MILK IT DOES A BODY GOOD

1 PETER 2:2 “AS NEWBORN BABES, DESIRE THE SINCERE MILK OF THE WORD, THAT YE MAY GROW THEREBY.”
“As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.” (NKJV)
“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.” (NIV)
“Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.” (NASB)
“Now that you realize how kind the Lord has been to you, put away all evil, deception, envy and fraud. Long to grow up into the fullness of your salvation; cry for this as a baby cries for milk.” (No verse 3) (TLB)
“Like babies that were just born, you should long for the pure milk of God’s word. It will help you grow up as believers.” (NET)

     There was a very popular advertisement that came out in the 1980s from the milk producers of America that said, “Milk, it does a body good.” It became the popular thing to do, especially if you were famous, to have your photo taken with an upper lip covered with milk…see Superman above.

     I have to admit that, initially, I have some objection to the doctrine of this Scripture. As we have said many times in the previous chapters, it is important to consider verses of the Bible in context with other verses. Someone said, the best commentary on the Bible is the Bible itself. I agree.

     Several times in the Word, Paul especially emphasizes the importance of Christians needing to “grow up.” In Hebrews 5:12-14 he says, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

     In 1 John 2:27, John tells the reader, “the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you.” It certainly seems evident that the Apostles taught that all Christians need to move on from repentance and salvation to more mature things in the Lord. We need and should desire to be skilled in the Word and discerners of good and evil. It doesn’t always seem to work out that way.

     I am always concerned when I attend a church that preaches the same message of repentance and salvation week after week and never moves onto preaching about any of the “solid food.” I will never fault a body that reaches out and sees salvations every week. Even the angels in heaven rejoice when one soul enters the kingdom. But I do become concerned when I see those who are saved never moving on to more of what the Lord has for them.

     Now, I have to say that as much as Paul encourages us to “grow up,” there can be no doubt that the church is full of still, very much, “baby Christians.” Plus, about the time we want to start bragging about our maturity in the faith, along comes a temptation or failure on our part to aptly demonstrate just how immature we still are! Beware not to boast lest “when you have preached to others, you yourself would be a castaway.” Remember 1 Corinthians 9:27.

     Especially in the area of knowing, memorizing and applying the Word in our lives, I think most of us would have to admit, we are still, at best, novices. What a great place for us to start Book 4, “Hide the Word.”

     There are some areas in our lives where it would best benefit us to view our walk as not being much better than a baby. Knowing and applying the Word is probably one of those areas to many of us.

     I hope you are involved in some area of the church outside of fifty minutes in a church service every Sunday morning. Some of us, honestly, need to be admonished to be faithful even in this area. Remember to “not forsake the assembling.” (Hebrews 10:25) Yet how easy is it to skip church this Sunday? If we can miss the “assembling,” how can we expect any excitement over actual discipleship training? Any wonder the church might be viewed as still in the “baby stage?”

     I was pleased that Covid forced the modern church into using the internet to “broadcast” our services out to the world. There are many who probably would never receive the Word unless it was available in their own homes. However, Christians around the world can bear witness to the truth that we need MORE when it comes to growing in the faith. You need a Sunday School class, a weekly Bible Study group or a Discipleship Class to grow beyond the rudiments of saving faith. Get in a group!

     Now, we must quickly agree…especially when honestly examining our walk in the faith…that Peter’s assessment of those Christians in Galatia, Cappadocia and Asia (Chapter 1) was an honest one when he encouraged them to “desire the Word” like newborn babies.

     I could have injected a little controversy in this chapter and opened myself up for honest criticism by using an image above of a new mother breastfeeding her newborn…I used a bottle-fed child instead. That is the part most of us men have to identify with as well.

     Momma gets all the work when the child is newborn. I know Cheryl, especially after our third and fourth child, looked forward to the day when our children could be fed from a bottle instead of from her. Dad can handle that part! I noticed that time came earlier and earlier as we had more children. Ha.

     Having said all that, have you ever really paid attention to how anxiously and enthusiastically a newborn child will respond to “time to feed?” I’m not sure they were ever that starved for food. But I never noticed my newborn children rejecting the milk momma offered them. That’s the way Peter is encouraging his readers to desire the Word.

     By the way, he is referring to the Word of God. We tend to automatically think he might have been referring to the words of the New Testament, like we have available to us 2,000 years later. Thank the Lord for that Word! But the written Word we enjoy today was not available to those brand new Christians of the early years of the church.

     Instead, they had the Word of the Old Testament taught in Jewish Synagogues and the Word being written daily, from the Holy Spirit, directly revealed through Paul, Peter, James and several others that we now thank for their delivery for our use and blessings. Praise the Lord for that!

     So, Peter was telling them, “read what I am writing, listen to what I am saying, this is the Word of God, divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit for your growth right now.” Through the blessings and protection of the Holy Spirit, we have it in written form now for us to grow by as well.

     So, Peter is telling US…as is the Holy Spirit…desire the Word! Desire it just like a newborn baby desires milk. Reach for it with enthusiasm and excitement, just like that baby grabs for a bottle. Read it, ingest it, swallow it in, consider how it tastes, examine how it solves the problem of your spiritual hunger.

     It is only after we realize just how important the Word is to us and how vital it is that we hunger for it that we can even begin to grow up beyond being a baby. There is far more out there in the faith that God has available for us to grow into than what you have already experienced. But, that growth will always start with a hunger for the Word.

     You are now saved, born again, bought by the blood, on your way to Heaven. Please, don’t stop there! Hunger for the Word…like a baby hungers for milk.

     Make the Word a vital part of who you are. Tell others what you are learning along the way. Feed from the Word every day.

     You don’t think a baby says, “I had milk yesterday, I think I don’t want it today.” He or she WILL eventually grow to the point where they want meat as well as milk. But I don’t ever want to abandon that delicious, filling, essential hunger for the milk of the Word for something else.

     Start in the Word. Hunger for the Word. Make it vital to your life. Grow in the Word. Memorize the Word! Make it a very important part of your spiritual life every day. Desire the Word so you can “grow thereby.”

     Questions to consider: What is the difference between the “milk” of the Word and “meat” of the Word? Can a hunger and thirst for the Word be developed? How does memorizing the Word take us from milk to meat? Should we ever grow tired of wanting more of the Word? How does one become an expert of the Word?

     Other Scriptures to study: Hebrews 5:13-14, “For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are full age…” James 1:22, “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only.” 1 John 2:14, “Because you are strong, the word of God abides in you.” Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…” Romans 10:8, “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.”