What is the body of Christ?

Ephesians 1:23The church is [Christ’s] body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.

One of the most vivid and important pictures of the church in the New Testament is that of the human body. The functioning unity of our various organs and members beautifully parallels the way God intends for his people to relate to one another as they remain in the world. Just as our brains are connected to every cell throughout our bodies, Christ is connected to each of us as the head of the body. We belong to him in every way. We should act as though we believe this.

1 Corinthians 12:12-13The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.

Our different ethnic identities do not affect our status as members of Christ’s body. Christ makes us one and connects us to one another by his Spirit.

Ephesians 4:11-12These are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.

Among the gifts Christ gives his body are certain offices or roles that significantly impact the rest of the body. These roles do not exist to elevate the stature of the people in these roles. Instead, these roles help make the rest of the body effective as they carry out God’s will.

Ephesians 2:19-21You Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.

The “body of Christ” simply refers to all people around the world—past, present, and future— who believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord and who have received his forgiveness of their sins. The body of Christ is also called the “church.” It is amazing to remember that, because of eternal life, the body of Christ is the only group on earth that never loses a member.