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LIKE NEWBORN BABES: os artigenneta brephe: (1Peter
1:23; Mt 18:3; Mk 10:15; Ro 6:4; 1Cor 3:1; 14:20)
Like - A
simile
(usually identified with words "like" or "as") - see
discussion of
terms of comparison.
Peter draws a poignant comparison between the appetite of a baby for
its mothers milk and the appetite of the believer for the nourishment
of God's Word.
William Gurnall
rightly declared that...
The Christian is bred by the Word
and he must be fed by it.
Spurgeon comments that...
When the apostle describes us under
the character of “newborn babes,” he would have us lay aside all that
is inconsistent with that character. Newborn children have no malice;
they have no guile or craftiness; they have no hypocrisies, nor
envies, nor evil speakings. They are clear from all these evils; would
God we were as clear as they are! It would be better to be infants,
not speaking at all, than to be among those who speak evil. It would
be better to begin life over again than to live long enough to have
gained a treasure of malice, and a hoard of cunning, and to have
learned the tricks of hypocrisy. Let us be as simple as little
children, as guileless, as harmless, as free from anything like
unkindness as newborn babes are. And inasmuch as we are to fellow them
in what they have not, let us also imitate them in what they have. Let
us desire ardently, as for our very life, the unadulterated milk of
the Word. Let us cultivate that combination of hunger and thirst which
is found in a little child, that we may hunger and thirst thus after
God’s Word. We have done more than taste the Word; we have tasted that
the Lord himself is gracious. Let us long to feast more and more upon
this divine food, that we may grow thereby. (1
Peter 2- Commentary )
Read John Piper's
discussion of what he refers to as "spiritual fatalism" which he
defines as...
the belief or feeling that you are
stuck with the way you are—"this is all I will ever experience of
God—the level of spiritual intensity that I now have is all I can
have; others may have strong desires after God and may have deep
experiences of personal pleasure in God, but I will never have those
because . . . well, just because . . . I am not like that. That's not
me." This spiritual fatalism is a feeling that genetic forces
and family forces and the forces of my past experiences and present
circumstances are just too strong to allow me to ever change and
become more zealous for God (Titus 2:14), or more fervent (Romans
12:12), or more delighted in God (Psalm 37:4), or more hungry for
fellowship with Christ (John 6:35), or more at home with spiritual
things (Romans 8:5), more bold (2 Timothy 1:7), or more constant or
joyful (Romans 12:12), or hopeful (1 Peter 1:13). Spiritual fatalism
is tragic in the church. church. It leaves people stuck. It takes away
hopes and dreams of change and growth. It squashes the excitement of
living—which is growth. (1
Peter 2:1-3 Long for the Pure Milk)
Newborn (738)
(artigennetos from arti, an adverb of time
= now, newly, recently + gennetos = begotten, born) is
literally one just born, lately born and so
newborn. It refers to a child at birth or of tender years and in
context could refer to new converts or it could simply refer to how
any convert should approach the "pure milk" of God's Word.
Peter uses this figurative
language to give the readers the mental picture of infants craving
nourishment, for anyone who has been a parent or had a baby sibling
knows how newborn babies vocally and ardently express their desire to
be fed regularly. In fact, newborn babies act as if their life depends
on the next feeding, an attitude that should be true of believers, for
Jesus Himself clearly stated that...
Man
shall not live and be upheld and sustained by bread alone, but by
every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
(Matthew 4:4) (Amplified Version)
Comment: Jesus is quoting (Dt
8:3, context Dt 8:1, 2, 3, 4, 5) to emphasize that it is not food that
is the most necessary part of life, but instead it is the creative,
energizing, and sustaining power of God's Word that is the only real source
of man’s existence.
In Moses' last
words to the
children of Israel just before they crossed the Jordan River to possess
their possessions (what God had already declared was their
inheritance), he made this profound statement ...
"Take to your heart all the
words with which I am warning you today, which you shall command your
sons to observe carefully, even
all
the
words of this law. For
it
(the Word) is
not an idle (empty, vain)
Word for you; indeed
it
(the Word) is your life. And by this
Word you
shall prolong your days in the land, which you are about to cross the
Jordan to possess." (Deuteronomy 32:46, 47)
The NLT paraphrases
Deuteronomy 32:47 as...
These instructions are not mere
words--they are your life! (Comment: How important in the
success of Israel was the pure milk of the Word and obedience to that
Word?)
Job had come to the
understanding of the importance of God's Word for his sustenance
(which I believe was one reason he was able to endure such profound
losses and afflictions) declaring...
I have not departed from the
command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more
than my necessary food." (Job 23:12-note) (Bolding added) (Comment: Read over Job's affirmation slowly
and ask yourself "What
is more important to me - food {or just "fill in" the blank ____ -
my job, my favorite television show, time with my family, etc} or God's Word ?")
Babes (1025)
(brephos)
is used most often in the NT of a literal baby whether unborn or born
or newly born. Some contexts signify a young child.
Peter's has the only figurative
use of brephos in the NT. In context brephos could be
interpreted as referring to believers who have only recently been born
again into the family of God by grace through faith (see Peter's
mention of the new birth in notes on 1Pe 1:3-note
and 1Pe 1:23-note).
The alternative interpretation is that believers are in a sense always
to be considered like infants in the sense that they are always in
need of and totally dependent upon the pure milk of God's Word.
Meyer rightly observes
that...
