How I love God Pt 28: Solid food is for the mature
Hebrews 5:11-14 11We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 12In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
1 Corinthians 3:2 2I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.
John 16:12 12I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.
Context
A newborn cannot eat a meal of meat, vegetables, or bread. The child's digestive system is not ready for that kind of food. As the child grows, however, milk alone is no longer enough. Parents gradually introduce different foods so that the child can develop the strength and ability needed for a healthy life. Something similar happens in our Christian lives. When we first come to Christ, we need to learn the basic truths of the gospel. We need to understand who Jesus is, why He died for us, what it means to receive forgiveness, and how we can begin living in a relationship with God. These truths are essential, and we should never consider ourselves too mature to need them.
But God does not intend for us to remain spiritual infants. He wants us to grow in our understanding of His Word, develop sound judgment, learn to resist temptation, and become people whose lives reflect the character of Jesus. We begin with the basic truths of the faith, but we should continue growing until we can handle the deeper responsibilities of Christian living.
The writer of Hebrews was concerned about believers who had been Christians long enough to have made significant progress but were still struggling with spiritual understanding. Paul expressed a similar concern to the church in Corinth. Both writers recognized that there is a difference between simply knowing something about Christ and allowing the truth of Christ to shape our lives. Jesus also recognized that His disciples needed time to grow in their understanding. In John 16:12, He told them, "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear." He did not give them everything at once. He understood their limitations and knew that their understanding would develop as they continued following Him.
We fail to understand
Sometimes we fail to understand something because it is genuinely complicated. At other times, we fail to understand because we have not given it enough attention, have not taken the time to think about it, or are unwilling to change the way we live. We may attend church regularly, listen to sermons, read the Bible, and participate in Christian activities. Yet we can become so familiar with religious language that we stop paying attention to what God is actually saying to us. We hear that we should forgive others, but we continue holding grudges. We hear that we should trust God, but we allow worry to control our decisions. We hear that we should love our neighbors, but we avoid people who inconvenience us. We may understand the words intellectually without allowing them to influence our behavior.
This is one reason Hebrews 5:12 is so challenging. We should be careful not to assume that every Christian who struggles with understanding is spiritually lazy. People learn at different rates, and some believers need additional help because of their background, circumstances, or limited opportunities for instruction. The writer's concern is not that every Christian must become a teacher or possess the same level of knowledge. His concern is that believers should make progress rather than remain stuck at the beginning.
Elementary truths
Every believer needs a firm foundation. We need to understand that God is our Creator, that sin separates us from Him, that Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again, and that salvation comes through God's grace rather than our own efforts. We need to understand repentance, faith, forgiveness, and the importance of following Christ. These are not temporary truths that we leave behind when we become mature. They remain the foundation of everything else we learn. A person who does not understand the grace of God may begin to believe that acceptance by God depends on personal achievement. Someone who does not understand forgiveness may continue living under the burden of past failures. A believer who does not understand the authority of Scripture may accept every religious opinion without considering whether it agrees with God's Word. Foundational truths help protect us from these errors.
A new believer needs to learn the basic truths of the gospel. But those truths should lead to a growing understanding of God's purposes, Christ's teaching, the work of the Holy Spirit, and the practical demands of discipleship. We should never become embarrassed about returning to the basic teachings of Christianity. Even experienced believers need reminders of God's love, Christ's sacrifice, the seriousness of sin, and the hope of the resurrection. The problem is not returning to these truths. The problem is failing to build upon them.
Food for infants
"I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it."
Paul was writing to a church that had received considerable spiritual instruction. Yet its members were divided by jealousy, arguments, and loyalties to different Christian leaders. Some claimed to follow Paul, while others identified themselves with Apollos. Their behavior showed that they had not fully understood the practical implications of the gospel they professed to believe.
Paul's reference to milk does not mean that basic Christian teaching is unimportant or that new believers are inferior to more experienced Christians. Every believer begins somewhere, and spiritual growth takes time. His concern was that the Corinthians were continuing to behave like immature believers when they should have been making progress. They had received the message of salvation through Christ, but they were allowing pride and personal loyalties to divide them. They were more concerned about which teacher they preferred than about the unity they shared in Jesus.
