From Milk to Meat: The Christian Path to Spiritual Maturity

The Christian Path to Spiritual Maturity

The Way of Holiness

When we become born-again there is a path or road that we need to follow in our walk with Jesus that leads us to spiritual maturity in growth stages. The prophet Isaiah calls this road or highway ‘the Way of Holiness.’

Isaiah 35:8-10 (NIV)

8 And a highway will be there;

it will be called the Way of Holiness;

it will be for those who walk on that Way.

The unclean will not journey on it;

wicked fools will not go about on it.

9 No lion will be there,

nor any ravenous beast;

they will not be found there.

But only the redeemed will walk there,

10 and those the Lord has rescued will return.

They will enter Zion with singing;

everlasting joy will crown their heads.

Gladness and joy will overtake them,

and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

The path to Christian maturity (the Way of Holiness) is similar to what happens to us when we are born physically from the womb of our mothers. In our physical growth we start off as babies and then we grow into infancy, to teens, to young adults and to mature adults. All these stages are done over a period of time.

In our spiritual growth we start off as babies (immature Christians) and progress to maturity through infancy to young adults and then to fathers in a similar fashion to our physical growth.

The main difference between our physical growth as humans and our spiritual growth as born-again Christians is that we can, in our spiritual growth, control how fast we grow to maturity in accordance with our willingness to submit our will to God and to follow His will upon the path that He has set for us! That is, our willingness to live life in the Spirit and to be obedient to His Word in becoming more and more Christlike.

The Apostle John shows us that there are two spiritual growth stages we go through on our walk with Jesus when we become born-again Christians.

Let’s examine these growth stages that John talks about together:

1. Spiritual Children –those that are spiritually immature
This is the beginning stage of our Christian walk and includes those that are newly born again and are thus spiritually immature and those that have walked with the Lord for any number of years but have not grown spiritually and thus remain spiritually immature (like the Church in Corinth that Paul writes about).

1 Corinthians 3:1-4

And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and [a]behaving like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?

1 John 2:12 (AMP)

I am writing to you, little children (believers, dear ones), because your sins have been forgiven for His name’s sake [you have been pardoned and released from spiritual debt through His name because you have confessed His name, believing in Him as Savior].

1 John 2:13c (AMP)

I have written to you, children [those who are new believers, those spiritually immature], because you have come to know the Father.

In this stage we have just become born-again; the spirit that God miraculously places within each one of us when we are conceived in the womb of our mothers, has been renewed or energised. This only happens when we repent of our sins and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour.

Although our spirits have been renewed or energised by the Holy Spirit, we are immature in our Christian walk and need to be fed ‘milk’ in order to grow towards maturity just as our physical bodies do when we are babies. Growing to maturity is to become more and more conformed to Christ’s image, being imitators of Jesus!

2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

When we are newly born-again it is important for us to realise that although our spirit has been renewed, we still have to submit our souls to the will of God, our souls should come under submission to our renewed spirit, and this is the area where we all struggle.

Here I will briefly touch on how God created us as this is a topic for another time.

We are created as triune beings with a body, a soul and a spirit. Our bodies are perishable, our skin, skeletons and internal organs etc but our spirits and souls are not.

When we become born-again it is time for our souls to be submitted to our renewed spirits. This process is not an instant change but is our Christian walk and will happen only as fast as we allow it to as we submit ourselves under the mighty hand of God and are obedient to His word and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is only in through faith in Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit that we are enabled to walk to spiritual maturity!

Our souls consist of the things shown in the below diagram and all these things need to come under submission to the Spirit as we grow to maturity:

The soul is the area that needs to come under submission to the spirit and this is done by our being fed and nourished by the Word of God and our living in compliance with it (The Bible), that is, our willingness to be doers of the Word and not just readers of the Word and in all this, being led by the Holy Spirit – living life in the Spirit (Rom 8) and being full of the Father’s agape love, grace and mercy for others. 

Only in this way will we be able to walk the road to maturity and be conformed to Christ’s image and bring glory to Him. The Holy Spirit works in us and through us for the sole purpose of bringing glory, honour and praise to Jesus!

So, what sort of food does the new believer need to be fed? 

In verse two below the Apostle Peter tells us as new believers in Christ to ‘crave pure spiritual milk’. In verse one he also tells us the best way to start off our Christian walk is by ridding ourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.

1 Peter 2:1-3 (NIV)

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 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.

Let’s have a look at the Greek word for ‘crave’ in verse two. The Greek word is ‘epipotheó’ and its full meaning is: long for, strain after, desire greatly, have affectionate longing for. In other words, we really need to be fiercely passionate in learning and devouring pure spiritual milk as new believers.

Now, what is ‘pure spiritual milk’? What does it look like and consist of? The Bible, of course, has the answer!

Based on what Peter said, the "pure milk of the Word" is what is best for new Christians (and foundational for all) to be fed and nourished on - the perfect food for our souls! The pure milk is meant to make one grow in the faith as a new believer. These are "the first principles of the oracles of God"

Hebrews 5:12-13 (NIV)

12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths (KJV translates as ‘oracles’) 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.

