What makes God’s recipe for success so good?
With all the social media, blogs, shows, and online podcasts, some of the most popular programs out there involve food recipes and cooking competitions. It is no secret that food has important nutritional values to health, but it also plays an important role in enhancing personal experiences, and cultural values. The same can be said for what is called God’s “Spiritual food” and its ability to feed us. What is His Spiritual food and what is God’s recipe for success in life and eternity?
What is God’s Spiritual food?
When you look at Scripture, we can see how “Spiritual Food” provides many of the same things to us as physical food.
Nutritionally, “consuming” God’s Spiritual Food feeds our healthy growth in faith
Psalms 92:12-15. “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13 Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; 15 To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”
1 Peter 2:1-3. “​Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, 2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: 3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”
Personally, “consuming” God’s Spiritual Food fills and makes us content with what we have:
1 Timothy 6:6-10. “But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
Philippians 4:11-13. “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
Culturally, “consuming” God’s Spiritual Food enables us to love God and others as ourselves: (Luke 10:27). We see a reference to this “Spiritual food” as follows:
Deuteronomy 8:1-3. “All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers. 2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. 3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.”
God’s Spiritual food is the Word of God
We see from these verses that God’s Spiritual food is the Word of God. The Word of God is Jesus and is written in our Bibles (Deuteronomy 6:4-9; John 1:1, 14). Therefore, like physical food full fills our daily physical needs, the Word of God fulfills our Spiritual needs, which includes the needs of our flesh, our desires, and our worthiness. We see many references to this Spiritual food, a few are listed here as follows:
Matthew 4:2-4. “And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
Matthew 5:6. “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”
John 6:32-35.“Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. 34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. 35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.“
Hebrews 5:12-14. “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. 13 For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”
Jeremiah 15:16. “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.”
John 4:12-15. “Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? 13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. 15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.”
What happens when we go without God’s Spiritual food?
When we try to satisfy our needs without God’s Spiritual food, the Bible, we hunger for righteousness because we cannot satisfy our Spiritual hunger without God’s Word. This leads to sin because we are focused on selfishly satisfying physical desires, not seeking God’s provision and guidance for Spiritual needs. We see this in use of the word, lust and pride, as follows:
1 John 2:15-17. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”
Here we see that the roots of sin are based on selfishly satisfying the lusts of our flesh (physical); to satisfy our lusts to have things we see (emotional); and to satisfy our lusts for pridefully exalting ourselves (spiritual). Without Spiritual food, we starve. This is why as believers we are called to minister to those that are Spiritually hungry to help them see their need for God to feed them Spiritually. In doing so, if they reject God, they are without excuse when they are condemned by Him at the end of their life.
Romans 12:17-21. “Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”
God’s recipe for success has great ingredients
Now that we know what God’s Spiritual food is, what is His recipe for success in life and eternity? Like a good food recipe, the first thing to consider are the ingredients that go into it. For example, one of my favorite meals is spaghetti with meat sauce and a large hot dog shaped link of Italian sausage. This is because as a boy, we had a branch of our family that was Italian and introduced me to Italian sausage, which I thought was amazing. However, my mother, who was not Italian, made spaghetti with meat sauce.
So, on the rare occasion I had the opportunity to eat spaghetti with meat sauce and if there was an Italian sausage link available, I made sure I added it to my plate. So, the meal was nutritious, it tasted amazing, and it drew me closer to our Italian family members, which gave me a love for Italian food to this day.
What are the ingredients in God’s recipe for us?
So, what are the ingredients in God’s recipe that are nutritious, taste amazing, and draws us closer to one another in Christ and love for God’s Spiritual food? We can look up His recipe in 2 Peter 1:1-15. To start, He has provided everything we need to create this Spiritual food but invites us to taste what it is He has to offer first.
1. Salvation by Grace through Faith
2 Peter 1:1-4.​”Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
We see here the first ingredient is God’s invitation to His table with the promise that dining with Him will be a peaceful, lively, glorious, and very good time for us to partake of His Godliness. As we get to know Him, we see He is very gracious and promises us great things will come out of getting to know each other. These promises assure us that we can be safe in His family, share common values, and a wonderful future. When we trust what He has to offer, we realize that He has saved us from all that has gone wrong in our past and by His grace, we have a bright future in newness of life. (Read Romans 5-6; Hebrews 11:1; Galatians 2:20-3:7) Other information can be found at: Got Jesus?
2. The power to live a virtuous life by faith
2 Peter 1:5. “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;”
We see here the second ingredient is God’s power for us to live a virtuous new life through the power of faith by the Holy Spirit that lives in us as believers. We can learn more about how to become a Spiritually mature Christian and the power of God the Holy Spirit through other verses. (Read Luke 16:19; Philippians 4:8). More information that can be found at: How can I become a Spiritually mature Christian?
3. Knowledge and Wisdom
2 Peter 1:5. “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;”
We see here the third ingredient is God blessing us with knowledge of His Wisdom. From Wisdom, like spices, we see many things in this ingredient listed in Proverbs 1:1-9 that affects the whole recipe. Things such as judgment, justice, equity, subtilty, discretion, ability to learn, understanding of Biblical counsels, parental instruction and the fear of the Lord, and others:
Proverbs 1:1-7. ​1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel.
