"Dear Friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well." 3 John 2.
Just as God ordained the spiritual laws of right living, so He also ordained the physical laws of healthful living. You can enjoy good health by living in harmony with these laws. The reverse is also true. If you violate and break these laws of health, you will reap the results in disease, illness, and premature death. Those interested in preventive medicine and the benefits of total health will find much helpful counsel in the Scriptures. Health depends upon the harmonious action and interaction of man's body, mind, and spirit—the whole man. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (NIV) May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24) The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.
Health is maintained by good wholesome living. You can know the principles of healthful living! You can follow the biblical counsels for health! You can enjoy the blessings of total health!
The human body is marvelous. It has hundreds of intricate parts working in unison—a beautiful witness to the power of the Creator. When the body is healthy and every part is functioning properly, it testifies to the blessings in right living. Christians will want to regard carefully the rules of health to glorify God.
In this lesson you will discover—
HEALTH AND THE SPIRITUAL LIFE
1. What did the apostle John wish for a new convert? 3 John 2.
3 John 1:2 (NIV) Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.
Note: Always remember, God wants you to enjoy good health. He is not the author of sickness and death; instead,
Psalms 103:3 (NIV) [He] forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
2. Why should you honor God with your body? 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV) Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20) you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
The principles of good health are these:
3. What will happen if one defiles the body temple? 1 Corinthians 3:17.
1 Corinthians 3:17 (NIV) If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
4. What ideal should control the Christian's habits? 1 Corinthians 10:31.
1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV) So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
5. What is an important factor in maintaining health? Proverbs 4:20-22.
Proverbs 4:20-22 (NIV) My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. 21) Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; 22) for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body.
6. What food did God provide for man in the beginning? Genesis 1:29.
Genesis 1:29 (NIV) Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.
Note: The original diet was vegetables, grains, nuts, and fruits. Most Adventists use a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet which includes eggs and dairy products. These additional foods help assure adequate amounts of the B vitamins, protein, and calcium.
7. After the great Flood what other food was permissible? Genesis 9:3.
Genesis 9:3 (NIV) Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.
Note: "Everything that lives and moves"—from this we know that God did not intend flesh foods to comprise even a part of man's original diet. But due to changed conditions resulting from the Flood, its use was permitted for Noah and his family. Note that Noah understood the difference between clean and unclean animals. (See Genesis 7:2; 8:20.)
Genesis 7:2 (NIV) Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate,
Genesis 8:20 (NIV) Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.
8. What foods did God exclude from Israel's diet?
Leviticus 11:47 (NIV) You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.'"
Note: The Lord permitted man to eat the flesh of sheep, cattle, deer, and any other animals which have "a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud." Leviticus 11:3. Other animals such as squirrels, rabbits, and pigs were not to be eaten. All the fish that have fins and scales were permitted for food, but such creatures as catfish, eels, lobsters, oysters, shrimp, clams, etc., were forbidden.
Deuteronomy 14:3-8 (NIV) Do not eat any detestable thing. 4) These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, 5) the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope and the mountain sheep. 6) You may eat any animal that has a split hoof divided in two and that chews the cud. 7) However, of those that chew the cud or that have a split hoof completely divided you may not eat the camel, the rabbit or the coney. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a split hoof; they are ceremonially unclean for you. 8) The pig is also unclean; although it has a split hoof, it does not chew the cud. You are not to eat their meat or touch their carcasses.
Deuteronomy 14:9-10 (NIV) Of all the creatures living in the water, you may eat any that has fins and scales. 10) But anything that does not have fins and scales you may not eat; for you it is unclean.
9. What warning does Scripture give against the use of intoxicating beverages? Proverbs 20:1. Also read Proverbs 23:29-35.
Proverbs 20:1 (NIV) Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
Proverbs 23:29-35 (NIV) Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? 30) Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine. 31) Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! 32) In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. 33) Your eyes will see strange sights and your mind imagine confusing things. 34) You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging. 35) "They hit me," you will say, "but I'm not hurt! They beat me, but I don't feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?"
10. Can drunkards enter into the kingdom of God? 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NIV) Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10) nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
11. Christians should refrain from the use of other harmful substances. The harmful effects of narcotics including caffeine are widely known and discussed. Numerous articles and reports have analyzed the health effects of these various substances. A wide range of health problems beginning with physical addiction, birth defects, heart disease, and cancer have been linked to the use of these various harmful substances. The risk of addiction and being exposed to the health hazards involved should lead the Christian to refrain from all harmful substances—no matter how pleasant they may taste. (See 1 Corinthians 10:31.) Kick the bad habits! Enjoy better health!
