1 Timothy 4:1-5 - Can pork be made holy?

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 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 Timothy 4:1-5 ESV

This passage is frequently used to say that anything and everything that a person might eat can be sanctified simply by praying over it or pronouncing a few Bible verses over it, but is that really what Paul meant? Maybe he actually meant that the declaration of God (not man) is what makes something holy or unclean. That everything that God created is good, but only if you use it for the purposes and in the way that God instructed.

Wild Branch Community is a home fellowship of Torah-observant believers in Texas between Houston and Austin. We are centrally located near Brenham, Burton, Somerville, Navasota, Chappell Hill, and Round Top. Find out more about us at https://WildBranchTX.org.