Solid Food for What?

[Tone]

I said the following in another thread, which got me to thinking.

"If He didn't care, there would be no lessons.

If there are no more lessons, we are full-grown.

Why would He want us to be full-grown?"


1 Peter 2:3
"2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good."


Hebrews 5:12-14
"12 In 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! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."

And after doing a little search on the word "growth" I ran in to those two verses above.

So why does God want us to be full-grown?

 

[Pavel Mosko]

So why does God want us to be full-grown?

Because immature people are needy, eventually irritating and not living up to their potential. God created us to have a relationship with Him and that actually involves sharing in his work, ministry and kingdom. Children by nature cannot do this, until they grow up.

This is part of the Divine Economy.

Economy (religion) - Wikipedia.

Divine Council - Wikipedia.

 

[Charlie24]

I said the following in another thread, which got me to thinking.

"If He didn't care, there would be no lessons.

If there are no more lessons, we are full-grown.

Why would He want us to be full-grown?"


1 Peter 2:3
"2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good."


Hebrews 5:12-14
"12 In 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! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."

And after doing a little search on the word "growth" I ran in to those two verses above.

So why does God want us to be full-grown?

What's happening here is that the Jews who have accepted Christ and left Temple worship (the Law) and are now being taught the New Testament Gospel are being scolded by the author of Hebrews (I will not mention who he is, guaranteed argument meant for another thread).

Back up to Heb. 5:11, "seeing you are hard of hearing" they have had time to learn the Gospel but have not. vs. 12 "you should be teachers of the Gospel but you are in need of being taught again. vs 13 "you are unskillful in the Word of Righteousness (KJV) like a baby).

They should be "full grown" by now in the Gospel, but were not.

vs. 14 "strong meat belongs to them who are mature in knowledge, they can discern between good and evil."

This is referring to maturity in knowing how to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh.

Having the faith to not walk by sight but by faith being grounded in the Word of God.

 

[ISteveB]

I said the following in another thread, which got me to thinking.

"If He didn't care, there would be no lessons.

If there are no more lessons, we are full-grown.

Why would He want us to be full-grown?"


1 Peter 2:3
"2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good."


Hebrews 5:12-14
"12 In 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! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."

And after doing a little search on the word "growth" I ran in to those two verses above.

So why does God want us to be full-grown?

Well, if I'm understanding this post correctly....

we are being predestined to be conformed into the likeness of Jesus. Romans 8:28-30.

Furthermore, we're to grow in the grace and knowledge of God, Ephesians 4:12-16.

Eph 4:11-16 WEB 11 He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, shepherds and teachers; 12 for the perfecting of the saints, to the work of serving, to the building up of 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 a full grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 that we may no longer be children, tossed back and forth and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error; 15 but speaking truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him who is the head, Christ, 16 from whom all the body, being fitted and knit together through that which every joint supplies, according to the working in measure of each individual part, makes the body increase to the building up of itself in love.
​

Our goal, and our respective purposes for the entire body of Christ is the grow up to become like Jesus.

There's a lot more to this, but for the sake of answering the primary question you're asking.

 

[Sabertooth]

FYI, "weaned" ≠ "fully mature"
It just means that we left the first stage.

 

[Jeanie Davis]

Full grown doesn't mean that we have nothing to learn.... We all "left" childhood to become adults-full grown humans, but I am positive that none of us have ever stopped learning! Full grown only means that now we can handle topics that we could not even begin to consider as children.

 

[Tone]

knowing how to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh.

So this ^ is the :

have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."

In your opinion?


*It appears that we are to be mature in order to distinguish between good and evil, but why?

Solid food>>>>maturity>>>>distinguish good/evil>>>>?

 

[Tone]

Because immature people are needy, eventually irritating and not living up to their potential. God created us to have a relationship with Him and that actually involves sharing in his work, ministry and kingdom. Children by nature cannot do this, until they grow up.

This is part of the Divine Economy.

