The Body of Christ
Tim Melton
1 Corinthians 12
In scripture we see the apostle Paul describe the church as the Body of Christ. To understand his meaning, we must first clarify the meaning of the word ''church.'' The biblical definition of ''church'' is not the building or a legally recognized entity or even a group of ''churchgoers'' that meet together regularly. A local church is a group of believers who have been led of God to come together as a spiritual family and live out their faith together. Ones who have turned from their sin and believed in Jesus Christ.
As followers of Jesus Christ, the Spirit of Christ now lives in us. We are brought together because we now have the same heavenly Father, we have the same Savior, and we have the same Spirit of God living inside of us. The New Testament refers to true followers of Jesus Christ as ''the Body of Christ.''
In scripture one of the best places to learn about the ''Body of Christ'' is found in Paul's letter to the church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 12).
In the church in Corinth there were divisions and infighting. It was shown by the selfish way that they observed the Lord's Supper, hoarding the food or getting drunk at the table (1 Corinthians 11). Others had chosen allegiances to the different teachers in the church to the point that factions had been created and loyalty to Christ was becoming secondary (1 Corinthians 3). There was pride and jealousy in regard to spiritual gifts and people's roles in the church. To make things even more complicated the church was made up of both Jews and Greeks, slaves and free.
In 1 Corinthians 12 the apostle Paul is seeking to bring about unity in a divided church by turning their attention back to the one thing that they had in common. They all belonged to Jesus Christ.
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who em ...
Tim Melton
1 Corinthians 12
In scripture we see the apostle Paul describe the church as the Body of Christ. To understand his meaning, we must first clarify the meaning of the word ''church.'' The biblical definition of ''church'' is not the building or a legally recognized entity or even a group of ''churchgoers'' that meet together regularly. A local church is a group of believers who have been led of God to come together as a spiritual family and live out their faith together. Ones who have turned from their sin and believed in Jesus Christ.
As followers of Jesus Christ, the Spirit of Christ now lives in us. We are brought together because we now have the same heavenly Father, we have the same Savior, and we have the same Spirit of God living inside of us. The New Testament refers to true followers of Jesus Christ as ''the Body of Christ.''
In scripture one of the best places to learn about the ''Body of Christ'' is found in Paul's letter to the church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 12).
In the church in Corinth there were divisions and infighting. It was shown by the selfish way that they observed the Lord's Supper, hoarding the food or getting drunk at the table (1 Corinthians 11). Others had chosen allegiances to the different teachers in the church to the point that factions had been created and loyalty to Christ was becoming secondary (1 Corinthians 3). There was pride and jealousy in regard to spiritual gifts and people's roles in the church. To make things even more complicated the church was made up of both Jews and Greeks, slaves and free.
In 1 Corinthians 12 the apostle Paul is seeking to bring about unity in a divided church by turning their attention back to the one thing that they had in common. They all belonged to Jesus Christ.
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who em ...
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