The most advanced among us, in
knowledge and attainment, are, in comparison with what they shall be,
only as babes.
in classical Greek described a
babe at the breast, one who is dependent on the mother's milk for
nourishment. The use of cows’ milk was rare in ancient times. It was
believed that children were very impressionable at the nursing stage,
and those who allowed them to be tended by nursemaids were advised to
select the nurses with care.
There are 8 uses of brephos
in the NT...
Luke 1:41 And it came about
that when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in
her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Luke 1:44"For behold, when
the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in
my womb for joy.
Luke 2:12 "And this will be
a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and
lying in a manger."
Luke 2:16 And they came in
haste and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as
He lay in the manger.
Luke 18:15 And they were
bringing even their babies to Him so that He might touch them,
but when the disciples saw it, they began rebuking them.
Acts 7:19 "It was he who
took shrewd advantage of our race, and mistreated our fathers so that
they would expose their infants and they would not survive.
2 Timothy 3:15 (note)
and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings
which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through
faith which is in Christ Jesus.
1 Peter 2:2
like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word,
that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,
Peter is painting a vivid
picture --
Grasp
for the Word
Like
babies do for their bottle!
The Bible tells us that the goal of Bible study
is not just that we might know (and be smarter sinners), but that we might
grow
(and be more like the Savior) as shown schematically...
Appetite
v
Attitude
v
Aim
Peter is saying that more than simply receiving spiritual nourishment,
the readers should be ardently (Ardent = from root = to burn >
expressed in eager zealous activity; impassioned) longing for
it.
LONG FOR: epipothesate
(2PAAM):
Peter gives a command to have this
attitude (if you don't have them) for the Scripture, for God knows
that studying the Scriptures is the only means of spiritual growth.
You can mark it down - There is no growth, spiritually, apart from the
intake of Biblical truth.
Pastors remember the words of
John Brown...
A man can't always be defending the
truth; there must be a time to feed on it.
Matthew Henry writes that
Peter...
like a wise physician, having
prescribed the purging out of vicious humours, goes on to direct to
wholesome and regular food, that they may grow thereby. The duty
exhorted to is a strong and constant
desire for the word of God, which word is here called reasonable milk,
only, this phrase not being proper English, our translators rendered
it the milk of the word, by which we are to understand food proper for
the soul, or a reasonable creature, whereby the mind, not the body, is
nourished and strengthened. This milk of the word must be sincere, not
adulterated by the mixtures of men, who often corrupt the word of God,
2Co. 2:17.
Adam Clarke writes that the
Jewish
rabbins frequently express
learning to know the law, etc., by the term sucking, and their
disciples are often denominated those that suck the breast. The figure
is very expressive: as a child newly born shows an immediate desire
for that nourishment, and that only, which is its most proper food
John Calvin wrote that...
Those only are worthy students
of the law who come to it with a cheerful mind, and are so delighted
with its instruction as to account nothing more desirable or delicious
than to make progress therein.
Long
for (epipotheo
[word study]
from epi = toward or an
intensifier + potheo = yearn)
means to have a strong desire for
something, with implication of need. It mean to long for, have great
affection for, yearn for someone or something. The preposition epi in
this compound indicates intensive desire directed toward an object (in
context God's pure Word).
Epipotheo describes an intense
yearning for something. It is to long for or intensely crave something
with the implication that the one longing recognizes the lack or the
need. In (Psalm 42:1)
David uses a Hebrew verb translated pant which in turn is translated
by the Septuagint with
epipotheo...
As the deer
pants (Hebrew = arag = yearn for, Lxx = epipotheo) for the water brooks,
So my soul pants (Hebrew = arag = yearn for, Lxx =
epipotheo) for Thee, O God. (See
Spurgeon's Comment on Psalm 42:1)
Epipotheo is used
by Paul in (Ro 1:11-note)
when he writes, “I long to see you” and when he writes
to young Timothy, that he is “longing to see” him (2Ti 1:4-note). In these uses one can see a picture of the deep
longing Peter is trying to convey to his readers and to all saints.
Beloved, the question is this...
Are
you "panting" for God's
word
as a deer in the desert does for the water brooks?
If not, why not?
Long
for is in the
aorist imperative
which calls for a decisive action (attitude change in this case) on the
reader's part. The idea is -- Do it! Do it now! Don't delay! It is a
command and not an option. In other words, longing in one's heart for Truth is not an
option if we desire to grow in grace and the knowledge of our Savior and
Lord Jesus Christ. Since we have been born again by the
Word of God, Peter is saying "Now make up your mind once and for all to intensely crave the word of
God!"
Do you see the connection between the Word of God in
the preceding section (1Pe 1:23, 24, 25 -note)? We are born
again into the Kingdom of God by the "imperishable seed...the living
and abiding Word of God" Now, long for that same pure word. You began
this new life in Christ with the Word and the only way to grow in
Christ likeness is by letting the "the Word of Christ richly dwell
within you" (see note
Colossians 3:16)
Peter exhorts his readers to
intensely crave for pure milk! Epipotheo
is a strong word. It paints the picture of being an
absolute hungering and thirsting after the Word. If a believer is to
grow, it is absolutely essential that he hunger and thirst after the
milk of the Word. What this says is that just as essential as having
the desires for the word that we are supposed to have is having the
trust in God that He gives what He commands. If God says to desire,
long for (Aorist Imperative = do it now!), when we don't desire, then
we trust Him that He must know something we don't know. He must have
some power we don't have. There must be a way. God commands it. So
there must be a way. I will not settle for less than what God
commands. It's saying "Lord, I can't
but You can and you said you would" so cry out to Him to give you that
desire which you know is a prayer in His will (1Jn 5:14, 15) and then
wait upon the Lord and He will renew your strength so that you then can
mount up with wings like an eagle (Isaiah 40:31-note).