2 To know wisdom and instruction;
to perceive the words of understanding;
3 To receive the instruction of wisdom,
justice, and judgment, and equity;
4 To give subtilty to the simple,
to the young man knowledge and discretion.
5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning;
and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
6 To understand a proverb, and the interpretation;
the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge:
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father,
and forsake not the law of thy mother:
9 For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head,
and chains about thy neck.
The amazing thing about this ingredient is that it makes you realize that the Holy Spirit living in you is real and He enables you to understand, know, and remember things at the spur of the moment. Things such as understanding Bible verses or verses that pop into your mind in certain situations. It is so empowering and encompassing that you feel like you have a new mind and ability to do new things you could not do before. (Read 2 Timothy 3:15-16) More information can be found at: Make up your mind.
4. Temperance against temptation
2 Peter 1:6. “And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;”
We see here the fourth ingredient is God enabling us with the ability to have self-control (temperance) and avoid being tempted to do the wrong thing. When we think of a knife or some other item made with tempered steel or glass, we know that being tempered enables it to withstand extremely high temperatures, pressures, and abuse. God does the same for us with temperance, which enables us to go through the heat of challenges; pressure to do ungodly things that destroy us; and personal attacks by others. Overall, we experience the ability to go through difficult things through temperance provided by Christ! (Read Philippians 4:13; 1 Corinthians 9:25; Proverbs 16:32, 25:28). More information can be found at: What does the bible teach Jesus did to resist temptation?.
5. Patience to do what is right
2 Peter 1:6. “And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;”
We see here the fifth ingredient is God enabling us with the ability to have patience to do what is right. As we learn self-control and temperance, God helps us to become like Him when it comes to waiting for things to change or happen. As new believers, we are like babies. We are fussy, we make messes, and we are consumed with having our own needs met. But, as we get older and more mature, we learn how to work through things that are difficult and tolerate the immaturity of others. Like a parent, God enables us to have the patience we need to deal with babies when they make a fuss about getting what they want or making messes. With time as we teach them, they too mature as we hope they become like us and even better. (Read Psalms 37:7, 40:1-3; James 1:3; Romans 5:1-4).
6. An attitude of Godliness
2 Peter 1:6. “And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;“
We see here the sixth ingredient is God teaching us to be Godly like Him. Like children that are trained by their parents to have certain physical, emotional, and Spiritual ways of doing things, we grow up to be like our parents. Likewise, as we spend in time God’s Word and around brothers and sisters in Christ, we become a family that thinks, acts, and believes the same things our Heavenly Father teaches us. He wants us to be Holy because He is holy and in doing so, we can live a wonderful life together for eternity. (Read 1 Peter 1:15-16; 1 John 2:15-3:10). More information can be found at: Are we all God’s children?
7. Brotherly Kindness
2 Peter 1:7. “And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.”
We see here the seventh ingredient is God taking us into His family where we learn to be kind to others in the family of God as if they were a family member. We share a common Father, so as brothers, and sisters, we develop close relationships just like close family members and treat them the same way. As a family we also take care of each other and share our hope, dreams, and struggles. (Read Proverbs 17:17; Romans 12:9-13). More information can be found at: Invisible brother and A house divided cannot stand.
8. Charity toward others
2 Peter 1:7. “And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.“
We see here the eighth ingredient is God calling us to love others in ways that motivate us to sacrificially serve them. Although we have brothers and sisters in Christ, God wants us to love others unconditionally and sacrificially. This means that we actively work to provide for the needs of people we do not know as brothers and sisters in Christ. As Jesus said, we should love God first and our neighbor as ourselves. This means we esteem others and hold them in a higher regard than ourselves.
This is the basis of the word, charity, which has its roots in the Greek word “Charis”, meaning a Spiritually based love and is the basis of serving others at no profit to us. This is why the Bible describes love as charity, which is an action, not an emotion, and teaches us that our works only count as good in the eyes of God if we are motivated by love toward other others as the reason for doing them. (Read 1 Corinthians 13; Galatians 5:13-18; James 2:8-9) More information can be found at: Blessed to love and serve.
God’s recipe for success makes a great meal
As we can see, like all meals, there are ingredients. As we get to know others and bring them into our family, we experience new tastes, ways to cook, and ways of serving meals. We grow together, physically, emotionally and Spiritually and learn to reject things that are not good for our us and add other ingredients to make us better. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we share what we learn is God’s recipe for success in life and eternity so that we can all grow to be like our Heavenly Father as members of His family. Each one of us should share our recipe with one another so we can all grow together.
Final Thoughts
In God’s recipe, we are trying to accomplish success. Therefore, to know what God’s recipe of success looks and tastes like, we must look at what God describes as success. Finally, we can all look toward to that day when we as a family get called to our Heavenly Father’s table for the meal above all meals. That meal will be a big part of our coming together to celebrate the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. It will also provide us the physical, emotional, and Spiritual strength to be part of His family forever as He creates a new and a new earth for us to live in for eternity. May we all keep working on our recipes and invite others to join us. Read about it in Revelation 19:1-22:21 and other information can be found at: Are you an overcomer?
