Page 10 - Foundations

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.