Two Levels of Biblical Teaching: “Are You Growing in the Word?”

Milk – The Basic Level

First of all, there are the basic teachings of the Word.  As believers, we don’t begin at the “mature level” within God’s Kingdom; instead, we are all “birthed” into His kingdom as “newborn babes,” and so in his first epistle (letter), Shi’mon (Peter) gives the following admonition to those of us who are new to the faith:

As newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted of the kindness of the Lord. (I Peter 2:2-3, emphasis mine)

In this reference, the word translated “milk” is the Greek word gala, which refers, not to “cow’s milk,” which I use to think growing up, but then realized, as an adult, that it referred to “breast milk.”  And truly, all “newborn babes” seek to be nursed and fed by their mothers.  Likewise, when we are new to the faith, we should likewise seek to be fed with the “pure milk” of God’s word.

What is the “Milk of the Word”?

People cannot just jump into difficult concepts of any discipline, even if they are biblical ones, but they must begin with the basics.  The “milk of the word” is the basic concepts of Scripture.  Just like a newborn, if we try to take on more than we can “chew” or “digest,” we will “choke” on it.  God being a good Father knows what we can handle and what is too much for us to understand.  All new believers need the basics, the “milk,” for them to grow and develop properly.

As a result, new believers should not jump right into the “deep things of God,” but they should focus on “drinking in” and “digesting” the “milk” (or basic teachings) of the Word.  But what are the “basics”?  The writer of Hebrews provides us with an answer to this question:

Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ [Messiah], let us go on unto perfection (or a state of completeness and maturity); not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this we will do, if God permits.  (Hebrews 6:1-3)

In these three verses, the writer identifies six concepts that constitute the basic “principles” or concepts of “the doctrine of Christ [Messiah],” or in other words, “the milk of the Word.”  They are —

1. Repentance from dead works;
2. Faith toward God;
3. The doctrine of baptisms;
4. The laying on of hands;
5. The resurrection of the dead; and
6. Eternal Judgment.

These six basic beliefs constitute the “milk” of the word and, therefore, should constitute the “food” (or content of study) of each new believer. Once these teachings have been mastered by the new believer, then God will begin to introduce you to deeper and deeper truths, the “meat” (or “solid foods” within His Word.

However, the problem comes, when we don’t submit to the leading of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) and we refuse to move on into God’s deeper teachings.  The deeper teachings cannot just be easily taken in, but they require us to “chew” on them a bit before we can properly “digest” them, and make them an intricate part of our lives.   Just like a toddler being weaned off of nursing and being introduced to “solid foods,” the believers may not be receptive to these deeper teachings at the beginning.

But imagine what would happen to a child who refused to eat solid foods, and insisted on continuing to nurse?   For a little while that might be fine, but what if the child continues this for five, ten, or fifteen years?   We would definitely say that there was a problem here.  The child would end up being weak and malnourished, and would not grow as the child ought. Most people would be shocked at a ten-year-old child still being nursed; for example, they would question the mother, “Why is this child still being nursed?” Yet in many churches, there are numerous believers who have been in the faith for a number of years, and yet they are still struggling with the “milk” (or “breast milk”) of God’s Word and have not submitted to the leading of the Spirit when God has been trying to wean them off the “milk” and to get them to start “chewing on” and “eating” the more “solid foods” from His Word.

An example of this can be seen in the believing Community at Corinth. The congregation there should have been further along in their spiritual development than they were, and this frustrated Rav Sha’ul (Paul).

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ [Messiah].  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto you were not able to bear it, neither yet now are you able.  For you are still carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are you not carnal, and walk as men?  (I Corinthians 3:1-3)

God, through Rav Sha’ul (Paul), shows His frustration because He wanted to take this congregation into the deep things of God, but He could not.  Why? Because as Rav Sha’ul (Paul) notes, these believers were full of divisions and strife, and were still acting as spiritual infants, i.e., “carnal.”  This word “carnal,” is the English translation of the Greek word sarkikos (Strong’s #4559), which means “bodily, temporal, unregenerate, or animal.”  In other words, when we follow our natural, “unregenerate” or “animalistic” desires, attitudes, values, beliefs, etc., then we are being “carnal.”  The Torah and the book of Judges describe it this way: “they did what was right n their own eyes” (Deuteronomy 12:8; Judges 21:25), and they did not follow the ways of God.

Those who are babes in the Lord act “carnal” because they have not had enough training and experience yet to have grown spiritually and to “renew their mind.”  However, there comes a point where we all need “to grow up in the faith,” and to quit acting “childish.”

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.  (Romans 12:1-2)

How do we “renew” our minds?  By studying the Scriptures, and by allowing God through His Spirit to mold and shape our values, thoughts, and desires to those which line up with the Word of God.  This happens as we “pick up our cross daily,” follow the Messiah, and submit ourselves to the leading of the Ruach (Spirit), trusting and obeying Him, and as we do these things, we become conformed more and more to His image.

However, rather than growing up and renewing their mind by studying the Scriptures and learning how to “crucify the flesh,” these believers were still following their natural human instincts and behavior, rather than submitting to the kingship of God in their lives and the leading of the Ruach (Spirit).  As long as we continue to follow our natural, “unregenerate” or “animalistic” nature, we will not spiritually grow and develop as we should, but we will, instead, remain “carnal,” which is not a state that brings joy or pleasure to God.

