Let us take some examples from 1 Corinthians to illustrate what we mean by the feathers, skin, and meat in the Word. First Corinthians 1:12 says, “Now I mean this, that each of you says, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ.” This verse speaks of divisiveness. Regarding division, some of the Brethren teachers said something like this: “In 1 Corinthians 1:12 Paul rebukes those who say that they are of Cephas, of Apollos, of Paul, and of Christ. Why, then, do you take such names as Lutheran, Baptist, Presbyterian, or Wesleyan? To say that you are a Lutheran means that you are of Luther. Does not Paul’s word apply to the matter of assuming denominational names? This practice must be rebuked.” This is sound, fundamental teaching. Nevertheless, this teaching is skins and feathers. It is not the meat of the Word.
If we would learn to eat in a healthy way, we should not eat the feathers and the skins. Instead, we should eat the meat. When I eat chicken, I eat only the meat, not the feathers, the skin, or the bone. In the same principle, when we come to 1 Corinthians 1, we should pay attention not merely to the feathers in verse 12, but to the meat in verse 9.
Does 1 Corinthians primarily reveal the matter of division? No, the basic revelation here concerns the fellowship of God’s Son. Furthermore, this chapter teaches that Christ, the crucified One, is God’s wisdom and power to us. This Christ is now our daily righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. This is the basic revelation in chapter one of 1 Corinthians.
If we would eat the meat of a chicken, we need to pluck out the feathers and peel off the skin. In like manner, if we would find the meat in 1 Corinthians 1, we must go deeper than the feathers and the skin in this chapter. Then we shall see past the divisions and the divisive spirit and see that Christ, the Son of God, is our portion and that He, God’s wisdom and power, may be enjoyed as our daily righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. We all need to see Christ in this way and partake of such rich food. If we remain in verse 12, concentrating on the matter of division, we shall have only the feathers and the skins. We shall not enjoy the healthy meat—Christ as our portion. I can testify that when I read 1 Corinthians 1, I do not pay attention only to the skin of divisiveness; much more, I enjoy the crucified Christ as my portion and as my righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
Many Christians have not seen the meat in chapter one of 1 Corinthians. Some see only the feathers; others, going somewhat deeper, see the skin. But when I tell the believers that they must go beyond the skin and the feathers and touch the meat, some are offended and even oppose me. They are like my grandchildren who complain when I tell them to eat the meat of the chicken and not to eat the skin. In my ministry I am doing my best to show the Lord’s people the meat that lies beneath the feathers and the skin.
Recently I read an article in which I was accused of destroying the practice of Christmas. Actually I do not have any intention to attack the practice of Christmas. My time is fully occupied with ministering Christ to others. But while I am ministering Christ, Christmas is spontaneously exposed. Yes, I have said that we should care fully for Christ and forget about the so-called Christ-mass or Christmas. I have also said that we should be Christians, but not care for the “-anity” of Christianity. I certainly do not have the intention of opposing either Christmas or Christianity. Nevertheless, in my ministry I have said that we should care for Christ and be real Christians, but have nothing to do with the “-mass” or “-anity.” When certain ones hear such a word, they accuse me of opposing Christianity and ruining the practice of Christmas.
Actually, Christmas and the system of Christianity include many things that are not even the genuine feathers and skins in the Bible. It is a fact that Christ was born in a manger and raised in Nazareth. These definitely are truths in the Bible; however they are “feather-truths” or “skin-truths,” not “meat-truths.” An example of a “meat-truth” is John 1:1 and 14. These verses declare that the Word, which is God, became flesh and tabernacled among us, full of grace and reality. John 1:16 goes on to say, “For of His fullness we all received, and grace upon grace.” Verse 4 of the same chapter says this: “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” In these verses we have meat, not feathers or skin.
More meat is found in chapters fourteen and fifteen of the Gospel of John. John 14:23 says, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My Word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make an abode with him.” This verse says nothing about Christmas, Easter, or the system of Christianity. Neither do any other verses in the Gospel of John. This verse declares that the Son and the Father will make an abode with the one who loves the Lord Jesus. Furthermore, in John 15:4 the Lord says, “Abide in Me and I in you.” In this chapter He also says,“I am the vine, you are the branches” (v. 5). Verses such as these do not have any feathers or skin. Rather, they are full of nourishing meat.
When you eat a chicken dinner, do you pay attention mainly to the skin or to the meat? Certainly we would all concentrate on the meat. If my wife were to serve me a meal of chicken skin, I would be very unhappy. However, my wife would never do such a thing. Instead, she would serve the nourishing meat of the chicken. I enjoy this kind of meat, and I am strengthened and supplied by it.
What kind of Bible do you have? Is your Bible a book only of feathers or of skins, or is your Bible more a book of meat? We should be careful about the way we answer this question. The best answer is to say, “My Bible is not only a book of feathers and skins, but also a book of rich meat.” A chicken needs feathers and skin as well as meat. Without feathers and skin, a chicken would not be able to grow. In like manner, in the Bible we have the skin, the feathers, and the meat. But the tragedy among Christians today is that they care for the feathers and the skin, but they do not care much for the meat. Therefore, my burden is to minister the meat of the Word to the Lord’s people.