Kingdom Minded – Honoring Our Father by What We Eat

A study on identity, covenant, and the Father’s loving instruction regarding food

🕊️ 1. Identity: One People, One Covenant

Before we can understand how to honor God, we must know who we are in Him.

We are the Seed of Abraham

“And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
— Galatians 3:29

Faith in Messiah (Yeshua) makes us heirs to the same covenant given to Abraham.
This means that God’s promises — and His expectations — apply to all who are joined to His covenant people.

One House, One Law

“You shall have the same law for the stranger and for one from your own country; for I am the LORD your God.”
— Leviticus 24:22
“One law and one custom shall be for you and for the stranger who dwells with you.”
— Numbers 15:16

From the beginning, YHVH’s intent was for all who dwell among His people — native-born and grafted-in — to live under the same standard of righteousness.

Moses continually addressed Israel and the sojourners among them as one household, one community under God.

Commonwealth of Israel

“Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh… were at that time separated from Messiah, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise… But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
— Ephesians 2:11–13

Paul’s teaching clarifies: believers in Messiah become part of the commonwealth of Israel, not a new or separate people.
There is one covenant family, one King, and one standard of holiness.

1️⃣ Who We Are — The Commonwealth of Israel

Those who belong to Messiah are not a separate people from Israel but grafted in to the same olive tree (Romans 11:17–24).
We are the commonwealth of Israel (Ephesians 2:12–19) — one house, one law, one Shepherd.

“For you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” — 1 Peter 2:9

Identity in Messiah restores us to covenant relationship with YHVH — not through ritual conversion, but through spiritual adoption.
That adoption comes with family traits — holiness, obedience, and love.

2️⃣ The Ten Words — Yah’s Covenant Love Language

The Ten Commandments (literally Ten Words, Aseret haDibrot) are the foundation of the covenant — the summary of how love is expressed both vertically (toward Yah) and horizontally (toward others).

They are not arbitrary rules, but a marriage covenant written in stone, soon to be written on hearts (Jeremiah 31:33).

The Structure of Divine Love:

Thus, the Ten Words are Yah’s love letter to His people — practical steps of covenant faithfulness.
They reveal His heart: holiness, justice, mercy, and relationship.

3️⃣ Messiah Yeshua: The Word Made Flesh

Yeshua didn’t come to replace the Law but to fill it full — to reveal its spiritual depth and eternal purpose.

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” — Matthew 5:17

“Fulfill” (pleroo) means to bring to fullness — to live out its intent, not to cancel it.

He summarized the entire Torah in two statements:

“You shall love YHVH your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.”
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” — Matthew 22:37–39  (see Deut. 6:4-5)

These two commands summarize the Two Tablets of the Ten Words:

• Love for Yah (Commandments 1–4)
• Love for Others (Commandments 5–10)

The Torah given through Moses expands on these Ten Words — showing what love looks like in everyday life.
Yeshua, filled with the Spirit, filled them with spiritual truth — showing that murder begins with hate, adultery with lust, theft with greed, and false witness with deceit of the heart.
He internalized the covenant.

4️⃣ The Law of Love and the Covenant of Spirit

When the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) was poured out, the Law didn’t vanish — it was relocated from stone to heart.

“I will put My laws into their minds and write them on their hearts.” — Hebrews 8:10

This is Yah’s goal from the beginning — that His people obey out of love, not obligation.

“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome.” — 1 John 5:3

Therefore, the Ten Words are not the “old covenant” — they are the eternal covenant foundation of love, both moral and relational, expanded through the Spirit.

5️⃣ The Connection to Dietary Obedience

Just as the Ten Words define how to love Yah and others, His dietary instructions define how to love through what we consume — respecting His creation order, our own bodies, and His holiness.

They are an extension of the same love language:

• Loving Yah by honoring His design.
• Loving neighbor by modeling holiness and stewardship.
• Loving self by walking in health and obedience.

6️⃣ Summary Thought

YHVH’s Law is not bondage; it is the language of covenant love.
The Ten Words teach us how to love — and Messiah Yeshua teaches us how to live them out by the Spirit.

“By this we know that we love the children of God: when we love God and keep His commandments.” — 1 John 5:2

Through this identity, we don’t “keep the Law to be loved.”
We keep it because we are loved.

🌿 2. God Defines Food, Not Man

“And God said, ‘See, I have given you every herb that yields seed… and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.’”
— Genesis 1:29

“These are the animals which you may eat… and these you shall not eat; they are an abomination to you.”
— Leviticus 11; Deuteronomy 14

From the beginning, God Himself defined what is food.
Humans can eat many things, but not all are food in the Creator’s design.

Clean animals were created to nourish life.
Unclean creatures serve as nature’s “cleanup crew,” designed to consume decay and purify creation — not to be consumed by mankind.

A Loving Father’s Instruction

The dietary commands were never given to burden His children, but to protect and bless them.
Just as a loving father tells his children what is safe and what is harmful, YHVH defines what sustains and what defiles.

