Why Does the Bible Say that a Little Leaven Leavens the Whole Lump?
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Have you ever heard the phrase "a little leaven leavens the whole lump"? For the most part, modern society buys their bread from a store or bakery, so the concept of leaven feels a bit foreign. However, home breadmaking has become more popular, and leavening is key to making good bread. What does breadmaking have to do with the Bible and our spiritual understanding?
More than you would think. Sometimes, the simplest processes can have deep spiritual applications for our everyday lives. Jesus often used examples from the natural world to explain spiritual truths, and leaven is one such spiritual metaphor. To better understand the metaphor, we need to understand the process of baking bread.
What Is Leaven and What Does It Do to Lumps of Bread?
Leaven is a yeast-like substance that produces fermentation or baking soda, which produces a gas that lightens the dough, allowing it to rise. There are a lot of leavens in our modern world. In biblical times, leaven was the remnant of dough from a previous baking, fermented by dissolving it in water and allowing it to set until it forms an acid.
It (literally) only takes a little leaven to leaven a whole lump of bread dough. Too much leaven will cause the dough to rise too quickly before the gluten in the flour can develop and expand. The result is sticky, poorly risen bread. The right amount will diffuse throughout the dough to create evenly spaced gas bubbles that will cause the bread to rise and maintain its shape.
The use of leaven in the Old Testament can be seen in three areas: breadmaking, law and ritual, and religious teaching. We have already looked at the use of leaven in breadmaking. Regarding the laws and rituals, the children of Israel observed the Passover and most other feasts by eating unleavened bread as a remembrance of how the Israelites fled Egypt so quickly that they did not have time to make leavened bread (Exodus 12, 13; Leviticus 2:11; Deuteronomy 16:4). The only exceptions were the use of leavened bread for the thanksgiving offerings (Leviticus 7:13; Amos 4:5) and wave offerings (Leviticus 23:17). These religious teachings equate leaven with corruption, defilement, and sin.
So, where does the concept of a little leaven leavens the whole lump come from? It is found in several places in the New Testament, each taking a related but slightly different approach to the topic. Let's take a closer look at each of the occurrences to get a better understanding of what is meant by the phrase.
Where Does the Bible Say A Little Leaven Leavens the Whole Lump?
According to a dictionary article on leaven, there are three distinct uses of the word leaven in the New Testament:
- The phrase's first use is Jesus comparing a little leaven to the small beginnings of God's reign in himself that will one day become great. Matthew 13:33 (and similarly in Luke 13:20-21) says: Another parable He spoke to them: "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened."
- The second use of the word leaven is when Jesus warns his disciples about the religious leaders' attitudes of hypocrisy and refusal to see him as The Messiah (Matthew 16:5-12; Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1-12).
- The third use of leaven is a warning to remove yeast or leaven, equating it with sin (1 Corinthians 5:6 and Galatians 5:9). These last two references contain the actual phrase "a little leaven leavens the whole lump," so let's take a closer look at these two scriptures.
Who Is Paul Warning that a Little Leaven Leavens the Whole Lump?
The phrase occurs in two different letters from Paul, one to the church at Corinth and one to the church at Galatia:
- 1 Corinthians 5:6 – "Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?" In the church at Corinth, a man of rank and reputation was discovered having an incestuous relationship. The warning is that the church is in danger of being infected by the man's behavior. The church seemed to esteem this man and had not brought his sin before the church.Such esteem carries the danger of not only overlooking a grievous action, but also accepting the behavior. Accepting the sin weakens the church as the effects spread through the church and even into the community, as it also weakens the church's reputation.
- Galatians 5:9 – "A little leaven leavens the whole lump." The church at Galatia was dealing with Judaizing teachers who tried to bring them back under the bondage of the law. Paul commanded them to stand firm in their liberty in Christ. The leaven in this situation is the erroneous teaching that Christians had to follow Jewish law and be circumcised. The emphasis is that even one little error in doctrine should not be allowed because even a little error can spread and infect the church, leading to more and more errors.
While the situations differ in each church, the issue is still the same. Allowing even sin or error to root itself in the church will eventually break down a church. The church must be diligent in addressing issues in a biblical manner before the sins get out of hand and cause greater damage (to the church itself and its witness to the world).
How Can We Follow the "A Little Leaven Leavens the Whole Lump" Warning Today?
If we are not careful, we can conclude that leaven is bad; however, like many things, it depends on how you use it. So, depending on what leaven means, the metaphor of a little leaven leaving the whole lump can be either positive or negative.
There is nothing bad about literal leavened bread. It can be quite tasty. However, there were commands of when to use leavened bread and when to use unleavened bread in the Old Testament. The unleavened bread was used for most feasts and sacrifices because it was a memorial of the Israelites being freed from slavery in Egypt since they left so quickly that they couldn't wait for the bread to rise. I noted two instances earlier in this article where leavened bread was required for the offerings. Therefore, both had their place.
The metaphor is that a little leaven spreads fast to infuse the entire lump of dough—which can be good or bad. Paul goes into great detail, discussing how quickly sin can spread through the body until the whole church is affected. Jesus also told the disciples to beware of the Pharisees' leaven. However, in another place, Jesus also tells them that the kingdom of heaven can spread quickly (Matthew 13:33). When the Holy Spirit came down from heaven, it filled the room and all the people inside with His power. It permeated the entire church.
As individual Christians, we need to watch what is permeating our lives. Are we allowing sin and doctrinal error to permeate our spirit? Or are we allowing the Holy Spirit to have His way in our lives? We must guard against sin and false teaching. We do that by asking the Holy Spirit to "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23). Then the leaven of the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit will spread through our entire spirit so that it will spread out into the whole world.
Photo Credit: © Getty Images/intek1
Linda Lyle is a writer, teacher, knitter, and unintentional collector of cats. She has written articles for the Alabama Baptist, Open Windows, Refresh, as well as multiple novels and novellas. Her newest book, 5-Minute Prayer Plan for When Life Is Overwhelming, is set to release in October. She spins yarns on her blog The End of My Yarn at lindalyle.com.
This article is part of our larger resource library of popular Bible verse phrases and quotes. We want to provide easy-to-read articles that answer your questions about the meaning, origin, and history of specific verses within Scripture's context. We hope that these will help you better understand the meaning and purpose of God's Word in your life today.