Pure Spiritual Milk
1 Peter 2 begins: "So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation."
There
are two other references to milk in the New Testament, both of which refer to
milk as a necessity for those "still of the flesh", "behaving
only in a human way", with solid food reserved for "mature",
"spiritual people", "trained by constant practice to distinguish
good from evil:"
1 Corinthians 3:1-3, "But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?"
Hebrews 5:12-6:3, "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits."
What
is this pure spiritual milk that we are supposed to long for and crave? “The
basic principles of the oracles of God”, “the elementary doctrine of Christ”;
in short, it is the Gospel, by which all those who belong to Christ have heard
and believed, through faith, by the grace of God. The Gospel is not just
for unbelievers to come to belief, although it of course is that; Peter here is
writing to fellow believers, the "elect" (1Peter 1:1) who "have
been born again" (1 Peter 1:23). The pure spiritual milk is
"the good news that was preached to you" (1 Peter 1:25), "that
by it you may grow up into salvation" (1 Peter 2:2). All three of these passages are actually
addressed to believers, but these believers have failed to “put off the old
self” (Ephesians 4:22) and “grow up into salvation.”
The
gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew
first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed
from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’"
(Romans 1:16-17) Did you catch
that? The Gospel is both the power of
God for salvation for everyone who
believes, both for the unbeliever to come to belief, and for the righteous to live
by faith.
Paul
instructed believers repeatedly to “grow up into salvation” by living in
Christ, walking by the Spirit, not by the sinful desires of the human heart and
mind. Consider these two exhortations:
Galatians 516 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit."
Ephesians 411 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. 17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
Do
you see any similarities between Paul’s instructions in Galatians and Ephesians
and what Peter writes as well? We have
“tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Peter 2:3), so we are called to “grow up in
every way into him who is the head, into Christ…to put off your old self…and to
put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness
and holiness.” Again, how has God chosen
to reveal his likeness in true righteousness and holiness? Through the Gospel (Romans 1:17). His Son Jesus Christ is the Gospel, the very
Word of God (John 1:1-2); “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ…he has
made him known” (John 1:17-18). Again,
God “has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things,
through whom also he created the world.
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his
nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” (Hebrews 1:1-3)
I
think it is important to note here that while all the above references to milk
are set in contrast to the necessity of solid food, that by no means lessens
the value of the milk. Infants are
wholly sustained on milk. It is the
first sustenance they receive when born, coming from the womb into newness of
life. It is all that their bodies can
handle, but exactly what they were designed to thrive on as well. As they grow, with a constant, unchanging
diet of pure milk for many months, their bodies are preparing for the
introduction of new foods and textures, and their organs preparing for new
nutrients. Milk is essential, but it is
meant to carry us on to richer things.
Again from Hebrews 5:12 above, “By this time you ought to be
teachers.” What are these teachers teaching? The pure milk of the Gospel. Then, as God permits, we will leave the
elementary but foundational doctrines of faith, going on to maturity, being
“trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:12-14).
"Brothers,
do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking
be mature" (1 Corinthians 14:20). For Jesus says, “Behold, I am sending
you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as
doves." (Matthew 10:16). All of this leads us to Peter's instruction in
this chapter, "For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should
put to silence the ignorance of foolish people " (v. 15).
But
this gospel, this Jesus, will not be received by all. Consider 1 Corinthians 1:21-25,
"For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through
wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who
believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ
crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who
are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of
God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is
stronger than men."
A Living Stone, Chosen and Precious
1 Corinthians 3:11 "For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ."
Isaiah 28:16 Therefore the Lord GOD said: "Look, I have laid a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will be unshakable."
Psalm 118:22-2319 Open to me the gates of righteousness,that I may enter through themand give thanks to the LORD.20 This is the gate of the LORD;the righteous shall enter through it.21 I thank you that you have answered meand have become my salvation.22 The stone that the builders rejectedhas become the cornerstone.23 This is the LORD’s doing;it is marvelous in our eyes.24 This is the day that the LORD has made;let us rejoice and be glad in it.
