“Solid Food Is For The Mature”: But How?
How Do We Get To Being Self-Feeders?
Happy Labor Day weekend everyone!
I’ve seen a few questions come up in response to my last study “You Need Solid Food, Not Milk”, one of them being “how does one become a self-feeder?” I thought I’d take the time to post a few thoughts on how exactly people get to that maturity-level in Christ of being able to feed themselves solid food. This is what I’ve found through personal experience to work very well, and what I think is a way to go about this process from a holistic (all things considered) standpoint of the New Testament.
In 1 Cor. 4 we find Paul writing to the Corinthian church about the example he has laid out for them, and the sacrifices he has made for them. He writes about how he’s telling them these things to correct them and warn them about their behavior, which we already learned has been less than ‘mature’, to say the least. Paul says in v.15 “Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.” Paul was their spiritual father in Christ, the one who would grow them in to mature Christians, but he doesn’t stop there. You see Paul is sending them Timothy, who is like Paul in every way, to remind them of Paul’s example which will spur them on to further maturity.
Timothy was a disciple of Paul, and Paul taught him everything he knew. It’s apparent from Scripture that Paul spent much time and energy, literally pouring his life (and at least two letters!) in to Timothy, to disciple him and prepare him for the good works God had prepared for him. Much like the rabbis of the Jewish religion (keeping in mind that Jesus was a Jew, along with the Apostles), the Apostles all had disciples who followed them, lived with them, traveled with them, and practiced their faith with them (along with learning from them). Timothy was such a disciple of Paul, and now with all of this in mind we have in v.16-17 Paul telling the Corinthians that he was sending them Timothy.
“Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.”
Paul is urging them to follow his example, and because he’s so serious about them learning to become mature in this way, he’s sending them his “son” Timothy. Timothy is going to remind them of Paul in every way. Do you see the connection? It’s a good to remember a principle Jesus taught His disciples as they followed Him…
“A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.” Luke 6:40
Paul knows that people learn visually, and many times we end up accepting in to our lives what we see acted or lived out in front of us by others. Paul knows that people learn best by following an example. This is also how Jesus lived out His ministry in front of His disciples; a ministry of leading by example. Often Paul makes a request to the Christians he is writing to, a request for them to “follow my example as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1). It’s in this that we find the underlying principle taught in Scripture on how we should go about building each other up in to mature Christians.
The teacher teaches the student by the example of the teacher’s life and the teachings that were taught to the teacher originally. But unless the practice of the teachings is present in the teacher’s life, it’s like the blind leading the blind. The life lived by the teacher in accordance with the teachings give the teachings power and has an impact in the student’s soul. When the student is fully trained, the student ends up looking a lot like the teacher, because he followed the teacher’s footsteps. Ultimately Christ is every Christian’s Teacher; however we still have our earthly Christian teachers who lead us as they follow Christ.
So what does all this have to do with someone getting to the point of feeding himself spiritually? Well, let’s look at an example in the natural world: a baby first learns to take interest in solid food and tries to eat solid food by watching his/her parents do the same. Babies are hardwired to learn to do many things as they grow, and one of those things is to learn how to stuff solid food in their faces. A baby can learn this on their own by trial and error, but it can be dangerous, and it’s a much slower process, or it might never happen at all. In fact there have been terrible cases of child abuse where babies have been left pretty much alone in their cribs for their entire lives. These babies never get the interactions with and visual stimulation they need from their parents and their brains never mature. These kids might be four years old but they have the minds of 10 month olds; can’t speak, can’t walk, can’t think. Without a parent’s careful hand of guidance and example, babies don’t develop properly in to functional adults. By parents leading the way and encouraging the baby, the baby figures out how to get solid food quickly and begins a journey that they will never turn back from their entire life.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be happening similarly with us Christians. Instead, the ‘parents’ seem to continue to push the bottle of ‘spoon-feeding’ the Word to the babes, and they never get off the bottle, nor do they even seem interested in feeding themselves food. This is a travesty!