Each morning when you get up you need to deal with those "verse one" (1Peter
2:1) issues first
so that your inner man will be ''healthy'' and you have a natural
(supernatural) God given appetite for His Living Word, the spiritual
bread of life. God then will give you an intense craving and
deep-seated yearning or longing upon which you are to act.
Spiritual growth is always marked by a craving for and a delight in
God’s Word with the intensity with which a baby craves milk.
The opposite of longing after the pure milk of the Word is to neglect
so great a salvation (He 2:3-note)!
Note that in the present
context, milk does not stand in contrast to
solid food (as it does in 1Corinthians 3:2 and
Hebrews 5:12
[note])
The use of milk as symbol for spiritual
nourishment found in Judaism et. al. religions. It would have been
immediately familiar to Peter’s readers. All believers are seen as
needing to grow and to learn more about the Lord. All believers are to
desire the milk (food) of the Word.
How does a believer increase their desire for the truth of God’s Word?
1)
Remembering life’s source (1Peter 1:25; Isa 55:10,11; Jn 15:3; Heb 4:12,
Mt 4:4) 2)
Eliminating (confessing/repenting of) sin (1Peter 2:1)
3) Admitting need for God’s truth (beseeching Him to give hunger) (1Peter 2:2)
4)
Pursuing spiritual growth (1Peter 2:2, “that you may grow
thereby”)
5)
Surveying His blessings (1Peter 2:3, “Lord is gracious”)
THE PURE MILK OF THE WORD:
to logikon adolon gala: (Ps 19:7-10; 1Co 3:2; Heb 5:12,13)
David spoke of the supremacy and
sufficiency of God's Word in Psalm 19...
7 The law of the LORD is perfect
(needing nothing for completeness),
restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the
simple. (Spurgeon's
note)
8 The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The
commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. (Spurgeon's
note)
9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of
the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. (Spurgeon's
note)
10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. (Spurgeon's
note) Columbia University (New York
City) was established in 1754 and its original seal depicted a woman
sitting down, with the 4 letters of the so-called Tetragrammaton (YHWH
- transliterated as "Yahweh" or Jehovah) inscribed above her head and
1 Peter 2:1-2 under her feet was inscribed “admonishing students
to desire of the pure milk of God’s word.” My, how times have changed! Spurgeon comments that...
If you have once had that sweet
taste in your mouths, you will wish to have it always there, and you
may do so if you continue to drink the unadulterated milk of the Word,
and do not sour that good milk through tempests of malice, and envy,
and evil speaking...
Be glad to get simple truth, the
“milk of the Word.” Even if you can digest the strong meat of the
Word, never grow weary of the milk, for it is always good diet even
for a full-grown man in Christ. Do not crave milk and water, but
“desire the unadulterated milk of the Word that ye may grow thereby.”
It is not enough for you to be spiritually alive, you must grow; and
especially while you are babes in grace, your great desire should be
that you may grow...
The unadulterated “milk of the
Word” is the best food for those who are, spiritually, “newborn
babes.” Desire this unadulterated milk of the Word not out of an idle
curiosity, but...
-
that you may grow thereby,
- that you may grow wiser, holier,
more earnest, more like your Savior,
-
that you may grow up into the
likeness of Him Whose you are, and Whom you serve.
You are in the family of God, but
you are only babes in it yet; you have to grow to the stature of men
in Christ Jesus, so “desire the sincere (unadulterated) milk of the
word, that ye may grow thereby.” There is no other way of growing.
You begin with tasting that the
Lord is gracious, you go on to desire the unadulterated milk of the
Word, and so you grow in grace more and more.
If you have spiritually tasted this
great truth, you have the flavour of it upon your palate, so that it
makes you long for more of it. (1
Peter 2 Commentary )
Pure
(97)
(adolos
from a = negative +
dolos = deceitful cunning to mislead) means without guile, without deceit.
Adolos
describes that which is honest, sincere, pure (unmixed with any other
matter), without admixture or unadulterated.
Adolos
means not mixed with anything else. This adjective is not found in the
Septuagint (LXX) but was used in
secular Greek writings describing seed or liquids which were
"unadulterated".
Adolos was also used of treaties to describe them as
without fraud or guileless.
Cole writes that...
Dishonest merchants in that day
would add water to their milk to make more profit. This was
“deceitful” milk. Peter tells us to long for the pure, not-deceitful
milk. (1 Peter 2:1-3)
Adolos contrasts with the second attitude in 1 Peter 2:1 where
Peter exhorts Christians to get rid of guile (dolos).
Jamieson writes that...
Irenaeus says of heretics. They mix
chalk with the milk. The article, “the,” implies that besides the
well-known pure milk, the Gospel, there is no other pure,
unadulterated doctrine; it alone can make us guileless
Peter's point is that God's Word is pure and has no additives.
This food of the Word has not the slightest admixture of anything evil
in it. The word is commonly used in this sense of corn, wheat, barley,
oil, wine, and farm products. William
Barclay adds that...
Adolos is an almost
technical word to describe corn that is entirely free from chaff or
dust or useless or harmful matter. In all human wisdom there is some
admixture of what is either useless or harmful; the Word of God alone
is altogether good. (Barclay,
W: The Daily Study Bible Series. The Westminster Press
or
Logos)
Milk today
has all manner of "additives" and unadulterated milk is virtually
impossible to find. Peter says spiritual babes need to suckle on the
pure word of God in order to grow into spiritual maturity. The pure Word of God has no ulterior motives like so many human
teachings, but has as its primary purpose the nourishing of our soul.