The
previous passages give the believer hope, as we are being built up on a sure,
unshakable foundation in Christ, but it holds a quite different meaning to
those who do not accept Christ, as Jesus quotes the same Scripture from Psalms here:
Matthew 21:42-46
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46 And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.
Again, in Luke 20:17-18, [Jesus] looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? 18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
Isaiah 8:14-15
Then He shall become a sanctuary; But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over, And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 “Many will stumble over them, Then they will fall and be broken; They will even be snared and caught.”
Romans 9:30-33
30 What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
So
although some “stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to
do” (1 Peter 2:8), there is still hope for “whoever believes in him” (Romans
9:33). “For with the heart one believes
and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the
Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For
there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of
all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on
the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:10-13)
As
Calvin says in his commentary on 1 Peter 2 (http://calvin.biblecommenter.com/1_Peter/2.htm),
"… there is no building up of
the Church without Christ; for there is no other foundation but he, as Paul
testifies (1 Corinthians
3:11). This is no matter of wonder, for all our salvation is found only in him.
Whosoever, then, turns away from him in the least degree, will find his
foundation a precipice. Therefore the Prophet [Isaiah] not only calls him a
corner-stone, which connects the whole edifice, but also a stone of trial,
according to which the building is to be measured and regulated; and farther,
he calls him a solid foundation, which sustains the whole edifice. He is thus,
then, a corner-stone, that he might be the rule of the building, as well as the
only foundation....because the weight of the building rests on him." Calvin later continues, "For as the
firmness and stability of Christ is such that it can sustain all who by faith
recumb on him; so his hardness is so great that it will break and tear in
pieces all who resist him. For there is no medium between these two things, --
we must either build on him, or be dashed against him."
You cannot take the name of
Christ and not build your life on the Gospel. Christ, as revealed in His Word,
is the only sure foundation for life. If you do not take Christ as He is revealed
in the Word, you do not truly take Christ at all.
As
always, please read this chapter of 1 Peter in the Bible first. These haikus
are simply intended to let us hear the truth of Scripture in a fresh way, which
we might otherwise gloss over when read in whatever translation of the Bible we
normally read or hear. God alone possesses truth, and I pray that the Holy
Spirit will cover over any errors made on my part, speaking that truth to your
heart through the glorious Word of God (that would be Jesus, see John 1:1-5). I
am not trying to write a new version of the Bible here; my desire is simply
that the truth of the inerrant Word of God would be heard and discovered by us
all over again. Speak to us through your Holy Spirit, God. We long to know you.
To your great Name alone be the glory!
Verse 1
So rid yourselves of
All deceit, hypocrisy,
Envy, and slander
2
Like newborn babes, crave
The pure milk of the word that
You may grow by it
3
Since you have tasted
The kindness, graciousness, and
Goodness of the Lord
4
You're coming to Christ,
Who is the living corner-
Stone of God's temple
4 (continued)
Rejected by men,
But in the sight of God was
Chosen and precious
5
And you are living
Stones, being built up as a
Spiritual house
5 (continued)
A holy priesthood
To offer sacrifices
That please God through Christ
6
As the Scriptures say,
"Look! I lay in Zion a
Chosen cornerstone
6 (continued)
"And he who believes
In Him will not be ashamed
Or disappointed"
7
So the honor is
For you who believe, but for
Those who don't believe,
7 (continued)
"The stone the builders
Rejected has become the
Very cornerstone,"
8
"A stone they stumble
Over, and a large rock that
They find offensive"
8 (continued)
They keep on stumbling
For they disobey the word,
As they were destined
9
But you are chosen
People, a royal priesthood,
A holy nation
9 (continued)
A people for God's
Own possession, that you may
Declare His praises
9 (continued)
For He has called you
Out of the darkness into
His marvelous light
10
For once you were not
A people, but now you are
The peoople of God
10 (continued)
You had not received
Mercy, but now mercies are
Poured out upon you
11
In this world you are
Sojourners and aliens,
Pilgrims and exiles
11 (continued)
I urge you to keep
From worldly desires which wage
War against your soul
12
Live honorable
And upright lives before all
The children of men
12 (continued)
And they'll glorify
God on the day he visits
Us to judge the world
13
Submit yourselves to
All human authority
Because of the Lord
13-14
Whether to a king
As head of state, or to a
Governor he sends
14
Those he commissions
To punish wrongdoers and
Praise those who do right
15
For it is God's will
That you shut the mouths of fools
By doing what's right
16
Live as free people,
Not to conceal evil, but
Instead to serve God
17
Honor all people,
Love the brotherhood, fear God,
and honor the king
18
You who are servants
Must be submissive to your
Masters with respect,
18 (continued)
Not only to those
Who are good and gentle, but
Also to the harsh
19
For it brings favor
If one endures the pain of
Unjust suffering
20
But what honor is
It to endure punishment
For sin with patience?
