The Body Of Christ

Body of flesh

Adam slept. From his side God formed an help fitting and appropriate for him, bone of his bones, flesh of his flesh, and called “woman”. God had said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness”. “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground”; the word He had spoken became flesh, He gave it a body as it pleased Him, and from that body He created also woman: “male and female created He them” ( Gen. 1:26,27; 2:7,23; 1 Cor. 15:38).

Genesis chapter 5 invites comparison between the image of God borne by Adam and Eve, and the image, now marred by the guilt and shame of sin, that was handed down to Seth. Adam had a son in his own likeness and after his image, whose inheritance was of a nature prone to sin and under sentence of death (Gen. 5:1,3).

In the fulness of time God sent forth His Son. He was born of a woman and under the same law, in order that he should redeem men under the law. He was not the son of Joseph, but the foster son, and the Bible is at pains to remind us of this. Jesus Christ was born of the virgin Mary, conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit and called the Son of God. He was not once God but becoming man through a process of change. He was born (Lk. 1:32,35; Gal. 4:4).

Like any child, he grew and matured, knowing temptation and sin. He fought hard to resist the inclinations of his human nature. The Bible speaks of a battle that was no pretence, but through which the Lord, “with strong crying and tears”, was saved by godly fear. He was in all points tempted like as we are, and was yet without sin (Heb. 4:15; 5:7,8).

This brief summary of true teaching illustrates what the Lord’s body was like: a body of flesh in its simplest meaning, with all the susceptibilities of our own bodies. Yet it is so frequently wrongly preached by Christendom, that a proper understanding of the nature of Christ as revealed in the Scriptures sets us apart from almost every other religious body. It vitally affects the purpose of the death of Christ and the whole doctrine of the Atonement. It is in the “body of his flesh”, through his death, that we can be presented holy and without blemish before God; and it is important, therefore, that our consideration of his body begins with a proper appreciation of what that body was and why it was given (Col. 1:22).

Dying for self

This body of flesh was corruptible, like ours. It was subject to tiredness and pain, and it is clear that, despite his sinless life, Jesus would not have lived for ever if he had not been taken by wicked hands and slain. Because he was of human stock as well as of God, he needed to die for himself as well as for the sins of the world.

Even in the Old Testament there has been allusion to this fact. In a beautiful cameo of the need and role of a mediator, the story of Esther tells of a woman who risks death to enter the inner court of the king’s presence to make intercession and to plead for her people who are sold to death. Mordecai exhorts her that even though she is part of the royal family, she may not regard herself as excluded from the curse pronounced upon all her people. So Jesus also, though he were the Son of God, was not to be exempt from the sentence passed on all men (Est. 4:13).

Hebrews makes this clear also, by analogy from the Old Testament, in three places drawing on the need of the High Priest under Moses’s Law to offer first for himself and then for the sins of the people. Then, by use of the middle voice,* it states clearly (in the original) that the obtaining of redemption was a work he did on his own behalf (Heb. 5:3; 7:27; 9:7,12).

The death of Jesus was, like his birth, real. It was not a means of returning to a previously enjoyed form of existence, but an entering into the unconscious state which men of all ages inherit and which, without the Lord’s return, would be our lot too. His death was necessary. The fact that Jesus willingly yielded to his Father’s will and died a voluntary death is what must engage our attention next. Jesus showed forth the righteousness of God by giving his body.

Given for you

The historical events that provoked Psalm 40 cannot be pinpointed with certainty, though it may have been Saul that David had in mind when he wrote, “Sacrifice and offering Thou didst not desire”, since it was the lesson Saul so bitterly learnt at the destruction of the Amalekites. The psalm continues with what is believed to be a reference to the practice described in Exodus 21,where a slave released in jubilee might choose not to go free, but to remain with his master for life, as a sign of which his ear was bored through (Ps. 40:6; Ex. 21:5,6).

So Jesus took upon him the form of a slave, devoting himself to the will of God for life:”obedient unto death”. “Then said!, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do Thy will, O my God”. Hebrews supplies the proof that this is Messianic, but makes quotation of it from the Septuagint, replacing the ‘opening of the ears’ by the words, “but a body hast Thou prepared me”. The idea of a body here is not that of a corpse, but of a slave,for the master who bought slaves counted them as ‘bodies’ in his house (Phil. 2:8; Ps. 40:7,8; Heb. 10:5).

The word “prepared” in Hebrews is also interesting, being translated “framed” in connection with our faith in the creative activity of God, and as “perfected” (RV) in the context of a unity of mind and judgement (Heb. 11:3; 1 Cor. 1:10).

The apostle then shows how that the law prescribed sacrifice, but for Jesus was prescribed obedience; it was written in the volume of the book that he was above the law; he was “fashioned” and “perfected” as a servant to do all God’s will, transcending the law by the total dedication of himself. He gave himself, and, through that will of God, we are sanctified by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ (Heb. 10:810).

He laid down his life, just as Adam had fallen into a deep sleep, that from his side, split open upon the cross, there might be formed a faithful woman who would take his name and be the church or ecclesia of Christ. Earlier in his teaching Jesus had spoken of the necessity for a corn of wheat to fall into the ground and die in order to produce fruit. Without this, “it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit”. Bruised and crushed at the hands of wicked men, the corn of wheat died and was laid to rest, and yet brought forth abundantly. “It pleased the Lord to bruise him. . . he shall see his seed . . . He shall see of the travail of his soul”, and the fruit of all his labours is his body, the true church (Gen. 2:21; Jno. 19:34; 12:24; Isa. 53:10,11).

