“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” – Ephesians 4:11-13.
In 1893, Dr. Robert Wiedersheim published a list of 86 human organs that had, in his words, “lost their original physiological significance”. Theorizing that they were vestiges of evolution, he called them “vestigial”.
Since his time, the function of some of these structures has been discovered, while other anatomical vestiges have been unearthed, making the list primarily of interest as a record of the knowledge of human anatomy at the time.
Later versions of Wiedersheim’s list were expanded to as many as 180 human “vestigial organs”. This is why the zoologist Dr. Horatio Newman stated as an expert witness in the Scopes Monkey Trial that “There are, according to Wiedersheim, no less than 180 vestigial structures in the human body, sufficient to make of a man a veritable walking museum of antiquities.”
Today we understand better. That list has shrunk to almost zero. Even the mysterious appendix is now known to help produce antibodies and prevent bacteria in the colon reaching the blood stream. No human body part is useless. The same goes for the church, all members are important.
The church is the body of Christ and every believer needs to belong to a local church. Today in prayer, praise the Lord for your church. If you do not belong to a church, ask Jesus for wisdom to bring you to a church where you can grow in Him.
“In spite of all its flaws and shortcomings, I still believe that the church is filled, for the most part, with decent and caring people who will be there when you need them.” – Tony Campolo
God’s Word: “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.” – 1 Corinthians 12:27-28.