The following statement was found in an old law in Baltimore...
Only pure unadulterated, unsophisticated and wholesome milk (may be
sold) Like water from a mountain spring, Christianity is most pure at its
source. While there are fine and honorable Christian teachers and
ministers here and there around the world, there remains a very
fundamental question: Can the word of any human be more right than The
Word of God?
Both Paul (1Cor 3:1, 2) and the author of Hebrews (He 5:12, 13-see notes
He 5:12;13) use
milk in contrast to solid food as metaphor for elementary teaching to new
converts, but Peter uses milk instead as that irreplaceable
nutritional source which is vital for growing, sustaining
and perfecting the children of God.
The analogy with a newborn baby is
obvious for just as God has designed milk to be the perfect food
for the physical nourishment for
for babies, He has similarly given us the Word which is the perfect
food for spiritual nourishment. Even as the mother's milk immunizes
her baby from many illnesses and nourishes her baby's growth, so too
God’s Word protects Christians from the many spiritual "diseases"
which abound and nourishes them to grow in the Lord. Furthermore
there is no other source of pure, unadulterated
doctrine, which is why the Word must be held in such high esteem and
preached purely from the pulpits.
Many today do not
desire pure milk... Warren
Wiersbe quips that the naive church member who foolishly declares...
We don’t want doctrine;
just give us helpful devotional thoughts!” does not not know what he
is saying. Apart from the truth (and this means Bible doctrine), there
can be no spiritual help or health. (Wiersbe,
W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor)
C. H. Spurgeon encourages believers be continually imbibing the
pure mild of the word, writing that...
It is blessed, to eat into the very soul of the Bible
until, at last, you come to talk in Scriptural language, and your spirit
is flavored with the words of the Lord, so that your blood is Bibline
and the very essence of the Bible flows from you.
The pure milk of the Word - As discussed below the original
Greek (to logikon adolon gala) is a bit ambiguous and thus it
is rendered variously by the translators...
The spiritual milk which is without
guile (A T Robertson)
the pure spiritual milk (ESV)
the sincere milk of the word (KJV)
pure spiritual milk (NAB)
The Puritan Thomas Watson
presents a pithy picture regarding spiritual nourishment...
What profit is it, to have the
Bible in our heads, but not in our hearts? It is better to
practice one truth, than to know all
truths.
The Lord gives us His precepts, as a physician gives the patient
his prescriptions—to take and apply. This is the end are all God's
institutes—that we may, by practice, apply them for the purging out of
sin and bringing the soul into a more holy temper.
God gives us His Word as the mother gives the child the breast—not
only to look upon, but to draw from. Many have gone to hell with the
breast in their mouths, because they have not drawn it, and turned the
milk of the Word into sacred nourishment. (from his sermon Comfort for
the Church)
How do you "drink" the "pure
spiritual milk"?
Read it - God communicates
with man through His living and abiding Word in the Bible. Listen to
it while you drive around (Mp3's, CD's) but better yet read it.
Remember to talk to Author before, during and after you've read His
personal love letter to you. Picture yourself as a newborn babe and
don't let anything keep you for your "feeding time"!
Study it - It's rational,
logical milk, so begin to hone the discipline of slowing down so that
you might truly observe (observation)
what God is saying (consider learning the powerful discipline of
inductive Bible study).
Memorize
the Word so
that it becomes "portable" no matter where you are or what your
circumstances are. You will find that
memorization
in turn facilitates
meditation
on the Word.
Taste it - Steven Cole explains
tasting the Word this way...
The image of milk and of tasting
the Lord’s kindness brings up the fact that the Word is not just to
fill your head with knowledge. It is to fill your life with delight as
you get to know the Divine author and enjoy Him in all His
perfections. Taste points both to personal experience and enjoyment. I
can’t taste for you, nor you for me. We can only taste for ourselves.
To taste something, we’ve got to experience it up close. You can see
and hear and smell at a distance, but you can only taste something by
touching it to your tongue. You can only taste God’s Word by drawing
near to God and personally appropriating the riches of knowing Him.
Once you like the taste of something, you don’t just eat it to live;
you live to eat it. You want it as often as you can get it. God’s Word
is that way for all who have tasted His kindness.
Of the word
(spiritual, reasonable) (3050)
(logikos from logos = reason) describes that
which belongs to the reason or is agreeable with reason or thus is
reasonable or rational. Some lexicons define logikos as true to
real nature.
BDAG says that logikos
was a favorite word with Greek philosophers as it referred to that
which had been carefully thought though.
TDNT adds that logikos
means belonging to speech (a sense that is foreign to the NT) or
belonging to reason.
The UBS Handbook Series
explains that logikos can be rendered in three ways:
(1) “Of the word” that is,
the word of God, or the Gospel, referred to in the previous section
(1Pe 1.23, 24, 25). Some scholars and translations opt for this alternative
(for example, Barclay “the pure milk that flows from the word of God”;
Kelly “the milk of the word”).
(2) “Rational,” which is the
common way the term is used in classical Greek literature,
particularly among the Stoic philosophers.
(3) “Spiritual.” Most
commentaries and translations follow this interpretation. The milk
spoken of is a figure referring not to physical milk which nourishes
the body, but spiritual milk, which is nourishment for one’s spiritual
existence. This is further explained in the last part of the verse:
the readers are to drink of this spiritual milk in order that they may
grow up and be saved (literally “grow up into salvation”). (The
United Bible Societies' New Testament Handbook Series
or
Logos) This
verse literally reads the logical unadulterated (sincere,
pure) milk with no Greek word for "word". The context however
indicates that Peter is clearly referring to the Word of God as
Robertson explains.
