Mr. Minderhoud is a teacher in Covenant Christian High School and a member of Hope Protestant Reformed Church, Walker, Michigan.

Nay much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary.

I Corinthians 12:22

Scripture, on more than one occasion, uses the human body to illustrate characteristics of the Body of Christ. “If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole body were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body as it hath pleased him” (I Cor. 12:17-18). “Nay much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary” (I Cor. 12:22). Scripture teaches that the Body of Christ is made up of many members and that all the members play a vital and significant role in that Body.

In previous articles on the nervous system (see SB, January 1, February 1, 2003) we marveled at our sovereign God, who created and controls the complex unity that is found within the human body. We have seen the specific God-given tasks given to the many individual members within the nervous system—members that we perhaps did not even know existed, and that we certainly ignore in our day-to-day activities. Only when we recognize how vital all the members are in the body will we begin to understand how the proper activity of each of these vital members brings unity to the body. Likewise, when these members do not, or cannot, function as they should, the unity within the body is disrupted and the whole body suffers.

Let us consider the value and importance of these little members as seen against the backdrop of the disruption that occurs when there is disharmony in the body and certain parts are damaged or destroyed. It is our hope that, by means of this contrast, we may better appreciate the unity that should be characteristic of the body. And may this study, by God’s grace, help us to see how all the members in the greater Body are important and necessary, and how the Body of Christ lives as one, suffering and rejoicing together, united in Christ for the purpose of glorifying God’s most holy name.

Significant Members of the Body

As seen in a previous article, we experience movement—hands grip a hammer, legs carry and move us about, eyes blink, stomachs churn, and hearts beat—because of electrical signals that connect the brain to the other parts of the body. Tiny, seemingly insignificant, members of the nervous system transmit these electrical signals. What if those little members could not do their jobs? What effect would it have on our bodies? In some of our bodies those little members are destroyed by the immune system. Normally the immune system ignores the cells of the body and attacks only “foreign” organisms. However, under the sovereign direction of God, the white blood cells of the immune system sometimes attack the cells of its own body. The complications and effects that result from this are called “autoimmune disorders.” We will consider two such disorders that affect the nervous system and notice that when certain members of the body do not function as intended, disharmony exists in the body, disrupting the entire workings of the body as a whole.

The first autoimmune disorder we consider is multiple sclerosis. In the case of multiple sclerosis, the immune system attacks a portion of the nerve cell. As we saw in a previous article, nerve cells consist of three major parts—the dendrites, which look like long tree-branch-like extensions, whose role it is to receive stimuli from outside sources; the axon, which is a long “wire” covered in insulation, whose role it is to transmit the electrical signal; and the synaptic knobs, which are found at the axon terminal branches, whose job it is to send chemical messengers to the next nerve cell in order to relay the electrical signal. In the case of multiple sclerosis, a portion of the axon, called myelin, is attacked, destroyed, and removed by the white blood cells of the immune system.

Myelin is a fatty substance that coats the surface of the axon in intervals (giving it the appearance of a string of “frankfurters”). This myelin is important because it assists in properly transmitting the electrical message. Recall that the electrical impulse is transmitted down the surface of the axon by sodium ionsrushing through certain successive gates or doors in the walls of the axon. These gates are found at the joints between the myelin on the axon. Therefore, the greater the distance between myelin joints, the farther down the axon the nerve impulse will be continued. Thus, a large section of myelin results in electrical impulses being conducted longer distances, moving the impulse rapidly down the length of the nerve cell. Neurons with large sections of myelin can conduct an electrical impulse at speeds up to 100 meters per second, while neurons with little or no myelin move the electrical impulse at a speed of only 2 meters per second.

The result of the immune system’s attack on the myelin is that the electrical impulse is passed on slowly, sporadically, or not at all, creating a loss of sensation and possibly movement. Large de-myelination usually results in great loss of motor control and even paralysis, while minimal de-myelination can mean loss of sensation. Thus, depending on the amount of myelin insulation destroyed, people who suffer from multiple sclerosis may experience a range of difficulties from numbness, uncontrolled movement, to paralysis. Here we see how a tiny body part such as myelin is vital for our bodies to function properly, and when one member suffers, the whole body is adversely affected.

