Paul is the unique one in the New Testament to speak concerning the Body. Neither Peter nor John uses this term. Paul mentions the Body in four of his Epistles: Romans, 1 Corinthians, Ephesians, and Colossians. It was through Paul that the revelation of the Body of Christ was brought in.
In the book of Ephesians the church is revealed as the new man, the household of God, the commonwealth or citizenship of God, the habitation of God, the fullness of God, the bride, and the warrior. However, the basic aspect of the church revealed in Ephesians is that of the Body; all the other aspects are subsidiary. Actually, Ephesians speaks of the Body as the new man, the household of God, the commonwealth of God, the habitation of God, the fullness of God, the bride, and the warrior. The Body is the main point.
God planned the church for the purpose of expressing Christ. For this reason, the church is the expression of Christ. The only way for the church to be the expression of Christ is for the church to be the Body of Christ. If we consider ourselves, we shall realize that our body is our expression. In like manner, the Body of Christ is His expression. There is no way for Christ to be expressed by the church except by it being His Body.
Some Bible teachers say that, in the New Testament, the Body of Christ is merely a parable illustrating how close we are to Christ. However, it is not correct to teach that the Body of Christ is a parable, for the Body is a fact, a reality, not a parable. We may consider the vine in John 15 a parable, but we should never say that the church as the Body of Christ is a parable.
The New Testament reveals clearly that the Body is one with the Head, Christ. If we do not have the Head, we cannot have the Body. We must honor Christ’s headship and apply it to the practicality of today’s church life. Only when we have the Head do we also have the Body.
The church as the Body implies life and function. The Body is a living organism. If it did not have life, it could no longer be the Body. The Body must have life. It also must have function, the function of all the members. If we are sincere in saying that we are the church, then we must all function as members of the Body. Therefore, the Body of Christ has the three crucial matters of the Head, the life, and the function.
The Body of Christ is composed of the believers, who are the members of the Body. Romans 12:5 says, “We, being many, are one body in Christ.” The phrase “in Christ” is very significant, for it indicates the believers’ organic union with Christ. As believers in Christ, we are organically one with Christ; we have a life union with Him. Because we have been organically united with Christ, we have been planted into Christ’s Body organically. Now, in Christ, we are organic parts of the Body.
The Body life is a corporate life. We can realize this by considering our physical body, which is a corporate entity composed of many members, all of which have their life and function in the body. If a member becomes separate or detached from the body, it loses its life and function. This indicates that no member of the body can be independent of the body or become individualistic. The principle is the same with the Body of Christ. None of the believers as members of the Body is a complete entity; rather, every believer is a member of the Body. Therefore, we need to remain in the Body for life and function.
Romans 12:5 reveals that we are members one of another in one Body. We, being many, are one Body, one entity. In the Body we can function and express Christ in a corporate way. We are many members, not many separate units. As members, we need to coordinate with each other so that we may be a living, functioning Body.
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