A T Robertson writes that logikos is...
used here with allusion to
logos
(1Pe 1:23-note)
and rhema
(1Pe 1:25-note),
“the sincere milk of the word” (“the milk belonging to the word,”
either the milk which is the word or the milk contained in the word
(Word Pictures in the New Testament)
In the only other NT use of
logikos the NAS translates it as spiritual...
I urge you therefore, brethren, by
the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy
sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual (logikos)
service of worship. (Ro 12:1-note)
(Comment: If one takes the nuance of logikos as
"thoughtful", then the idea is that of "thoughtful service of
worship", which is not a bad interpretation given the tendency of many
churches to accentuate the experiential at the expense of the
thoughtful! In this regard it is interesting to note one of the Greek
sentences that uses logikos "the singing of hymns is the sacred
service of a human being, as a logikos [one endowed with
reason]") Steven Cole
observes that...
The literal translation of verse 2
is that we should long for “the pure, spiritual milk.” The word
“spiritual” also means “rational” (Greek = “logikos,” from “logos”).
The only other time it occurs in the Bible is in Romans 12:1, where
Paul says that presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice to God is
our “spiritual (or rational) service of worship.” He means that it is
a spiritual thing to do, since we don’t do it literally (as a burnt
offering), but rather spiritually by yielding ourselves to the will of
God. And, it is the reasonable thing to do in light of God’s great
mercies to us. Thus the term is purposefully ambiguous. Peter uses it
to show us that he’s not talking about literal mother’s milk, but
rather about the spiritual milk of the living and abiding Word of God
(1:23). This spiritual milk is rational--it is grasped with the mind.
Thus Christianity is essentially rational, but not rational in the
worldly sense, but rational in a spiritual sense. Human reason must be
subject to the written revelation God has given of Himself in the
Bible. But you cannot know God without using your mind, since He has
revealed Himself in the propositional revelation of the written Word.
(Getting
Into the Word)
Rienecker has this note on "milk"
writing that...
The many-breasted goddesses of the
heathen religions who were to sustain and nourish life were widespread
in the ancient world. The rabbis also compared the Law to milk" (New
Linguistic & Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament)
Irenaeus, an early
church father, wrote that heretics "mix chalk with the milk".
Tertullian, another early
church father, said that...
"The Word is to be desired with
appetite as the cause of life,
to be swallowed in the hearing,
to be chewed as cud is by rumination with the understanding, and
to be digested by faith"
William Barclay explains
that... Logos is the Greek for word, and
logikos means belonging to
the word. This is the sense in which the Authorized Version takes the
word, and we think that it is entirely correct. Peter has just been
talking about the word of God which lives and abides for ever
(1Pe 1:23, 24, 25). It is the word of God which is in his mind; and we
think that what Peter means here is that the Christian must desire
with his whole heart the nourishment which comes from the word of God,
for by that nourishment he can thrive and grow up. In face of all the
evil of the heathen world the Christian must strengthen his soul and
his life with the pure food of the word of God (Barclay,
W: The Daily Study Bible Series. The Westminster Press
or
Logos)
An unknown writer listed
these seven rules for good health spiritually...
A person who is “born again” starts
a new life similar to that of a newborn infant. Seven rules that
promote good health in babies can be adapted and applied to a
Christian’s spiritual growth.
1. Daily Food. Take in the “pure milk of the word” through
study and meditation.
2. Fresh Air. Pray often or you will faint. Prayer is the
oxygen of the soul.
3. Regular Exercise. Put into practice what you learn in God’s
Word.
4. Adequate Rest. Rely on God at all times in simple faith.
5. Clean Surroundings. Avoid evil company and whatever will
weaken you spiritually.
6. Loving Care. Be part of a church where you will benefit from
a pastor’s teaching and Christian fellowship.
7. Periodic Checkups. Regularly examine your spiritual health.
(7
Rules for "Good Health")
I like the old but venerable
commentator you may or may not be familiar with (but with whom I
encourage you to become familiar) Matthew Poole who wrote...
Pursuant to his discourse, 1Pe
1:23, where he speaks of their new birth, he here calls them
new-born babes; but that not in opposition to those that are
adult, or of fall age, as Heb 5:14; 1Co 3:1, but in opposition to
their former corrupt and unregenerate state, in which they were
destitute of all spiritual life; and so this agrees, not only to young
converts, but generally to all regenerate persons.
Desire; being new-born babes, act as such in earnestly desiring
and longing for that spiritual nourishment, which is so needful for
you, even as children, as soon as they come into the world, are
lingering after the breast.
The sincere milk of the word: the Greek may be rendered (and is by
some) reasonable milk, viz. such as is for the soul, not for the body;
that whereby the mind is nourished and strengthened; or, wordy milk,
the substantive from which it is derived properly and first signifying
word, or speech, and being used for the word of God, Heb 4:12. But
this not being proper English, our translation renders it best, the
milk of the word, i.e. the word which is milk. The apostle uses an
adjective for a substantive, but that adjective doth not signify the
quality of the subject, milk, as the other, sincere, does, but the
subject of itself. The like phrase we have, 1Pe 3:7; Greek, female, or
wifeish, weaker vessel, which we turn by the substantive, wife, who is
said there to be the weaker vessel. So that the doctrine of the gospel
is here to be understood, as Isa 55:1, and believers are to be
nourished by the same word, as their food, by which, as the seed, they
are said to be begotten, 1Pe 1:23. This milk of the word is said to be
sincere, i.e. pure, without mixture or adulteration, not blended, or
diluted, (as vintners do by their wine, to whose practice Paul
alludes, when he speaks of men's corrupting the word, 2Co 2:17; 4:2),
with human fictions or traditions. Infants love the sweetness of their
mothers' milk, and desire it pure, as it is: believers should desire
the word pure, as it is in itself, not mixed with any thing that may
lessen its sweetness and hinder its efficacy.
