Lesson 6
THE CHURCH
The Body of Christ
King James Version (KJV)
A. Introduction>
- The New Testament talks about two bodies of Christ. The first was His physical body. This was the body to which Mary gave birth (Romans 1:3; Galatians 4:4) and which the Romans nailed to the cross (1 Peter 2:24). The second is His spiritual body, which is the church (Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:18). This lesson examines the church as the spiritual body of Christ. Viewing the church as a body will give us more insight into its nature.
- Thinking of the church as a body can be confusing unless we recognize differences in the way the word "body" is used. If you consult a collegiate dictionary, you will find from 15 to 20 definitions or sub-definitions of the word. They range from "a corpse" to "a corporation". According to the definitions, most bodies seem to have the following characteristics: (1) substance--a body consists of a substance or material , (2) identity--the substance or material can be recognized as separate and distinguishable from other things, and (3) unity--the material or substantive parts of the body are related or connected to each other, either physically, functionally, or organizationally, so as to form a unit. A heavenly body (the moon, for example) has substance, identity, and unity. A body of water has substance, identity, and unity. The people employed by a corporation, together with its other physical resources, give it substance. Its corporate charter gives it identity. Its organization gives it unity.
- When the New Testament refers to the church as the body of Christ, the primary reference is to a group of people who obey Christ and give their allegiance to Him. One scholar (J. H. Thayer) who in 1885 wrote a dictionary for the words in the Greek New Testament states that the word translated "body", when it refers to the church, means "a number of men closely united into one society, or family, as it were." Therefore, viewed as a body, the church has substance ("a number of men"), identity ("society"), and unity ("closely united").
- If all bodies have substance, identity, and unity, then bodies that otherwise differ can be compared. Sometimes it is helpful in trying to understand one type of body to compare it to another more familiar type. The New Testament compares the body of Christ, the church, to the human body. The comparison is revealing and will be the subject of this lesson.
B. The Church Is One Body But Many Members (1 Corinthians 12:12-27)
- In a body of pure water such as a pristine lake in a remote area, each member of the body (each molecule of water) is like every other member. The human body is different. Like the lake, it has many members, but the members are different. An ear does not look like an eye, nor does a leg look like a lung. As different as they are in appearance, location, and function, the members of a body form a unit. Individual members of the body cannot survive by themselves. A hand is of no use if it is not physically joined to the rest of the body. A heart is worthless unless it is connected to the rest of the circulatory system. The members of a body depend on the presence of other members to do jobs they themselves cannot do.
- In 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, Paul compared the church at Corinth to a human body. He did so with good reason. The church at Corinth was suffering from internal division when he wrote them. Among several sources of division was the distinction they were making among the miraculous spiritual gifts they possessed. Some were apparently jealous of others in the church who could speak in tongues (languages they had never studied or learned). Perhaps this was because that gift was more flamboyant than other gifts such as wisdom, knowledge, faith, or prophecy (see 1 Corinthians 12:4-11).
- Each gift had its place to fill in the church at Corinth. Through the Holy Spirit God had given the members of the Corinthian church just those gifts He knew they needed. This enabled them to perform precisely the jobs God wanted them to carry out (verse 18). To help the Corinthians understand and be content with God's purpose for them, Paul presented the human body as a model of the church. A foot does not create a disturbance in the human body because it cannot be a hand. An ear does not resign from the body because it cannot be an eye. What if the entire body were an eye? It could not function properly because then there would be no hearing, smelling, eating, blood circulation, mental activity, or ability to move from one place to another.
- People enter the church from many different backgrounds and abilities. In verse 13 Paul specifically mentions the difference between Jews and Gentiles and between bond and free. Yet all become a part of one body, the church, the body of Christ. (Verse 13 also states that the way to become a member of the body of Christ is by baptism. We will study this aspect of the body in a later lesson).
- There is another way in which the church is like a human body. When a body's head is hurting the whole body suffers. When a body has a sore throat, the rest of the body feels the effects. Paul points out that members of the body of Christ should care for each other. If one member is suffering, the other members should also suffer. If one member has cause to rejoice, the others members should also rejoice (verses 25-26). Paul summarizes the comparison in verse 27: Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
C. Christ Is The Head (Source) Of The Body (Colossians 1:18)
- The members of the church in Colossae had committed their lives to Christ. Paul wanted them to attain a fuller appreciation of the greatness of the one in whom they had placed their trust. In Colossians 1:15-18, Paul makes the points shown in Chart 1. Christ is preeminent because He is the one through whom we see God. He is preeminent because He is the creator and sustainer of the universe. Finally, He is preeminent because He is the head and source of the church and the one without whose death the church could never have come into being. Briefly, we want to examine verse 18 because it states that Christ is the head of the body.
