(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Hello everybody, it's me, SirTol23, back with another video. On this video I want to talk about the subject of the word of God as compared to food within the scriptures. So the scriptures often compare the word of God itself like unto food. Until today we'll be looking at that symbolism within the scriptures and see what it means. Primarily the entire word of God is often compared to bread or meat as it is written in Deuteronomy chapter 8 verse 3, And he humbled thee and suffered thee to hunger and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know, that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. So just as we, for the needs of our physical bodies, for the needs of our flesh, need to eat food, we must also consume, figuratively of course, the word of God for our spiritual health. It is not just enough for a Christian to live physically off their daily bread, but we should also be consuming our daily bread of the scriptures. The same verse, Deuteronomy 8 verse 3, is quoted by Jesus Christ when he is tempted by the devil in the wilderness for 40 days. It is written in Matthew chapter 4 verse 4, But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. This is Jesus' response to Satan's temptation for Jesus to turn a stone into bread, that he may eat it. Because remember, Jesus at this point had been fasting in the desert for 40 days, and yet Jesus himself, being the word of God made flesh, knew the scriptures. Therefore he rebuked Satan using the word of God, where it is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Back in Deuteronomy chapter 8, there is a very similar scenario to what we see in Matthew chapter 4, and the parallels also in Mark chapter 1 and Luke chapter 4. In verse 3 in Deuteronomy 8, it is written that the Israelites had been suffered or allowed to hunger and then fed in place of their normal ordinary food with manna, which if you remember from Exodus chapter 16 is the bread which came down from heaven, food which the Lord himself provided. So here the Lord by the mouth of Moses preaches that the purpose, or what the purpose of this is, of withholding the regular bread which they were used to and giving bread instead from heaven. And that was the purpose to teach them the lesson of the importance of spiritual food, which is every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. In John chapter 6, Jesus explains unto the Jews that this was an Old Testament picture of himself. The word of God made flesh and therefore he said, I am the bread of life, and he said also I am the living bread which came down from heaven. This represents the truth that we find life from the word of God itself, which came down from heaven. It is not enough to sustain our lives through our daily ordinary food and meat, but rather we must sustain our lives through the nourishment of the word of God. Now this does not mean the general idea of the Scriptures, but rather as Moses said and as Jesus said, it is every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. So the individual words themselves on the page are important, which by the way is why I believe in only one Bible in the English language. I reject all of the modern translations and paraphrases which tamper with the actual individual words and remove whole verses, etc. What is important for us is not just the general ideas or the general doctrines, but every single word that God has spoken. Those are the things by which we live. It is written in Job chapter 23 verse 12, neither have I gone back for the commandment of his lips. I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. And this is how we as Christians should also view the word of God. Our flesh, our bodies are temporary, and of course it is important to eat and to be nourished physically. However, it is also very much more important to be nourished spiritually. We would not even be saved if it was not for the word of God, for the Bible says faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. And therefore we like Job should look at the Scriptures, meaning the individual words which God has spoken, as more important than our necessary food. Now the words of the Lord are very much like unto bread which came down from heaven, like unto food itself. But just as food, whether it be steak and potatoes or vegetables or chicken or whatever it is you're eating, gives us nutrients to survive physically, the word of God gives us the spiritual truths we need to survive spiritually and to serve God. Now the Bible gets more specific on this subject by breaking the word of God down into different categories, the milk of the word and the strong meat of the word. Just as throughout our lives as our bodies grow we change from what we eat as little infants to adults, there is a change of what we consume as Christians from when we are spiritual babes to mature Christians. It says in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 1 to 3, thy brethren could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with meat, for hitherto you are not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able, for ye are yet carnal, for whereas there is among you envying and strife and divisions, are ye not carnal and walk as men. Those who are carnal are those who are babes in Christ, and those who are babes in Christ are those who are not able to bear the meat, but must continue to be fed with the milk. We see that this is talking about certain truths and doctrines of the scriptures from the following passage, Hebrews chapter 5 verse 12 to 14. And it's written, for when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God, and it becomes such as have need of milk and not of strong meat, for everyone that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 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. The one who is a babe is one who only uses the milk of the word, which is defined here as the first principles of the oracles of God. What these things are, are listed at the beginning of chapter 6, the foundation of repentance from dead works and faith toward God of the doctrine of baptisms and of laying on of hands into the resurrection of the dead and of eternal judgment, it says in verses 1 and 2 of the following chapter. So the milk of the word, as it's called in 1 Peter 2, 2, which I'll read a bit later, is that which is the very foundation of the faith concerning salvation and God and baptism and eternal judgment, et cetera. Those things which are very clearly laid out within the scriptures, which don't take much study and reading to