Page 10 - Foundations
P. 10

teachings in abundance that do not profit. There are multitudes of books, sermons, and videos that
               do not lead to truth. They do not nourish the soul. Instead, they produce weakness and sickness
               among the body of Christ.

               Paul states “We have an altar, from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.” What
               does the apostle intend  to  convey  by  these words?  The fleshly  body  is  described in  the  New
               Testament as a tabernacle, or temple, in which the Spirit of God resides. The apostle Paul has
               himself frequently resorted to this imagery.

               I Corinthians 3:16-17
               Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man
               destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you
               are.

               How do men destroy, or defile, the temple of their body? They do so by indulging the flesh. In this
               same epistle the apostle chastises men in the church who have been fornicating with prostitutes from
               the local pagan temples.

               I Corinthians 6:15
               Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of
               Christ and make them members of a harlot?

               These statements of the apostle reveal the symbolic  meaning  of  his  statement  in  the  book of
               Hebrews. Those who serve the tabernacle are those who serve the flesh. The apostle states that such
               ones are restricted from receiving food from the holy altar of God. When Paul says, “We have an
               altar...” he is speaking of himself and those other obedient disciples of Christ who buffet their bodies
               and keep them under subjection. He is speaking of those who do not live for the flesh, but live to do
               the will of Yahweh.


               If you would be assured that you are not counted among those professors of Christ who are “always
               learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” then you must not serve the flesh.
               You must be a servant of God, living to do His pleasure and to fulfill His righteousness. Then
               Yahweh will take food from His holy altar and give it to you to eat. If you will answer the call to
               “take up YOUR cross and follow” in the footsteps of Christ, then He will call you aside and explain
               those  things  that  are  hidden  to  the  understanding  of  the  multitude.  Obedience  to  God  is  the
               foundation upon which truth must be established.
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