That ye may grow thereby; that by the word, as your spiritual
nourishment, ye may grow more in spiritual life and strength, till ye
come to be perfect men, Eph 4:13. (Matthew Poole's Commentary on the
Holy Bible)
Steven Cole writes...
In his book,
A Quest for Godliness [Crossway
Books], subtitled “The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life,”
J. I. Packer reports that a
Puritan preacher named Laurence Chaderton once apologized to his
congregation for preaching for two hours. They responded, “For God’s
sake, sir, Go on, go on!” Ah! Every preacher’s dream! At 82, after
preaching for 50 years, Chaderton decided to retire. He received
letters from 40 clergy begging him not to, testifying that they owed
their conversion to his ministry of the Word (p. 57). Packer states
(p. 98):
Puritanism was, above all else, a
Bible movement. To the Puritan the Bible was in truth the most
precious possession that this world affords. His deepest conviction
was that reverence for God means reverence for Scripture, and serving
God means obeying Scripture. To his mind, therefore, no greater insult
could be offered to the Creator than to neglect his written word; and,
conversely, there could be no truer act of
homage to him than to prize it and pore over it, and then to live
out and give out its teaching. Intense veneration for Scripture,
as the living word of the living God, and a devoted concern to
know and do all that it prescribes, was Puritanism’s hallmark.
...the Bible, if you take it
straight, tells you the honest truth about yourself. It exposes the
very thoughts and motives of your heart so that you have no where to
hide (He 4:12, 13-notes
He 4:12;
4:13).
It is not uncommon, after I preach, to have someone come up to me and
ask,
“Did anyone tell you about what I
went through this past week?”
When I assure them that no one told
me anything, they say,
“It seemed like you knew everything
and you were aiming that sermon directly at me.”
It isn’t me; it’s the Bible! We
tend to deceive and flatter ourselves. But the Word of God cuts
through the deception and lays out the honest truth so that we can
deal with our problems. I must warn you that there are legions of
so-called evangelical churches where the Word of God is being watered
down by upbeat preachers who want to be liked and who want to make
everybody feel good about themselves. But that’s like going to a
doctor who doesn’t talk about sickness, but who gives his patients
sugar-coated pills that make them feel good without dealing with the
root cause of their problems. As the Lord said to Jeremiah,
“They have healed the wound of My
people superficially” (Jer. 6:14).
The Bible
declares that the root cause of our problems is our sin. By
confronting our sin and presenting God’s remedy for it, the Bible
brings lasting healing. So I try to preach the Bible in its pure, not
deceitful form, because then it confronts us with where our lives have
gone astray and shows us God’s way to get back on the path. (Getting
Into the Word)
IN ORDER THAT BY (in) IT YOU MAY GROW
IN RESPECT TO SALVATION: hina en auto auxethete (2PAPS) eis soterian: (2Sa
23:5; Job 17:9; Pr 4:18; Ho 6:3; 14:5,7; Mal 4:2; Eph 2:21; 4:15;
2Thes 1:3; 2Pe 3:18)
Spurgeon...
When a man is ill, he often loses
his taste. The most delicious food is nauseous to him. His "soul abhors all manner of meat" (Ps 107:18). But such is the flavor of
the truth that the Lord is gracious, that it is more pleasant to us
when we are sick than at any other time. The love of Christ is a
delicious refreshment for a sufferer.
In
order that
(hina) is a purpose clause explaining why one is to
accept nothing but pure milk. Peter's conclusion is simple - Just
as babies grow best on pure milk, so too believers grow best on the
pure milk of the Word of God. Believers never reach a place in this
life where they stop needing pure milk.
Grow
(837)
(auxano) (Click in depth study of
auxano) For
something to grow, it must be acted upon by an outside power or have
the element of life within him or it. This growth is not because of
any special ability, but because of the quality of life implanted by
God Himself through the supernatural Word.
There is much published in America regarding how to "grow"
one's church, but the focus is primarily on methods for
increasing church membership. What Peter
is addressing is the growth in grace and knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ that should be occurring in those believers who
are already in the church.
In
Acts 6:7 Luke records that the church
in Jerusalem had leaders who were devoted to prayer and the ministry
of the word (Acts 6:4), with the result that...
the word of God kept on
spreading (auxano - growing); and the number of the disciples
continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the
priests were becoming obedient to the faith.
This passage teaches that as we
are faithful to the Master's Plan to make disciples, "church growth"
will take care of itself and it will be a church no longer filled with
spiritual babies but with mature disciples who are trained to fight
the good fight of faith.
See the same metaphor Colossians 2:19-note
("grows
[auxano] with a growth which is from God" - see
note); Ephesians 4:5-note ("speaking the truth
in love, we are to grow up [auxano] in all aspects into
Him, Who is the head, even Christ"- see note)
Are you
growing spiritually
or just growing old?
Appetite for the Word needs to be developed and part of the
development process involves putting off the old habits, sins, etc
(1Peter 2:1-note). When you say
"I'm not getting much out of the Bible"
This says more about you than it does about the Bible!
