Spiritual Milk I. Introduction and Questions A. As babies, we all survived and grew because we drank milk or consumed a formula designed according to milk B. Without it we would not have made it; our constitutions were not designed to consume or process anything else C. To this same end the Apostles and their associates used milk as a metaphor to describe the life-giving, primary doctrines and practices of the faith D. We do well to consider what they had to say regarding spiritual milk 1. What is meant by "spiritual milk"? 2. Why is "spiritual milk" considered as such? 3. Why is spiritual milk important for all Christians? 4. Why does spiritual milk, on its own, prove insufficient? II. Spiritual Milk A. In the New Testament, milk is understood both as the food which babies consume to survive (1 Peter 2:2), and a foodstuff from animals for adults (1 Corinthians 9:7) B. The metaphor of "spiritual milk" is used in three ways in the New Testament C. Spiritual Milk for the Worldly: 1 Corinthians 3:1-4 1. In 1 Corinthians 1:10-4:21 Paul wrote to correct the Corinthian Christians in their party factionalism driven by cults of personality surrounding preachers 2. He has identified the primary challenge: the Corinthian Christians are thinking in worldly, carnal ways, according to the ways of the world, not according to what God has established in Christ 3. Thus he says he communicated to the Corinthian Christians with "milk," not "meat," because they were carnal/worldly in their thinking, and not spiritual (1 Corinthians 3:1-4) 4. Consider 1 Corinthians 2:1-15 and the need to spiritually discern what God has accomplished in Christ 5. Thus Paul provides one important way to understand spiritual milk: it is the means by which we communicate certain principles of the faith to those who remain ensconced in worldly, carnal ways of thinking, feeling, and acting D. Spiritual Milk for the Immature: Hebrews 5:11-6:3 1. In the midst of his sustained argument regarding Jesus as High Priest in the order of Melchizedek, among other things, the Hebrew author interrupted himself to chastise his audience a bit 2. He said they ought to be teachers by now in the faith, yet because of sluggishness need to be reminded of the first principles of the faith, as needing milk, not meat/solid food 3. Before moving on entirely the Hebrews author elaborated on the kinds of elementary doctrines this would involve for his audience: repentance from dead works, faith toward God, teaching regarding washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment (Hebrews 6:1-2) 4. While we would go beyond what is written to dogmatically insist that only these are the elementary doctrines which constitute "spiritual milk," they are not less than some of those elementary doctrines 5. The Hebrews author thus understands spiritual milk in terms of the doctrines and practices which provide the foundational framework upon which everything else can be built, and lamented how Christians of some age in the faith still required such reinforcement E. Spiritual Milk for Constant Sustenance: 1 Peter 2:2 1. In 1 Peter 2:1-9 Peter exhorts the Christians of Asia Minor to put away malice in relationships and to consider themselves as a living temple of God in Christ through the Spirit, the new Israel 2. In this context he encouraged the Christians of Asia Minor, if they have tasted that the Lord is good, to, as newborn babies, intensely crave the unadulterated, "reasonable/of the word" milk, so they might grow up to salvation (1 Peter 2:2) 3. "Reasonable/of the word" is Greek logike, literally "logical"; as with its use in Romans 12:1, the logike here is indeed "spiritual," but understanding it as "of the word" explicitly associates the milk with what God has made known in Christ through the Spirit and in the Word 4. We do not get the impression that Peter's audience primarily features newborn Christians young in the faith; they seem to already manifest decent faith and trust in God in Christ (e.g. 1 Peter 1:1-12) 5. Peter did not make a contrast between spiritual "milk" and "meat"; while one might argue he used the metaphor in a way consistent with Paul and the Hebrews author, it remains just as likely, that Peter has in mind Deuteronomy 8:3 and the premise that Christians in humility must continually find nourishment from the Word of God, whether more basic or more advanced understandings of doctrine or practice 6. Thus Peter envisioned Christians as those who continually yearn for the lifegiving milk of the Word of God to grow up unto salvation F. Spiritual milk, therefore, represents sustenance from God through what He has made known in God in Christ; in contrast to spiritual meat it involves the basic, fundamental doctrines and principles