-1-
The
suckling
Church
We all begin in our following
of & fellowship with Messiah from the same position; the new birth. Paul told
the believers in Corinth & of course us by extension, ‘Therefore if any
man be in Christ, he is a new
creature: old things are passed
away; behold, all things are become
new’ (2nd Corinthians 5:17). From that
place, we started our journey into discipleship; bursting with enthusiasm, consumed with zeal & glowing white hot with passion. We pledged to do whatever The Lord wanted of us, whenever He asked it of us & in whatever way He directed us to do it. We simply could not get enough of our Saviour,
His Spirit or His Word. Nevertheless, we begin knowing nothing much
beyond our sins having been forgiven & our justification by faith, through the
shed blood of The Lord Jesus Christ. What comes next?
It’s sad to say that many
of us stay right there in that initial place, without making any progress, ascending no heights
& plumbing no depths. We attend
services faithfully. We involve ourselves in Church activities. We share their
newfound joy with family & friends, inviting them to Church et cetera, all
of which are commendable, yet we go no further. But there is
more. Please don’t misunderstand me, I am not questioning anyone’s salvation.
But there is more, so much more
that many of us are ignorantly missing or wilfully neglecting. There is the reality
of The Holy Spirit living within & there is the veracity & necessity
of God’s
Word. It’s quite a thing. So with these things in view, where do we
start?
23 being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: 25 but the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you…1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, 2 as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: 3 if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. 4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, 5 ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. (1st Peter 1:23-2:1-6).
Peter isn’t talking about
pouring ourselves the occasional tall glass of ice cold, full fat cow’s milk
from the fridge. NO. He uses the analogy of an infant breastfeeding from
its mother. This promotes growth, supplying essential sustenance. It is vital.
It is paramount
that we as believers begin with & also maintain a healthy spiritual diet. However,
if we have no desire for God’s Word, we have a major problem.
Jeremiah said, ‘Thy words were found,
and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.’ (Jeremiah
15:16). Job said, ‘Neither have I gone
back from the commandment
of his lips; I have esteemed the words of
his mouth more than my
necessary food.’ (Job 23:12). We have to desire
the sincere
milk of The
Word. No desire; no Word. No Word; no growth. No growth; no maturity.
This is not
God’s plan.
Where is the craving,
longing
for
& deep seated love of God’s Word that will affect
the changes in our lives that Scripture speaks of? Is it there? For some of us the
answer will be a resounding yes, but for others, there will be a
very subdued & mumbled no. I know that Scripture can appear
intimidating. There are sixty-six books. There are one-thousand-one-hundred-&-eighty-nine
chapters. There are thirty-one-thousand-one-hundred-&-two verses. How in
the world is anyone expected to drink & chew their way through such a
volume? Hunger.
Appetite. Desire. Craving. Longing.
No matter how much or how
little we may think we know, the important thing is that we are moving in the
right direction. The two staples of our discipleship are our life in God’s Word
& our
life in prayer. These elements will see us move from the basics to
the more substantial. However, there is no shortage of believers who are
content with a poor replacement. Like plant based milk & vegan alternatives,
these substitutes are fashionable & en vogue, but do not bear the
hallmarks of the genuine article. A motivational speech does not a sermon make.
9 But
as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into
the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
10 But God hath
revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all
things, yea, the deep things of God.
11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the
spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but
the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not
the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely
given to us of God. 13 Which things also
we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy
Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual
things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of
the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But
he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he
may instruct him? but we have the mind of
Christ (1st Corinthians 2:9-16).
These words from the
Apostle Paul are beautiful & wonderfully poetic, dripping with truth &
as tasty as warm toast that has been generously spread with pure unsalted butter
& dipped in raw honey. Read the whole chapter. However, I have to encourage
you to keep reading, because what Paul says next paints a truer picture of the
state of The Church at large. We may often think that we are going further
& deeper than we actually are, when in reality we are swigging milk instead
of chewing
meat.
1And
I, brethren, could not speak unto
you as unto spiritual, but as unto
carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 2 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. 3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there
is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal,
and walk as men? (1st
Corinthians 3:1-3).
Remember what The Apostle
Peter said about ‘..laying aside
all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies,
and all evil speakings..’ (1st
Peter 2:1)? If our growth is retarded, this is one of the reasons why.
David said, ‘Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse
his way? by taking
heed thereto according to thy word.’ (Psalms
119:9). Please don’t misunderstand me; there is a stage that all of us
experience as believers. At one point or another we were all babes in Christ. However,
we are not
meant to perpetuate
this period in our spiritual development. He wills, ‘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:’(Ephesians
4:14-15). ‘..and to desire that ye might be
filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that
ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every
good work, and increasing in the
knowledge of God; (Colossians 1:9-10). We are also told, ‘..As ye have
therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: rooted and built up in him, and stablished in
the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving
(Colossians 2:6-7). So,
‘..ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before,
beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from
your own stedfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen (2nd
Peter 3:18).
There is nothing
wrong with drinking milk if we are a babes. We
will grow thereby. But eventually we have to move onto solid food. If we are
still on a diet of milk when we ought to be eating meat, there is a very
real problem. There are truths that we all ought to believe,
know
& be established
in. The first
things. The foundational things. The fundamental things.
However, these are not present to perfect us, but rather to ground us. As we
mature, our basic beliefs are reinforced, but if we do not grow up, Scripture
describes us as carnal, fleshly & mere men.
12 For
the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged
sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of
the heart (Hebrews 4:12).
12 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. 13 For everyone that useth milk is unskilful
in the word of
righteousness: for he is a babe. 14 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 5:12-14).
2 Hear
my words, O ye wise men; and give ear unto me, ye that have knowledge.
3 For the ear
trieth words, as the mouth tasteth meat. 4 Let
us choose to us judgment: let us know
among ourselves what is good (Job 34:2-4).
There is only one
avenue available to us for moving out of spiritual childhood &
carnality.
We must take hold of God’s Word & allow God’s Word to take hold of us. I
understand that there are only so many hours in a day. By the time we have been
out to work; returned home; prepared our meals; read the newspaper & our
favourite magazines; scrolled through our apps; watched whatever it is that
takes our attention on the television; updated our social media; added to our
online shop; pampered ourselves & ….well you get the picture. After all of
that, there is little or no time left for Scripture or for prayer. Milk is easy.
There is no cutting. There is no chewing. There is no challenge. There is no
discipline. I say again, we attend services faithfully, involve ourselves in
Church activities, share our newfound joy with family & friends, inviting
them to Church et cetera, all of which are commendable, yet we go no further. We
sing the songs. We clap our hands. We enjoy the sweet refreshments. But we make
no time to meaningfully engage with The Lord who shed His blood for us &
died to save us from our sin.
End of Part One
copyright © by david Samuel
Parkins mmxxv all rights reserved.
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