Bible Questions Answered:
“...our discussion then has been what
makes the Chinese body of Christ, few or many...”
Xuam/ Shanghai, China
Bible Answer:
Bible Texts:
The Small Answer:
Matthew 18:20 KJV
For where two
or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of
them.
The Large
Answer:
I Corinthians 12:12,13 NLT (One Body with Many Parts)
12 The human
body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body.
So it is with the body of Christ.
13 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 (Baptism
of The Spirit), and we all share the same Spirit.
The Church Of The Lord Jesus Christ, is many groups making up one
body, of which Christ is The Head.
The Family Of
God
I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God
I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His Blood
Joint heirs with Jesus, as we travel this sod
For I'm part of the family, the family of God
Bill Gaither (1970)
Romans 12:4,5
NLT
4 Just as
our bodies have many parts and
each part has a special function,
5 so it is with
Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we
all belong to each other.
I Corinthians 10:16,17 KJV
16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of
The Blood Of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the
communion of The Body Of Christ?
17 For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all
partakers of that one bread.
I Corinthians
12:14-27 NLT
14 Yes, the
body has many different parts, not just one part.
15 If the foot
says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that
does not make it any less a part of the body.
16 And if the
ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,”
would that make it any less a part of the body?
17 If the whole
body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an
ear, how would you smell anything?
18 But our
bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where He wants
it.
19 How strange
a body would be if it had only one part!
20 Yes, there
are many parts, but only one body.
21 The eye can
never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say
to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
22 In fact,
some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are
actually the most necessary.
23 And the
parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the
greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be
seen,
24 while the
more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put
the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those
parts that have less dignity.
25 This makes
for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for
each other.
26 If one
part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is
honored, all the parts are glad.
27 All of
you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.
Ephesians
1:22,23 NLT
22 God has put
all things under the authority of Christ and has made Him head over
all things for the benefit of the church.
23 And the
church is His body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who
fills all things everywhere with Himself.
Ephesians
4:3-6,15,16 NLT
3 Make every
effort to keep yourselves united in The Spirit, binding yourselves
together with peace.
4 For there is
one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious
hope for the future.
5 There is one
Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 one God and
Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.
15 "...growing
in every way more and more like Christ, who is The Head of His body,
the church.
16 He makes the
whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special
work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is
healthy and growing and full of love.
Ephesians
5:29,30 NLT
29 No one hates
his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the
church.
30 And we are
members of His body.
Colossians 1:18,24,25 NLT (Apostle Paul)
18 Christ is
also The Head Of The Church, which is His body.
He is The
Beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So He is first in
everything.
24 I am glad
when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the
sufferings of Christ that continue for His body, the church.
25 God has
given me the responsibility of serving His church by proclaiming His
entire message to you.
Colossians 2:19
NLT
"... to
Christ, The Head Of The Body. For He holds the whole body together
with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it.
Colossians 3:15
NLT
And let the
peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of
one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
There is no such thing as separate and complete, The American Body Of
Christ, or The Chinese Body Of Christ, The Indian Body Of Christ,
etc. etc. All Christians together, everywhere, from around the
world, form His spiritual body, the church. We are not separate
from one another, but joined one to another.
The phrase “The Body Of Christ,” is not plural, but singular.
If you are a Christian, you are a part of something large, if
you are a Christian, you are a part of something more wonderful than
words can tell!
I Corinthians
2:9 KJV
But as it is
written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into
the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that
love Him.
Ephesians
2:19-22 KJV
19 Now
therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow
citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are
built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ
Himself being The Chief Corner Stone;
21 In whom all
the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in The
Lord:
22 In whom
ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through The
Spirit.