of the faith which can be understood by the worldly and the spiritually immature III. Milk Versus Meat A. We have seen how Peter in 1 Peter 2:2 envisions the spiritual instruction and development in Christ based on the Word as the "pure milk" which we ought to crave and in which we find sustenance; in that sense, all the truth of God in Christ is such "milk" B. Yet both Paul and the Hebrews author have differentiated "milk" from "meat" (1 Corinthians 3:1-3, Hebrews 5:11-6:2); we do well to consider what would be "milk" according to this contrast C. The Hebrews author listed out some elementary principles in Hebrews 6:1-2 1. Repentance from dead works: changing one's heart and mind away from dependence on works of the law 2. Faith toward God: belief, certainly, but movement toward trust in relationship; understanding what faith demands 3. Teaching regarding washings: the plural "baptisms" might relate to different kinds or natures of washings, thus differentiating ritual cleansings under the Law, or the baptism of John, from baptism in Jesus' name for the remission of sins (Acts 19:1-9, etc.) 4. Laying on of hands: perhaps having something to do with the charismata of the age; otherwise about who should be commissioned to do what and how 5. Resurrection of the dead: what it means, what it demands, how it transforms everything 6. Eternal judgment: the promise of Jesus' imminent return, the importance of preparation, expectation of judgment based on what is done in the body D. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 3:1-4, would speak of spiritual milk as instruction given so as to be understandable to those carnally minded, or at least less able to be perverted by the carnally minded for selfish gain E. From these we can ascertain principles of the faith we could deem "milk" 1. The fundamentals of the Gospel: the story of God's creation, work in Israel, promise of Jesus, Jesus' life, death, resurrection, ascension, lordship, and imminent return 2. The basic principles of righteousness and sin, the works of the flesh versus the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-24) 3. Participation in the assemblies of the local church and the acts thereof (Hebrews 10:25, etc.) 4. Importance of hearing the Word, prayer, etc. F. These are the principles of doctrine and practice which provide the foundation of the faith, can be understood by all who have a desire to hear, and which ought to be practiced IV. The Importance of Spiritual Milk A. So why is spiritual milk so important? B. For those who are learning of the faith, or Christians young in the faith, spiritual milk is essential for appropriate faith development! 1. Those who are being introduced to the faith need to hear the basic principles of the faith and what it means for them 2. Those first few months after conversion are crucial for faith development: what is experienced at that time will shape that person's faith for the rest of their lives! 3. If the foundation is not well built, or mixed with a lot of worldliness or tradition, or does not aspire very highly, such things will become manifest in the faith development of that person 4. Crucial reality: faith development is much more than the transmission of information, although it is not less; emphasis must be placed on learning how to live righteously, avoid sin, pray, assemble, etc. through practice C. Yet for those more advanced in the faith, spiritual milk remains important 1. As noted, Peter considered yearning for the pure milk of the Word as important for Christians as long as they are growing into salvation (1 Peter 2:2)! 2. Peter himself would seek to remind Christians of the basic principles of the faith they were taught (2 Peter 1:13-15, 3:1-2) 3. We must not become as the audience of the Hebrews author, having grown so sluggish as to need to be reacquainted with the fundamentals of the faith (Hebrews 5:11-14)! 4. The elementary principles of the faith remain strong, sound, and important no matter how long we have practiced the faith; we ought to continually remind ourselves of the story because different parts and elements will impact us differently based upon where we are in our lives and what we have experienced 5. From beginning to end the Scriptures return over and over again to the basic story of the people of God and the work God is doing through them and the hope of glory they maintain; continual reinforcement is of great importance! D. Thus spiritual milk remains important for us no matter how long we have maintained the faith V. The Insufficiency of Spiritual Milk A. As important as spiritual milk is, as the Hebrews author declares in Hebrews 5:11-14, it is not sufficient! B. In saying this we make no reference to 1 Peter 2:2, for Peter speaks of all spiritual instruction in God in Christ through the Spirit as the milk for which we ought to yearn C. Instead, we speak as Paul and the Hebrews author spoke, for both expected their audience to grow so as to be able to consume spiritual "meat" as well as spiritual "milk"! 