After reading the document (and perhaps the scriptures from multiple translations of the Bible) engage prayerfully with these questions below.
(1) In the companies you’ve been a part of, what are the most conspicuous and least conspicuous roles? Compare the treatment received by the people in those roles. 1 Corinthians 12:22 – The parts of the body that we think are the weakest are the most necessary. Discuss this for church contexts and for business contexts.
(2) What are the dangers of dishonoring the inconspicuous parts of the body of Christ? What are the dangers of dishonoring the inconspicuous parts of a business? 1 Corinthians 12:13 – We were all baptized by one Spirit into one body, whether Jew or Greek, or slave or free, and we all were given one Spirit to drink.
Faith Integration
1 Corinthians 12:12-27
When you think of an airplane like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, what images come to your mind? Probably the smooth, shiny fuselage, the wings with the powerful engines attached, the windshield of the cockpit. Maybe you also think about the appearance of the interior, like whether the seats are comfortable and clean, and if the snacks and WiFi are free. Rare is the person for whom the first image is something like “hydraulic actuators” or “horizontal stabilizers.” At the same time, few of us would deny the importance of those pieces, even if we aren’t quite sure what they do. It stands to reason that every part of the airplane is important for safety and function, even if that part is inconspicuous.
In the body of Christ, it is easy to see the most conspicuous as the most important. Surely the lead pastor of a church, with all the responsibility and influence of that role, is more important than the elderly person who sits in the back row? The chair of the elder board is more important than the five year-old who cries through half the worship service, right? To both those questions, Scripture would disagree, and offer a different perspective:
12 Christ is just like the human body—a body is a unit and has many parts; and all the parts of the body are one body, even though there are many. 13 We were all baptized by one Spirit into one body, whether Jew or Greek, or slave or free, and we all were given one Spirit to drink. 14 Certainly the body isn’t one part but many. 15 If the foot says, “I’m not part of the body because I’m not a hand,” does that mean it’s not part of the body? 16 If the ear says, “I’m not part of the body because I’m not an eye,” does that mean it’s not part of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, what would happen to the hearing? And if the whole body were an ear, what would happen to the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God has placed each one of the parts in the body just like he wanted. 19 If all were one and the same body part, what would happen to the body? 20 But as it is, there are many parts but one body. 21 So the eye can’t say to the hand, “I don’t need you,” or in turn, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” 22 Instead, the parts of the body that people think are the weakest are the most necessary. 23 The parts of the body that we think are less honorable are the ones we honor the most. The private parts of our body that aren’t presentable are the ones that are given the most dignity. 24 The parts of our body that are presentable don’t need this. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the part with less honor 25 so that there won’t be division in the body and so the parts might have mutual concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part gets the glory, all the parts celebrate with it. 27 You are the body of Christ and parts of each other.
Whereas people might consider some in the body of Christ to be more important than others, God considers each of us essential. In fact, those that are harder to notice, and therefore at risk of receiving less dignity, merit special attention from God. This text encourages us toward mutuality with one another: sharing in joys, and sharing in suffering, because all who are part of the body of Christ are also part of one another. Just like the 787, every part in the body of Christ is important – even, and especially, the parts we are less likely to see.
Some questions to consider:
In the companies you’ve been a part of, what are the most conspicuous and least conspicuous roles? Compare the treatment received by the people in those roles.
1 Corinthians 12:22 – The parts of the body that we think are the weakest are the most necessary. Discuss this for church contexts and for business contexts.
What are the dangers of dishonoring the inconspicuous parts of the body of Christ? What are the dangers of dishonoring the inconspicuous parts of a business?
1 Corinthians 12:13 – We were all baptized by one Spirit into one body, whether Jew or Greek, or slave or free, and we all were given one Spirit to drink. The hydraulic actuators of the Boeing 787 are from Japan; the horizontal stabilizers are from Italy; it also features components from France, Germany, China, the UK, South Korea, Sweden, and more. Discuss the importance of central, unifying mission.
What Students Are Saying About Us
.......... Customer ID: 12*** | Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"Honestly, I was afraid to send my paper to you, but splendidwritings.com proved they are a trustworthy service. My essay was done in less than a day, and I received a brilliant piece. I didn’t even believe it was my essay at first 🙂 Great job, thank you!"
.......... Customer ID: 14***| Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"The company has some nice prices and good content. I ordered a term paper here and got a very good one. I'll keep ordering from this website."
