1 Corinthians 12:27 (MSG): “You are Christ's body - that's who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your "part" mean anything.”
(CEV): “Together you are the body of Christ. Each one of you is part of His body.”
(NLT2): “All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.”
(GW): “You are Christ's body and each of you is an individual part of it.”
In the New Testament, Paul the apostle of Jesus Christ, referred to the church as the body of Christ. He used this metaphor to relay significant truths about the church and to help us - believers better understand the value of variety within the church. Paul wrote this to the church of Corinth: “The body of Christ has many different parts, just as any other body does. Some of us are Jews, and others are Gentiles. Some of us are slaves, and others are free. But God's Spirit baptized each of us and made us part of the body of Christ. Now we each drink from that same Spirit. Our bodies don't have just one part. They have many parts” {1 Corinthians 12:12-14}.
So, the church is called the body of Christ because Jesus Christ is the head of the church, and we are called to do the work of Christ, each like members of a body. We have different skills, purposes, and spiritual gifts, yet every believer is equally important to the full functioning, mission, and effectiveness of the church. The term “body of Christ” is significant for the church and a good way to understand the church. Why? Because it affirms that Jesus Christ is the head of the church.
We as believers follow Jesus Christ, listen to Him, and let Him guide our steps, just as the head of the body does. Likewise, this term for the church acknowledges diversity within the body of Christ and how good this is for the church. The body needs many parts - many gifts, talents, and skills - to function. We as believers need to work together to accomplish the mission Jesus Christ gave us. Rather than trying to do the same thing, each of us can contribute that which God has called us to do and be.
Paul explained it best this way in 1 Corinthians 12:15-18: “Suppose a foot says, “I'm not a hand, and so I'm not part of the body.” Wouldn't the foot still belong to the body? Or suppose an ear says, “I'm not an eye, and so I'm not part of the body.” Wouldn't the ear still belong to the body? If our bodies were only an eye, we couldn't hear a thing. And if they were only an ear, we couldn't smell a thing. But God has put all parts of our body together in the way that he decided is best.” Each of us - every believer is valuable to the church and each of us is a needed part of the body of Christ. This diversity is something to be celebrated and recognized as part of God’s great design for the church.
I shared this doctrinal truth in last week’s lesson, and I want to reiterate: God the Father prepared a human body for Jesus Christ {Hebrews 10:5}, through which He - Jesus Christ demonstrated God’s love clearly, tangibly, and boldly - especially through His sacrificial death on the cross. After His bodily ascension, Jesus Christ continues His work in the world through those He has redeemed - the Church that now demonstrates the love of God clearly, tangibly, and boldly. In this way, the Church functions as “the body of Christ.”
Romans 12:4-5 (GW): “Our bodies have many parts, but these parts don’t all do the same thing. In the same way, even though we are many individuals, Christ makes us one body and individuals who are connected to each other.
Ephesians 4:12 (ERV): “Christ gave these gifts (the five-fold ministry gifts) to prepare God’s holy people for the work of serving, to make the body of Christ stronger.”
Ephesians 5:23 (GW): “The husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the Head of the church. It is His body, and He is its Savior.”
Colossians 1:24 (GW): “I am happy to suffer for you now. In my body I am completing whatever remains of Christ’s sufferings. I am doing this on behalf of His body, the church.”
Hebrews 10:5 (ERV): “So when Christ came into the world He said, “You don’t want sacrifices and offerings, but you have prepared a body for Me.”
