Thomas Aquinas Commentary 1 Timothy 4:1-5

"But the Spirit saith expressly, that in later times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, [and commanding] to abstain from meats, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by them that believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it be received with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified through the word of God and prayer." — 1 Timothy 4:1-5 (ASV)

1. Previously, the Apostle instructed Timothy on matters concerning the Church’s disposition in spiritual things: the teachings of the faith, the worship of God, and the qualities required of its ministers. Here, he instructs him on the Church’s disposition regarding external things, which he divides into two topics:

1. Regarding food.
2. Regarding riches and the different states of people, beginning with the section on whoever are servants under the yoke.

Concerning food, he does two things:

1. He addresses the use of foods.
2. He addresses its distribution in chapter five, beginning with honor widows (1 Timothy 5:1).

Regarding the use of foods, he does two things:

1. He rejects superstitious abstinence.
2. He shows that godliness is preferable to lawful abstinence, beginning with exercise yourself unto godliness.

In rejecting superstitious abstinence, he does two things:

1. He states the false doctrine concerning unlawful abstinence.
2. He instructs Timothy to present these things to the brothers, at the words proposing these things.

Regarding the false doctrine, he does two things:

1. He exposes the error.
2. He refutes it, beginning with which God has created.

The error is exposed by foretelling it from the perspective of both:

1. The deceived.
2. The deceivers, at the words speaking lies in hypocrisy.

Finally, concerning the deceived, he does three things:

1. He discloses the author of the announcement.
2. He describes the defection from the faith, beginning with that in the last times.
3. He explains the cause of the defection, beginning with giving heed.

2. He says, therefore: great is the mystery of godliness, which was manifested in the flesh, was justified in the Spirit (1 Timothy 3:16). But regarding this mystery, the Holy Spirit foretells something of the future, for it is his role to reveal mysteries: the things that are to come he will show you (John 16:13). The Spirit, therefore, foretells the secrets that lie in the Father’s heart. Previously he spoke in figures: if there is among you a prophet of the Lord, I will appear to him in a vision or I will speak to him in a dream (Numbers 12:6); I have multiplied visions and I have used comparisons by the ministry of the prophets (Hosea 12:10). But in the New Testament, the Spirit manifestly says, for Christ promised, he will show you plainly of the Father (John 16:25).

3. And he foretells a coming defection from the faith. Hence he says, in the last times some will depart from the faith. The "last times" refers to the final era, because we are the ones upon whom the final ages have descended. Yet in this world, the later it is, the closer we are to the last day. And just as in the early Church faith was very fervent on account of its nearness to Christ and the recently instituted sacraments, so in the last days, as compared to the days of the apostles, some will depart from the faith because they are carnal, and error will abound: gather yourselves together that I may tell you the things that shall befall you in the last days (Genesis 49:1).

4. The cause of the defection is twofold. One is from the Devil, who seduces: but I fear lest as the serpent seduced Eve by his cunning, so your minds should be corrupted (2 Corinthians 11:3). Therefore, he says, giving heed to spirits of error, namely, to demons whose work is to lead people into error: he is a liar and the father of it (John 8:44); I will go forth and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets (1 Kings 22:22). And he says spirits, because the head Devil has many subordinates.

But how will they give heed? Will they see him? No, but the demons will speak in them. Therefore, he mentions the second cause: false doctrines. According to a Gloss, he calls false teachers "devils," and deservedly so. For just as good men are sometimes called angels, so evil men, because of the degree of their wickedness, are called demons: Have I not chosen you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil? (John 6:70).

5. On the part of those deceived, the cause is also twofold: one is their falsity, and the other is the perversity of their conscience. Regarding the first, he says they are doctrines of devils, that is, of men possessed by a devil; of devils, I say, speaking lies: how long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies, and that prophesy the delusions of their own heart? (Jeremiah 23:26). Note that no one can deceive another with a simple lie unless it is covered with the appearance of truth. And so, they could never succeed in deceiving unless they pretended to have a good intention or put a cloak over their pretense or false authority: let no man deceive you with vain words (Ephesians 5:6); having an appearance indeed of godliness, but denying the power thereof. Now these avoid (2 Timothy 3:5).

And they are doctrines of devils, I say, having their conscience seared. Flesh is said to be seared when it is corrupted by fire and is in such a condition that rot flows from it continuously. In the same way, by the fire of a perverse will—of anger, of hatred, of sinful desire—the conscience is ulcerated, and the false doctrine of devils continually issues from it: both their mind and their conscience are defiled (Titus 1:15).

