seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
1 Corinthians 12:12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.
Here's the link to the commentary. These verses are above my paygrade too. I bet there are courses in Seminary about "the parts of the body". Please allow me to see if I can explain what I think this says.
As I have said, I watch a lot of TV now that I'm retired. I have a basket of yarn and a cup of coffee, I sit in an easy chair near hubby, and I crochet while watching the latest "episode". Lately we've been watching "Rawhide". [I thought about using the parts of a crocheted elephant I just finished as an example, but Rawhide is more fun!]
For those of you who are too young to remember, or for those of you who didn't have a TV in your home, "Rawhide" was about a bunch of men moving a herd of cattle on the hoof across the country. I remember a lot of Sunday nights hurrying to get home after Bible Study to watch Rowdy Yates and Gill Favor.
Anyway, getting back to the point.... Each of the guys on the drive had a unique job and each stuck to it.... but as the plots of the show progressed, we learned that each one of the guys was important to the drive.
The drive was made of the steers, a trail boss, a ramrod, a cook, a cook's louse, a scout, a man for the ramada [where they tied the horses], and the cow hands. The cow hands were several men, with several positions as well. Some rode "point", some rode days, some rode nights, some rode beside the steers to keep them moving, calm and collected, and some rode the tail end.... to keep the stragglers in line. All these men had a job. Each was dependent on the other. If Gill Favor got a fever, Rowdy Rates would have to take over. When that happened, Pete [the scout] would inevitably ask "When's Mr. Favor coming back?". Each cowhand was important to the cattle drive.
Paul says the people who make up the church are like the men who herded cattle across the country. Each has a job that must be done to help the church run smoothly. Even in the Jewish Temple, there were multiple priests working together. One would go into the Holy of Holies with a rope tied around his waist in case he made a mistake and got killed on the spot. At the same time, someone else would be on the other side of the rope to pull the errant dead priest out of the Holy of Holies. If those two priests got into an argument concerning who is most important.... It would be an interesting conversation. Both have to be there though. So, they should work together.
I've been to big churches. I was just wondering, do the ushers in the church sometimes think of themselves as cowpokes herding cattle?
Jesus showed us that each of us has a Mission. The person who dusts the pews is just as important to the church as the priest. Each is there to work toward the Mission. After all, who among us hasn't gone to church intending to listen to the sermon, only to be distracted by all that dust?
Every cowpoke has a job.
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