Milk vs Meat - 1 Corinthians 3:1-8

The concept of spiritual vs. logical learning might be relatively simple to us, but to those who might not understand or appreciate spiritual learning, it is probably a more difficult idea to accept. That is why the Spirit speaks to us all individually, so that we can all be taught in our own language and on our own levels of understanding. This begs the question of why? Why does the Spirit take the same concepts or words and convey different messages to different listeners? I guess it comes down to the fact that too much knowledge at the wrong time is detrimental to one’s personal growth.

For instance, if I put my son in a calculus class, not only would he fail the class, but he would be so confused that any further attempt at even simpler math would be difficult. It’s much easier to teach someone by building on previously understood concepts than it is to give all the information up front and then try to sort through it all. When we’re talking about human concepts the stakes aren’t really that high, but when we are talking about spiritual concepts and a person’s ability to understand and accept the gospel, then the stakes are very high, so the teaching method is very important.
Paul explained this concept throughout chapter 3 using imagery of babies, farming, and building. First he notes that he’s not teaching highly complex topics, but instead “I have fed you with milk, and not with mean: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither now are ye able.” If you give a baby meat instead of milk, they will choke and die, and if somehow they are able to swallow it, they still wouldn’t be able to digest it. The act of feeding is complicated, but if someone eats something, they not only have to get it into their stomachs, but then have to be able to take the nutrients out of the food on a cellular level and incorporate it into their bodily systems.
Similarly, when we hear gospel principles, we have to not only be able to hear and understand it, but be able to incorporate the doctrine into who we are. At some power, our inability to fully absorb the teachings of the gospel limits the amount of knowledge or understanding that can be given to us at that time. As we “digest” what we have learned, and further grow from it, then we will be ready for more doctrine. But until that happens we have to just keep “working the turkey through,” (that’s a Simpson’s reference.)
Some of the people Paul was speaking to might contest that they are in fact ready for “meat,” and this happens with a lot of people. This is what happened with the Jews anciently, they wanted more and more knowledge, even though they weren’t ready for it, they pushed so much that God gave it to them, and all this added information became a major stumbling block and hindrance when the real Messiah showed up.
I know that this can happen to us, we want answers, we want to know things, we want to understand, but Paul gives us some of the things we can look for to see if we are really ready for more. These are some of the things that were tripping up the saints in Corinth, “for ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” Do we have negativity in our lives? Do we bring bad feelings or thoughts around us? Do we lift others up? Do we support others in healthy ways? When we can’t honestly answer these questions in ways in keeping with Christ’s teachings, then we aren’t necessarily ready for more, God is the judge of that.
Paul addresses the issue again that is at the root of all of this, which is disunity. Many of the members were rallying around the person who baptized them, which divided the group into smaller factions. He again mentions “Paul” and “Apollos,” as examples of the different groups people have put themselves into. But Paul’s original teaching that all of the gospel works together towards Christ is echoed in another metaphor he uses saying, “I have planted, Apollos waters; but God gave the increase.”
He points out that the person planting and the person watering “are one,” meaning that they have the same goal, to grow the seeds. But none of us know how to make a seed grow, none of us are able to physical do that, and likewise, none of us can do it spiritually either. That’s a really good way of thinking about it. The mysteries of how a plant germinates and converts dirt into nourishment and uses photosynthesis, none of us can re-create that event. Likewise, none of us can take the words of the gospel and put it into someone’s heart and make it grow there. None of us can unfold anyone else’s understanding and turn it into strong belief and testimony.
And really, that’s the gift. We can’t control anyone else’s agency, we can’t make anyone else accountable for the gospel, we don’t know their hearts, we don’t know their plan, we don’t know who they are really, or where they came from. None of us can love anyone else like God does and no one can desire someone else’s repentance and conversion like God does. We have no control over anyone else’s choices, and really neither does God, but we can’t operate on their spiritual level because we aren’t permitted that power. And while it’s frustrating that we have to let people make their own choices, it’s really liberating at the same time too, because we know that we aren’t responsible for any poor choices that others make or their suffering because of those choices.
The one who plants and the one who waters, or those who teach the gospel and are kind to others, do so because they are taught to do so by the Savior. Their reward for rendering these services is not the conversion of the other person. Don’t get me wrong, if someone does come to Christ through their efforts, then “how great will be their joy” with that person and all can thrive in that relationship, but that’s an unguaranteed, extra bonus.
Spending time and effort spreading the gospel is a poor return on investment if the only compensation is another person’s conversion and their added benefit to your life. No, we are called to preach and be kind and we are rewarded for our deeds, not the acceptance of others. Indeed, Paul says, “every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.” Our rewards are not contingent on anyone else’s beliefs or actions, only our own, and that’s the way it must be with a just God. We share the gospel because of the great benefit that we’ve received from it in our own lives and we want that for other people. But we are doubly rewarded when we share the gospel because God has promised to do so for us.