Milk or Meat of the Word, which one are you satisfied with?

Answers to Bible Questions

Scriptures are from the KJV of the Bible

(Q)  Milk or Meat of the Word, which one are you satisfied with?

 

(A)  Are you satisfied to know the simple things of God’s Word? In the physical realm, milk is essential and needful for babes. Likewise in the spiritual realm “ newborn spiritual babes” desire the sincere (pure, unadulterated) milk of the Word that they may grow thereby as it says in 1 Peter 2: 2:  ²As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

But, as the physical babe cannot grow to adulthood on milk alone, neither can “spiritual babes” grow to men and women of God on “the milk of the Word.” There must come a time when the babe begins to assimilate solid food or “meat.”

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers and reminded them that he “determined not to know anything among them, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” 1Corinthians 2:2. This was all they could understand at the time due to their carnality. He continues in 1 Corinthians 3:1-4: ¹And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.  ²I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.  ³For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?  ⁴For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

From these Scriptures it is evident that “being satisfied with the simple things” is actually a mark of carnality. Without a doubt this carnal attitude has contributed largely to the wide-spread Illiteracy in Bible knowledge among God’s people in our day. Instead of being men and women of God, many are still “children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine!’ Ephesians 4: 14.

Before going on I want to define some of the words found in the above verses from 1 Corinthians 3: 1-4. 

(1) The term “spiritual” is applied to those who not only possess the Spirit, but who also walk in the Spirit. See Galatians 5: 16.
(2) The term “Carnal” in the Greek is sarkikos which has the meaning of walking after the flesh or controlled by the animal appetites, governed by human nature.
(3) “Milk,” means easy to digest “spiritually.”
(4) “Meat,” meaning solid food or the deeper “spiritual” things of God’s Word.
(5) “Bear,” is used metaphorically here of keeping food down or digesting it; “spiritually,” God’s Word.

1 Corinthians 2 and 3 deal with four classes of men into which the Bible divides the human race spiritually: (1) The natural man:  1 Cor.2:14:  ¹⁴But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.(2) The babe in Christ: 1 Cor.3:1, (3)  The carnal, or fleshly, Christian: 1 Cor.3:1, (4) The spiritual man of God: 1 Cor. 2:15: ¹⁵But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

In 1 Cor. 3: 1-4 quoted above the apostle Paul deals with the carnal Christian, for this is what the Corinthians believers, as a whole, were. Verse 1 bears special attention. ¹And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.Note the words “could not.” Why could he not? Verse 3 tells us: “you are yet carnal.” The word “yet,” indicates that they had been believers for some time, but had not grown, spiritually, thus they had to be dealt with as babes in Christ.

This “yet” reminds us of Heb. 5:12, where Paul writes to the Hebrew believers:

“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.”

The Corinthians fell into this same category. By now they should have been teachers of the Word, spiritual men of God, but they had not grown. Had they been new believers, babes in Christ, there would have been some excuse for their condition, but though believers for some years now, they simply had not grown, so Paul had to deal with them as though they were still babes.

Thus we learn that those who, though born of the Spirit, do not grow spiritually are called “carnal” Christians and must be dealt with as babes in Christ. This casts light upon the fact that in this letter the apostle had to continue along the line indicated in 1 Cor. 2:2, for the carnal Christian, like the babe inChrist, can take in the fact that Christ died for him, but can digest little more than this.

The carnal Christian continues in a state of protracted infancy. He must be kept exclusively on a milk diet because, though saved for years, he is still unable to “bear,” or digest, solid food, still “unskillful in the Word,” and needing to be taught the elementary things.

 BELIEVERS RESPONSIBLE TO GROW: Let us put it down, and never forget it: God holds believers responsible to grow to spiritual manhood through sincere and diligent study of the Word. To the newly saved He says: “As newborn babes, desire the sincere (pure) milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby,” I Pet. 2:2.  Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, II Pet. 3: 18.

And to all believers He says: “For every one that useth milk  (exclusively) is unskillful in the Word of righteousness, for he is a babe. “But strong meat (solid food)  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.

“Therefore leaving the principles (basics)  of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection (maturity),Heb. 3: 13; 6:1.

“That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; “But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ” Eph. 4:14,15.

How many believers in Christ today are content with simply being in Christ, and just as content with their present beliefs and religious practices, and esteem them to be more precious than gaining Christ? How many of us who are in Christ are content with our own righteousness which is of our denominational form of the “Christian Religion” and are not interested in having that righteousness, which is through the faith of Christ, that righteousness which is of God.