1. 1 Corinthians 3:1-3: the Corinthian Christians had not yet developed spiritual understanding and behavior so as to understand Paul as he would wish 2. Hebrews 5:11-6:3: the Hebrews author was really addressing matters of spiritual "meat," and challenged his audience to rise to the occasion D. We may have survived on milk as babies, but we only grew and developed to maturity by transitioning onto "meat"/solid food; we might still have milk in our diet, but our diet must be more varied if we were to grow: thus it is spiritually as well E. A spiritual diet of only "milk" without much "meat" or "solid food" will invariably lead to spiritual "failure to thrive": Christians stuck at a low spiritual developmental level, with stunted growth F. We must therefore never become dogmatic about spiritual milk and scorn spiritual "meat"/solid food: we must live on both if we would grow in Christ! VI. Conclusion A. We have considered spiritual milk B. Spiritual milk represents the basics of the faith in doctrine and practice; in a sense it can refer to all that which we derive from the Word C. Spiritual milk is utterly crucial to the proper foundation and growth in faith, both in terms of doctrine and practice, for those coming to learn of the faith and new in the faith D. Spiritual milk remains essential for continual reinforcement throughout one's life as a Christian E. Yet we must grow in the faith and pursue spiritual "meat"/solid food as well as spiritual milk if we would properly glorify and honor God in Christ F. May we all find sustenance from the spiritual milk of the Word of God and grow into salvation in Christ Jesus! G. Invitation Scripture, Meditation, and Application 1: I fed you with milk, not with meat; for ye were not yet able to bear it: nay, not even now are ye able (1 Corinthians 3:2). Paul and the Hebrews author used the metaphor of milk to describe the basic principles of the doctrine and practice of the faith in Christ. Paul was concerned the Corinthian Christians were still worldly, and thus could not handle spiritually substantive exhortation. He spoke to them about the truths of God in Christ in ways they would understand in their present condition. Why should Christians start out with spiritual milk? 2: Wherefore leaving the doctrine of the first principles of Christ, let us press on unto perfection; not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the teaching of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment (Hebrews 6:1-2). The Hebrews author set forth certain principles he considered to be first, as spiritual milk. They featured repentance from dead works, faith in God, washings, laying on of hands, the resurrection, and the judgment. This list was never meant to be exclusive. They show how the basics of the faith involve the Gospel and the story of God's interactions with people; righteousness and sin; assembling with the saints; praying and daily habits; and so on. We return to these fundamentals frequently in our lives in faith. What do you believe represents the "spiritual milk" for Christians? 3: For when by reason of the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need again that some one teach you the rudiments of the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of solid food. For every one that partaketh of milk is without experience of the word of righteousness; for he is a babe (Hebrews 5:12-13). The Hebrews author challenged his audience to seek to understand the spiritual "meat" he was teaching. In so doing he made it clear how spiritual "milk," on its own, is insufficient. Yes, it proves necessary for the young Christian to grow. But as with physical milk and meat, so with spiritual milk and meat: without growing into a diet of solid food, the Christian will fail to thrive. What happens if Christians consume only spiritual milk without any meat? 4: As newborn babes, long for the spiritual milk which is without guile, that ye may grow thereby unto salvation (1 Peter 2:2). Peter used the illustration of spiritual milk without reference to spiritual meat. That which is from the Word of God and gives sustenance is considered spiritual milk, and all Christians should yearn for it so as to grow into their salvation. Christians do well to always return to spiritual milk for constant refreshment and sustenance. Why is it important for Christians to be continually reminded and refreshed in the story of what God has accomplished in Christ?