Maturity in Jesus: Solid food, on the other hand, is for adults, who through practice are able to distinguish between good and evil. Hebrews 5:14

The epistle to the Hebrews is a letter that tradition attributes to the apostle Paul, although there is nothing in the letter that allows this to be affirmed, except that his literary style is similar to that of the apostle. And the epistle begins by stating that Jesus is the radiance of God's glory, that is, the image of the Father, and superior to all the angels. And the beginning of the letter in this way is due to the fact that heresies denying the divinity of Christ were very common during the first century after Christ. Continuing with the spiritual teaching, the epistle deals with the subject of Jesus as high priest, that is, as mediator, of a new covenant with God, but not as a continuation of the tribe of Levi, but as a continuation of Melchizedek, to whom the patriarch Abraham paid tribute as the Old Testament relates.
But then the author of the epistle, probably Paul, makes a complaint to the people to whom the letter was addressed, people he knew personally, because he attributes to them a certain immaturity regarding these matters. And it is at this point that Paul explained that the goal of the Christian life is to reach maturity in Jesus, because it is mature people who understand the most important spiritual issues. A maturity that the apostle knew could only be achieved through the gifts bestowed by the Holy Spirit, as happened at Pentecost, the moment when the disciples received the gifts of wisdom, understanding, and spiritual discernment.
And so, to explain this important spiritual matter, the maturity in Jesus that the recipients of the letter were expected to reach, Paul metaphorically referred to a word that is milk for those initiated into the faith, and a word that is solid food for mature Christians: "Instead of eating solid food, you still have to drink milk. Anyone who has to drink milk is still a child, without any experience in the matter of right and wrong. Solid food, on the other hand, is for adults, who through practice are able to distinguish between good and evil" Hebrews 5:12-14. In a very interesting way, Paul associated the maturity with the spiritual discernment given by the Holy Spirit, which allows every Christian to discern spiritual realities. In Paul's thinking, the depth of the word he taught was fundamentally directed to adults and not to the immature, who by nature argue a lot and understand little.

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