It’s a travesty because the process is relatively simple you see. We take what we have learned, and we pour it in to another person’s life, who will then put that teaching in to practice, and then that person goes out and finds another person to teach, and so on and so forth. Look what Paul said to Timothy in one of his letters:
“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” 2 Timothy 2:2
Getting someone to the point of self feeding is a messy process. A lot of the time the baby will totally miss their mouth and make a terrible mess, become confused, or disheartened. This is where the parent can step in and show them the better way. It takes time and personal devotion to a Christian, as if they were your own son or daughter, to get them to the point of maturity. And no, it can’t be done without the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives, so never count Him out, instead count on Him to guide you in this process of maturing yourself, and others.
Basically what it comes down to is leading by example. The teacher/parent takes the baby under their arm and leads him by showing him how to feed himself, pray, worship, serve all, and love etc. The baby will hopefully see the teacher reading the Bible every day and doing a Bible study (aka feeding himself), praying, fellowshipping and loving the brothers, and will follow that example. This ‘witness’ speaks wonders in to affecting change and growth in the baby’s life. The teacher is also teaching and sharing with them what they have learned from the ones who originally taught them, and these teachings have relevance and meaning to the student because the teacher lives them out in front of him.
It’s a great process and it’s worked wonderfully for us in our Bible study for years. I’ve seen myself, and other Christians I’ve had the honor of serving grow up so much in Christ, and it’s great. It’s all under the foundation of Jesus’ great commission found in Matthew 28:18-20: To make disciples and teach them everything Jesus taught us.
This isn’t the only way to get someone to the point of being a self-feeder, but it is a way I see consistently displayed in Scripture, and a way that has worked wonders in many Christian’s lives that I’ve lived around and loved.
I hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend! Please don’t forget to pray for the people on the gulf coast in the path of Hurricane Gustav. And also for us flyboys who are about to go fly out there and support those poor people in whatever way we can! Thanks!!
Grace and Peace,
Joe
August 30th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Joe, great insights. I think you would appreciate the book “Pastoral Ministry according to Paul” by James W. Thompson.
August 30th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Good post.
I was just doing a study on the word “gospel” and read how Paul and really all of the Apostles being disciples of Jesus Christ (Paul states that he learned by revelation by Jesus Christ) really were to imitate Christ. It made me wonder if in some way we are to be “clones” (poor choice of word) of Jesus. After all we are to become as Christ.
If this is the case then really there is only one “ology” or “doctrine” we are to follow and that is what Christ established while here on earth. This “ology” is based on two commandments, (Deu 11:13; Jos 22:5;) Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great mmandment.
39 And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
This is even more important as our guide over how a worship service is to be run, in fact 1 Cor 12, 13, 14 being chapter 13 is even more important than all of the “signs and wonders” that are manifested today.
Self - feeding IS becoming more like Christ and is in-deed an important aspect of our daily walk in Him.
August 30th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
IWanthetruth,
Scot McKnight’s “Jesus Creed” goes into that if you need a very good resource.
iggy
August 30th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
Christian,
Thanks for the recommend on the book, I’ll try to find it and check it out!
IWTT,
I think you’ve got the right idea. In a way we are ‘clones’ of Christ. We’re to be ‘little Christs’, which is the translation of “Christian”. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 4:16 that we should praise God we bear that name, that is, the name of Christ. Since God is reconciling the world to Himself through Christ, by using us as His ambassadors, it stands to reason we should be as Christ-like as possible. In a way, we are Christ to the people we come across daily in our lives. We represent Him, and anyone who knows politics knows that the ‘ambassador’ for a ruler is that ruler in proxy wherever the ruler sends him.
Obviously I’m not saying you or I are Jesus Christ Almighty, no no, I’m just saying we’re to be Him in proxy. Ambassadors. Representatives. Carrying on His ministry and purpose. And in that sense, yeah, we’re ‘clones’.
So with all of that, it stands to reason that the people we teach will end up like us, by following our example and teachings, which hopefully come from Christ and His Word.
Follow me as I follow Christ, you know?
To self-feed can literally aim to make us more Christ like because Christ studied the Scriptures for Himself when He was young, and obviously knew them very well. Thanks for the comment!
Joe
August 31st, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Joe - one of the interesting elements about your post is that it leads me to reconsider the definition of “milk” and “meat”. We have historically centered the definitions around doctrinal issues with an emphasis on systematic theology.
I have been re-evaluating those parameters. For instance, one believer espouses the Westminster Confession and can generally articulate it Scripturally. But that same believer is unkind, prayerless, not interested in missions, and leads a financially successful life by American standards.
