Milk and Lamb

The old "Meat vs Milk" debate rages on all over the planet! Some saying something like this: "We need to leave the foundation of "grace only" (milk) and go onto works (doing/meat/faith)."


But how about rather interpreting the "Meat and Milk" of Hebrews 5 through a contextual look at the whole book of Hebrews?



Heb 5:11 On this subject there remains so much to be said; but O, how difficult it is to explain something to someone who hears with an indifferent attitude.
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Heb 5:12 By now you (Jews) should have been professors, able to teach the rest of the world, but you are still struggling with the ABC of God’s language in Christ. (Heb.1:1-3) The difference between the prophetic shadow and the real is like that between milk and meat in your diet. You cannot live on baby food for the rest of your lives!
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Heb 5:13 The revelation of righteousness is the meat of God’s word. (Babes live on milk (the prophetic shadow of the real which was to come.) So does everyone who is not pierced in the ear of his heart by the revelation of Christ. (God’s act of righteousness in Christ restored mankind to blameless innocence, Rom.1:17) Greek apeiros, not pierced, tested by piercing.)
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Heb 5:14 This is the nourishment of the mature. They are those who have their faculties of perception trained as by gymnastic precision to distinguish the relevant from the irrelevant. (The mature are those who know the difference between the shadow and the substance; between the futility of the law of works and willpower to work righteousness, and righteousness revealed by the faith of God in the finished work of Christ.)
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Heb 6:2 All the Jewish teachings about ceremonial washings (baptisms), the laying on of hands (in order to identify with the slain animal as sacrifice), and all teachings pertaining to a sin consciousness, including the final resurrection of the dead in order to face Judgment, are no longer relevant. (All of these types and shadows were concluded and fulfilled in Christ, their living substance. His resurrection bears testimony to the judgment that he faced on humanity’s behalf and the freedom from an obstructive consciousness of sin that he now proclaims. Rom.4:25, Acts 17:31)
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Heb 6:3 So it is with God's prompting that we advance (from the prophetic types and shadows of Scripture into the substance of what God has now spoken to us in his son, 1:1-3)
(Mirror Translation)



So, in other words, Milk is NOT a "mere foundation of grace" that we gaze at for a few weeks and then move on to something different. No, "Milk", in the Book of Hebrew's context, is the Law that acted as a mere Tutor/Guardian (also Gal 3:24) that led the Jews UNTIL the reality should come - JESUS! (Meat).
Jesus even said it in John 6:53/54


To move from drinking milk to eating meat is to move from a "self reliant based righteousness" to a "Faith of God Righteousness" (Trusting that Abba is fully persuaded of your right standing with Him). When we trust in Gods persuasion, we are feasting on the Lamb and are maturing/growing.
Again, this is made clear Ephesians 4:



Eph 4:11  And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
Eph 4:12  to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
Eph 4:13  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, 
Eph 4:14  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.

(Note that it is Gods Faith and it is Gods knowledge that we should stand in union with. When we agree with His Persuasion and His Knowledge of US, then we are maturing from one degree of glory (Old covenant/milk) to the next (New Covenant/meat) (2 Cor 3:18). It is then that we are no longer like infants, being taken off track by man's silly idea's of self effort to appease a Father who needs no appeasing.

(side note on the above text: The role of those in vs 11 is to reveal Gods opinion of Mankind to all of Mankind - to all whom He has paid for - those made holy (set apart) by his death (1 John 2:2).


Lets feast on the Lamb who was slain - the simple accomplished reality of the life, death and ressurection of God who in every single part of His being reflects LOVE and GRACE to all who are far off and all who are not.


LOVE to you all.
Andrew