understand. Back in Hebrews chapter 5, it says, for everyone that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. Therefore the milk of the word are the very basics and those who know nothing more than the very basic doctrines of scriptures are considered to be babes in Christ. Back in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, this is associated with being carnal, that is fleshly. What a carnal Christian is, is described in more detail in Romans chapter 7, verse 14 to 18. It says, for we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not, for what I would, that do I not, but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me, for I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing, for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. Here Paul starts off by saying, I am carnal, sold under sin. This is a reference back to the previous chapter in which he explains that those who continue in the sins of the old man are under bondage. Although our inward man, our spirit, is free from sin, the flesh, because it can still be tempted with sin and fall into iniquity, is a servant of sin. That is why we are exhorted here in the book of Romans to not give provision to the flesh to fulfill the lust thereof, it says in Romans chapter 13, and then in Romans 6, it says not to yield our members as servants to unrighteousness, but rather to yield our members, meaning our body or flesh, as servants of righteousness unto holiness. What being carnal as a Christian is, then, is the lack of knowledge of how to control the lust of the flesh and walk in the spirit. Those who are new Christians, because of their lack of spiritual growth, are naturally more inclined to the sins of the old man than a mature Christian who knows the scriptures. A new Christian, a baven Christ, may have the desire within their heart to do that which is good, as Paul describes here, but the new Christian has not been trained well enough yet to succeed in putting off the flesh, so it says in verse 18, for to will is present with me, meaning he wants to do good, he wants to obey the laws of God, he has the will or the desire to do so, but he says, but how to perform, and he still does those things which he allows not, is because he does not yet know how to perform that which is good, because he is carnal, because he is a baven Christ. For a baven Christ, which is carnal, according to 1 Corinthians chapter 3, must learn how to perform that which is good, that they may grow spiritually. And how do they do that? Through the word of God. It says in 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 2, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. So the scriptures make it clear that it is the word itself which helps us to grow. When one is a newborn babe, one who has just been born again, they may be carnal, but through the milk of the word, that is the very basic doctrines and principles of the scriptures, they can slowly progress to become more mature and get closer and closer to the Lord. As it is written, thy word have I hidden my heart, that I may not sin against thee. Through starting off with the very foundations of the faith, through reading and studying the Bible, we can grow and overcome sin in our lives, so that we do know how to perform that which is good, but so that we can also move on to the strong meat of the word. Back in Hebrews chapter 5 it says in verse 14, 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. So as opposed to the use of the milk of the word, the use of the strong meat of the word is for those who are of full age, meaning mature Christians as opposed to babes of Christ or babes in Christ. And what this entails for the Christian life is that they are no longer carnal in that they have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil it says. So when we are babes in Christ, new Christians who haven't learned much about the scriptures, we are unskillful in the word of righteousness and unable to perform that which is good, even if we might have the desire in our heart to follow God. However through the use of the word, through the consuming of the milk and then later the meat of the word, we learn more and therefore grow more spiritually. Now this fact is important to consider also because there is a false doctrine out there which assumes that a born again Christian is automatically going to give up all their sins and live righteously. However this is not true. There is a process of growth that is described within the scriptures. We are constantly exhorted and warned to get rid of our sins and to start serving God. It's not just something that just takes place automatically. One begins as a Christian when one first is born again, they are carnal because they are babes in Christ because they may not know that much about the scriptures. It is only through the reading and the studying of the word that they are able to put off the flesh and live righteously. Obviously if you don't know what's right and what's wrong, you will not be able to always do that which is right and put off the things which are wrong. But through the knowledge of what the word of God says, we gain the ability to discern both good and evil. That's what Hebrews chapter 5 is talking about. So those who become skillful in the word of righteousness, those who know the Bible and take their daily bread from the scriptures are those who know God on a much closer level. It is through the word that we learn to become a much more faithful servant of God. Says in 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse 6, if thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shall be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereto thou hast attained. So Paul says to Timothy that being a good minister of Jesus Christ is connected with being nourished in the words of faith and of good doctrine. So in conclusion, as if it wasn't already clear, the Bible, the scriptures are necessary for spiritual growth and for our daily lives. We are commanded as Christians to read and to study the word every day. It's not just enough to eat our ordinary food and drink for our flesh, but we must also consume the word. Starting with the basic doctrines and the foundational principles, we grow and become more righteous and mature to get further away from carnality and closer to the Lord. And then we're able to handle the deeper and more complex truths of the scriptures. So that's it for this video. Thank you everybody for watching. It doesn't look like I have any comments or anything. So thank you, buddy. That's it for today. God bless you and goodbye.