Beloved, if you desire to be a growing, healthy Christian, don't treat
the Bible as snack food. A
Chinese proverb says “Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only
of standing still.” which is the tragic plight of many who profess to
be Christians and yet never take time to open God's Word!
As someone has said
Just as you can’t be standing still
you should never think that you have “arrived’ in your growth! – For
“as long as you're green, you're growing. As soon as you're ripe, you
start to rot.” In his
second epistle Peter commands his readers to...
grow
(present
imperative =
continually, not an arrival on this earth but a process, glorification
is the arrival in eternity future) in the grace and knowledge of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the
day of eternity. Amen. (See note
2 Peter 3:18)
You may well be asking "So how can
I measure my growth in Christ likeness?" There are many ways one could
answer this question but one way to measure your growth in grace is by
your sensitiveness to sin.
Christian author Jerry Bridges spoke to our need to continually
grow in grace and knowledge of Christ when he said that....
It is impossible to practise godliness
without a constant, consistent and balanced intake of the Word of God in
our lives.
Vance Havner understood this
truth about the power of the Word and it's relation to spiritual
growth, explaining that...
The storehouse of God’s Word was never meant for mere scrutiny, not
even primarily for study but for sustenance. It is not simply a
collection of fine proverbs and noble teachings for men to admire and
quote as they might Shakespeare. It is ration for the soul, resources
of and for the spirit, treasure for the inner man. Its goods exhibited
upon every page are ours, and we have no business merely moving
respectfully amongst them and coming away none the richer.
A. H. Strong (of Strong's numbers fame) wrote that...
A student asked the President of his school whether he could not take
a shorter course than the one prescribed. ‘Oh yes,’ replied the
President, ‘but then it depends upon what you want to be. When God
wants to make an oak, He takes a hundred years, but when He wants to
make a squash, He takes six months.’” Strong also wisely points out to
us that “growth is not a uniform thing in the tree or in the
Christian. In some single months there is more growth than in all the
year besides. During the rest of the year, however, there is
solidification, without which the green timber would be useless. The
period of rapid growth, when woody fiber is actually deposited between
the bark and the trunk, occupies but four to six weeks in May, June
and July.”—there are no shortcuts to reality! A meteor is on a
shortcut as it proceeds to burn out, but not a star, with its steady
light so often depended on by navigators. To taste of the grace of God
is one thing; to be established in it and manifest it in character,
habit, and regular life, is another.
Experiences and blessings, though real gracious visitations from the
Lord, are not sufficient to rest upon, nor should they lead us to
glory in ourselves, as if we had a store of grace for time to come, or
were yet at the end of the conflict. No. Fruit ripens slowly; days of
sunshine and days of storm each add their share. Blessing will succeed
blessing, and storm follow storm before the fruit is full grown or
comes to maturity.”.
Consider some familiar names of believers whom God obviously brought
to maturity and used for His glory—such as Pierson, Chapman, Moody,
Goforth, Mueller, Taylor, Watt, Trumbull, Meyer, Murray, Havergal,
Gordon, Hyde, McCheyne, McConkey, Paxson, Carmichael and Hopkins.
The average for these was 15 years after they entered their life work
before they began to know the Lord Jesus as their Life and ceased
trying to work for Him and began allowing Him to be their All in all
and do His work through them.
As Horatius Bonar once
said...
We must study the Bible more. We
must not only lay it up within us, but transfuse it through the whole
texture of the soul.
Salvation (4991)
(soteria from sozo = keep safe and sound, to
rescue from danger or destruction or from injury or peril.
Click
for in depth analysis of
sozo)
describes a condition of safety, deliverance, preservation from danger
or destruction.
Christians are those who are being saved (present tense
salvation = sanctification), those who
have been saved (past tense salvation)
& will be saved (future tense salvation =
glorification). (Click for a discussion of the
Three
Tenses of Salvation)
We need to be "saved" every day of
our life on earth, and every word that proceeds from the mouth of God
provides the daily bread necessary to fight this life long battle with
our mortal, indefatigable enemies, our fallen flesh, the evil world
system and the Evil One himself (and his minions).
John Bunyan spoke of our
need for daily milk (bread) when he said that...
Sin will keep you from this book,
or this book will keep you from sin.
><> ><> ><>
ILLUSTRATIONS OF BIBLE TRUTH
by Harry A. Ironside - MILK YOUR OWN COW
"As newborn babes, desire the
sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby" (1 Pet. 2:2)
Patrick was an Irish Catholic, who for years had longed for the
assurance of peace with GOD. A visiting tourist, who fell in
conversation with him, left him a copy of the New Testament. Through
reading this, Pat was brought to a saving knowledge of the LORD JESUS
CHRIST, and from that time on, read and studied his Testament with
eagerness, ever seeking a deeper knowledge of the things of GOD.
The parish priest, who had missed him from the regular services,
called on him and found him deep in the study of the Word.
"Pat," he asked, "what is that book you are reading?"
"Sure, your riverence," was the reply, "it's the New Testament."
In horrified accents the priest exclaimed, "The New Testament! Why,
Pat, that's not a book for the likes of you. You'll be getting all
kings of wild notions from reading it and will be funning off into
heresy."
"But, your reverence," remonstrated Pat, "I have just been reading
here -- it's the blessed apostle Peter himself that wrote it -- 'As
newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow
thereby,' and sure it's a newborn babe in CHRIST I am and it's the
milk of the Word I'm after. So I can't see the harm of reading the
Testament."