- In Colossians 1:18, Paul states that Christ
is the head of the body, the church.
Human bodies have heads. Bodies can survive without some of their members, such as arms and legs, but not without heads. In Paul's comparison, he is thinking of the church as if it were a human body and Christ as if He were the head of that body. It is a comparison that immediately emphasizes how important Christ is to the church.
- We learn more about Christ as the head of the church when Paul's states that He is
the beginning
of the church. The source of the largest river in the United States, the Mississippi River, is Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota. We say that Lake Itasca forms the headwaters of the river. The prefix "head" is appropriate because the Mississippi River has the lake as its source. That is where it begins. Likewise, Christ is the head of the church because He is its origin. In Matthew 16:18, He told His apostles:
...upon this rock I will build my church.
- Jesus is the head of the body because it is with Him that it began, but Paul tells us even more. He says that Christ is
the firstborn from the dead
(Col 1:18). What is the connection between Christ as the source of the church and Christ as the firstborn from the dead? The answer lies in what has been made possible through Christ's being the firstborn from the dead. "Firstborn" is used only once in the New Testament to refer to the first person born into a family (Luke 2:7). Elsewhere, including here, it indicates rank or privilege. The idea comes from the fact that under the law of the firstborn in ancient times, the firstborn son in a family had higher rank and greater privileges than the other children. As the firstborn from the dead, Christ outranks every other person who has been or will be raised from the dead.
- The important point is that if Christ had not been raised from the dead, the church could never have been created. Elsewhere (1 Corinthians 15:13-14) Paul shows the absolute necessity of Christ's resurrection. Without His resurrection preaching about Him and having faith in Him makes no sense. Apart from His resurrection the symbolism embodied in baptism collapses because the rising out of the water reenacts the rising of Christ from His tomb (Romans 6:1-4). Peter asserts that baptism saves us by the resurrection of Christ (1 Peter 3:21). Thus, Christ is the head of the body, the church, because through His resurrection He is responsible for its existence.
D. Christ Is The Head (Authority) Of The Body (Ephesians 1:20-23)
- When Christ left heaven to come to earth, He became subject to the heavenly Father. On one occasion He told the Jews:
I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me
(John 8:42). He also told them:
I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
(John 8:28). Later Paul described the extent to which He subjected Himself to His Father's will:
and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
(Philippians 2:8). Christ's perfect obedience pleased God:
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name
(Philippians 2:9).
- Paul describes the exaltation of Christ in another place (Ephesians 1:20-23). Chart 2 shows what God accomplished for Christ. Included in the list is the fact that God made Him head of the body, the church. The seat of intelligence of the human body lies in the head. The head directs and governs the actions of the body. It is the head that decides whether the body stands or sits. It is the head that decides whether the body comes or goes. It is the head that decides whether the body eats or fasts. It would be ludicrous for the hands to inform the head when instructed to wash dishes that it was beneath their dignity to be put in warm, soapy water and refuse to carry out the instruction. Human bodies simply do not have that kind of relationship to the head. The language of Ephesians 1:20-23 leaves no doubt that as head of the body, the church, Christ has authority over it. His rule is absolute.
- The direction of the church comes strictly from the head. The body is not the head and therefore cannot legitimately provide spiritual direction for itself. This is why the prophet said:
O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
(Jeremiah 10:23). This is also the reason for John's warning:
Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
(2 John 9). Two of the greatest ongoing tasks of members of the church are (1) to maintain their commitment to Christ as the authority for everything they believe and practice as Christians, and (2) to immerse themselves in the word of God in order to know what direction the head of the body has given.
E. Conclusion
- Comparing the church to a human body is an instructive exercise, especially when we allow ourselves to be guided by Paul and other inspired writers. From 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 we learn that just as the hand or the eye is a part of a human body, so each Christian is a member of the congregation where he or she attends. When we think of the relationship of the different parts of the human body to each other, it is obvious that they do not compete with each other nor are they envious of each other. Rather they are working together as a unit to make the body operate as a well-tuned system. In keeping with this picture, Christians should find a niche in their congregation and, with dignity and humility, carry out whatever duties that niche entails. It is wrong for members of a church to let pride or ambition create a climate for ill feelings or division. Rather we should be so interdependent on our fellow members that their joy or suffering causes us to sympathize with their condition.
- Comparing the church to a human body is also instructive because it teaches us important lessons about the church's relationship to Christ. He is the source of the church. Without Him and His resurrection, the church could not exist with any real meaning. Also, as head of the church, He occupies the sole position of authority over it. Only He has the right to direct its activities. As members of His body, our role is to respond humbly to His direction. We do not have the ability to give directions to the head nor do we have the right to ignore the directions the head gives to us.
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