Another believer cannot articulate much systematic theology, he was saved at a seeker church, he is very interested in missions, and his life seems to exude Christ.
In the generally accepted religious parlance, the first believer is the mature one, and the second is a babe in Christ. A believer who is Biblically literate, like me, is considered mature and a self feeder. Another believer only knows the very basics, yet he is a demonstrable worshiper, loves missions, actively witnesses to his friends, but slips once in a while in his language and goes to movies he probably should not.
So the question remains, what is meat and what is milk.
August 31st, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Solid food is for the mature who by constant use….
You know Rick, I follow you here. I’ve been trying to get the point across that solid food isn’t just ‘deep bible stuff’ it’s also feeding yourself, and maybe more importantly…it’s the constant use…the practice of your faith.
Regardless, generally speaking milk is for babies, and solid food is for the mature. Babes will be babes, and adults should act like adults. I would just as much see someone as a baby if they couldn’t put their faith in to practice, as I would a person who couldn’t articulate anything about their faith from lack of study. They’re both ‘living on milk’ so to speak.
Thats what I’m getting out of all of this studying, at least.
Joe
August 31st, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Rick,
Would you agree then that perhaps part of the problem is the “churchs program”?
I mean I have been a part of the penetcostal community for many years and I can say that one of the churches I went to had an excellent set up on how to train the people from basics to maturity in the word and how to be self-feeders.
Maybe the problem is not a well rounded/balanced mode of operations. We spoke at another thread that it is the pastors job to train the believer to become self-feeders. If a pastor of a church is more interested in evangelism then a group of people that could take on the other portions of training needs to be raised up.
God gives to each of us the ability to function as a part of a body but we make up a whole. If we are all “ears” how does that help?
August 31st, 2008 at 4:45 pm
IWTT,
I agree with what most of what you said, but it’s not ONLY the pastor’s job to make self-feeders. It’s the other self-feeders jobs to help the babies become self-feeders. The pastor is more of a facilitator to create an enviroment where this is possible, he’s the overall guidance of the local body.
Don’t count yourself out. If you are mature in your faith, and God is placing babes in your life to help along, do so. Don’t think it’s the pastor’s job only.
Joe
August 31st, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Oh I agree. I am not trying to lay it on one person as their responsibility but that the church ought/should/need (whatever word) find the gifting of each person and utilize them to meet the task of discipleship.
You know the saying, “It takes a whole villiage to raise a child”
Hee, never thought I’d use that line. Anyway, I think you know what I am sharing.
Blessings
Going to a concert
August 31st, 2008 at 5:33 pm
How were the believers before the printing press self feeders? How are the Sundanese believers who cannot read self feeders? How are any illiterate believers self feeders? Isn’t there a direct correlation between self feeding and self conforming?
An illiterate man knows that as a follower of Christ he should be loving and gracious and help the poor. But he cannot read and does not “feed” himself but he conforms himself to Christ. Why is the term “self feeding” confined to doctrinal issues? Is listening to and obeying the Holy Spirit being a self feeder?
Isn’t self conforming being a self feeder? Reading the Bible without corresponding actions is useless, says James. We have placed a premium on learning and have relegated life revelations to a small set of do’s and don’ts, usually emphasizing the don’ts.
Didn’t the writer of Hebrews say that strong meat belongs to those who have “by reason of use” have matured their discernment? Did he not also say that “we are persuaded better things of you, things that accompany salvation”?
August 31st, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Rick I agree with you. If you’ll notice, I think solid food IS practice of faith, ultimately. For us who are given more, more is expected of us, no doubt? So I study and read. But if I don’t apply it, I’m just a foolish baby who is useless.
For the illiterate or prior to public access to the Bible, I think you can figure out what is ‘mature’ and what is ‘immature. In fact, I think you’ve already figured out. But for us, we’re given the Bible, millions of them, and so we have a responsibility to what we’re given. God’s not holding anything against anyone who cannot read or has no Bible to read. Maturity is best seen through…actions, not words. Right?
Just remember, it’s ‘by reason of use’ of WHAT that is important in Hebrews 5. He explains what milk is, the basic oracles of God, and so solid food in the specific context there is comparable, being deeper things of Christ. But it’s still hinging on ‘use’.