Church -- The Body of Christ

There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its many parts make up one body. It is the same with Christ. We were all baptized by one Holy Spirit. And so, we are formed into one body. It didn't matter whether we were Jews or Gentiles, slaves, or free people. We were all given the same Spirit to drink. So, the body is not made up of just one part. It has many parts" (1 Corinthians 12:12-14). This week we are considering various images the Bible uses to help us understand the church. Today, we consider that she is the body of Christ. He is the head; the church is his body. Let us recognize that, for some, 'body shaming' makes this a difficult image to consider. We "body shame" when we "humiliate someone by making inappropriate or negative comments about their body size or shape". Among the effects it causes are "depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem." I bring this up because many congregations suffer the effects of 'body shaming.' We Christians are extremely gifted at naming each others sins and even naming our own sins. The results are that many Christian communities suffer from collective forms of depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. Christian congregations throughout the country live in the false belief that they just don't make the cut; that they aren't good enough, gifted enough, spiritual enough to be valuable for the kingdom of God in this world. These images describing the church put the lie to that kind of thinking. Consider this image of the church as a body. "We are formed into one body." The church has many members, each differently gifted according to the gifts the Spirit gives. Through baptism, this same Spirit forms us into one body. We do not do the gathering of the pieces, fitting them together into a working body. We'd definitely make a mess of that. No. It is the Spirit who makes us into the body. "We are all given the same Spirit to drink." Consider how hopefully Our World Belongs to God describes the church: "In our world, where many journey alone, nameless in the bustling crowd, Satan and his evil forces seek whom they may scatter and isolate; but God, by his gracious choosing in Christ, gathers a new community-those who by God's gift put their trust in Christ. In the new community all are welcome: the homeless come home, the broken find healing, the sinner makes a new start; the despised are esteemed, the least are honored, and the last are first. Here the Spirit guides and grace abounds" (#34). This image of the church as the body of Christ has two components. First, our unity. By faith in Christ, we are one body. A thing that is true, despite the disintegration of the church into a plethora of denominations. Within a local congregation as well, we are one in Christ. This unity is not dependent on our getting along with each other. Rather, we "make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:3) because we are one. Second, as human bodies have many parts, so the church has many people, each one gifted by the Spirit to contribute to the life of the body. This picture of the church as a body made up of different parts shows us that in Christ we should have unity, yet diversity. Moreover, it shows us how, in the church, we should have a mutual dependence, 'If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it' (1 Corinthians 12:26). A church in which everyone is identical might display a fascinating uniformity but not necessarily any real unity. It certainly won't be healthy, and it won't be the sort of church pictured in our Bibles. Our response to this teaching should be one of joy. It should be one of faith that Christ is building his church. It should be one of expectation that God will add to the church those from every tribe and nation and language. We should long for this and lean into it when God brings new folks into our fellowship. We should see difference as a gift. What are these new people bringing to us? How does God intend to use them to help us more fully be the church? The church, the body of Christ, is the Spirit's masterpiece. Sure, it's a work in progress. But all believers in Jesus are part of it. We eagerly await the day when we will be presented as the bride of Christ. Until that day, we proclaim with the apostle, Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:17-21).