1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV) So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
Note: While science seems lean in favor of moderate use of coffee/caffeine, the Holy Spirit has communicated that it is to be excluded from use by Christians:
"Tea acts as a stimulants and, to a certain extent, produces intoxication. The action of coffee and many other popular drinks is similar. The first effect is exhilarating. The nerves of the stomach are excited; these convey irritation to the brain, and this in turn is aroused to impart increased action to the heart and short-lived energy to the entire system. Fatigue is forgotten; the strength seems to be increased. The intellect is aroused, the imagination becomes more vivid. Because of these results, many suppose that their tea or coffee is doing them great good. But this is a mistake. Tea and coffee do not nourish the system. Their effect is produced before there has been time for digestion and assimilation, and what seems to be strength is only nervous excitement. When the influence of the stimulant is gone, the unnatural force abates, and the result is a corresponding degree of languor and debility."--The Ministry of Healing p. 326
"Satan is taking the world captive through the use of liquor and tobacco, tea and coffee. The God-given mind, which should be kept clear, is perverted by the use of narcotics. The brain is no longer able to distinguish correctly. The enemy has control. Man has sold his reason for that which makes him mad. He has no sense of what is right."-- Counsels for the Church p. 101
The following newscast is of great interest in relation to the statement above:
https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/brain-caffeine-images-reveal-startling-mental-effects-19309937
12. How can one get the victory over harmful habits? Philippians 4:13.
Philippians 4:13 (NIV) I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
1 Corinthians 15:57 (NIV) But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV) No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
2 Peter 1:4 (NIV) Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
"In our own strength it is impossible for us to deny the clamors of our fallen nature. Through this channel Satan will bring temptation upon us. Christ knew that the enemy would come to every human being, to take advantage of hereditary weakness, and by his false insinuations to ensnare all whose trust is not in God. And by passing over the ground which man must travel, our Lord has prepared the way for us to overcome. It is not His will that we should be placed at a disadvantage in the conflict with Satan. He would not have us intimidated and discouraged by the assaults of the serpent. "Be of good cheer," He says; "I have overcome the world." John 16:33. Let him who is struggling against the power of appetite look to the Saviour in the wilderness of temptation. See Him in His agony upon the cross, as He exclaimed, "I thirst." He has endured all that it is possible for us to bear. His victory is ours. Jesus rested upon the wisdom and strength of His heavenly Father. He declares, "The Lord God will help Me; therefore shall I not be confounded: . . . and I know that I shall not be ashamed. . . . Behold, the Lord God will help Me." Pointing to His own example, He says to us, "Who is among you that feareth the Lord, . . . that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God." Isaiah 50:7-10. "The prince of this world cometh," said Jesus, "and hath nothing in Me." John 14:30. There was in Him nothing that responded to Satan's sophistry. He did not consent to sin. Not even by a thought did He yield to temptation. So it may be with us. Christ's humanity was united with divinity; He was fitted for the conflict by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And He came to make us partakers of the divine nature. So long as we are united to Him by faith, sin has no more dominion over us. God reaches for the hand of faith in us to direct it to lay fast hold upon the divinity of Christ, that we may attain to perfection of character. And how this is accomplished, Christ has shown us. By what means did He overcome in the conflict with Satan? By the word of God. Only by the word could He resist temptation. "It is written," He said. And unto us are given "exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." 2 Peter 1:4. Every promise in God's word is ours. "By every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" are we to live. When assailed by temptation, look not to circumstances or to the weakness of self, but to the power of the word. All its strength is yours. "Thy word," says the psalmist, "have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee." "By the word of Thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer." Psalm 119:11; 17:4. --The Desire of Ages pp 122, 123
Harmful habits may be broken and good habits formed to take their place. This can be done by a firm choice and through the promised strength found in Jesus Christ. Remember the Lord wants all of His people to enjoy good health!
HERITAGE TIE
Spirit of Prophecy Publications
Ellen G. White authored many books and thousands of published articles which compose the spirit of prophecy publications. More than sixty of her books in the English language are available.
Those who are interested in reading more about healthful living will find the book The Ministry of Healing especially helpful. Thousands of people have been benefited by the practical counsel found in this book. .
Many new members like to begin reading the spirit of prophecy by starting with Steps to Christ. Other remarkable books are The Desire of Ages (on the life of Christ) and The Great Controversy (on church history and prophecy). Read the books that appeal to you most!
You can continue to build your personal library by acquiring the Conflict of the Ages series and the nine volumes of the Testimonies (counsel on Christian life and experience). These spirit of prophecy writings deserve your careful reading and prayerful reflection. You can also secure the Index for ready reference to find special topics. All of these library materials are available through your Adventist Book Center but are also available free in digital and audio format online:
Unless otherwise designated, scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION�. Copyright � 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.