“As the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ” (1 Cor. 12:12). The term “Christ,” as here used, includes Christ Himself and all the members of the body, looked at as a complete whole. Hence, the body of Christ includes Himself as the Head and all believers on earth who have received the indwelling Spirit, and, consequently, every child of God who can cry, “Abba, Father,” is a member of the body of Christ. The Apostle thus says, “We are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones” (Eph. 5:30).
Some time ago I stated to a dying believer, “Do you know that you are a member of the body of Christ?” The answer was, “No; I never heard of that,” and I shall not soon forget the joy that overspread that dying countenance as I unfolded the Scriptures bearing upon this subject. Let me, then, ask you to consider what being a member of the body of Christ involves. First, and foremost, it teaches us that we are united to Christ — to Christ as a glorified man, at the right hand of God, for inasmuch as He is the Head of the body, every member is vitally and, may we not say, organically united to Him. He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). See then the vast extent of the grace of our God! It is not only that our sins are forgiven, that we are justified by faith, that we are brought into the perfect unclouded favor of God, that we are risen with Christ, and that we are seated in Him in the heavenlies, but even, as down here upon the earth, encompassed by weakness and infirmity, it is given us to know that we are united to Christ in glory. We can look up to Him where He is and say, “We are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones.”
How could there be discussions upon the question of whether we may know our safety now, if this truth were known in power? And what strength it would give us all, in the presence of trials or dangers, ever so great, if we had the thought before our souls that we are united to Christ. And oh, what a revelation it gives us of the nearness and the intimacy into which we are brought with Him! We are made to know that we are one with Himself, that whatever touches us touches Him (see Acts 9:4), and therefore that we are inseparably, indissolubly, connected with Himself forever.
Members of the Body of Christ and Members One of Another
Second, we are taught that being members of the body of Christ, we are also members one of another, and it is essential for us to apprehend this truth if we would understand the character of our relationships with all the children of God. The same bond, then, that unites us to Christ unites us also to all believers, for the same Spirit that unites us to Christ has united us also one to another. This is what is meant by “the unity of the Spirit” (Eph. 4:3); that is the unity of all the members of Christ which has been formed on the earth by the Spirit of God.
You will see that the term “the body of Christ” is no mere figure of speech, as is so often alleged, but that it expresses a reality—the reality indeed of our union with Christ, as also of our union with one another. And I am sure that you will see that our responsibilities to Christ as the Head of the body and our responsibilities to our fellow-members cannot even be understood, much less discharged, if this truth is overlooked or ignored. But, on the other hand, when it is known, not only have we the joy of conscious union with Christ, but we can also rejoice in our indissoluble union with all the members of His body in all parts of the world. It leads, moreover, to very practical results. For example, if I am asked to connect myself with a denomination, I instantly reply that I cannot do that which plainly denies this blessed truth. “You ask me,” I should say, “to join a certain number of Christians who agree upon certain things, but I am united to all believers, and I need them all, and I cannot therefore accept a ground of union which excludes any.” Again, if it is proposed to me to unite with a number of Christians irrespective of denominations, I should answer, “I am a member of the body of Christ, and I cannot, therefore, make any ground of union apart from that of the body. I must be on God’s ground or upon none at all.” Until, therefore, I know the truth of the body of Christ, I cannot understand the place which the Lord would have me to occupy upon the earth.
E. Dennett, adapted