With chapter four, Paul returns to his treatment of the false teachers so that Timothy will know how to correct and instruct the church in Ephesus. In the first two verses, he identifies just where these false teachings come from. And in this week’s passage, he corrects some of the false thinking.

Take a look at this week’s passage in 1 Timothy 4:3-5:

Paul identifies two things that the false teachers require of their followers: they forbid marriage, and they forbid certain food.

These seem to indicate the nature of the heresy at Ephesus. Though it doesn’t seem to bear the full characteristics of Gnosticism, which comes later, these teachings do seem to decry anything physical or sensuous. Though this is pure speculation, we can see how Jewish Christians tried to uphold their Jewish heritage while, at the same time, speaking in terms of the pagan culture in which they lived.

First, these false teachers forbade marriage. Apparently, they felt that refraining from marriage led to some sort of spiritual benefit. This is strikingly similar to the church in Corinth, who also took a dim view of marriage and sex (1 Corinthians 7:1-7, 25-38).

Second, these teachers forbade certain foods. This is probably reflective of the Old Testament laws of clean and unclean foods. Paul addressed this same issue with the church in Colosse (Colossians 2:16-23). Paul’s answer was to see these foods as created by God, and therefore wholesome when received with thanksgiving.

Paul’s use of the word “good” draws the mind back to Genesis 1, where God proclaims all that he has created “good.” Nothing needed to be rejected, as long as it was accepted with thanksgiving. Once God has pronounced something as good, then it is good.

The Ephesians, on becoming Christians, started to learn that God’s actions through Jesus fulfilled the Law, and as such, eliminated such things as the food laws. The word of God had brought them to a proper understanding of these food laws, and they presented their thankfulness for God’s gift to them through prayer.

Paul’s point is this: abstinence in these areas has nothing to do with the gospel. Making abstinence from marriage or certain foods mandatory was the teaching of demons, through the false teachers, and the Ephesian Christians were not to be deceived.

Also, this verse seems to hint that the practice of praying before meals, thanking God for his provision, was a practice that was in place very early in the church. It may be that Paul, and the early church, saw this as an essential part of daily life. While this is reading into the text a bit, the idea is still there. And, after all, we should be thankful to God for meeting our needs.

Paul gives us a clear directive: It is not mandatory that we abstain from marriage or certain foods. But if someone so chooses to do so, we are not to judge (1 Corinthians 10:23-33, Romans 14:1-23, Colossians 2:16, 21), and we are not to cause them to stumble (Romans 14:19-21).

Do you receive the blessings God pours into your life with thanksgiving? How do you do this? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.