This reveals something important about spiritual infancy. Immaturity is not measured only by how much biblical information a person knows. It can also be seen in how a person treats others, responds to correction, handles disagreements, and deals with personal desires. A person may be able to explain several biblical doctrines but still struggle to control anger. Another may know many verses about love while refusing to forgive a family member. Someone else may speak confidently about faith but become bitter when God does not answer a prayer in the expected way.
Knowledge is valuable, but it must be allowed to shape our character.
The Corinthians' divisions remind us that spiritual immaturity can damage an entire Christian community. When believers insist on having their own way, compare themselves with others, or treat their personal preferences as more important than the good of the church, the result is conflict rather than healthy growth. Ephesians 4:15 encourages believers to speak the truth in love so that they may grow into Christ, who is the head of the church. Growth is meant to help us become more loving, more truthful, and more willing to work together. John 16:12 also helps us understand the importance of patience in spiritual development. Jesus told His disciples that He had more to teach them than they could bear at that time. He did not expect them to understand everything immediately.
Jesus patiently taught His disciples, corrected their misunderstandings, and prepared them for responsibilities they were not yet ready to carry. We should show the same patience toward new believers and toward ourselves. At the same time, we should remain willing to learn and change.
Food for the mature
"Solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."
Mature believers are not simply people who have accumulated a great deal of information. They are people who have learned to use God's truth in the decisions and circumstances of everyday life.
Notice the importance of constant use. Discernment develops through repeated practice. As we study Scripture, obey what God teaches, learn from our mistakes, and seek His wisdom, we become better equipped to recognize the difference between what is right and what is wrong. This does not mean that every difficult decision becomes easy. Christians can disagree honestly about complicated questions, and some situations require careful thought, prayer, and advice from wise people. Spiritual maturity does not make us infallible.
It does, however, help us develop a better understanding of God's character and the principles He has revealed.
Suppose a person were offered a position involving a considerable salary, but which required deceptive sales practices. An immature response might focus entirely on the potential profit. A more mature response would consider whether the decision is honest, whether it harms others, and whether it honors God. The decision may cost the person money, but spiritual maturity helps him recognize that integrity is more important than an immediate financial advantage.
This is what it means to train ourselves through the use of God's Word. We learn to bring our reactions, decisions, and desires under the direction of biblical truth. The process takes time. We will not always respond correctly, and there will be occasions when we recognize our failure only afterward. Even then, we can learn. We can confess our wrongdoing, seek forgiveness where necessary, and consider how we might respond differently next time.
Spiritual maturity is not the absence of mistakes. It is a growing willingness to learn from God's Word, accept correction, and become more faithful in our conduct. The Holy Spirit also has an essential role in this growth. In John 16:12–13, Jesus explains that His disciples are not yet ready to bear everything He has to teach them, but that the Spirit of truth will guide them into the truth. The Holy Spirit does not lead us away from Christ's teaching. He helps us understand and apply the truth God has revealed. Through Scripture, He exposes wrong attitudes, reminds us of what Jesus taught, and helps us recognize where our lives need to change.
We should therefore approach spiritual growth with both responsibility and dependence. We must make time for God's Word, think carefully about what it teaches, and put it into practice. At the same time, we need the Holy Spirit to help us understand and live out that truth.
What about me?
The Bible's teaching about milk and solid food gives us a practical way to think about our spiritual lives. We begin as people who need instruction, guidance, and help understanding the basic truths of the gospel. As we continue following Christ, God wants us to grow in our knowledge, judgment, character, and ability to serve. Hebrews 5:11–14 warns us against becoming so accustomed to hearing God's Word that we stop learning from it. First Corinthians 3:2 reminds us that spiritual knowledge must lead to changes in our attitudes and relationships. John 16:12 shows us that Jesus understands our limitations and teaches us patiently as we become ready to receive more.
We can begin by asking ourselves a few honest questions. Am I paying attention when God's Word is taught? Am I building on the basic truths of the gospel? Do my attitudes and relationships reflect what I claim to believe? Am I becoming better able to distinguish between what pleases God and what does not? Am I willing to accept correction and put what I learn into practice? We do not need to become biblical scholars before we can grow spiritually, but we do need to remain teachable, spend time in God's Word, depend on the Holy Spirit, and take seriously what God shows us.
The important thing is to keep moving forward.