CHAPTER 5
The Framework of the Body-the Skeleton
(Continued from page 435.)
We return now to consider man as a five-fold being, taking up the groups in their natural order.
1. the skull. There can be no question that the head, the framework of which is the skull, is the crown and most important part of the whole body. Its position indicates this. Forming the summit or apex of the entire structure, it may be compared to the castle or palace of the master of the entire domain. From it he looks out upon the whole creation, far and near. Here are housed the various departments for receiving messages and transmitting orders. From this as a center the entire estate is administered, cared for and protected. All is subject to the control, and exists for him who dwells there. In other words the skull is the case which contains the organs of vision, hearing, smell, taste, and feeling, and of speech. It is first of all the seat of the brain, the closest link with the man himself, the conscious ego. From it radiates the vast and complex nervous system which receives all impressions and conveys all impulses of action. Without the head, the whole marvelous structure of the body is useless, meaningless, lifeless.
It is significant that the form and purpose of the head require the erect position which distinguishes man practically from all other creatures. The natural posture of these is horizontal, while his is erect. He is thus qualified, and compelled, to look upward and outward. It suggests his link, as a conscious responsible being, with God. "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness" (Gen. 1:26). The suggested etymology of the Greek word for man, vθρωπoς, "the one who turns the eye upward," may not be incorrect.
Not only does the upright position suggest the link of man with God, but that posture is required for all normal activities. Man is erect by creation:"God hath made man upright" (Eccl. 7:29). Instinctively he resumes that attitude after having taken any other position from whatever cause. And this suggests the moral nature which is man's by creation; uprightness, righteousness are as much the normal moral characteristics as the erect posture is the physical. That his condition is the opposite in fallen man is but the proof of that fall; he is not as God intended him to be. Sin is the contradiction of the purpose of his creation.* *This refers of course to God's purpose. For the fulfilment of that purpose man must be established in essential righteousness. This was not the case at his creation. As a responsible moral agent, he must be tested, and therefore while entirely innocent he was not holy. In this the blessed Second Man out of heaven was different. He was not merely innocent, but "that Holy Thing." This points also to the union of the divine Person with the perfect human nature.*
Similarly, the head properly in its place of supremacy secures erectness of standing. The simplest and most important rule for the proper position is to "hold up the head." So all righteousness of character and walk is the outcome of proper recognition of and relationship to God. "And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honored Him that liveth forever" (Dan. 4:34). The cause of the dissolute, groveling, bestial life that marks man is that he refuses to recognize what Nebuchadnezzar learned.
"This head of gold" (Dan. 2:38) is only truly that when God is reverenced and obeyed.
The skull may be roughly described as a spherical case enclosing the brain. That it is marvelously adapted to this end we may well believe, knowing Him whose name is Wonderful, who is its Designer. This appears not only in its general shape, size and contour, but also in every detail. Beginning at the more general features, we recognize two main parts of the skull, the cranium, or brain case, and the face. The former is essentially a closed chamber, safely guarding its priceless treasure; the latter is adapted as the framework for communication with the outer world through the various sense organs, and the mouth and tongue. Though distinct from each other, yet they are intimately associated together. The cranium would be a sepulcher were it not linked with the face through which it speaks.
Without going into detail we may regard the cranium as the symbol of the abode of the new man, the self-conscious believer in Christ, endowed with life and endless spiritual faculties; the face is the visible channel of the expression of these powers. Without the face, the faculties would be without the power of expression; without the brain, in the cranium, the face might be beautiful but lifeless. Thus we are reminded of the composite character of our spiritual being.
The same is true when we regard it as a part of the Body, the Church. Here we have evidently a double significance. As a part of the entire body, we think of the head as composed of various parts and members; as representing Christ as Head of the Church, His Body, it stands supreme, alone. As an integral part of the body it is spoken of in 1 Cor. 12:13-31. Here the head is dependent upon the feet, the eye, the hand (ver. 21).
When we speak of it as a figure of Christ, the Head of the Church His Body, we must tread softly and guard against any carnal application of physical truth. We can, however, reverently follow where Scripture leads, and under the Spirit's guidance recognize the features of Him whom we have learned to love and adore as He shows Himself through the lattice (Song 2:9).
In Ephesians we read (chap. 1:22, 23) that God "gave Him to be Head over all things to the church, which is His Body, the fulness (or complement) of Him that filleth all in all." Here is something more than mere supremacy or headship in a general way. The Church is His Body, vitally linked with Him, who has imparted His life to her. As His Body she is the vehicle for the expression and carrying out of His will, the complement, the filling out- amazing thought-of Him who filleth all things. So the Church is spoken of as linked and identified with Him "As the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ" (1 Cor. 12:12).
Similarly, in Ephesians 4:IS, 16, we read, "Speaking the truth in love, may grow up unto (είς) Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ, from whom (έξ o, as source and abiding center of life) the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth (lit., "joining of supply," άφς τς έπιχoρηγίάς) according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body, unto the edifying of itself in love." In the face of such a scripture we cannot but be encouraged to seek to gather the meaning of this wondrous Headship, as expressed in the Head of the Body.
