as newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby,
Spiritual ...  Paul used this in  Romans 12:1, where it means "reasonable," or pertaining to the reason.  It should be noted that it is not the word of God mixed with human additives that enables people to grow unto salvation; but it is the pure word of God. As Macknight put it, "The milk of the word will not nourish the divine nature in those who use it, if it is adulterated with human mixtures."[9]