Economy (religion) - Wikipedia.

Divine Council - Wikipedia.

So, He wants us to be mature so we stop being annoying?

 

[Tone]

Full grown doesn't mean that we have nothing to learn.... We all "left" childhood to become adults-full grown humans, but I am positive that none of us have ever stopped learning! Full grown only means that now we can handle topics that we could not even begin to consider as children.

Topics like marriage?

 

[Tone]

to become like Jesus.

As equals?

 

[Sabertooth]

So, He wants us to be mature so we stop being annoying?

I am sure that our flesh will always be annoying. I believe that He wants us to see beyond it.

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,

that you present your bodies a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.​

And do not be conformed to this world,

but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that you may prove what is that

good and
acceptable and
perfect will of God." Romans 12:1-2 NKJV​

 

[Charlie24]

So this ^ is the :



In your opinion?


*It appears that we are to be mature in order to distinguish between good and evil, but why?

Solid food>>>>maturity>>>>distinguish good/evil>>>>?

Solid food>>>>maturity in the Word of God>>>>distinguish good/evil.

 

[Jeanie Davis]

Topics like marriage?

Well I was thinking actually topics more spiritual in nature such as righteousness by faith, sola scriptura, faith vs works, etc.

 

[ISteveB]

As equals?

Is that what Paul said?
You'd be the first one I've ever heard say that.

According to Ephesians 5, we are the bride of Christ.

So, you tell me... is the bride the equal of the husband?

 

[Tone]

Is that what Paul said?
You'd be the first one I've ever heard say that.

According to Ephesians 5, we are the bride of Christ.

So, you tell me... is the bride the equal of the husband?

First one to ask that you mean?

The Husband is the head. I wouldn't say the body is less than the head, they need each other.

 

[Pavel Mosko]

So, He wants us to be mature so we stop being annoying?

lol

I was first going to approach it from the angle of Christians that never progress pass the "Jesus loves Me this I know" end of things.

Back in the 1980s I had this old Lutheran Pastor. All his sermons boiled down to one of two themes

1) You cannot earn heaven, it is a free gift (The Traditional message of the Reformation)

2) Things can be really awful here on earth, but hang on it will be really great in Heaven!

The problem with that is their is so much more to the Bible. And people get bored of that. I myself had other issues. I eventually became an Agnostic for a few years, because it seemed like I needed a lot of help with my life problems and God wasn't really there or involved and I was depressed or lot.

But there are answers to these difficult questions if you search and think about them.


I remember the start of my Lutheran Confirmation aka Catechism class. When discussing God, as far as Eternity etc. goes eventually someone asks the question, "What was God doing before He created the World?" The cute answer given, was "making sticks to switch people who ask that question?". But the question is actually valid and here is the answer, God is outside or time, and not subject to it, time itself is an aspect of the Creation, there is not time without God asking that question is projecting a human limitation onto God.


There is a Bible scholar that I have gotten into the last few years, Michael Heiser. He is a Semanticist expert on the middle eastern cultural aspects of the Bible. Today lots of people are tripped up by passages like early genesis. Atheist's also like to use that content for their own ends. The content though is not really a problem if we approach the book as something that is not only divinely inspired but has a human cultural element as well.

Heiser has a great saying "I am going to stop protecting people from their Bible." Meaning many ministers run away from the difficult passages of the Bible, which was largely true from me growing up and the Book of Revelation. He also has a saying about some of the odd passages of the Bible "If it's weird, it's important."

 

[xxkingskidlmxx]

So, He wants us to be mature so we stop being annoying?

Irritate an oyster, you might get a pearl

 

[Tone]

Irritate an oyster, you might get a pearl

Awww shucks...

 

[ISteveB]

First one to ask that you mean?

The Husband is the head. I wouldn't say the body is less than the head, they need each other.

So, what does it say, in dealing with your question of is the church equal to Jesus?

 

[Tone]

So, what does it say, in dealing with your question of is the church equal to Jesus?

What does what say?