What does 'meat' mean in 1 Corinthians 3?
In 1 Corinthians 3, 'meat' means strong meat or solid food, not food in general. The term refers to flesh such as beef, mutton, or goat, contrasted with milk. Paul uses it figuratively for deeper spiritual truths the carnal Corinthians were not yet able to bear.
Les explains that in this chapter the King James word 'meat' can sometimes mean food of any sort, but Paul is not using it that way. The Greek implies strong meat. Paul is talking about flesh—beef, mutton, or even goat—not food in general. He says the Corinthians cannot handle it, no more than an infant can handle a T-bone steak or solid food. They were not able to bear it, and neither were they able even then. Their major problem was division; they had not grown sufficiently to take advantage of spiritual truths above and beyond their carnality. They were carnal, babes in Christ, stagnated in spiritual infancy, and some were saying, 'I am of Paul.'
I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
More Questions
Why did Paul feed the Corinthians milk instead of meat?
Paul fed the Corinthian believers spiritual milk instead of strong meat because they were not yet able to bear it, just as an infant cannot handle solid food.