We are, however, at present occupied by the skull alone, and not the marvelous treasure it encloses. Composed of bony tissue and cartilage it reminds us, as we have been seeing, of the outline of revealed truth which sets forth the thought of God. It is not mere objective truth, but as living tissue is infiltrated by the mineral salts, so the truth permeates the entire spiritual organism.
Might we venture to remind the student of truth that it must ever be "as the truth is in Jesus"-living and pulsating with His life. It is only too easy to forget this in our study of doctrine, and nowhere is this more dangerous than in the study of the Person of our blessed living Lord.
We have still to dwell for a little upon the skull as a composite, and to learn something of the various bones of which it is composed. These, in general, are 8 for the cranium, 14 for the face, 6 for the ear, and the hyoid bone for the tongue. The two latter, the bones for ear and tongue, have to do more directly with the functioning of those organs, than with the structure. The remaining two groups are directly essential in the framework of the skull.
Of these two groups the cranium is the brain-case proper; the face bones have to do largely with the links with the external world. We may say the cranium is the type of the person; the face, of his faculties and expression. The first is connected with the subjective side, the second with the objective. And yet these are so intimately linked together as to be mutually essential. As with Israel, Judah (answering to subjective and personal truth) and Ephraim and the rest (the external and objective) were distinct in character and place, yet any jealousy, discord, or division between these marred their national unity, so the rational side of man is indissolubly blended with its expression.
The bones of the cranium are eight in number, two of which-the parietal and temporal-are pairs, on opposite sides of the skull. The total number is that of a new beginning, the eighth day beginning a new week. It may suggest that new creation into which the "new man" has entered, as in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).
The two pairs on the opposite side of the cranium illustrate the bilateral character of the entire body, and serve to preserve the beautiful symmetry of the skull. Man by creation, and the new man by new creation, is a harmonious unity. He is not "one-sided," and it is good to see this illustrated in this basic department of his being.
The remaining bones are the occipital at the base and back of the skull; the frontal, forming the forehead and parts of the roof of the orbits or eye sockets, and of the nasal cavity; the ethmoid, forming parts of the orbits, nasal cavity, and base of the cranium; and the sphenoid, serving to bind the other cranial bones together, and adding its share in the formation of the orbital and nasal parts and the cranium. We will look at each of these.
The occipital bone lies at the base and back of the skull, forming the resting place of the brain. It is deeply concave, with many clearly marked depressions for the reception of parts of the brain. A large opening, the foramen magnum, in the lower part toward the back, serves for the passage of the upper part of the spinal cord, the medulla oblongata, which unifies the entire nervous system. This bone, in infancy consisting of four parts- typical of weakness-becomes united in early childhood, and is marked by strength and suitability as a base for the brain. It is united to the temporal and parietal bones by the joints called sutures, which gradually become rigid. The spiritual significance of this bone, and indeed of all the bones forming the cranium, is the abundant protection it affords to the "inner man." Personal individuality is inviolate. The isolation of the brain from all external contact, though with abundant means of communication, suggests the essential independence of man. Nothing can go behind the impassable barrier of the cranium.
It would be well if parents recognized this individuality in their children from earliest infancy. They are no puppets or playthings, not even little pets, as though they were animals; but rational, responsible immortal beings, destined for an eternity of existence. They are not the property of the parents, but a sacred trust to be cared for, instructed and guided. Hence the vast importance of a godly example, that the little mind from earliest infancy may receive impressions calculated to form its thoughts and habits aright. Hence too the evil of arbitrary harshness, or its opposite of wheedling indulgence. The child has a will and all mental faculties which belong to itself. The will is not to be "broken," but to be taught subjection as an act of willing obedience. Responsibility should be inculcated, responsibility to God, and even obedience to parents is because of that higher obligation.
All this is equally applicable, with possibly increased definiteness, to the child of God. "Ye are bought with a price, be not ye the servants of men." The very dependence upon God, of absolute subjection to Him, excludes all other ownership. Behind the "cranial barrier" no one can intrude. We can lay truth before the mind; we can urge obligations to God upon the conscience; we can plead with and urge action upon the will, but we must leave all decision to the individual. How good it is that this is the case; and how pitiful is its opposite. No one respects a weakling whose vacillating mind and will are open to the intrusion of any strong influence from without. Behind the walls of his own individuality each one must weigh and decide all questions. Even an inspired apostle uses entreaty and exhortation (Rom. 12:1:Eph. 4:1, etc.). And how solemn is the lowly grandeur of Him who says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock" (Rev. 3:20). The Creator does not force His way in against the will of His responsible creature!
And yet the word of God is equally clear as to the sovereignty of God. That there are mysteries beyond the finite mind is most evident; that God is first in redemption is clear; but we must not overlook the individuality of man. And when Christ is received behind the doors of that individuality, how blessedly He controls mind, affections, and will. Gladly that which is refused to all others is given to Him, as we bow in our inmost being before Him whom we own as "My Lord and my God."
"Thou seemest human and divine,
The highest, holiest Manhood, Thou;
Our wills are ours we know not how,
Our wills are ours to make them Thine."
S. R.
(To be continued, D. V.)