Supper Is Served

Bill Brinkworth

The Bible is the preserved Word of God and tells God’s way of getting eternal life. It cannot be understood by one who has not taken the first "sips" and "bites" of spiritual obedience to God. “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” I Corinthians 2:14

Scripture likens the first spiritual meal a person must take to be saved to eating:
Bread. Before one can begin to digest the scripture, they must first be born again. They must first trust Christ as their only way to heaven. As bread was the primary food of those in biblical times; so is being saved the primary key to understanding the things of God.

“For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world … And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” John 6:33-35
“I [Jesus] am that bread of life.” John 6:48
“This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” John 6:50-51 Also: John 6:58

Water. Also critical for man’s earthly survival is water. Without it, no man will survive. A personal trust in what Jesus has done for one’s eternal life is just as essential as water. Without trusting Jesus no man will survive eternally.
“But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I hall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:14
“He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” John 7:38

Once a person is born-again into the family of God, he requires spiritual food. The Bible is not just a book; it is the preserved Word of God. For Christians, its words are spiritual food to feed them; so they can spiritually grow, be what God wants them to be, and do what He wants them do.

The Word of God is so important, that it is likened to food that nourishes our physical body. It is compared to:
Milk.
“I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.” I Corinthians 3:2

Paul’s preaching of the Word of God to the early church in Corinth was not as hard as he would have liked to preach. He realized that they were baby Christians and could only absorb the basics. They had to make the beginning commitments to the Lord, before they were ready to make steps that required more faith and obedience.

Like milk given to an infant, the truths from the Word of God would help them grow, and strengthen their spiritual bones; so they would spiritually walk the right paths in the future. If the preacher had given them the harder truths found in the Scriptures, they would have choked; as a young child would have when eating meat. They were not ready and able to spiritually digest the more wonderful advice and treasures of the Scriptures.

Sometimes, some of the complaining done by Christians is evidence that they are not mature yet: “… ye were not able to bear it.” They “choked” on some spiritual meat, because they had not even taken the first steps of obedience in what the Word of God commanded them. Many times they are still working on reading the Bible, doing some of the beginning steps the Holy Spirit convicts them of, or even living by faith and not by sight.

“And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.” I Corinthians 3:1
“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:” I Peter 2:2

Meat. Being a stronger Christian is not an easy task. It involves much study, obedience to biblical commands, trusting God, and consistent Christian living. Living truly by faith can be difficult. It is the proper way to get through this life. It is part of the spiritual meat.

Growing and being able to obey all that God shows and tells a believer is the only way to spiritual maturity. It never happens over night. A steady diet of the Word and obeying it will eventually prepare us to understand the many miraculous truths and meat found in the Bible.

Many in the early church were not ready to hear and obey commands meant for the hearts of mature, adult Christians, because they were carnal. They were still obeying what their flesh commanded them. They were still trying to conquer what their flesh preferred them to do rather than what the Lord commanded. Their childish squabbling and jealousies were keeping them from maturing

“For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” I Corinthians 3:3
“But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” Hebrews 5:14

None will be healthy and perform to the best of their abilities, if physical meals are missed. None will even be spiritual, if they do not take the first “bite” by trusting Christ for salvation. If they do get saved, they will never be what God desires them to be if they do not eat spiritual meals. Reading, hearing, and obeying the Word is the only way for a born-again child of God to grow. Do not miss your spiritual meals.

Rowland Hill once visited a home and saw a child riding a rocking horse. After watching the little boy for some time, he wittily remarked, “He reminds me of some Christians. There is plenty of motion, but no progress.”

This article was featured in The Bible View #156.