Not only was this a problem for the believers in Corinth, Greece, but it was also a problem for the Jewish believers as well.  In the book of Hebrews,  for example, the writer tells his Jewish audience that they should have been teachers by now, but they too were still struggling with the basics.

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary [or basic] principles of the oracles [or Word] of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.  For everyone who [continues to] partake only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.  But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.  (Hebrews 5:12-14)

Thus, the writer of Hebrews is telling us that God’s intention for His people is that they would develop or “grow” from being a spiritual infant (or carnally-minded believer) to becoming fully mature (or spiritually minded).   As long as the believer is in the “infant stage,” he or she needs to focus on mastering the basics of the faith (the “milk”), in learning to “pick up their cross daily,” and in “renewing their mind.”  However, it is God’s design that every believer moves out of “spiritual infancy” and to properly grow up and develop by moving on and eating the “strong meat” (or more advanced level teachings) of Scripture.

But why weren’t these Jewish believers growing as they ought?  Because they were continuing to “partake only of milk,” rather than allowing God to “wean them from it,” and begin giving them the stronger “meat” or “solid food” of His Word.   For the “solid food” is not for the carnal, or the spiritual babes, but “for the mature.”  One cannot just claim to be mature, one must grow into a mature believer by practicing having “their senses trained to discern good and evil.”  We are not born being able to “discern good and evil;” if we were, we would not have to “practice” to have our “senses trained” to know the difference between the two.

Now does this mean we should go out and practice evil so that we know what it is?  Absolutely not!  No, we all know evil, it is the human default.  It is good that we need to learn.  Some may say, “I’m a good person; I’m not evil.”  But they say this because they are comparing themselves to other people.  But this is not how God judges us.  He compares us to Himself.  According to Scripture, we were created “in the image and likeness of God” (Genesis 1:26; 5:1; 9:6; James 3:9); consequently, when we fail to live up to that image, to reflect that image accurately, then we are doing evil, even if we believe that what we are doing is good.

This is why God teaches us in His Word, the Bible, that on their own, there is no one that does good.

The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.  They were all gone aside, they are all together become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.  (Psalm 14:2-3)

These same two verses are repeated again in Psalm 53:2-3, as well as quoted by the Apostle Paul, in his letter to the congregation in Rome (Romans 3:10-11). This same idea is also stated by Solomon in his book of Ecclesiastes:

Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and does not sin.  (7:20)

This is why it was necessary for Yeshua (Joshua/Jesus) to come and die upon the cross, not only to forgive us for our sins, but to wipe our sins away, justifying us, and liberating us from the power and control of sin within our lives.  As a result, God’s Ruach (Spirit) can now dwell within the believer and can begin working on transforming the individual into becoming more and more like the Messiah, who is “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” (Colossians 1:15) and, thereby, returning us to God’s original intent, that we be made “in His image and likeness” (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10).

So What is the “Meat” (or “Solid Foods”)?

So what then is the “meat” (or “solid foods”) of God’s Word?  If we look at the rest of the book of Hebrews, we are given an indication of what, at least in part, constitutes the “meat” (or “solid food”) of God’s Word.   From Hebrews 6:13 – 11:40, the writer of Hebrews examines how Yeshua (Joshua/Jesus) can be seen in the characters and images seen and taught within the book of Leviticus.  The same could be said of the other books written by Moses as well, not to mention the rest of the Old Testament (Heb. Tanakh).  After all, Yeshua (Joshua/Jesus) Himself taught:

You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you might have life….Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have put your hope.   For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me.   But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words? (John 5:39-40, 45-47)

Consequently, then, when we examine the overall content of Scripture, it is all about Yeshua (Joshua/Jesus), including the Torah itself.  For example, when we analyze the structure of the book of Hebrews, the writer of this text is implying that the Torah contains insight into the person and ministry of Yeshua (Joshua/Jesus), in His first coming, His present ministry in the Heavenly tabernacle, and in His coming return and reign.   This is the “strong meat” that only those who are “spiritually-minded” — as opposed to those who are “carnally-minded” — can fully grasp and understand. This idea can likewise be seen in the writings of Rav Sha’ul (Paul):

 But the natural man (or “carnally-minded”) man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.   But he that is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him?  But we have the mind of Christ [Messiah].  (I Corinthians 2:14-16)

Here Paul is arguing that the “natural man” (one who lives by his natural, “unregenerate,” and “animalistic” nature) cannot receive (or understand) the things that are handed down or taught by the Spirit of God.  He will consider such teachings “foolishness” and cannot understand them for “they must be spiritually discerned.”  Now compare this teaching with the following:

For we know that the law (Heb. Torah) is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.  (Romans 7:14)

When we compare this verse with I Corinthians 2:14-16, then the Torah is a holy, spiritual text that the “natural man” or “carnally-minded” individual cannot receive or understand, because its deeper truths  or teachings seem “foolishness” to him and “neither can he know (or have an intimate knowledge of) them since the Torah is “spiritual” and, therefore, it can only be “spiritually discerned.”

Overall, then, what we find taught in the Scriptures is that there are two basic levels of teachings within the Bible: “the milk” (the basics) and “the meat” or “solid foods” (the more advanced level teachings).  This means that God doesn’t expect us to remain at the carnal, newborn level, but He expects us to grow spiritually until we come into the conformity of the image of the Messiah [Christ],

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ [Messiah]; 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 [Messiah].  (Ephesians 4:13-15)

May we all strive to grow up and be mature in Him.  Amen.