOLDEN TEXT: “Ye were bought with a price: glorify God therefore in your body.”—I Corinthians 6:20
THIS lesson is intended to encourage the practice of temperance; and while all the Scriptures cited may have a bearing on the general subject of temperance as it is generally understood, yet some of the passages have a deeper significance than the thought of merely abstaining from intemperate eating and drinking.
The Genesis portion of the lesson tells us of the Creator’s food provision for our first parents—“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.” (Gen. 1:29) This was God’s provision for the perfect pair. Since then, in the laws given to Israel, God has given further instructions concerning food, and on this later diet list appear meats of various kinds.
It seems reasonable that during the next age when man is restored to the perfection he lost because of sin, that the original diet will again be in vogue; and, man then being perfect, will be able to so balance his diet that all worn out tissues of the body will automatically be fully replaced so that the growing old process of today will no longer be in evidence—except, of course, in the case of those who do not obey the righteous laws of the new Kingdom.
The New Testament part of the lesson applies more particularly to Christians. While the Christian is to take reasonable care of his body by temperate living, he is ever to realize nevertheless that he has presented his body as a living sacrifice, hence he is not to be over-anxious about what he eats, or of preserving his body.
In our lesson, St. Paul reminds us that we are not our own for we have been bought with a price, therefore we are to glorify God in our bodies which are His. There is no way to glorify God except by doing His will; and it is His will that we present our bodies in sacrifice—“For we thus judge,” the apostle states in II Corinthians 5:14,15, that “if Christ died for all, then were all dead,” that henceforth we should not live unto ourselves but unto Him who loved us and died for us.
We live for Christ, by dying with Him. But even though presenting our bodies in sacrifice, we should see to it that they are in as good a shape as reasonable care will make possible. Certainly the Lord would not be pleased with a sacrifice defiled by gluttonous and riotous living along any line. It is difficult to imagine that any truly consecrated Christian would be so careless in matters of this kind; although it behooves all to be on the watch for the beginnings of intemperance in the matter of food, as well as otherwise.
In II Corinthians 6:16 and 7:1, the apostle is alluding to a defilement which is also reprehensible in the Lord’s sight; namely, that which results from contact with impure doctrines and systems of worship. God was displeased with natural Israel when they violated his laws pertaining to foods, but He seemed specially angry with them when they joined in worship with their heathen neighbors. “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me,” was a law which Jehovah insisted must be respected by those who desired a continuance of His favor. It is also the case in the Christian dispensation.
Various heathen forms of worship were practiced in the religious temples of the apostle’s day. It is still so today. The Christian still has his heathen neighbors, even as did Israel of old. And these neighbors have their various gods. Some have the torment god, or the trinity god, or the money ‘god, or the pleasure god. Others have the god of show and ostentation. All of these are false gods, and to in any way shape or form participate in their worship is spiritual idolatry, which in turn means defilement.
So the Christian is enjoined to separate himself from all such “temples” of worship; realizing that God has no part in them. Especially is this true during the harvest at the end of the age, for now we have the additional call to separation recorded in Revelation 18 where the wheat class—“My people”—are called to “come out of her [Babylon] … that ye be not partakers of her sins, and receive not of her plagues.”
Christians, as individuals, are the Lord’s ambassadors in the earth, and as such God dwells in them by His Spirit. From this standpoint each individual Christian is a temple for the Holy Spirit. Paul’s reference in II Corinthians 6:16, however, presents a larger thought, namely, that the entire church is being prepared to be a temple, a meeting place between God and man during the thousand year period of the Messianic reign.
During the next age, mankind in general will become God’s people, and they will meet God in His temple, which will be the glorified church. That is to say, the church, with Christ as Head, will be the Mediator between God and the people. Through this arrangement, God “will dwell with the people, and will be their God.” In Revelation 21:4 a similar thought is presented, except that here the Tabernacle symbolism is used instead of the Temple. But the Tabernacle as well as the Temple is where God met with and blessed His ancient people. The Tabernacle, being more of a temporary nature, serves to remind us, that the Messianic Kingdom arrangements will be temporary, and that at the close of the age, mankind will deal with God direct, when the Kingdom is turned over to the Father, who then will be “all in all.”—I Cor. 15:22-28
QUESTIONS:
Will the restored world of mankind live on a diet similar to that outlined in the Genesis account of Creation, and which was provided for our first parents?
Is the chief concern of the Christian that of keeping his body healthy in order that he might not die. Should the Christian be concerned at all about his health, and why?
What did Jesus mean when He said, “Take no thought for the morrow”?
Should a Christian be intemperate in any way?
What does Paul mean in II Corinthians 6:16 about not being defiled with unholy temple worship?
What is the larger sense in which the church is to be the temple of the living God?