The Milk and Meat of God's Word

In the Bible, beginning with the Old Testament and right across the New Testament, God's Word is typified as food. The Bible says:

"...man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD..." - Deuteronomy 8:3

The above are the exact words which our Lord Jesus spoke when satan was trying to tempt Him in the wilderness, as we see in Matthew 4:4. But how can someone live by God's Word? Usually when people read Matthew 4:4, or Deuteronomy 8:3, they tend to interpret the verse as, "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God alone" since Jesus had fasted for 40 days. This is not what it says. The Lord knows that we need food for our body. In fact our Lord Jesus did specify this by saying:

"Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" - Matthew 6:26

"Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things" - Matthew 6:31-32

Then how do we live by God's Word? We can live by God's Word by basing our lifestyle on a Biblical foundation. When we base our lifestyle on Bible values and principles, we are like the wise man who built his house upon Rock, as stated by our Lord Jesus:

"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it" - Matthew 7:24-27

God's Word clearly states that the Rock is Christ. In the Old Testament the Lord is described as the Rock in Deuteronomy 32:4, Deuteronomy 32:15, 2 Samuel 22:2, Psalm 18:2, Psalm 19:14, Psalm 62:7, Psalm 95:1, and in many more places in the book of Psalms. In the New Testament Apostle Paul confirms that the Rock is Christ:

"And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ" - 1 Corinthians 10:4

The beauty of God's Word is that it always points to Christ. Our Lord Jesus said:

"Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me" - 1 John 5:39

The main reason why several books are not considered as part of the Bible is because, they do not point to Christ. Some examples are the gospel of Thomas, the book of Enoch, and the apocryphal books. The books that are in the Bible, they all testify of our Lord Jesus Christ. I have heard about people who would sleep with a Bible under their pillow, thinking that no evil spirits would come near them, thereby treating the Bible like a spell book, or an idol. Such people end up disappointed because they do not see Christ through the scripture. If a person is reading scripture, but instead of seeking Jesus, if they are seeking something else, they are likely to be disappointed, because the scriptures are which testify of Jesus. There is power in the Word of God when we read under the leadership of the author, who is none other than the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will remind us of all that He has spoken:

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you" - John 14:26

This is also why many people, even after reading the Bible, their lifestyle remains the same, as they are not seeing Jesus through the scriptures. All they see is a religion, and they do not end up in a personal relationship with Jesus. On the road to Emmaus, we come across two people who are walking, and Jesus joins them on their journey. We see Jesus explaining scriptures to them beginning with Moses, meaning Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. We see that their hearts burned upon hearing Jesus explaining scripture, as seen in Luke 24:13-35. The Bible says:

"O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him" - Psalm 34:8

How do we taste the Lord? We can taste the Lord by feeding on God's Word. When it comes to believers in Christ, they are of 2 types. The first are the ones who feed on the milk of God's Word, and the second are the ones who feed on the meat of God's Word. Believers who feed on the milk of God's Word are unskilled in handling scriptures, and God's Word calls them as babies or infants. These are people who are not spiritually mature. Spiritual maturity does not come with age. One can be 80 plus years old in a church, and yet be unskilled in handing God's Word. The Bible says:

"For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat 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" - Hebrews 5:13-14

The Bible does not call believers as babies or infants as an insult. The scripture calls them so in order to simply show their level of growth. The ultimate objective of scripture is to make a believer mature in Christ. This is why it is important to make reading God's Word as a priority. Believers who are not spiritually mature do not get profited by the Word of God which they hear because, they are still feeding on the milk of God's Word. Hence even if the Lord answers their prayers, they are unable to understand due to the fact that they are unskilled in handling the Word of God. Think about it for a moment, if you are not connected to the Lord through the Word, and are unskilled in handling the Word, but you are praying for something, and are expecting the Lord to answer your prayer. How would you know whether He has answered your prayer? What if the Lord has already answered your prayer?

On the other hand, strong meat belongs to them that are of full age. The scriptures saying "full age" does not mean in terms of the number of years a person have been in a Church as a believer in Christ, but rather it is talking about people who are feeding on the meat of God's Word. In other words, a believer can be 30 years old and can be spiritually mature. For example, people who are unskilled in the Word, when they read about the tabernacle and its furnitures explained in the book of Exodus, all they see are furnitures and a bunch of rituals. But spiritually mature believers see Jesus Christ's typology. For more information please read the "Tabernacle Series" in this site. To explain in even more simpler terms, people usually think the Old Testament is actually Genesis to Malachi, and the New Testament is Matthew to the book of Revelation. The truth is if you are reading the book of Exodus, but you are able to see Jesus in the sacrificial system, then you are reading the New Testament. On the other hand if you are reading the Gospel of Matthew, and you are only seeing a bunch of teachings, but are not able to see Jesus as the Messiah, then you are reading the Old Testament. Remember during the Acts of the Apostles, the Apostles were using the Old Testament to preach the Gospel of Christ. The New Testament was not compiled into a single book until the 5th century. The Apostles were handling the Churchs between AD 33 to AD 90. They did not have Matthew to Revelation as we do today. The ultimate goal of God's Word is leading a person to spiritual maturity in Christ. The Bible says:

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good work" - 2 Timothy 3:16-17

It is because of the level of spiritual maturity among believers in a Church, Apostle Paul had to limit himself to preach at a certain level:

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

The Bible addresses believers in Christ who are not growing in God's Word and instructs them to grow by specifically saying that by this time they are supposed to have grown to be at a level where believers are capable of teaching God's Word:

"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" - Hebrews 5:12

A believer, just by quoting random verses from the Bible cannot claim to be teachers in scripture, but rather, one has to grow by desiring the sincere milk and the meat of God's Word. Believers in Christ who are at the level of an infant or a baby, are those who are still struggling to understand whether it is faith or works that saves them even though the Bible clearly says that we have been saved by "Grace through Faith, and not of works", as stated in Ephesians 2:8-9. These are the basics of God's Word. Mature believers are those who are busy walking in the victory of the finished work of Jesus on the Cross, by witnessing Christ to the people of the world. These are people who work out their salvation, and not work for their salvation as they are aware that Jesus Christ has finished it for them, and that it is the Lord who is working in them, both to will and to do of His good pleasure:

"Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" - Philippians 2:12-13

Mature believers are people who know that as believers in Christ they can never lose their salvation. These are people who are dressed in the Armor of God. For more information, check out the "Armor of God" series in this site. Our Lord Jesus said:

"Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed" - John 6:27

As believers in Christ we need to aspire to grow in God's Word, beginning with the milk, and ultimately reach spiritual maturity by feeding on the meat of God's Word. Upon reaching spiritual maturity as believers in Christ, we would be able to work out our salvation by walking in victory as kings and priests in our day to day lives and bear witness as the children of the most high God.