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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
Pursuant to his discourse, 1Pe_1:23, where he speaks of their new birth, he here calls them new-born babes; but that not in opposition to those that are adult, or of fall age, as Heb_5:14 1Co_3:1, but in opposition to their former corrupt and unregenerate state, in which they were destitute of all spiritual life; and so this agrees, not only to young converts, but generally to all regenerate persons.
Desire; being new-born babes, act as such in earnestly desiring and longing for that spiritual nourishment, which is so needlul for you, even as children, as soon as they come into the world, are lingering after the breast.
The sincere milk of the word: the Greek may be rendered (and is by some) reasonable milk, viz. such as is for the soul, not for the body; that whereby the mind is nourished and strengthened; or, wordy milk, the substantive from which it is derived properly and first signifying word, or speech, and being used for the word of God, Heb_4:12. But this not being proper English, our translation renders it best, the milk of the word, i.e. the word which is milk. The apostle useth an adjective for a substantive, but that adjective doth not signify the quality of the subject, milk, as the other, sincere, doth, but the subject of itself. The like phrase we have, 1Pe_3:7; Greek, female, or wifeish, weaker vessel, which we turn by the substantive, wife, who is said there to be the weaker vessel. So that the doctrine of the gospel is here to be understood, as Isa_55:1, and believers are to be nourished by the same word, as their food, by which, as the seed, they are said to be begotten, 1Pe_1:23. This milk of the word is said to be sincere, i.e. pure, without mixture or adulteration, not blended, or diluted, (as vintners do by their wine, to whose practice Paul alludes, when he speaks of men’s corrupting the word, 2Co_2:17 4:2), with human fictions or traditions. Infants love the sweetness of their mothers’ milk, and desire it pure, as it is: believers should desire the word pure, as it is in itself, not mixed with any thing that may lessen its sweetness and hinder its efficacy.
That ye may grow thereby; that by the word, as your spiritual nourishment, ye may grow more in spiritual life and strength, till ye come to be perfect men, Eph_4:13.