I Timothy 4:3
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They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
Sensuality leads to false spiritualism. Their own inward impurity is reflected in their eyes in the world without them, and hence their asceticism (Tit 1:14-15) [WIESINGER]. By a spurious spiritualism (Ti2 2:18), which made moral perfection consist in abstinence from outward things, they pretended to attain to a higher perfection. Mat 19:10-12 (compare Co1 7:8, Co1 7:26, Co1 7:38) gave a seeming handle to their "forbidding marriage" (contrast Ti1 5:14); and the Old Testament distinction as to clean and unclean, gave a pretext for teaching to "abstain from meats" (compare Col 2:16-17, Col 2:20-23). As these Judaizing Gnostics combined the harlot or apostate Old Testament Church with the beast (Rev 17:3), or Gnostic spiritualizing anti-Christianity, so Rome's Judaizing elements (Ti1 4:3) shall ultimately be combined with the open worldly-wise anti-Christianity of the false prophet or beast (Ti1 6:20-21; Col 2:8; Jo1 4:1-3; Rev 13:12-15). Austerity gained for them a show of sanctity while preaching false doctrine (Col 2:23). EUSEBIUS [Ecclesiastical History, 4.29] quotes from IRENÆUS [1.28] a statement that Saturninus, Marcion, and the Encratites preached abstinence from marriage and animal meats. Paul prophetically warns against such notions, the seeds of which already were being sown (Ti1 6:20; Ti2 2:17-18). to be received--Greek, "to be partaken of." of them--literally, (created and designed) "for them," Though all (even the unbelieving, Psa 104:14; Mat 5:45) are partakers in these foods created by God, "they which believe" alone fulfil God's design in creation by partaking of them with thanksgiving; as opposed to those who abstain from them, or in partaking of them, do not do so with thanksgiving. The unbelieving have not the designed use of such foods by reason of th…
Open source ↗Paul here foretels, I. A dreadful apostasy (Ti1 4:1-3). II. He treats of Christian liberty (Ti1 4:4, Ti1 4:5). III. He gives Timothy divers directions with respect to himself, his doctrine, and the people under his care (Ti1 4:6 to the end)
Open source ↗Cross-references
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For every creation of God is good, and nothing that is received with thanksgiving should be rejected,
Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
He who observes a special day does so to the Lord; he who eats does so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.
Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath.
Everything that lives and moves will be food for you; just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you all things.
But food does not bring us closer to God: We are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.
The one who eats everything must not belittle the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted him.
But if you do marry, you have not sinned. And if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.
Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace and not by foods of no value to those devoted to them.
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.