what does the church is the body of christ mean?
When I say “body”, what do you think of? The image that comes to mind is a set of limbs: head, arms, neck, feet, etc. So I’m going to dwell on a word here “together”.
The body is a whole. An arm separated from a body is not a body, and a completely divided body is no longer a body.
I think you will have understood the image; an isolated member does not constitute a body.
And therefore, several divided and isolated members do not form a body. Body implies “unity”.
CHECKOUT:
- Church of the Nazarene: Brief history and belief you should know
- 30 spiritual warfare prayer points for church growth and revival
- The Unity Of The Church: Its Bond And How To Achieve It
Church, Body of Christ: Membership Unity.
The Word of God declares that the Church is the body of Christ. The term “church” comes from the Greek ekklêsía, which means “assembly”.
We could thus define the Church as an assembly of people united around Christ, united by Christ.
So we who are many are one body in Christ, and we are all members of one another ( Romans 12:5).
But who are these members? These are all people who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, as it is written in John 1:12: But to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God.
They are the members of the body of Christ. It is not a religion, and nowhere is any religion mentioned. The Church is all the children of God.
And this clearly demonstrates the importance and even the necessity for the body of Christ to be united.
When we speak of unity, we are not speaking of a single and common doctrine or the absence of divergences. Unity implies that despite the differences, we can all find ourselves around a single common point: the risen Jesus Christ!
The members of a body can have divergent interests if taken separately. But they all work together for a common goal.
And it is around this common goal that the Church must come together. In John 17, Jesus Christ prayed for His disciples and, more broadly, for all who would believe in His name.
He will say in this prayer in verse 20:It is not only for them that I pray, but also for those who will believe in Me by their word, so that all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and as I am in You, so that they too be one in us so that the world will believe that You sent Me.
It is important that the whole body of Christ aspires to this unity, similar to that of the Father and the Son so that the world will believe that Jesus was sent to save us.
We cannot win this fight against the world by being divided. Jesus emphasizes here the importance of unity as a condition for the world to believe in Him. If we are divided, we give the image of a divided God. Now, our God is One, and he does not change.
Church, Body of Christ: Heiress with Christ.
It’s a simple matter of logic. If I’m sitting on top of the world, my whole body is. Whatever I do, whatever I am, it concerns all of my members. It is the same with Christ and the Church.
The Bible says in Colossians 1.18: He is the head of the body, the Church; He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, in order to be the first in everything. God shows us through His Word here that by our status as members of the body of Christ, we benefit from the attributes and Position of Christ.
If Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father in high places, then His whole body is seated at the Father’s right hand in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6).
If Christ was given all power over all dominions, then the Church was given all power over all dominions (Matthew 28:18).
The Church is the reflection of Jesus Christ. He lives in each of His members, like the same blood that runs through all the members. This is why all our actions contribute either to glorifying His name or to insult His name.
Romans 8.17 Now, if we are children, we are also heirs: heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ, if we suffer with Him, in order to be glorified with Him.
The Church is not equal to Jesus Christ. She is nothing without Jesus Christ. It is He who gives her all His glory, His power, His love. Christ IS The Church; the Church is Christ. She is in Him, and He is in her.
They are one, as the Father and Jesus are one. This is why the members of this body that we are must become aware of the most important thing and bring Jesus Christ back to the centre of all things. He is the goal. He is the reason, He is the means, He is our resource, and He is our source.