“For I am the LORD your God. You shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy.”
— Leviticus 11:44

Holiness is expressed through obedience — even in what we eat.

🩸 3. The Pattern of Clean and Unclean Before Sinai

Long before Moses, the patriarchs already knew the distinction between clean and unclean.

The First Sacrifice

“Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.”
— Genesis 3:21

This first shedding of blood foreshadowed atonement.
It is reasonable to believe God used a clean animal, setting the pattern for what would later be codified in Torah.

Cain and Abel

“Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions.”
— Genesis 4:4

The term “fat portions” (ḥēleb) mirrors Levitical sacrifice language, suggesting these were clean animals suitable for offering — and perhaps, as with later priestly offerings, for food.

Noah’s Knowledge

“Of every clean animal you shall take with you seven pairs… and of the animals that are not clean two.”
— Genesis 7:2

Noah understood clean and unclean animals centuries before Sinai — not only for sacrifice (Genesis 8:20) but likely for nourishment.
God’s later command in Genesis 9:3 (“Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you…” if scripture mentioned food (something eaten) it would be understood as clean)  reaffirming what was already practiced within the covenant line.

🕯️ 4. The Messiah and His Followers Ate Clean

Yeshua (Jesus) never violated the Torah — He fulfilled it perfectly.

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”
— Matthew 5:17

He rebuked traditions that nullified God’s Word, not the Torah itself.
Every faithful Jew of the first century, including the disciples and Paul, ate only what the Torah called food.

Peter’s Vision Interpreted Correctly

“What God has cleansed you must not call common… God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.”
— Acts 10:15, 28

The vision of the sheet was about people, not diet.
Peter himself never ate unclean meat — the vision corrected his view of Gentiles, not God’s dietary laws.

The Jerusalem Council

“For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”
— Acts 15:21

The council’s four initial prohibitions (Acts 15:20) were a starting point for Gentile converts.
They would continue learning the Torah — including dietary instructions — as they grew in faith and identity.

🕎 5. God Does Not Change

“For I am the LORD, I do not change.”
— Malachi 3:6

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
— Hebrews 13:8

If God declared certain animals unclean in Leviticus and abominable to eat, His character and wisdom have not altered.
The “life is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11) — that truth did not expire with Paul’s ministry.

👑 6. Holiness, Identity, and Righteousness

We Are the Temple

“Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you… and you are not your own?”
— 1 Corinthians 6:19–20

Scripture teaches that our bodies are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). Just as the physical Temple in Jerusalem had to remain undefiled for the presence of YHVH to dwell there, so must the vessels of our bodies remain pure. In the same way that priests could not bring what was unclean into the sanctuary, we should not bring what is unclean into the body—the living temple of Elohim.

In Torah, the word adultery carries a broader meaning than mere sexual unfaithfulness. It describes mixture—when something pure becomes corrupted by union with what is impure. This principle appears throughout creation and the commandments: clean and unclean animals, seed not mixed in the same field, garments not woven of wool and linen together. Each distinction teaches us that our Father values purity without mixture.

When food that is clean becomes mixed with what is unclean, it becomes adulterated—its purity lost through contamination. The same principle applies spiritually: when our worship, our conduct, or our appetites are mingled with the profane, the temple becomes defiled. Adulterated food mirrors adulterated faith.

As vessels of His Spirit, we are called to guard the sanctity of the temple. What we consume—both physically and spiritually—should be pure, set apart, and honoring to the One who dwells within. Just as Yeshua cleansed the earthly Temple, we are invited to cleanse our own, keeping it free from mixture so His presence may dwell richly within.

What we eat becomes part of our body, the dwelling place of God’s Spirit.
Choosing clean food honors His presence within us.

Not a Salvation Issue, but a Righteousness Issue

Obedience to dietary commands is not about earning salvation — it’s about living in alignment with the Father’s design.
It’s how children of the Kingdom demonstrate love and reverence.

“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.”
— 1 John 5:3

Set Apart for Holiness

“And you shall be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.”
— Leviticus 20:26

Diet is a powerful daily testimony of identity.
What we eat, or refuse to eat, continually sets us apart — marking us as God’s distinct, covenant people.

🕊️ 7. The Prophets and the Kingdom to Come

“Those who sanctify themselves and purify themselves… eating swine’s flesh and the abomination and the mouse, shall be consumed together, says the LORD.”
— Isaiah 66:17

Even in the prophetic vision of the Kingdom to come, unclean eating is condemned.
Thus, the standard of holiness remains consistent — from Genesis to Revelation.

🌿 8. Conclusion – Walking in Wisdom and Love

A Kingdom-minded believer seeks to honor the Father in all things, even in what goes on their plate.
Obedience to dietary instruction is not bondage — it is freedom to walk in the design of the Creator.
It’s a way of saying daily:

“Father, I trust You more than I trust my own appetite.”

Key Takeaways

“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, and the glory of kings to search it out.”
— Proverbs 25:2

In seeking out these truths, you are walking in the path of kings — honoring the Father by uncovering the treasures He hid in plain sight.