The church of Christ is the body of Christ (Rom. 12:4-5; 1 Cor. 12:12-20; Col. 1:18; Eph. 1:22-23; Eph. 5:23). It is exactly what God wanted it to be and it functions in very much the same way as the human body. And nobody has ever found a way to improve the design of it, either. To do so is to impede the progress of that body and render it ineffective.

In fact, just as the human body speaks to the wisdom of the designer, so does the church. Paul says as much in Ephesians 3:10-11. “To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” You see, the church, by its very existence, attests to the wisdom of God. That should not surprise anyone, since both bodies—the physical one and the spiritual one—were designed by and created by God, through His Son Jesus Christ. How dare man tamper inordinately with either of them?

Man’s efforts to change the body of Christ as God designed it have only served to fragment it, and detract from its effectiveness. Just as any effort to change the human body into that which is not part of its original design and purpose only serves to diminish its effectiveness, just so the efforts of man to “modernize” and “renovate” the body of Christ only serve to make it ineffectual as well. The result is denominational-ism, sectarianism, division, all of which are predicted and frowned upon by Scripture (1 Cor. 1:10-ff), and all of which only retard the plan God had in mind for the body when He designed it. Men who have tried to restore the New Testament church—make it like God made it—are looked upon as radical traditionalists, men who are bound to the past and have no regard for the modern age in which we live. Many of today’s religionists will tell you that the New Testament church is irrelevant to this age, antiquated, outmoded, non-effectual.

Let me speak briefly about another fact concerning the body—both the physical and spiritual. Diseases are a constant problem for the body.

We have all seen diseased bodies: pale, impoverished, weakened by disease. It is certainly not so in all cases, but in many cases this weakened condition is caused by a mis-management of the body or the violation of the laws concerning the health of it. For instance, lack of exercise will eventually take a toll on the body. Poor diet has an adverse effect as well. Allowing the body to be subjected to the invasions of the atmosphere (too much sun, heat, cold, etc.) can cause great harm to it. Drugs, smoking, loose sexual encounters, and dozens of other things, can cause the deterioration of the body. These kinds of things have a spiritual application—poor diet, no exercise, loose morals, and a host of other things, can cause the spiritual body to suffer great harm, just as they do to the physical one. Can you not see them in churches? Weak members. Impoverished members. Diseased members. All these and more do great harm to the body.

There is another disease of the body that is equally debilitating. It is called paralysis, a problem in which one or several members of the body for some reason cease to function normally. Needless to say, when some of the members are impaired, the entire body suffers from it. Is this not the same in the body of Christ? Is it not so that the spiritual body is greatly hampered in its required activities when some of its members are dysfunctional? And how much sadder the case when such paralysis is caused by the stubborn rebellion of some of the body’s members. What if your foot suddenly told you it was not going to do its part any longer? Or what if your eyes suddenly went on strike? Paralyzed members considerably retard the efforts of the church to function as it ought. How sad that we don’t see these similarities.

The body of Christ is made up of the union of all its parts, just as is the physical body. All the parts are in subjection to the head (Eph. 5:23). He controls. He decides. The body moves and acts in accordance with the directions from the head. Further, there is a circulation of the nutritional elements needed by the body which all flow from the head; and the distribution of these nutritious elements supplied by the head depends in great measure on the compactness and health of the body. There must be a direct connection between the head and the other parts of the body for it to function as it ought. And still further, the members themselves are all inner-connected on account of their connection to the head. “We, being many, are one body in Christ, and members one of another” aptly describes this relationship (see Rom. 12:5). Christ is the head of the spiritual body; and yet some members seek to take over for the head. How can the body do its work when the members are divided, pulling in different directions?

Where do you fit in the body? Do you know your part? And are you functional? We would all—each of us individually—do well to examine our part in the body and make sure that they body is receiving from us the kind of activity necessary to make the entirety of the body function as it should.

Copyright (C) 2002-2004 Southside Church of Christ
All rights reserved.