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THE BODY OF CHRIST - PART I SIB Metro Church
Bible Class – 07.08.2008 at 8.00 Conducted by
Brother Ronny Cham, Leader of the SIB Metro Church Preaching and Teaching
Ministry This week we begin
with a new series on the topic, “The Body of Christ”. In Part I, we
will deal with the conceptual context of the phrase “Body of
Christ”. In Part II, we will
deal with the relational unity of the Body of Christ and union with
Christ. In Part III, we will deal
with the Body of Christ as the Church. To begin with, let
me say that this metaphoric image of the Body of Christ is a very powerful
reality for the people of God. Yet
this term “Body of Christ” is only mainly found in four New
Testament epistles, namely, Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians and Colossians. What
are the conceptual characteristics of the Body of Christ and the members of the
Body of Christ? First, in Romans 7:4, we read, “Therefore, my brethren, you also have become
dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another
— to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.”
(NKJV) This introduces the
truth that it was through the actual physical bodily crucifixion, by His death
on the Cross, bearing our sins in His body on the Cross as an atoning sacrifice
that we are freed from the law and its penalty and saved us from its
curse. The saved ones are now
capable of being united to one another as common citizens of the Kingdom of
God, producing fruits of the Spirit and not the fruits of death that come from
the law. Thus, the first conceptual
characteristic of the Body of Christ is that, through His physical and bodily death
on the Cross, we become the redeemed of the Lord. It is not a contractual entity, it is not a constitutional creature. The Body of Christ has at the roots of
its conceptual reality, the physical body of our Lord Jesus Christ which was
crucified and hung on the Cross. Secondly, in Romans 8:10, “And if Christ is in you, the body is dead
because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (NKJV), the
conceptual characteristic of a member of the Body of Christ is also one which
is not by the creation of contract or law, but by one whom, by faith, believes
that his or her “body is dead”, i.e., dead in respect of sin; sin
has no more power to excite the evil passions and desires of his or her earthly
body, so that the spiritual life of such person will continue to live in
righteousness and holiness. As
Christ is Holy, the Body of Christ is Holy therefore each member of that Body is
also be holy, not by the observing of terms and conditions in a contract or
obeying the laws of a country, but by a faithful denial of love of this
physical body, count it as dead to gain the fullness of the Grace of Christ. Thirdly, we read in 1 Corinthians 12:12, “For as the body is one and has many members,
but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is
Christ.” (NKJV). This projects
the conceptual corporate characteristic of the Body of Christ, which is one
made up of many parts, in some respects separate, performing distinct and
different functions, yet is in one harmonious unit. Therefore each member or part must know
that the Body is one. This is
further emphasized in 1 Corinthians 12:27 which clearly say that we are the
Body of Christ and “members
individually”. However,
how big is this Body of Christ? To
be honest, this is hard to fathom, impossible of definition, beyond our
imagination. “The Body of
Christ of many parts, one of which is me.” – where
am I in that Body, since the beginning?
What about the future? How
big is that one Body of Christ?
This causes me to think I am only a cell in the Body of Christ, all I need to do is to split myself and let more
cells come out of me. Fourthly, Ephesians 3:6 says,
“that the Gentiles should be fellow
heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the
gospel,” (NKJV) I have heard from people that Christianity belongs to
the westerners and not Asians. This scripture in Ephesians 3:6 tells us clearly
that the conceptual structure of this Body of Christ consists of members from
all nations through the ages. It began with the Israelites and the Gentiles
then, but now, extending to include all who believed, from any race, creed, colour,
tongue or culture as well. This conceptual
structure further reinforces the idea of its leadership or headship, which is
not of men or women elected according to rules of man based on law or
constitution, but that headship absolutely and wholly rest with the Lord Jesus
Christ, who died on the Cross, through His redeeming death on the Cross, become
the Saviour of the Body. No one else can claim Headship over the
Body of Christ. Fifthly, we read in Colossians 1:24 that, “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and
fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake
of His body, which is the church,” (NKJV). This speaks of a profound characteristic
of a member of the Body of Christ.
His or her commitment to the Body of Christ must be in the same manner as
Christ did for the Body. This
conceptual membership in the Body of Christ recognizes the truth that as Christ
suffered, a member of the Body of Christ will suffer in the same cause as that
for which Christ suffered. In 1 Corinthians
12:26, we read that, “And if one
member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored,
all the members rejoice with it.” (NKJV) So, we can take comfort that we stand by
one another’s suffering for the sake of the Body of Christ. Finally, In Colossians 3:15, the Bible tells us
that, “And let the peace of God
rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.”
(NKJV) This speaks of the
conceptual truth of our individual membership in the Body of Christ, that we
each must find our own place in the Body. If I am the nose of the Body, I must
be on the forefront of the centre of the face. If I am there, where I should be, I feel
the peace of being there, functioning and serving the Body peacefully and
happily and thanking God that I am there in the right place doing the right
thing. If I, the nose was to be
stuck to the back of my neck, it is abnormal, it is tough going, it is dangerous to the whole body! There will be no peace. I may still be functioning, but with
much difficulty and suffering, I may even cause the
whole body to suffocate, stress or tormented. For sure, members of the Body will not be
thankful to God! With these
introductory points about the characteristic of the Body of Christ and the
members of the Body of Christ, we shall deal with Part II next week on the
relational unity of the Body of Christ and the Union with Christ. Ronny Cham |
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