Eph 1115 8/11/89; 782, 851

DOCTRINE OF THE BODY OF CHRIST

A. Definition and Description.

1. The phrase “body of Christ” is used to designate all Church Age believers in their relationship with Jesus Christ. In fact, each person of the Trinity is related to the “body of Christ.”

a. God the Father appointed Jesus Christ as the ruler of the Church, “the Head of the body,” Eph 1:22-23.

b. Jesus Christ is involved as the head of the body, Col 1:18, “He is also head of the body, the Church; and He is the beginning , the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything.”

c. The Holy Spirit is related to the body of Christ, 1 Cor 12:13, “For by means of one Spirit we are baptized into one body,....”

2. The analogy of the body of Christ is two-fold.

a. Christ is the head of the body, which is the royal family, Eph 1:22-23, 5:23-24; Col 1:18.

b. The Church or royal family of God is the body of Christ, 1 Cor 12:12-14; Eph 2:16, 4:4,5,12,16, 5:30,32; Col 1:24, 2:19; Rom 12:4-5.

3. While the Holy Spirit regenerates and baptizes every believer into union with Christ (positional sanctification), it is the eternal life of God the Son which is actually given to us.

a. In Jn 10:28, Jesus said concerning the Church Age, “I give unto them eternal life. They shall never perish, neither shall anyone pluck them out of My hand.”

b. The life of the body of Christ is the eternal life of the head of the body. 1 Jn 5:11-12 says that the eternal life we possess is the eternal life of the second person of the Trinity, the Lord Jesus Christ.

4. “One body,” as taught in Eph 4:4, is part of an analogy between Christ and the Church. Christ is the head of the Church and therefore the head of the body.

5. The dispensation of the Church is the time for the formation of the body of Christ, the Biblical term for the royal family of God, Eph 2:16.

6. The analogy indicates that the members of the body of Christ are formed into one organic whole with a common plan, a common goal, common objectives, and a common purpose.

7. “One body” emphasizes the status of unity among the members of the body of Christ. Of course, being in the same family doesn’t mean you always get along. But God has provided a way so we can all get along in the same family. The moment we believed in Jesus Christ, we entered into the royal family of God.

8. The baptism of the Spirit at salvation is the means by which we entered into this body. The baptism of the Spirit results in the creation of both the new spiritual species and the royal family of God.

9. Because our Lord had no royal family for His third royal title, the Church Age was inserted into history for the calling out of a royal family. Therefore, what we possess as royal family is absolutely unique. It is designed not only to give us the most fantastic happiness and blessing in every circumstance of life, but also so that we can get along together. We’re not combined by the same genes; we’re combined by something far greater through the ministry of God the Holy Spirit.

10. The body is the recipient of spiritual gifts, initially supplied by our Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Cor 12:27-28; and subsequently by the Holy Spirit.

11. The body is composed of two categories of Church Age believers.

a. Those located on earth.

b. Those located in heaven, who have died physically.

B. The Formation of the Body of Christ.

1. The formation of the body of Christ is the salvation ministry of God the Holy Spirit. The mechanics are the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

2. The body of Christ is a synonym for the Church as the royal family of God.

3. At the ascension and session of our Lord Jesus Christ, He received His third royal patent but was without a royal family to accompany it.

4. Therefore during the Church Age, there is the construction of the royal family. Every time a person in this dispensation believes in Jesus Christ, the baptism of the Spirit enters him into the body of Christ.

5. When the construction of the body of Christ is completed, then will occur the Rapture of the Church.

C. The Head and Body Analogy.

1. Jesus Christ as the head of the body refers to the integral relationship between our Lord and each member of the royal family. The head and body analogy indicates relationship.

2. Therefore, head and body is an analogy which indicates precedence between the two Christological dispensations. All precedence for the Church Age is taken from the dispensation of the Hypostatic Union.

3. So all precedence for the Church Age originates from Christ as the head of the Church, and not from Israel and not from the Mosaic Law. This means that the analogy of Christ as the head and the royal family as the body emphasizes the life and activity of the Church Age believer as a new spiritual species, one of the results of the baptism of the Spirit.

4. The analogy of Christ as the head of the body emphasizes the importance of the mystery doctrine of the Church Age, where the believer receives his thought pattern, mental attitude, and motivation from Bible doctrine, described in 1 Cor 2:16 as the mind or thinking of Christ.

5. Just as the function of the body is based on the mentality of the soul, so the modus operandi of the Church Age believer is based on the thinking of the head, which is our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, all precedence comes from the dispensation of the Hypostatic Union and not from the dispensation of Israel.

6. There is only one head to the body, and that head is the Lord Jesus Christ.

7. All Church Age believers, therefore, have a common life based on the protocol plan of God provided for us. We also have a common purpose, which is to become invisible heroes. Though we have a common life and a common purpose, yet we all have different spiritual gifts.

8. All Church Age believers have a common life which is eternal life, received at the moment of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Jn 3:16b, “For whosoever believes in Him shall never perish but have eternal life.”

a. The Holy Spirit in regeneration created a human spirit for the imputation of eternal life.

b. Eternal life is the life of Jesus Christ.

(1) 1 Jn 5:11-13, “And this is the deposition: that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life, but he who does not have the Son of God does not have [eternal] life. These things I have written to you who believe in the person of the Son of God in order that you may know that you have eternal life.”

(2) The body derives its life from thinking. The body is not dead until the brain stops working.

(3) Jn 10:28, “I give unto them eternal life. They shall never perish; furthermore, no one shall ever pluck them out of My hand.”