So, what are the elementary truths or oracles of God – the milk that we need to know and have embedded within us before we can progress towards spiritual maturity?

Hebrews 6:1-2 (NIV)

Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death and of faith in God, 2 instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

Our Spiritual Milk According to Hebrews 5:12-13 & 6:1-2:

• Righteousness by Faith Through Jesus Christ
• Repentance from Dead Works
• Faith in God
• Baptisms (cleansing) and their meanings
• Laying on Of Hands
• The Resurrection of The Dead
• Eternal Judgment

These are the biblical teaching that we, as new, born-gain Christians, need to absorb, fully understand and be obedient to before we can move on along the path to Christian maturity. Let’s have a look at what the Apostle Paul says to the Corinthian Church below.

1 Corinthians 3:1-3 (NIV)

Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?

Here Paul is telling us that as new, born-again Christians, spiritually immature, infants, we are still ‘wordly’ and we have a road to walk on that will lead us to maturity. 

The pure milk of the Word is the foundation that we need as infants and this is what needs to be embedded in us so that we will be well prepared for the next step on our walk to maturity. 

In verse three Paul tells us why we are still infants and names a number of areas that we need to deal with in our lives before we will be able to move on successfully - "You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?"

The time it takes us to move on is in our own hands – how willing are we to submit to the Word and its teachings and put them into practice and be led by the Holy Spirit? 

Are we willing to be baptized in water and in the Holy Spirit? Are we willing to actively allow ourselves to be changed and our minds renewed by the Word, etc, etc?

God does not want his children to stay immature he wants us to grow to maturity by constantly devouring His Word and by constantly being obedient doers of the Word and by constantly being led and filled with the Holy Spiti.

James 1:22-25 (NIV)

22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

2. Spiritual Adulthood – those who are mature in Christ:
When we are ready to move on from our spiritual infancy we move into the ‘adult’ stage of our spiritual walk.

The ‘adult’ stage of our spiritual walk has two compartments or substages according to the Apostle John. These are ‘Young Men’ and ‘Fathers.’ We will examine these two substages separately.

Young Men:

The Apostle John describes Christians in this stage as:

• Believers who are growing in maturity – they are having victory over their sinful nature, over the flesh and their lifestyle proves this.

• Because they have victory over the evil one because they have accepted Jesus as Saviour.

• Because they are actively living according to the Bible.

• They are the ones that are physically strong and vigorous.

1 John 2:13b (AMP)

I am writing to you, young men [those believers who are growing in spiritual maturity], because you have been victorious and have overcome the evil one.

1 John 2: 14b (AMP)

I have written to you, young men, because you are strong and vigorous, and the word of God remains [always] in you, and you have been victorious over the evil one [by accepting Jesus as Savior].

Psalm 119:9 (NIV)

How can a young person stay on the path of purity?

By living according to your word.

The Christian in this stage has the revelation that they have a spiritual path to follow, are growing in spiritual maturity and are actively engaged in walking this path and are serving the body of Christ. In other words, they have started bearing fruit!

John 15:8 (NIV)

This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Just as a natural baby, as it begins to grow, is weaned off mother’s milk and moves on to solid food, so it is the same in our spiritual lives. When we move out of the milk of the Word and on to the ‘meat’ of the Word or ‘solid food’ as Paul calls it in 1 Corinthians 3:2 we are walking the path to full maturity.

Solid food is for those that have grasped the essence of elementary teachings of Christ – the ‘milk’ of the Word and are successfully dealing with the lusts of the flesh and their carnality. They are actively engaged in walking a closer walk with Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Fathers:
Fathers in the Church are spiritually mature Christians who have fully embraced the purpose and plan that God has for their lives in Christ Jesus and are walking the road in the power of the Holy Spirit.

1 John 2:13a (AMP)

13 I am writing to you, fathers [those believers who are spiritually mature], because you know Him who has existed from the beginning.

1 John 2:14a (AMP)

I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has existed from the beginning.

In the above two verses the Apostle John seems to repeat himself when he says, “Fathers, because you know Him who has existed from the beginning.” 

I think this is done deliberately for emphasis and to stress a point – “You know Him.” Spiritual Fathers in the Church really ‘know’ Jesus and have walked faithfully with Him for a number of years and have a really solid, life experiential relationship with Him, constantly being filled with and moving in the power of the Holy Spirit!

Now, let’s have a look at what is meant by ‘know Him’ in the two verses above.

In these two verses the Greek word for ‘know’ is ‘ginosko’ (pron: ghin-oce-ko, Strong’s 1097) and its expanded meaning is: to get to know properly through, deep personal experience; to know someone in a personal and intimate way; to get to know the knowledge of (Jesus).

