Progressing from Milk to Meat

John 3:16 (NASB)
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His  only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

This is the fundamental truth which when believed and incorporated into our hearts results in our being born into Christ. We all should be eager and able to provide simple accounts as to how Jesus has affected each of use personally.

But as we grow in Christ, we should mature, having passed through trials which strengthen us as we see how the Lord and the whole of Scripture brings us through. Our greater understanding is not just for ourselves, strengthening us, but so that we can pass that understanding to others, both to unbelievers so that they may come to believer, and to brother Christians, sometimes weaker in Christ, that we may help them perfect their own understanding.

If we are unable to progress thus, we remain as babes spiritually and require us to relearn the basics until we can trust in Him and progress thru trials to a stronger faith that we use to make better life decisions.


Hebrews 5:12-14 (NASB)
12For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the  elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.
14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.
 
Therein lies my dichotomy. As a meat eater I seek other meat eaters whom can digest and compute biblical information. However the more spiritual I become, the less of these meat eaters I find in the world for local fellowship. Im not getting what I need and therefore become even more of a loner, turning off more of the world. Which in turn keeps me from finding them.

All I can do is laugh at my own predicament, and leave this matter in Gods hands for HE will bring me the fellowship I seek. Patience is truly an exercise of the soul. Thanks for reading my rambling...
 
I can identify with your situation. There have been times when I wanted to have a more "lofty" discussion than I was getting. Often I just wanted praise for my lofty views.

But the point of the Hebrews verses is that those that are dinning on meat should be the teachers of those who still require milk. One key point of being a good teacher, as opposed to a graduate student, is that the needs of those being taught supersede the needs of the one doing the teaching.

Also, just as one cannot be a leader without also being a servant, one cannot be a teacher without also being and remaining a student.

One cannot rightly hold himself aloof from those that have need of guidance and fellowship.

There will be no time when you can no longer learn something from your brothers. There will always be some areas that you need to humbly "sit at the feet" of a brother amd learn the scriptures and their application through his eyes.
 
Do you think in some instances you can outgrow your church fellowship? Say you been going for a couple of years and they just start saying the same things over and over in the sermons but you need more than what you been receiving.

What do you do then? Become the sunday school teacher? I think after three or four years of being saved God had me ready to teach children the basics so He had me go back to primary school lol. After having gone to university and got my Masters I could have either gone on to do a PhD and teach library school as a professor but God had the best way for me and that was to go to primary school and raise up the children to be the next librarians...:)

Possibly after a few years of this I might be ready for high school all over again!
 
I am a college graduate that was raised in the Greek Orthodox church learning scriptures, reciting, and chanting in classical Greek. I seek edification from those more learned and knowledgeable than I. My gifts are not that of teaching, nor am I well received when doing so. In first appearances my actions can be interpreted as quite aloof. The opposite is true as I care too much wearing my heart on my sleeve. Its not an area I wish to be good at, as I have many other talents gifted to me where I shine. So my dichotomy remains mine to bear, as I have struggled in this area on and off for most of my life. When I "slum it", I fall back into a life full of sin. So life as a loner is much more comfortable and safe to maintain a level of spirituality conducive to personal growth.

So yes you can outgrow a church setting, because the fellowship is not allowing for spiritual growth. In many ways I believe going to a physical church building has outlived it usefulness in the world today. Why? Fellowship with the saints has become fellowship with many whom don't even read their bible. I can get more out of a personal internet study on a topic I need. All I get out of going to a church building are friendships with the saved, which is the only reason I even attend. Which brings me to a tithe. Tithing in the old testament under the law was required. The new testament speaks of giving from the heart. When I attend most churches I see an excess of material possessions, on many different levels. I would rather not see it.
 
I am a college graduate that was raised in the Greek Orthodox church learning scriptures, reciting, and chanting in classical Greek. I seek edification from those more learned and knowledgeable than I. My gifts are not that of teaching, nor am I well received when doing so. In first appearances my actions can be interpreted as quite aloof. The opposite is true as I care too much wearing my heart on my sleeve. Its not an area I wish to be good at, as I have many other talents gifted to me where I shine. So my dichotomy remains mine to bear, as I have struggled in this area on and off for most of my life. When I "slum it", I fall back into a life full of sin. So life as a loner is much more comfortable and safe to maintain a level of spirituality conducive to personal growth.

