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The New Life 4: The Milk of the Word

By Andrew Murray


      "As new-born babes, long for the spiritual milk that is without guile, that ye may grow thereby unto salvation" -- 1 Peter 2:2

      Beloved young Christians, hear what your Father has to say in this word. You have just recently given yourselves to the Lord, and have believed that He has received you. You have thus received the new life from God. you are now as new-born infants: He would teach you in this word what is necessary that you may grow and wax strong.

      The first point is: you must know that you are God's children. Hear how distinctly Peter says this to those just converted: (1 Pet. 1:23; 2:2,10,25) 'You have been born again,' 'you are new-born infants,' 'you are now converted,' 'you are now the people of God.' A Christian, however young and weak he is, must know that he is God's child. Then only can he have the courage to believe that he shall make progress, and the boldness to use the food of the children provided in the word. All Scripture teaches us that we must know and can know that we are children of God. (Rom 8:16; 1 Cor. 3:1,16; Gal. 4:6,7; 1 John 3:2,14,24; 4:13, 5:10,13) The assurance of faith is indispensable to a healthy powerful growth in the Lord. (Eph. 5:8; Col. 2:6; 1 Pet. 1:14,19)

      The second point which this word teaches you is: you are still very weak, weak as new-bon children. The joy and the love which a young convert sometimes experiences do indeed make him think that he is very strong. He runs the risk of exalting himself, and of trusting in what he experiences. He must nevertheless learn much of how he must become strong in his Lord Jesus. Endeavour to feel deeply that you are still young and weak. (1 Cor. 3:1,13; Heb. 5:13,14) Out of this sense of weakness comes the humility which has nothing (Matt. 5:3; Rom 12:3,10; Eph. 4:2; Phil. 2:3,4; Col. 3: 12) in itself, and therefore expects all from its Lord. (Matt. 8:8,15,27,28)

      The third lesson is: the young Christian must not remain weak; he must grow and increase in grace; he must make progress and become strong. God lays it upon us as a command. His word gives us concerning this point the most glorious promises. It lies in the nature of the thing: a child of God must and can make progress. The new life is a life that is healthy and strong: when a disciple surrenders himself to it, the growth certainly comes. (Judg. 5:31; Ps. 84:8, 92:13,14; Prov. 4:18; Isa. 40:31; Eph. 4:14; 1 Thess. 4:1; 2 Pet. 3:18)

      The fourth and principal lesson, the lesson which young disciples of Christ have most need of is: it is through the milk of the word that God's new-born infants can grow. The new life from the Spirit of God can be sustained only by the word from the mouth of God. Your life, my young brother, will largely depend on whether you learn to deal wisely and well with God's word, or whether you learn to use the word from the beginning as your milk. (Ps. 19:8,11; 119:97,100; Isa. 55: 2,3; 1 Cor. 12:11)

      See what a charming parable the Lord has given us here in the mother's milk. Out of her own life does the mother yield food and life to her child. The feeding of the child is the work of the tenderest love, in which the child is pressed to the breast, and is held in the closest fellowship with the mother. And the milk is just what the weak child requires, food gentle and yet strong.

      Even so is there in the word of God the very life and power of God. (John 6:63; 1 Thess. 2:13; Heb. 4:12) His tender love will through the word receive us into the gentlest and most intimate fellowship with Himself. (John 10:4) His love will give us out of the word what is, like warm soft milk, just fitted for our weakness. Let no one suppose that the word is too high or too hard for him. For the disciple who receives the word, and trustfully relies on Jesus to teach him by the Spirit, the word of God shall practically prove to be gentle sweet milk for new-born infants. (Ps 119:18; John 14:26; Eph. 1:17-18)

      Dear young Christian, would you continue standing, would you become strong, would you always live for the Lord? Then hear this day the voice of your Father: 'As new-born babes, long for the spiritual milk that is without guile.' Receive this word into your heart and hold it fast as the voice of your Father: on your use of the word of God will your spiritual life depend. Let the word of God be precious to you above everything. (Ps 19:14,47,48,111,127)

      Above all, forget not this: the word is the milk; the sucking or drinking on the part of the little child is the inner, living, blessed fellowship with the mother's love. Through the Holy Spirit your use of the milk of the word can become warm, living fellowship with the Living Love of your God. O long then very eagerly for the milk. Do not take the word as something that is hard and troublesome to understand: in that way you lose all delight in it. Receive it with trust in the love of the living God. With a tender motherly love will the Spirit of God teach and help you in your weakness. Believe always that the Spirit will make the word in you life and joy, a blessed fellowship with your God.

      Precious Saviour, Thou hast taught me to believe Thy word, and Thou hast made me by that faith a child of God. Through that word, as the milk of the new-born babes, wilt Thou also feed me. Lord, for this milk shall I be very eager: every day will I long after it. Teach me, through the Holy Spirit and the word, to walk and hold converse every day in living fellowship with the love of the Father. Teach me always to believe that the Spirit has been given me with the word. Amen.

      1. What texts do you consider the best for proving that the Scriptures teach us that we must know we are children of God?

      2. What are the three points in which the sucking child is to us a type of the young child in Christ in his dealing with the word?

      3. What must a young Christian do when he has little blessing in the reading of God's word? He must set himself through faith in fellowship with Jesus Himself: he must reckon that Jesus will teach him through the Spirit and so trustfully continue in the reading.

      4. One verse chosen to meet our needs, read ten times and then laid up in the heart, is better than ten verses read once. Only so much of the word as I actually receive and inwardly appropriate for myself, is food for my soul.

      5. Choose out for yourselves what you consider one of the most glorious promises about making progress and becoming strong; learn it by heart, and repeat it continually as the language of your positive expectation.

      6. Have you learned well to understand what the great means for growth in grace is?

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See Also:
   1: Translator's Note
   2: Preface
   3: The New Life
   4: The Milk of the Word
   5: God's Word In Our Heart
   6: Faith
   7: The Power of God's Word
   8: God's Gift of His Son
   9: Jesus' Surrender of Himself
   10: Children of God
   11: Our Surrender to Jesus
   12: Saviour From Sin
   13: The Confession of Sin
   14: The Forgiveness of Sins
   15: The Cleansing of Sin
   16: Holiness
   17: Righteousness
   18: Love
   19: Humility
   20: Stumblings
   21: Jesus the Keeper
   22: Power and Weakness
   23: The Life of Feeling
   24: The Holy Ghost
   25: The Leading of the Spirit
   26: Grieving the Spirit
   27: Flesh and Spirit
   28: The Life of Faith
   29: The Might of Satan
   30: The Conflict of the Christian
   31: Be a Blessing
   32: Personal Work
   33: Missionary Work
   34: Light and Joyfulness
   35: Chastisement
   36: Prayer
   37: The Prayer Meeting
   38: The Fear of the Lord
   39: Undivided Consecration
   40: Assurance of Faith
   41: Conformity to Jesus
   42: Conformity to the World
   43: the Lord's Day
   44: Holy Baptism
   45: The Lord's Supper
   46: Obedience
   47: The Will of God
   48: Self-Denial
   49: Discretion
   50: Money
   51: The Freedom of the Christian
   52: Growth
   53: Searching the Scriptures
   54: The Lord the Perfecter

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