His Own Body

Read: 1 Corinthians 12:12-27

All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. 1 Corinthians 12:27

IN WORD

According to Scripture, a married couple becomes one flesh; the two are united into one. So when Jesus calls Himself the Bridegroom and His people the bride, what does that say about our union with Him? We have become one flesh, thoroughly united with Him. Just as He and the Father are one, we and He are one.

The New Testament repeats this theme often, declaring us to be the body of Christ—literally His flesh on earth. First and foremost, this is a corporate calling; a body has many members, each functioning together as part of the whole. But as believers filled with the Spirit of Christ, each one of us individually is an expression of His physical body on earth, functioning as His mouth and hands and feet. This union is a great mystery, but it’s indisputably biblical. We are one with Jesus, He in us and we in Him. He is the head, and as members of His body, we are the living, breathing expression of Christ on earth.

We may grieve at how far short of this identity we fall, but it’s still our true identity. According to His promise, we should be able to exercise His authority (Matthew 16:19; 28:18-19), speak His words (Matthew 28:20; 1 Peter 4:11), and do His works (John 14:12). Whether this has been our experience yet is not the point; it can be. As His body, we express His heart to each other and to the world.

IN DEED

In most earthly kingdoms, kings have certain representatives and emissaries who represent them to others. In the Kingdom of God, the King has chosen every citizen for that role. And our representation isn’t simply honorary, ceremonial, or theoretical. It’s real. He is actually living within us. He guides our wills, desires, words, actions, relationships, circumstances, and steps according to the power of His Spirit at work within us. Our relationship with Him is beyond one-to-one; it’s simply one—He and us in union with each other. And the more we believe that, the more we will experience it each day.

ADDITIONAL READING: Ephesians 5:29-32

One person works upon another person from the outside inward, but God alone comes to us from within outward.

JAN VAN RUYSBROECK