“Pastor Ronald, ang ibig po ba bang sabihin ng 1 Timothy 4:4–5 ay kapag ipinanalangin ko ang hilaw na hipon, mawawala ang parasites at maaari ko na itong kainin?”

Question:

“Pastor Ronald, ibig po ba sabihin ng 1 Timothy 4:4–5 na kapag ang hipon ay may parasites at ipinanalangin ko ito, lilinisin ng Diyos at mawawala ang parasites para maging 100% clean at pwede nang kainin kahit hilaw?”

Answer:

Good question! Ayusin natin ’to nang malinaw, pastoral, at may sense hindi mystical, hindi magical, at hindi literalistic ang dating!

Ano ba talaga ang meaning ng 1 Timothy 4:4–5?

“For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.” (1 Tim. 4:4–5)

Context first, Hindi instant interpretation. Paul is correcting false teachers (v. 1–3) who were forbidding:

• Marriage
• certain foods

Ito yung Gnostic/ascetic heresy na nagsasabing “mas holy kung hindi kakain ng maraming bagay.” Kaya ang point ni Paul: “Hindi ka nagiging holy dahil may kinakain ka o hindi. Ang pagkain ay hindi spiritual issue except kung ginagamit mo ito para gumawa ng maling doctrine.” Therefore: Hindi sinasabi ni Paul na ang prayer ay nagiging “sterilizer,” “antibiotic,” o “microscope cleanser.” Hindi ganito interpretation: “Lord, cleanse this shrimp…” ➡POOF! Parasite magically disappears! Paul is talking about moral & ceremonial purity, not biological sanitizing.

Ano ang ibig sabihin ng “made holy by the word of God and prayer”?

1. Word of God

Ibig sabihin: Pinapayagan ng Diyos na kainin.(Gen. 9:3 lahat ng gumagalaw ay ibinigay sa tao bilang pagkain) This is not about parasites. This is about permission, not purification.

2. Prayer

Pagpapasalamat, not parasite removal. Prayer makes food set apart, meaning:

• You acknowledge God as the giver
• You eat with gratitude
• You aren’t worshiping food rules

Again, hindi ito physical cleansing mechanism.

Kaya kung may parasite ba, nawawala ba dahil sa prayer?

Short, simple, biblical answer: NO. Prayer does NOT remove parasites, bacteria, toxins, or viruses from food. God calls you to pray, but He also calls you to use wisdom, stewardship, and basic hygiene, which He Himself built into the created order. Even Paul told Timothy: “Use a little wine for your stomach” (1 Tim. 5:23) Hindi niya sinabi: “Mag-pray ka at mawawala ang bacteria.”

Kung raw shrimp with parasites… pwede bang kainin basta ipinag-pray?

Again: HINDI. If your microscope shows Scutariella or Holtodrilus, prayer does not biochemically sterilize the flesh. God does not override natural law just because you prayed before eating sashimi. Pag nag-pray ka ng: “Lord, bless this food”… the blessing is:

✔ gratitude

✔ acknowledgment of God

✔ setting apart in worship

✘ NOT sterilization

✘ NOT removal of parasites

✘ NOT chemical cleansing

Kung prayer ang sterilization, sana wala nang food poisoning sa Christian gatherings. Pero andami pa ding sumasakit ang tiyan pag panis ang pansit sa church anniversary. 

So what does 1 Timothy 4:4-5 teach?

Tunay na meaning (in one solid paragraph):

Paul teaches that all foods are morally permissible under the New Covenant and Christians are free from Old Testament clean/unclean dietary laws. Food becomes “holy” not because its biological composition changes, but because it is received gratefully with acknowledgment of God’s provision (“by the word of God”) and prayer. The passage deals with spiritual permission, not physical purification.

VI. Practical application for your shrimp question

If looking under a microscope, you see parasites…

• Huwag mo kainin raw.
• Lutuin mo with proper heat (parasites die at high temperatures).
• Pray with thanksgiving — not to sterilize it, but to honor God.

Faith does not cancel wisdom. Prayer does not cancel biology. And 1 Timothy 4:4-5 does not promise parasite deletion.

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