So yes you can outgrow a church setting, because the fellowship is not allowing for spiritual growth. In many ways I believe going to a physical church building has outlived it usefulness in the world today. Why? Fellowship with the saints has become fellowship with many whom don't even read their bible. I can get more out of a personal internet study on a topic I need. All I get out of going to a church building are friendships with the saved, which is the only reason I even attend. Which brings me to a tithe. Tithing in the old testament under the law was required. The new testament speaks of giving from the heart. When I attend most churches I see an excess of material possessions, on many different levels. I would rather not see it.
My thoughts as I read this fall on multipie sides of the issue.

On one hand, it may be a need that a strong believer could help change the nature of the congregation. In the past year, my wife and I have visited many churches in the area looking for a home. In one case, the congregation in a church whose sanctuary could hold several dozen,there was an attendance of less than a ten. I felt like I wanted to come in and help them grow. But my wife and I felt we had great needs that could not te met there.

On another hand, it's hard to be the strong pole holding up the tent.

One needs a fellowship where they can both be blessed and be a blessing to others.

I am sure that the Hebrews that had not progressed to the point that they could see the wrongness of continuing under the Law were blessed that the epistle writer (probably Paul) did not write them off.

As for getting more out of internet and personal study, every Christian needs to be challenged from time to time. If one avoids the fellowship of the saints he is unlikely to consider contrasting views.

There are areas where my fellow believers that I hold in high esteem often hold views on secondary doctrine that seem incompatible with mine and we are each confident in the ultimate correctness of our incompatible views. We can still accept each other as brothers and continue to thank the Lord for the challenging fellowship.
 
Ah! but we are having fellowship with the saints over internet conversations on this site that always presents contrasting views. :)
Exactly, why some people think that everyone has to agree with them all the time and see things EXACTLY the same way they see them is beyond me. Is everyone the same age, born in the same place and went to the same schools and of the same sex? Nope. Of course you going to have different views! Nobody is a clone of each other. Haveing a different voew doesnt mean the other person is wrong and you are right. It just means you are coming from a different perspectives.
 
Very well said my fellow sister in Christ~ I don't always agree with you, but I do respect that your opinions are uniquely yours. Enjoyment in reading these forums is because of the diversity of views.
 
Ah! but we are having fellowship with the saints over internet conversations on this site that always presents contrasting views. :)
But living the Christian life is not about lofty conversations, it is about being doers of the word.

James 1:23-25 (NASB)​
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

Its not that one cannot live as a Christian without the Church, but that getting involved in the ministries of a congregation, whether as a integral part or as holding them up in prayer enhances the ones spiritual health.

As an illustration, think of old time sailors. They had to take citrus fruit to eat along the way or they developed scurvy. If a Christian does not have a full range of spiritual input, he will develop spiritual scurvy.

Hebrews 10:23-25 (NASB)​
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
 
I think its the encouraging one another aspect of forums thats best. We are to spur one another to good works.
Not debate. Some forums are all about debate, but I dont like going in those. Who wants to spend all day arguing with someone? I dont. I have stuff to do!
 
I would like to express my opinion regarding the difference between the milk of John 3:16, which should remain central to our understanding of Christ, and the childish things of I Cor 13:11 that we should let diminish.

Just as milk and dairy continue to be an important parts of an adults diet, Gods love for us in giving His Son for us remains of central importance to the Christian life.

The childish things to diminish in the adult Christian is the emphasis of what God did for especially for me. In context, what is to increase is our expression of thanks by teaching others about Christ.

It is not that my personal experiences are not important to me, but that those experiences should be harnessed in service to Him by ministering to others.
 
Well when you drink milk, you are sucking from your mothers breast. All you have to do, as a babe, is latch on. When you eat meat, you need to farm or go hunting and kill it, or go to work, earn some money, go shopping and buy it from the butcher or supermarket, then take it home, cook it and share it with others. You also need to cut it up in bite size pieces. Its not just there...

A bit more effort involved...
 
Therein lies my dichotomy. As a meat eater I seek other meat eaters whom can digest and compute biblical information. However the more spiritual I become, the less of these meat eaters I find in the world for local fellowship. Im not getting what I need and therefore become even more of a loner, turning off more of the world. Which in turn keeps me from finding them.

All I can do is laugh at my own predicament, and leave this matter in Gods hands for HE will bring me the fellowship I seek. Patience is truly an exercise of the soul. Thanks for reading my rambling...

Us T-Rex's have got to stick together!
 
