In this section we are told to put away (The following from Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary, who attributes it to Augustine):
“Malice (kakia) delights in another's hurt; envy pines at another's good; guile (dolos) imparts duplicity to the heart; hypocrisy (hypokrisis) (flattery) imparts duplicity to the tongue; evil-speakings (katalalia) wound the character of another.”
This is contrary to “sincere brotherly love” of the prior section and the verb “put” is very decisive act. It is the first step of our journey of sanctification.
This “spiritual” (logikos) milk is identical in nature to the difficult to translate “spiritual worship” of Romans 12:1, in which the sacrifice is done with the mind, without the physical service of atonement.
So it is not word-milk (logos - John 1:1). It is not spiritual-milk (“spiritual” (pneumatikos - 1 Peter 2:5). It is mind-milk.
The key word is “pure” (adolos). Our first nourishment as a Christian comes from brotherly kindness, free of deceit/guile (dolos). See Jesus calling the Disciple Nathanael John 1:47. When we "taste and see that the Lord is good" is quoted from Psalms 34:8-14. See there the anti-pattern of deceit.
Yes, we are told to mature and be able to eat the meat of “the word of righteousness” (Hebrews 5:12-14), but no we are not told to leave behind the sweet milk of spiritual communion brought about by brotherly-kindness. This is why we must become like children to enter the Kingdom of God (Matthew 18:1-3, 19:12-14)!
No comments:
Post a Comment