For the body is not one member, but many. (1 Corinthians 12:14)
Back in the ’80s, the Wendy’s ® fast-food chain offered the anti-slogan, “Parts is parts” for their chicken sandwich. The slogan sent the message that all other chicken vendors used chicken parts indiscriminately in their processed chicken sandwiches, while Wendy’s ® only used the very best parts. One commercial had the customer questioning the content of the chicken and the attendant explaining that they used different parts of the chicken, and after all, “parts is parts.”[1]
Obviously, the parts do matter when ordering a chicken sandwich. One expects to get a tender chicken breast fillet in one’s chicken sandwich, and not an amalgamation of assorted chicken parts like the liver, gizzard, heart, skin, eyes, combs, intestines, etc. “Parts is parts,” but not all parts are suitable for consumption – at least, not in our minds.
Paul offered a similar idea in his first epistle to the Corinthians.[2] He compared the Church to our physical bodies. Our bodies are made up of large body parts that are readily observable – head, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, neck, shoulders, arms, hands, fingers, legs, feet, toes, etc. We also have literally trillions of microscopic parts beneath the skin that play major roles in keeping us alive – our cardio-vascular system, respiratory system, digestive system, endocrine system, neurological system, skeletal system, etc. All of these parts serve their own functions and are vital to our lives, even those that are not seen. Paul points out the obvious. We cannot exist as a hand alone, or a foot alone, or an eye alone, or an ear alone. We need all of our parts functioning harmoniously in union performing their individual roles as part of the whole body.
Apparently, from the tone of Paul’s letter, the Corinthians were having trouble in this department (and others as well). The Church functions as one body comprised of many members (parts). He sums this idea up like this, “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular” (1 Corinthians 12:27). Each member of the body is “particular.” “Particular” translates the Greek word, meros, which means “one of the constituent parts of a whole.”[3]
Like the human body, the “Body of Christ,” the Church, has many members and each member serves a unique purpose in the body. We cannot all be preachers. We cannot all teach, or sing, or play musical instruments, but we all have a purpose. There are needed tasks in the church that seem “menial,” but serve a great need in the church – caring for children in the nursery, keeping the morning coffee going before services, greeting people as they come in the door, or just smiling and saying “Hi” to one another. Every member is important to the Body of Christ, and there is not one function that is more or less important than another. “Parts is NOT parts” The parts are all one in Christ, but we all serve our own unique, God-given purpose.
Reader, Jesus is coming soon. Are you prepared to meet Him? If you are not a member of His body, you will miss Him when He comes. Don’t do that! Please read my page on “Securing Eternal Life.”
Notes:
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_oem9BqUTI
[3] Definition from Thayer’s Greek Definitions, (Published in 1886, 1889; public domain).
Ernie's Musings 