I can identify with your situation. There have been times when I wanted to have a more "lofty" discussion than I was getting. Often I just wanted praise for my lofty views.

But the point of the Hebrews verses is that those that are dinning on meat should be the teachers of those who still require milk. One key point of being a good teacher, as opposed to a graduate student, is that the needs of those being taught supersede the needs of the one doing the teaching.

Also, just as one cannot be a leader without also being a servant, one cannot be a teacher without also being and remaining a student.

One cannot rightly hold himself aloof from those that have need of guidance and fellowship.

There will be no time when you can no longer learn something from your brothers. There will always be some areas that you need to humbly "sit at the feet" of a brother amd learn the scriptures and their application through his eyes.

Ahh, yes. You have placed your finger on the pulse.

When we think in our minds that we have progressed above others, we have entered into "elitism".

When we stop learning, we are then actually dead!

IMO...….There are two kinds of Christians that can and do harm the cause of Christ.
1. Holier-than-thou Christians.
2. Uppity Christians. (Elite).

Holier-than-thou Christians think they are spiritually better than others.
Uppity Christians think they are socially better than others.

Neither one of those are acceptable.
 
But living the Christian life is not about lofty conversations, it is about being doers of the word.

James 1:23-25 (NASB)​
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

Its not that one cannot live as a Christian without the Church, but that getting involved in the ministries of a congregation, whether as a integral part or as holding them up in prayer enhances the ones spiritual health.

As an illustration, think of old time sailors. They had to take citrus fruit to eat along the way or they developed scurvy. If a Christian does not have a full range of spiritual input, he will develop spiritual scurvy.

Hebrews 10:23-25 (NASB)​
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

Not to argue with you or anyone else, but to give you all something to think about...…….IMO, there is no power in the New Nature!

Most of us make the mistake of thinking that because we are Christians we can walk on top of the world. WE CAN"T!

Romans 7:18......
"I know that in me, that is my flesh, dwelleth no good thing".

Getting saved did not get rid of the Old Nature and now we are caught between the New Nature and the Old Nature as the war rages between them.

We are just as weak now as we were before. That is the reason why we must walk by faith and in the power of the Holy Spirit as only He can produce a christian life.

The way we can grow is to study the Word of God and allow the Holy Spirit to give us the ability to eat the meat that will nourish our souls.
 
John 3:16 (NASB)
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His  only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

This is the fundamental truth which when believed and incorporated into our hearts results in our being born into Christ. We all should be eager and able to provide simple accounts as to how Jesus has affected each of use personally.

But as we grow in Christ, we should mature, having passed through trials which strengthen us as we see how the Lord and the whole of Scripture brings us through. Our greater understanding is not just for ourselves, strengthening us, but so that we can pass that understanding to others, both to unbelievers so that they may come to believer, and to brother Christians, sometimes weaker in Christ, that we may help them perfect their own understanding.

If we are unable to progress thus, we remain as babes spiritually and require us to relearn the basics until we can trust in Him and progress thru trials to a stronger faith that we use to make better life decisions.


Hebrews 5:12-14 (NASB)
12For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the  elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.
14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

Good stuff !!!
 
I sincerely feel in my heart that it is not about progressing above others; we are all equal for we are all saved (on this site- the body of Christ). We just have different gifts. Being humbled greatly and living a minimalistic life has freed me from the needless bondage to worldly possessions. So yes I get very hurt when those whom are suppose to be representing our Father within our communities, engage in excessive behaviors and lifestyles that do not present modesty. In turn the teaching becomes secondary, and simple people like me fall to the wayside and wish not to attend a church building.

Father in the name of your Son Jesus Christ I thank you, and everyone engaged in this conversation for their input. Might I continue to find what you lead me to Lord, outside of traditional church buildings. Amen.
 
I sincerely feel in my heart that it is not about progressing above others; we are all equal for we are all saved (on this site- the body of Christ). We just have different gifts. Being humbled greatly and living a minimalistic life has freed me from the needless bondage to worldly possessions. So yes I get very hurt when those whom are suppose to be representing our Father within our communities, engage in excessive behaviors and lifestyles that do not present modesty. In turn the teaching becomes secondary, and simple people like me fall to the wayside and wish not to attend a church building.

Father in the name of your Son Jesus Christ I thank you, and everyone engaged in this conversation for their input. Might I continue to find what you lead me to Lord, outside of traditional church buildings. Amen.
What kind of excessive behaviours and lifestyles are you talking about thenami? Just wondering.
 
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