"Ah," said the priest, "It's perfect true, Patrick, that you need the
milk of the Word, but the Almighty has appointed the clergy to be the
milkmen. The clergy go to the college and the seminary and learn the
meaning of the Word and then when the people come to the church we
give it to them as they are able to bear it, and explain it in a way
that they won't misunderstand."
"Well, sure, your reverence," said Pat, "you know I
kept a cow of me
own out there in the barn, and when I was sick, sometime ago, I had to
hire a man to milk the cow and I soon found he was stealin' half the
milk and fillin' the bucket up with water, and sure it was awful weak
milk I was gettin'.
But now that I am well again I let him go and
I am milkin' my own cow, and so it's the rich cream I am gettin' and
not watered down milk. And your riverence, when I was dependin' on you for the milk of
the Word, sure it was the blue, watery stuff you were given' me. But
now I am milkin' me own cow and enjoyin' the cream of the Word all the
time."
We may well emulate Patrick and each for himself milk his own cow and
thus get GOD's Word firsthand as He opens it up by the HOLY SPIRIT.
(See the best Bible Study method for "milking your own cow" so to
speak -
Inductive Bible study)
Beloved are you milking your own
cow? Have you read the Word of God today? Or have you instead read
someone's devotional on the Word? There is nothing like milking the
cow yourself!.
><> ><> ><>
Are You Starving...Spiritually
Speaking? - Many of us live in countries where food is abundant and people are
well-fed. That's why we may not be familiar with the symptoms of
starvation. At the outset, victims have an insatiable craving for
nourishment. As time passes, however, the body weakens, the mind is
dulled, and the desire for something to eat wanes. In fact, starving
people actually reach a point when they don't even want food that is
placed before them. Spiritual starvation follows much the same course.
If we have been feeding daily on God's Word, it's natural to feel
"hungry" when we skip our quiet time. But if we continue to neglect
it, we may lose all desire to study the Scriptures. In fact, we may be
starving ourselves. How much time do you spend reading the Bible and
meditating on its truths? Do you miss the Word when you neglect it?
Thomas Guthrie wrote, "If you find yourself loving any pleasure better
than your prayers, any book better than the Bible, any persons better
than Christ, or any indulgence better than the hope of heaven--take
alarm." If you've lost your taste for the "bread of life," confess
your negligence and ask God to revive your appetite for His Word.
Avoid spiritual starvation! --Richard W De Haan (Our
Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by
permission. All rights reserved)
Break Thou the bread of life, dear Lord, to me,
As Thou didst break the loaves beside the sea.
Beyond the sacred page I seek Thee, Lord;
My spirit pants for Thee, O Living Word. --Lathbury
A
well-read Bible is a sign of a well-fed soul
><>><>><>
In his conclusion of his excellent
message on this section of Peter, Pastor Steven Cole has the
following story...
J. I. Packer (A Quest for
Godliness, pp. 47-48, 97-98) tells of a Puritan preacher in the 1620’s
named John Rogers who bore down on his 500 hearers for neglecting the
Bible. First he personated God to the people, telling them, “I have
trusted you so long with my Bible ... it lies in such and such houses
all covered with dust and cobwebs; you care not to listen to it. Do
you use my Bible so? Well, you shall have my Bible no longer.” And he
took the Bible from the pulpit and seemed as if he were going to carry
it away from them.
But then he spun around and
personated the people to God. He fell on his knees and pleaded
earnestly, “Lord, whatever you do to us, take not your Bible from us.
Kill our children, burn our houses, destroy our goods, only spare us
your Bible! Don’t take away your Bible!”
Then he personated God again to the
people: “Say you so? Well I will try you a while longer; and here is
my Bible for you. I will see how you will use it, whether you will
love it more, observe it more, practice it more, and live more
according to it.”
At this point, according to Thomas
Goodwin, who was there and who later became a powerful preacher in his
own right, the entire congregation dissolved in tears. Goodwin
himself, when he got outside, hung on the neck of his horse weeping
for a quarter of an hour before he had the strength to mount, so
powerful an impression was upon him.
If you don’t have a craving for
God’s Word, there could be several reasons. Maybe you’ve never tasted
the Lord’s kindness in salvation. You need to believe that He died for
your sins and that He offers His salvation to you as a free gift. Take
it! And start feeding on the Bible. You may not have a craving for
God’s Word because of sin in your life. Someone has said that God’s
Word will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from God’s Word.
Confess and forsake it! And get back into the Bible.
You may have ruined your appetite
by feeding on the junk food of this world. “Hunger makes a good cook,”
as the saying goes. If you don’t sense your great need for God and His
Word, it may be because you’ve filled up on junk like television. Shut
it off! Or, maybe you’ve been filling up on the junk food being sold
at Christian book stores under the label of Christian, but which
waters down the pure Word of God with modern man’s wisdom. Such junk
food makes you feel full, but it doesn’t nourish the soul. Don’t waste
your time reading it! There are some excellent Christian books that
will help you to understand and apply God’s truth. They’re well worth
reading. But above all else, read your Bible! Hunger for God’s truth.
Drink it in like a nursing infant. You’ve got to have it above all
else if you want to grow in your salvation.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. How can a person know if a
preacher is giving out pure or watered down milk?
2. Must every Christian become a student of the Word in order to grow?
What if a person just isn’t a reader?
3. How can these relational sins (2:1) hinder desire for God’s Word?
4. Should we read the Word only when we’re motivated or even when we
don’t feel like it? Why? (Getting
Into the Word)
(Copyright 1992, Steven J. Cole, All Rights Reserved) |