20 (continued)
But if you suffer
For doing good and endure,
This brings God's favor
21
You were called to this,
Since Christ suffered for you and
Left an example
21-22
To follow His steps,
Who did no sin, and never
Spoke deceitfully
23
When reviled, he did
Not revile; when he suffered,
He did not threaten
And you are living
Stones, being built up as a
Spiritual house
5 (continued)
A holy priesthood
To offer sacrifices
That please God through Christ
6
As the Scriptures say,
"Look! I lay in Zion a
Chosen cornerstone
6 (continued)
"And he who believes
In Him will not be ashamed
Or disappointed"
7
So the honor is
For you who believe, but for
Those who don't believe,
7 (continued)
"The stone the builders
Rejected has become the
Very cornerstone,"
8
"A stone they stumble
Over, and a large rock that
They find offensive"
8 (continued)
They keep on stumbling
For they disobey the word,
As they were destined
9
But you are chosen
People, a royal priesthood,
A holy nation
9 (continued)
A people for God's
Own possession, that you may
Declare His praises
9 (continued)
For He has called you
Out of the darkness into
His marvelous light
10
For once you were not
A people, but now you are
The peoople of God
10 (continued)
You had not received
Mercy, but now mercies are
Poured out upon you
11
In this world you are
Sojourners and aliens,
Pilgrims and exiles
11 (continued)
I urge you to keep
From worldly desires which wage
War against your soul
12
Live honorable
And upright lives before all
The children of men
12 (continued)
And they'll glorify
God on the day he visits
Us to judge the world
13
Submit yourselves to
All human authority
Because of the Lord
13-14
Whether to a king
As head of state, or to a
Governor he sends
14
Those he commissions
To punish wrongdoers and
Praise those who do right
15
For it is God's will
That you shut the mouths of fools
By doing what's right
16
Live as free people,
Not to conceal evil, but
Instead to serve God
17
Honor all people,
Love the brotherhood, fear God,
and honor the king
18
You who are servants
Must be submissive to your
Masters with respect,
18 (continued)
Not only to those
Who are good and gentle, but
Also to the harsh
19
For it brings favor
If one endures the pain of
Unjust suffering
20
But what honor is
It to endure punishment
For sin with patience?
20 (continued)
But if you suffer
For doing good and endure,
This brings God's favor
21
You were called to this,
Since Christ suffered for you and
Left an example
21-22
To follow His steps,
Who did no sin, and never
Spoke deceitfully
23
When reviled, he did
Not revile; when he suffered,
He did not threaten
23 (continued)
He continued to
Entrust himself to the One
Who judges justly
24
He personally
Carried our sins in his own
Body on the cross
24 (continued)
That we might die to
Sin and live to righteousness;
By His wounds you're healed
25
For once you were like
Sheep who were going astray
Continually
25 (continued)
Now you have come back,
Returned to the Shepherd and
Bishop of your souls
