As Halloween grows ever closer, decorations are going up, costumes are being made (or bought), and candy is being prepared. As a child, trick-or-treating was the best activity. My friends or family and I would go around from house to house, asking the residents for candy. And as always, once everyone got back home, we’d dump our candy buckets and show off our winnings. Some candies would be traded or given away, and others would be kept and saved like it was gold.
Did you have any favorite Halloween candy? Maybe you like the jelly (gummy) worms, eyeballs, and other fun critters. Maybe you liked candy bars and caramels. Or maybe you were one of those weirdos who liked candy corn (just kidding about the weirdo part, you do you).
Now, as delicious as Halloween candy is, we know it’s very very unhealthy. It’s chock full of sugar which ruins our teeth and gives us stomachaches. The dentists might be happy, but many parents are not. Candy is junk food. As nice as it is to eat from time to time, we know we must limit it, otherwise, we will be sick. We must always eat more healthy food: vegetables, fruits, grains, and some meat. As important as it is to keep our bodies physically healthy, we must also keep our spirits healthy, too.
Two Types of Spiritual Food
You may have heard about, or read about this before, but it’s worth going over again. I mean, how often do we say we’re going to eat healthier but then slip into poor eating habits? I know I do that, but I don’t want us to focus on physical things. Instead, let us set our minds on things above, the things of Heaven.
In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!
Hebrews 5:12
For the ear tests words as the tongue tastes food.
Job 34:3
Spiritually speaking, we must know about the types of spiritual food spoken of in the Bible. We should ask ourselves: “Is the spiritual food we are eating, that is the words we are listening to, nourishing our spirits or poisoning them?” Sometimes we need to remind ourselves as believers of these basic things, because if we forget them, we may fall prey to Satan’s deception. There are two types of spiritual food: God’s food and Satan’s food. God’s food gives life, while Satan’s food kills.
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
John 6:63
but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.
Genesis 2:17
Do you know how to tell whose food is whose? That’s the tricky part. While we can easily tell the difference between healthy food and junk food in our daily lives, it’s much harder to discern the spiritual types of food if you don’t know God’s Word well. Let’s learn more about both of these types of food. God’s food, given by Jesus whom God sent (Jn 6:63). While Genesis says, “fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil”, we know that fruit is food. But what about that second part about the “knowledge of good and evil”? Can a literal fruit make us know good and evil? No, it cannot; this “fruit” spoken of is representative of Satan’s lies and deception.
God said that if one eats that fruit, they will die. If we eat too much candy, sweets, and other junk food, we will die from health complications. Spiritually, if we eat Satan’s “fruit” (food) – meaning if we listen to false teachings (about the Bible) and accept them – we will spiritually die. Let’s learn more about God’s food and Satan’s food in detail.
Spiritual Health Food vs. Spiritual Junk Food
The Devil’s Food
Candy looks delicious. That’s why we like to eat it. It also tastes good even though we know it’s bad for us. How do you think the Devil’s food looks? I’m sure a lot of people may think it looks like this:
Google images
That’s a bit obvious, isn’t it? We can tell just by looking at it that it’s rotten and will make us sick. Let’s think spiritually here, do you really think Satan would just blurt out, “I AM SATAN! COME WORSHIP ME!”? Let’s look at how God’s Word tells us what Satan is like.
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
Genesis 3:1
This serpent, Satan, was once a spirit created by God. In fact, he was a high-ranking spirit, an archangel, but became arrogant and betrayed God (see Ezekiel 28:12-18 and Isaiah 14:12-15). This serpent deceived Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Adam was the person God chose to care for His Garden, and Eve was Adam’s helper. When we read further in the chapter, we see how the serpent’s food looked.
So, when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
Genesis 3:6
The devil’s food didn’t look like a rotten fruit that was obviously bad. Instead, it was “pleasing to the eye” – much more like this (but spiritually):
Google Images
The devils’ words don’t sound obviously bad like we might think. Instead, he twists God’s Word and makes it sound almost similar to what God says (or sometimes just the opposite). The devil is like a sleazy used car salesman who tries to sell cars that look good on the outside but will become junk within a year. The Apostle Paul tells us this in 2 Corinthians.
And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
2 Corinthians 11:14
But even if Satan’s words sound “pleasing” to our ears, we must know the truth. Jesus tells us the devil is a liar and has been from the beginning.
…He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
John 8:44
No matter how good the Satan’s “candy” (his false teachings and lies) seem, we must never eat them (listen to them and accept them). Now that we know about Satan’s food, let’s look at the true and healthy spiritual food we must eat.
God’s Food
As a child, it’s fun to eat candy, as many children have a sweet tooth. But as we grow older, our tastes change. At my age, I cannot eat sweets too often – maybe a candy bar here and there – but any more than that, and I just can’t stand that sweetness. Now I prefer salty, bitter, and more savory flavors. I try to eat healthier foods more often because I know they benefit my body. Sweets taste good for a short time but lead to sickness. Healthy food helps our bodies work like they should.
Now let’s apply this spiritually. God’s food is His Word. We don’t literally eat the Bible, though, do we? That would be odd. Instead, we must receive the Word of God from the one He sent and believe his words.
“Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”
Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
John 6:27, 29
Jesus tells us to work for food that leads to eternal life. Just as healthy food keeps our bodies healthy and alive, God’s spiritual food keeps our spirits healthy and alive. As I said before, God’s food is His Word, but which kind of word? Within the Bible, we have history, instructions/teachings, prophecy, and fulfillment. We should “eat” (meaning listen to, understand, and believe) all four categories, but the ones we must really know and believe are the last two: prophecy and fulfillment.
For our spirits to live, we must not eat junk food (food that perishes), but God’s healthy spiritual food which is the true food Jesus gave. Since this is still a Halloween-themed post, we know that zombies are eating flesh and blood.
Google Images
Jesus tells us to eat his flesh and drink his blood.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.”
John 6:53-56
Now, let’s be real here. Jesus isn’t advocating for literally eating his flesh and blood. He spoke metaphorically, yet many people at that time thought he was advocating for cannibalism.
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
John 6:52
Even Jesus’s own disciples, the 12 he handpicked, had a difficult time understanding these words. How about you? Do you truly understand what Jesus meant by saying we should “eat his flesh and drink is blood”?
Jesus gives us the explanation in verse 63.
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
John 6:63
Jesus tells us that it’s not his literal body we must eat, but his words. The words Jesus spoke were not his own, but came from God (John 14:9, 14:24). When it comes to our spiritual food, I’d much rather eat something that’s life-giving instead of something that kills.
Nowadays, this:
Google images
looks better than this:
Google images
Spiritually, when we can discern the good spiritual food from the bad, it should be a no-brainer to know which food we should eat. Yet, the devil is crafty and still deceives people. We must stay away from Satan’s spiritual junk food because no matter how “right” it may sound, it’s not. We need to study God’s Word and understand it correctly, so we are not deceived by Satan’s false teachings. So, let’s eat God’s true food given by the one He sent, so we can be spiritually healthy and alive.
Written by Kenny