3 Bible Tips: Body of Christ
The Church of God is also called other descriptive names, like the household of God, a holy temple, the Bride of Christ and the Body of Christ. What does the term Body of Christ teach us?
1. We are not baptized into any particular sect or denomination. Rather, through baptism we become members of the spiritual Body of Christ.
"And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually" (1 Corinthians 12:26-27; see also Ephesians 2:19-22).
2. The Holy Spirit is what unifies members of every background.
"For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:13).
3. God admonishes members of the Body of Christ to strive for unity and recognize the need we have for each other.
"I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling" (Ephesians 4:1-4; see also 1 Corinthians 12:12-25).
For more about the Body of Christ, see "The Body of Christ" from our Bible Study Course lesson "What Is the Church?"