9. Summary of the body and head analogy: we have a common purpose; we have a common plan; we have a common life.

10. The source of our motivation and direction comes from the head, Jesus Christ, just as the real you is your soul.

11. The analogy of the body of Christ emphasizes the organic union of the royal family, and therefore its common life and common purpose. Being in union with Christ, we are interrelated with Him just as the human body is interrelated with the head. In the analogy, the body is totally dependent upon the head to provide the thinking, motivation, decisions, and execution of the protocol plan.

D. The Increase of the Body of Christ.

1. The increase of the body of Christ comes through evangelism.

2. There are three human sources of evangelism under the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The power of evangelism comes from the Holy Spirit.

a. Evangelism from the spiritual gift of evangelism.

b. Evangelism from the pastor-teacher.

c. Evangelism from personal witnessing.

3. Evangelism is a grace function from God. The salvation ministry of Christ on the cross is the issue. The ministry of the Holy Spirit in common and efficacious grace is the mechanics.

4. The increase of the body of Christ is the function of evangelism on planet earth. There are three sources of evangelism.

a. The gift of evangelism is the most spectacular of all spiritual gifts extant today, causing the unbeliever to pay attention. The evangelist preaches salvation outside the local church.

b. The pastor-teacher teaches salvation in the local church.

c. Personal witnessing is one of the categories of Christian service as part of the believer’s royal ambassadorship.

d. Some people come to know Jesus Christ through reading a salvation passage.

E. The cleansing of the body of Christ is threefold.

1. Positional sanctification is the work of the baptism of the Spirit by which we are entered into union with Christ. This is the basis for the new spiritual species and the formation of the royal family of God.

2. Experiential or progressive sanctification is the filling of the Spirit inside the operational-type divine dynasphere and post-salvation epistemological rehabilitation. Progressive sanctification is the momentum from doctrine which results in the execution of the protocol plan and the manufacture of the invisible hero.

3. Ultimate sanctification is achieved when we receive our resurrection bodies patterned after our Lord’s .This is the ultimate cleansing of the Church.

F. Jesus Christ is the head of the body.

1. The royal family of God is one organic body with the Lord Jesus Christ as the head. There are three concepts of Christ as the head.

a. Christ is the head of the corner, which means He has two crowns. Jesus Christ as the Son of David is the ruler of Israel. He is also the ruler of the Church because of His victory on the cross. Eph 2; Acts 4:11; 1 Pet 2:7.

b. Christ is the supreme ruler over the Church as the body of Christ, Eph 1:22-23, 4:4,15, 5:23.

c. Christ is the ruler over angels, Col 2:10.

2. Therefore, the Lord has an authority over us. We can recognize it and have great blessing, or we can reject it and be the most miserable people in life.

3. The role of the Trinity in forming the body of Christ.

a. God the Father appointed the Lord Jesus Christ as the head of the body, Eph 1:22.

b. Jesus Christ is the Savior of the body, Eph 5:23,25,30. Jesus Christ is also the sanctifier of the body, Heb 2:11, 13:12. Jesus Christ is also the head of the body, Eph 1:22-23, 5:23-25.

c. God the Holy Spirit is the active agent in the formation of the body, 1 Cor 12:12-13. After salvation, the body is sustained by the Holy Spirit, 1 Cor 6:16 cf 1 Cor 6:19-20.

4. So the function of Christ in the formation of the body is not as an active agent, but as the source of its life and as its ruler.

G. The body of Christ is a synonym for the Church as the royal family of God. At the ascension and session our Lord Jesus Christ received His third royal patent, but did not have a royal family. Therefore, the construction of the body of Christ during the Church Age is the means of forming that royal family.

H. The purpose of the royal family or body of Christ on earth is the glorification of God through the execution of the protocol plan for this dispensation.

I. Differences among Members of the Body of Christ.

1. Being in union with Christ, every Church Age believer is joined to each other as members of the same body.

2. While we have different spiritual gifts and different personalities, just as a body has different parts with different functions, yet we all belong to the same royal family of God.

3. One of the major functions of the body of Christ is the exercise of our spiritual gifts. Every believer receives a spiritual gift at the moment of salvation.

4. The exercise of spiritual gifts is compared to the function of the various members of the human body. Some people are hands, some are feet; others are eyes or ears. This is the subject of 1 Cor 12 and Rom 12.

J. The Unity of the Body. (See also the doctrine of the Unity of the Royal Family of God.)

1. As a result of the baptism of the Spirit at salvation and the resultant formation of the body of Christ, God the Father provides the means of being in a state of harmonious relationship with other believers.

2. Even though the most obnoxious and evil people are believers, God has provided a means for us to tolerate all believers.

3. Consensus of thought among believers is based on the mystery doctrine of the Church Age, while guarding against fragmentation is the understanding and the utilization of the ten problem solving devices of the protocol plan of God.

4. The unity of believers is based on the fact that all members of the royal family of God are one body of Christ with equal privilege and equal opportunity to execute God’s plan.

5. Unity is provided through the ministry of God the Holy Spirit, Eph 4:4. The Holy Spirit provides unity among believers in seven categories. (See the doctrine of the Seven Salvation Ministries of the Spirit.)

6. Some of the things provided for us at salvation which unify us as the body of Christ are as follows.

a. We possess God’s perfect righteousness. We all possess the same amount of perfect righteousness.

b. Having God’s righteousness causes us to be justified. “Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

c. We received eternal life. Jn 3:16, “That whosoever believes in Him shall never perish but have eternal life.”

K. Summary.

1. Christ is the head of the body, 1 Cor 11:3; Eph 1:22-23; 5:23-24.

2. Christ is the savior of the body, Eph 5:23,25.

3. Christ is the sanctifier of the body, Heb 13:11-12.

4. The body includes Gentile believers, Eph 3:6.

5. The body is the recipient of multifarious spiritual gifts, Rom 12:4-5; 1 Cor 12:27-28.

6. The communication gift of pastor-teacher is designed for the edification of the body.

___________________________________________