Another example of an autoimmune disorder is myasthenia gravis. In this disorder the immune system attacks and destroys the receptors on the muscle cells. In order for us to move any part of our body, an electrical impulse must travel down the nerve cells and stimulate the synaptic knobs to release their chemical messengers, which are then received by receptors on the muscle cells that stimulate the muscles to contract. In the case of myasthenia gravis, the immune system destroys or damages these receptors, and the muscle is incapable of receiving the electrical signal from the nerve cells. Without the stimulation from the chemical messengers, the muscle will not contract, and movement will not result. Even though every other part of the body may be functioning properly—the eyes see danger, the brain sends an electrical impulse to the leg to move, the nerves transmit the electrical signal to the leg muscles, the synaptic knobs release their chemical messengers, the chemical messengers are properly formed and travel to the muscles—yet, because the receptors have been destroyed by the immune system, the affected body parts will not move.

In some cases the immune system attacks many muscle-cell receptors and the effects are widespread. In other cases the immune system targets only some muscle-cell receptors. Thus, people who suffer from myasthenia gravis will experience difficulties ranging from a lack of muscle control and muscle tone to a lack of motor control or even paralysis of parts of the body. Here again we clearly see how so-called “feeble” and “insignificant” members of the body, such as muscle receptors, are vital for our bodies to experience movement.

The Wondrous Works of God

We ought to look more closely at our bodies and marvel at how they work and how so many different parts work together to accomplish the tasks of life. When one sees how just one tiny member, such as myelin or receptor molecules on the muscle cells, can disrupt the whole body when it is not functioning as it ought, we marvel at the greatness of our God, and our utter dependence on Him. How amazing it is that each day millions of “miniscule” tasks are accomplished by the parts of our body so that we can do even the simplest of tasks. This all is under the sovereign direction of Almighty God. To Him be all praise and glory. Yea, truly we are fearfully and wonderfully made.

God made the human body as He did, at least in part, so that He could teach us significant truths about the Body of Christ. The autoimmune disorders highlight the truth that all the members of the body (Body), even the tiny, the so-called “unimportant” members, are vital to the existence and vibrancy of the body (Body). Consider again what I Corinthians 12:22 has to teach us. “Nay much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary.” Is it not amazing how many “little” and “feeble” parts the body has? And yet, all are vital. They are all necessary. We take them for granted. In many cases we have no idea that they even exist—until they don’t. God shows us that all the parts of the body are necessary, so that the body can function and prosper, as it should.

There is good teaching here for the church. All the members of the Body of Christ are necessary, and the Body is incomplete without them. Each member plays a vital role in the church, and we as God’s people must learn to “esteem other better than (our) selves” (Phil. 2:3). Our Father knows we have much to learn in this area. Scripture, therefore, is full of references to our calling to care for the “weak” and for our brothers and sisters in Christ. “And I will come near to you in judgment; against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless” (Mal. 3:5). “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another” (Eph. 4:25). We have seen the devastating effects that occur when members of the body work against each other instead of for each other! Envy and hatred will not build up the brethren, will not strengthen the Body, but will only harm its goal of being united in Christ to bring glory and honor to God. May God bless His church, the Body and Bride of Christ, keeping her from sins that can only disrupt and destroy the unity we have in Christ Jesus.

May we learn from Scripture’s lesson—the human body, in all of its diversity, complexity, and intricacy, teaches us something vital about the glorious Body of Christ. God has an individual purpose for all of us in His Body, the working out of which is so complex and intricate that we can only begin to grasp it in this life by His revelation to us. But our sovereign Lord has united us all, with our own unique talents and tasks, to fulfill His ultimate purpose of glorifying Himself in Christ. Each of us within that Body is vitally important, and our importance lies only in the fact that we are a part of that Body, organically united. So, though we be many members, we toil, suffer, and rejoice as one. May we then with one accord extol the praises of our glorious Head and sovereign Lord.