Being fed with milk is an expression that indicates an individual’s level of physical growth, and, in the case of our study today, spiritual growth.

Paul admonished the Corinthians in his letter for their lack of maturity by not growing in the Word of God, thus creating divisions in the church. In 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 Paul writes:

“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?”

Similarly, the writer of Hebrews expressed the following:

“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.”  (Hebrews 5:12–14)

Which category would you place yourself in?

Discipleship remains one of the most important factors in church membership retention, and more importantly, in the development of an individual’s relationship with God.

Unfortunately, Bible study is clearly no longer in fashion in most Christian households. We have gotten away from the Word because of the world and as a result, many of us are still babes in our knowledge where by now we should be teachers.

This not only affects our own development, but it weakens our witness to the world. Many of us are afraid to evangelize out of fear of embarrassment for not being able to answer a question should an unbeliever pose such a response.

We are obligated to study and grow in our spiritual knowledge – it is a part of our sanctification. If we are only relying on the word from the pulpit each Sunday or an occasional trip to a Sunday school class to develop our faith, then we are not much better off than those who do not believe at all. For if we believe in God’s Word, why would we not want to know more about it?

We Are Commanded to Grow

In Ephesians, Paul reminded the believers of the importance of growth:

“to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 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, 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. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,” (Ephesians 4:12–15).

We must not abdicate our own Christian maturity to church attendance and simply listen to a 15-30-minute sermon, regardless of how faithful and biblically centered it may be. Let the church be the re-enforcement tool and a place where we can exercise our faith and be encouraged by others.

Make today the day you decide to go from being fed solely with milk to enjoying the meat of what it means to be a growing, healthy Christian.