Sincere Milk of the Word

  Ever since the days of the Roman empire, civilization has dealt with the doctrine of Epicureanism made popular by Epicurus, a Roman philosopher whose teachings was that truth is found in the belly – senses – sensual. (Satan tries to counterfeit the spiritual truth that’s found in that same location)

Out of Epicurus’ teachings came Socrates and Plato who echoed his sensual teachings. These teachings have erroneously reached into Christendom, making it difficult to determine a follower of Christ from those fashioned according to the world.

And so now, just because a person is in a good word church for a number of years doesn’t necessarily mean that the church is in them but rather Epicureanism or the spirit of Epicurus.

The church can be said to be the mind of God (mind of Christ). And the word of God unfolds the mind of God, which is filed with purpose.

God and His word is one.  God and his church is one just as He and His word is one.

That being the case, then the church doesn’t have a problem for which there is no solution.

The problem lies with,

• Man’s immaturity
• Man’s failure to make the right connection with God

For instance, a good employee is one who has been indoctrinated by his employer so that he is loyal to the vision of the company.  He knows his purpose within the larger vision of the company and how it is that the company should be promoted.

In a similar fashion, the people of God should have unquestioned loyalty to the word of God.

Joshua 1:8 must have pre-imminence; “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success”.

But sorry to say, in our trials, we oftentimes fall short of appropriating what we have been told to observe that we may have success.

You see, we cannot taste of the graciousness of God until we have laid aside all, (1 Pet.2:1-3)

• Malice – kakia: malignity, ill-will, desire to inure, wickedness, depravity, evil, trouble
• All guile – “dolos”: craft, deceit, guile
• Hypocrisies – “hupokrisis”: an answering, the act of stage playing
• Envies  - “phthonos”: prompted by envy
• All evil speaking – “katalalia”: defamation

Peter says, “As new born babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby”.

The Greek word here for sincere is “adolon” means, properly, that which is without guile or falsehood, then unadulterated, pure, genuine.

• The “sincere word” is the pure doctrine, as delivered in the epistles and gospels, and as preached by the apostles and their successors.

As a young child feeds from it’s mothers breast, Peter is saying, so must you receive the pure doctrinal messages that will be foundational to receive mature teachings.

Let me say that Christians never stop growing spiritually into new seasons, new levels and new dimension but maturity is only achieved in areas by the development of certain characters. These include endurance, patience and faithfulness. Notice they come to a certain level of maturity but not absolute perfection for only the Lord God is perfect.

It’s like a mango tree, the older the tree, apparently, the sweeter the fruit.

But you must in all sincerity desire the sincere milk of the word.

• The “sincere milk of the word”, means the whole gospel, compared to the more plain and easy truths of the word.

Example, the man on the street knows about John 3:16 but has no revelation of it’s spiritual meaning because if he knew then he would not waste time but adopt it’s principles.

When a man is fully convinced of the principles of the doctrine of Christ then he will submit himself totally. And the more the doctrine of Christ is revealed the more humility and purposeful will be his living so that his living shall not become a life of vanity in the Lord but one of peace and rest.

A life that will be pleasing unto the Lord and devoted to his sacrificial purposes such as giving to the Lord in all manner of gifts; finance, time to be a physical and spiritual worker in the Gospel, time to pray, time to worship and praise the Lord with all vigilance.

The sincere milk of the word will take you to a place called the “Rest of God” where the psalmist declare that he who finds such a place dwells under the shelter of the Most High, that is, resting under the shadow of the Almighty.

Half Way house mentality.

But there are those who have decided merely to hang on to the more plain and easy truths of the word rather than venturing into the depth of God or the sincere milk of the word. They have been the ones within the church assemblies who have treated the church as a “Half-Way house”. They have no passion for the word and some of them are in the church assembly’s merely to get fixed up to go back into the world to continue life as usual.

Thus the Holy Spirit will use those who have the sincere milk or have matured in the pure doctrine to go forth and pray for them who have not as yet found the perfect way of the Lord.

Others ones, the Holy Spirit will use in a pastoral dimension to tend the pasture of God with the objective of putting away wrath and the fiery indignation that is raised in the conscience of the sinner by the law.

Besides, because the sinner doesn’t know God, he is kept in a constant state of wrath and fiery indignation to those who are sons of God.

• The sinner and the Christian with whom there is malice and hypocrisies cannot have a revelation of God.
• No revelation brings a limit in utilization.

That poor man will be always learning but never coming to the truth of God’s word and that’s often the man who prefers to remain in the easy truths of God.

Let us not  confused that posture with the words of Jesus that says, “my yolk is easy and my burden light”. For even to get to that “easy yolk” there has to be a core decision that is eventualized by revelation.

The sincere milk is,

1. Salvation – Rom. 10:9, 10 “That if thou shall confess …”
2. Sweet and agreeable in taste to a regenerate man – reconciliation to sons of God – Rom. 8:14 They are led by the Spirit of God
3. Easily digestible by those to whom it is revealed – who thirst (Isa. 55:1)
4. Nourishment for those who seek after eternal life – It’s the bread/body of Christ
5. Pacifying of the inflammations of life – healing Isa.53:5, 1Pet.2:24
6. Restorative in consuming disorders of sin;   1Jn.1:8, 9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful…”

The sincere milk, has been referred to by Jewish writers as, “the milk of the law” mentioned in Isaiah 55:1.  The Book of Isaiah comprises the Old and the New Testament. Chapters 40-66 comprise the New and so the “milk of the law” was basically the unveiling of the law, as it would be revealed in the New Testament.

We know that they in the Old Testament had more of a physical expression of the law rather than spiritual.

What I mean is that the law was not unveiled for them for they had to wait for the New Testament for the law to be revealed in Christ Jesus.

Those, whom have drunk of the sincere milk of the word, have had their spiritual senses exercised (Hebrews 5:14) to discern between  good and evil.

They know by the Spirit of God, how to function in spiritual things. The Holy Spirit have raised up men and women of God who have drank of the sincere milk of the word to facilitate their entry into the kingdom and into the deeper things of God.

But they too have had to drink firstly of the sincere milk of the word.

They have had to endure,

• Testing and Trials – Peter in prison, Acts 12, Paul stoned, Acts 14:19, In prison, Acts 16:25, At midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises…
•  Infirmities -
• Myriad of Experience – your personal experiences
• The backlash that follows impartations – Rom.1:11, For I long to see you, that I may unto you some spiritual gift,

Continuation of the above upon request: ameri_dream@yahoo.com