6. Then he identifies the false doctrine and touches on the Manichean heresy, which condemns marriage in opposition to Matthew: what God has joined together, let no man put asunder (Matthew 19:6); and a woman sins not, if she marry (1 Corinthians 7:28). Likewise, the Manicheans forbid the use of foods; that is, they command abstinence from foods.

Now, abstaining from foods can be lawful when it is for the purpose of taming the flesh, as Timothy abstained from wine, or to avoid scandal, as the Apostle says in 1 Corinthians: if meat scandalize my brother, I will never eat flesh, lest I should scandalize my brother (1 Corinthians 8:13). But it can be unlawful: first, when it involves obeying false laws, as though the observances of the Old Law were still in effect, contrary to the Apostle in Galatians (Galatians 2:14–15); second, when it accords with the heresy of the Manicheans. This is not because it is commanded by the Law (which they reject), but because they say that a divine nature is an ingredient in flesh, eggs, wine, and so on—that is, in certain particles of these foods.

The Apostle does not seem to be referring here to the foods forbidden by the Old Law, but to those forbidden by the Manicheans, because he says, in the last times. And he calls those Manicheans "devils" because they give more honor to the Devil than other heresies do, since they regard him as a principle equal to the good God, viewing him as the principle of all visible things. But the Apostle disproves this error in two ways: first, by reason of God’s intention in creating food, and second, from the condition of the creature, at every creature.

7. He says, therefore, that they command abstinence even against God’s intention, who created these things to be received with thanksgiving: and every thing that moves and lives shall be meat for you: even as the green herbs have I delivered them all to you (Genesis 9:3). But you may ask: do plants exist for animals and animals for humans? The answer is yes, even according to the Philosopher in the Politics I, which states that the imperfect exists for the sake of the more perfect. Hence, just as there are degrees of perfection in the production of things (first the production of plants, then of animals, and finally of humans), so also in the use of things.

And thus, they are to be received, but with thanksgiving: in all things give thanks (1 Thessalonians 5:18), because all have been granted to you by God: the poor shall eat and be filled (Psalms 22:26). And he says, with thanksgiving by the faithful, because those who receive with thanksgiving are faithful. For no one can thank God for that which is unlawful. A person is a fool who thanks God for fornication, because God is not the source of evil. Therefore, the one who thanks God is the one who recognizes that the use of foods is lawful. And this is made known by faith alone, which is why he says, by the faithful.

8. Then when he says, and by those who have known the truth, for every creature of God is good, he disproves this error by arguing from the condition of the creature. First, he describes the condition of the creature, namely, that every creature is good in itself; second, he discusses the use of the creature.

9. He says, therefore, every creature of God is good, that is, in its nature: God saw all the things that he had made, and they were very good (Genesis 1:31). For from a good source, only good proceeds.

10. But because many things are good in themselves while their use is not good, he proves that every creature is good not only in itself, but also in its use. First, he states his intent; second, he proves it, at for it is sanctified.

11. He says, therefore, nothing is to be rejected, that is, as though forbidden by divine law, although it might be rejected for some other reason. For example, to take poison is not a sin, but it must be avoided because it is deadly. The same is true of other foods: they are not to be rejected as things in themselves, but only as stimuli to lust. Therefore, they are to be rejected only in view of reason’s discretion and charity’s demands: not that which goes into the mouth defiles a man (Matthew 15:11).

12. But why were certain foods forbidden under the Old Law? Augustine states the reason in his book Against Faustus, where he says that in that state, not only words but also deeds prefigured Christ. Hence foods, clothing, and sacrifice were figures of a coming state. Therefore, they were not forbidden in themselves, but because they were figures of unclean things.

Thus a pig was a symbol of an impure life; consequently, its flesh was prohibited because it was a sign that in Christ’s law all uncleanness would be forbidden. This is Augustine’s example. The name "tasteless" can be considered insofar as it is a word composed of letters, and in this sense it is good; or it can be considered as a sign of a particular thing, and then it is evil and forbidden. The use of every creature, therefore, is good in itself.

13. The reason for this is that if it were evil, it would only be so because the Devil had acquired power over it after humanity’s sin. For as a result of human sin, the Devil obtained power over humanity and over the things that humanity owns. But Christ took away this power, and this is called sanctification. Consequently, everything we bless is thereby exorcised, because the blessing includes a prayer expelling the Devil. That is why the Apostle says, it is sanctified by the Word of God—that is, by Christ, who sanctifies all things—and by the prayer of the faithful: for the continual prayer of a just man is very effective (James 5:16).