In Acts 3:1-8, we read of a lame man that was healed by Jesus Christ through Peter and John. In verse 7, we read that Peter “took him by the right hand and lifted him up” The Greek word here is egeiro. Peter aroused him. Through this arousing, “immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.” He then had the ability and potential to stand up and walk. “And he leaping up stood, and walked,” v. 8. Notice that Peter did not stand him up, he simply took him by the hand and aroused him. The lame man, his feet having been strengthened through the arousing, leaped up, and standing up on his own strengthened feet, he began to walk by his own effort.

This is the way it must be also with us. God did not stand us up together with Christ, He simply took us by the hand, as it were, and aroused us together with Christ. Through this, our feet, as it were, in like manner having been strengthened, we also should stand up and begin to walk in newness of life by our own effort. Because we have been enabled to walk in the likeness of Christ’s resurrection, by the power of His resurrection through our identification with Him in His death, and His arousing out from among the dead, ( spiritually dead). Yet, instead of leaping up to stand up and walk, praising God, as did the man in Acts 3, most “of us are just sitting there and complaining, or making excuses. (still on the milk of the Word)

In Eph. 5:14, the apostle Paul gave us a directive from the Scriptures. He said: “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” The word “awake” is the Greek word egeiro. The word “arise” here is the Greek word  (anistemi), which means to stand up. It is the root word for anastasis, “resurrection.” So here we have the arousing command, to wake up, as out of sleep. Then the directive, to stand up, as out from among the dead ones. And the result will be (literally) that Christ shall shine upon you. But notice the next verse, v. 15: “See then that ye walk.” Notice the progression: wake up, stand up,  walk. And how are we to walk? “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is” Eph. 5:15-17. (Grow spiritually, start digesting solid food). Paul in 1 Cor. 14:37 tells us we should be studying and learning the things he writes in his letters because: ³⁷If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. ³⁸But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.If you don’t study Paul’s Epistles, you will remain ignorant of God’s special program for the Body of Christ of which all believers are a part of today, but most believers don’t even know they are part of the Body of Christ. So to be ignorant of Paul’s writings means you are still a “babe” in Christ, and you are still in need of milk. Paul’s Writings are the “meat” of the Word, learn all you can of it!

In Rom. 13:11-14, the apostle Paul said: “Knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake [egeiro] out of sleep: for now IS our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” Again notice the progression: “awake [egeiro] out of sleep” (as out from among the dead – v. 11) – “cast off the works of darkness” and “put on the armour of light” (as standing up and getting dressed for action – v. 12 – “let us walk”  v. 13,14. This will get us “on our toes,” or standing up and
walking, (toward spiritual maturity).

I hope you realize that in order to comprehend the things written in the Bible, you need to have God’s Holy Spirit dwelling within you, 1 Corinthians 2:  9-16:  ⁹But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. ¹⁰But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. ¹¹For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. ¹²Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. ¹³Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. ¹⁴But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. ¹⁶For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

If we are true believers in Christ, we should not remain in the baby stage of our Christian life, but get up on our feet and start walking, searching for the deep spiritual meat of God’s Word as it say’s in Ephesians 3: 17-19: ¹⁷That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; ¹⁹And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Why should we be concerned with the deeper spiritual things in God’s Word, especially the Apostle Paul? Romans 2: 16:  ¹⁶In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. At our judgment day it will make a big difference, because we will be judged only according to Paul’s gospel which is different from the gospel given to the 12 Apostles. Ephesians 3: 1-10: ¹For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,  ²If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: ³How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, ⁴Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) ⁵Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; ⁶That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: ⁷Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. ⁸Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; ⁹And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: ¹⁰To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, Paul’s gospel is loaded with meat, the deep spiritual things of God.

In conclusion, we all need to be growing in grace and knowledge of God’s Word and get out of that milk stage, because you will lose blessings and rewards at the Judgment  seat of Christ if you don’t: 1 Cor. 3:9-17:  ⁹For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. ¹⁰According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. ¹¹For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹²Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; ¹³Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. ¹⁴If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. ¹⁵If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. ¹⁶Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? ¹⁷If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Are you satisfied with the milk of God’s Word, or do you desire the meat that you may grow into a mature Christian? God wants you to dig out the real meat of His Word and grow up. Is that what you want? Do you want to remain a babe in Christ? I hope not!

Maranatha (Lord come)

John