So, in this context when the Apostle John is addressing the ‘fathers’ in the Church, he means those believers that have walked faithfully with God through many trials and tribulations and are experienced ‘overcomers of evil’ in Christ Jesus. They know the value of a deep relationship with God in the power of the Holy Spirit. They have made mistakes and learnt from them, they are quick to repent of all wrongdoing - and we are all prone to this!

These are the people that have fought and won many spiritual battles in life and have born much good fruit to the glory of Jesus. These are the ones that have been battered and bruised by life but have overcome because of their unbreakable relationship with Jesus Christ and have actively lived life in the Spirit and have not lost their faith in Christ Jesus.

The ‘fathers’ in the body of Christ are the people that Paul describes in the verses below as looking after those that are immature and have assumed responsibility to mentor and teach others about Jesus and living life in the Spirit. 

Paul is the perfect example of a ‘spiritual father’ in the body of Christ and he urges us strongly to imitate him in this way as he imitates Christ.

1 Corinthians 4:14-16 (AMP)

14 I do not write these things to shame you, but to warn and advise you as my beloved children. 15 For even if you were to have ten thousand teachers [to guide you] in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers [who led you to Christ and assumed responsibility for you], for I became your father in Christ Jesus through the good news [of salvation]. 16 So I urge you, be imitators of me [just as a child imitates his father].

1 Corinthians 11:1 (AMP)

Imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.

Now, as mature Christians, what sort of spiritual food should we be eating. We have already learnt that in our immature stage we need to be fed to the pure spiritual ‘milk’ of the Word which gives us the sound, basic foundations of our Christian walk. 

But what do we eat as mature Christians? What should we be fed?

Let’s take our cue from the book of Hebrews:

Hebrews 5:11 (AM)

11 Concerning this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull and sluggish in [your spiritual] hearing and disinclined to listen.

Hebrews 5:14 (NIV)

14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

In the  verse 11 above we are told that we need to have teachable spirits and a willingness to listen in order be considered as being spiritually mature. To listen and obey and to have a teachable spirit are the keys that open the door to spiritual maturity and will keep us on the ‘Way of Holiness.’

Based on these exhortations, we can assume that the "solid food" mentioned pertains to the far deeper teachings of Christ. These go beyond the "elementary principles of Christ," going towards "perfection" in Him.

Hebrews 6:1-3 (AMP)

Therefore let us get past the elementary stage in the teachings about the Christ, advancing on to maturity and perfection and spiritual completeness, [doing this] without laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 of teaching about washings (ritual purifications), the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. [These are all important matters in which you should have been proficient long ago.] 3 And we will do this [that is, proceed to maturity], if God permits.

In Hebrews 5:14 above, let’s have a look at the phrase ‘solid food’ from its Greek origin.

The Greek word for ‘solid’ is stereós (ster-eh-os') – and its expanded meaning is, solid (firm); referring to what is immoveable (will not budge); stable (not changeable), standing fast without buckling or giving way (steadfast) – Strong’s 4731.

The Greek word for ‘food’ is trophe (tro-fay) and means nourishment, food that nourishes spirit and soul - the 'Bread of Life' - The Bible - Jesus! – Strong’s 5160

So then from this we can see that ‘solid food’ is the Word of God that has been taken by the believer, and by constant studying and reading and putting it into practice in their lives, coupled with constantly seeking fellowship with Jesus and the Holy Spirit, have become solid in their faith from continuously being nourished by the Word of God in its entirety. 

In other words, they are immovable, stable and steadfast in their Christian walk and are bearing much fruit – they are living life in the Spirit constantly.

They are being conformed into Christ’s image and are not just readers of the Word but are doers as well. They know who they are in Christ Jesus and have established active and constructive prayer lives. They have, through constant use of the Word, trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. They are actively involved in spiritual warfare!

Jesus is the bread of life, the Word of God! Jesus is the solid food of the mature believer who devours it daily and puts it into practice – every morsel!

John 6:32-35 (NIV)

32 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

The mature Christian is full of the agape love of God and his every motivation in His Christian walk is in the fullness of God’s love to bring glory to the name of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. They actively desire to mentor others in their Christian walk to maturity!

Now is the time for the Church to stand up and be counted, to grasp and eat of the bread of life, the ‘solid food’, and leave immaturity behind in the name of Jesus! To walk the ‘Way of Holiness!’

God says, “Be holy because I am holy.”

1 Peter 1:13-16 (NIV)

13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”[Lev. 11:44,45; 19:2]

Prayer:
O my Lord help me, I pray, to walk in the Way of Holiness. To walk in maturity in Christ Jesus ever craving the solid food of relationship with you and feeding on your Word in the power of the Holy Spirit. Lord, fill me with your agape love that I may be a blessing to others and bring glory to your name, the name of Jesus! Keep my feet constantly on the path that is your will for my life – not my will but yours be done! Amen.

To Jesus belongs all glory, honour and praise!

Jesus the Name above all names!

Remember: Reading this article is no substitute for reading and studying the Bible for yourself! I am flawed the Bible is not!

Last Updated: 24 October 2022