postle Paul, in 1 Timothy 4:1-5 warns that some people in the church will depart from faith, teaching false doctrines and lying words, such as: "forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer."

In the Old Testament, the common man did not have direct access to God: worship, repentance, and supplication, during the time of the Mosaic law, for the ordinary man on an ordinary day was mediated through the priesthood. This was because humanity was fallen, not yet redeemed, and people had to go through purification rituals to be made clean and to approach the sanctuary, and offer sacrifices for forgiveness and worship.

After Christ's atoning death and resurrection, those who have been saved are now the body of Christ and have direct access to God through the indwelling Holy Spirit. As the body of Christ, our great high priest, Christians are priests: offering sacrifices of obedience, praise, and thanksgiving.

Christians purify or set things apart, applying a reversal of the curse of the fall as they obey God and act in accordance with His will. 1 Timothy 4:5 describes this priestly work of purifying, sanctifying, and setting apart for God when we receive food - of a type which would have been unclean under the Mosaic law - with thanksgiving and prayer.

Previously unclean foods are now both permissible and sanctified by the faithful recipients thanksgiving and prayer, an extension of the ultimate reconciling work of Jesus Christ.

God's priests purified or pronounced the ritual cleanliness of both people and places (e.g. the tabernacle, prescribing the law for purifying leprous buildings and judging/pronouncing clean or unclean based on the efficacy of the methods). Similarly, the equivalent scope of our priesthood is not less under our greater High Priest and this victorious era of redemption through Christ's blood and faithfulness.

As priests, we purify and set things apart through through obedience and of offering things up to God (such as through prayer or offerings) with the acknowledgement that they are His.

Our children are not excluded or excepted from these sanctifying effects, and certainly not from our sphere of responsibility. The Bible does not except them, and in fact positively says in 1 Corinthians 7:14: "For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy." A faithful Christian is a person who is obeying God, offering things up to Him with thanksgiving (thanksgiving acknowledges that those things are His in the first place), and performing His reconciling work (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). Our offspring are not excepted.

Christians purify or set things apart: the body of Christ purifies and set things apart for God. As the body of Christ, the Church, we have been given baptism to which we have the joyous privilege of submitting ourselves and our children. So go, as Jesus commanded (Matthew 28:19) and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Start in your own house.

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