1 Timothy 4:5

5 for it is sanctified by God's word and freely addressing [him].

1 Timothy 4:5 Meaning and Commentary

1 Timothy 4:5

For it is sanctified
Or set apart for use, and may be lawfully used at all times:

by the word of God;
which declares that there is nothing in itself common, or unclean, or unfit for use, and that nothing that goes into a man defiles him; so that by virtue of this word of God, every creature may be made use of, that is fit for food: or else this designs the word of God, which gives a blessing to what is eaten; for it is not by bread or meat only, but through the word of God commanding a blessing on what is eaten, that man lives, ( Matthew 4:4 ) and therefore this blessing upon our food should be asked for: wherefore it follows,

and prayer;
this being used before eating for a blessing on the food, and after it, in a way of thanksgiving for it, sanctifies every creature of God, or gives men a free use of any, or all of them. So the Israelites, when they had eaten, and were full, were to bless the Lord, ( Deuteronomy 8:10 ) . And thus our Lord Jesus Christ, at meals, used to take the food, and bless it or ask a blessing on it, ( Matthew 14:19 ) . And so did the Essenes among the Jews ^F8, and the Christians in Tertullian's ^F9 time; and the practice is highly necessary and commendable, nor ought it to be disused.

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FOOTNOTES:

F8 Porphyr. de Abstinentia, l. 4. sect. 12.
F9 Apolog. c. 39.

1 Timothy 4:5 In-Context

3 forbidding to marry, [bidding] to abstain from meats, which God has created for receiving with thanksgiving for them who are faithful and know the truth.

4 For every creature of God [is] good, and nothing [is] to be rejected, being received with thanksgiving;

5 for it is sanctified by God's word and freely addressing [him].

6 Laying these things before the brethren, thou wilt be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished with the words of the faith and of the good teaching which thou hast fully followed up.

7 But profane and old wives' fables avoid, but exercise thyself unto piety;

Footnotes

• [a]. It means 'intercourse with a person,' then 'petitions and intercession;' one person speaking personally to another. (See Note, ch. 2.1, same Greek word.) The creature, fallen through Adam, belongs to the faithful, and those who know the truth, by God's speaking to them, and their freely speaking to him. This has set all on a new footing, because we have met God again, the word of God having put us into communication by grace. And the 'faithful, and those who know the truth,' have availed themselves of it, and come and enter into intercourse. It is no longer by nature, but by the word of God.