We do well to remember that it is his church. Although not established until after the resurrection and ascension of the Lord, its existence was clearly envisaged by Jesus during his ministry, and his teaching makes reference to it: the city set on a hill, a beacon of truth and righteous works that cannot be hid; the confession of Peter which provoked the declaration that the church should be founded on the rock; the discourse on offences when, if a brother’s conduct is not improved by the approach of two or three witnesses, one should “tell it unto the church” (Mt. 5:14; 16:18; 18:17).

It is fashioned from his body; it is of his bone and of his flesh; he died for its salvation, and in its unity with him it is his body.

Many members, one body

It is not unreasonable to suppose that a New Testament idea so important as this should have its roots in Old Testament teaching, and it might be thought surprising that the “body” does not appear in our Old Testament Scriptures. A concordance will readily show that the word “body” occurs frequently enough, but is almost always, dead or alive, the physical body, and rarely, if at all, a political, organisational or spiritual body. There are New Testament references back to Israel as a “body”; for example, Jude speaks of the “body of Moses”, by which we generally understand him to refer to the people of Israel. Stephen too refers to the “church in the wilderness” and clearly has Israel in view, but although they were the assembly of God’s called-out ones the Old Testament itself does not seem to give expression to this idea of the body (Jude 9; Acts 7:38).

It is right that it should be so. A body can manage without a limb, or even two. Often it can function almost normally without certain organs, but no body can live without its head. It is fitting therefore that we should find no mention of the body in the Old Testament, because the head—Jesus Christ—had not come.

However, the essential teaching behind the idea of the body does seem to be contained in the Old Testament and may well be illustrated in an enigmatic and unsavoury incident at the end of the book of Judges. A Levite travelling home with his concubine through Benjamin is at last given hospitality by one man in Gibeah, and, in an incident reminiscent of the events in Sodom when Lot entertained the angels, the men of Gibeah are only restrained from a worse evil by giving full rein to their lusts with the Levite’s concubine. By the morning she has been so shamefully treated that she falls dead on the doorstep, but the Levite places her on his ass and takes her home.

There he divides her dead body into 12 parts, and sends these parts or members of her body to the 12 tribes of Israel. The spiritual state of the nation is at an extremely low ebb at this time, not only in Benjamin, but throughout the land, where the Divine testimony to its ways is that every man did that which was right in his own eyes. Yet this action by the Levite had an extraordinary unifying effect on the nation. In a fellowship unparalleled elsewhere in the time of the Judges, the tribes or at least eleven of them came together with one purpose. Three times the Scripture informs us that this was the immediate effect of the Levite’s action, and such emphasis must not be wasted on us: “Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beer-sheba “; “And all the people arose as one man . . . “;

“So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man” (Judg. 19:29; 20:1,8,11; 21:25).

In some way a nation so much fragmented is suddenly united, save for Benjamin, and it appears that it is this unpleasant incident which has reminded them of a corporate responsibility, that they, like parts of the Levite’s concubine, are members one of another.

The same lesson is remembered later, when Saul, himself a Benjamite, divides and distributes a yoke of oxen to the 12 tribes. Once again the parts so shared bring the nation together in the common cause of defeating the Philistines. It could be argued that it was Saul’s threat that provoked their response, but the record again stresses their unity of purpose: “And they came out with one consent” (RV as one man) (1 Sam. 11:7).

There may even be a hint of the same idea in the familiar prophecy of the Valley of Dry Bones, where Israel lament that they are cut off for their parts, but are then brought together, bone to his bone, to form the “whole house of Israel” (Ezek. 37:7,11).

One in Christ Jesus

Essentially, then, the idea of a body is the idea of unity, of many members coming together to form one unit. But it follows from what has been said that this body of Christ to which we belong has not come about accidentally. Just as the word ecclesia’ speaks of an assembly of people ‘called’ together and not meeting by chance, so the members of the body of Christ have been brought together in him. Their being constituent parts was neither an accident nor yet a matter of their own choosing. Rather, as the body of Adam was prepared and formed of the clay, or the person of Eve deliberately and carefully made, so the body of Christ, to which he has given his life, has been purposefully and lovingly made.

When we come together, therefore, it is not because we are one body; and when we meet to partake of bread and wine it is not because we belong to the same body that we do this. Belonging to the one body and being thus in fellowship enables us to do this, but it is not the reason for it. On the contrary, it is the result of it. It is because we partake of one loaf, and thus all participate in Christ, that we are one body. It is Christ himself who makes us one in him. To the Corinthians the apostle wrote: “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 (participation) of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for (i.e., because) we are all partakers of that one bread” (1 Cor. 10:16,17).

Being many, we are nevertheless one. Perhaps we should here remind ourselves that there is only one, for what is self-evident in the natural world can so easily be overlooked in the spiritual, but “There is one body . . . ” (Eph. 4:4). This means that our Lord Jesus Christ has only one body. He is not one head controlling many bodies. He has but one; that is why the apostle declares any ‘in-fighting’ amongst the members to be a sign of immaturity and carnality. Party spirit, the fostering of cliques, the ‘us and them’ attitude, which are divisions in effect if not in name, are very wrong and ought not to be. There can only be one true church, since the Lord is one, and that church must not be rent by futile squabbling and division. However naive it might seem to be to suggest it, we must strive in our different interests, interpretations and political leanings to make room for one another, distinguishing wisely between what is fundamental Scriptural truth and what is not, so that in matters which are not principles of faith we may show forbearance and patience, rather than the overbearing zeal that smothers the smoking flax.

The pulls and currents that so often underlie our work will be exposed before the judgement seat, and great the responsibility now, as great the shame then, if we, if I, have failed to seek the blending of interests, the fusion of our purposes, to present one people prepared for their Lord.

Fitly joined together

It is possible that, even in work and growth, each of us can be selfish, seeking to mature in isolation from others. Yet one full grown member in a body would be useless if the remainder were stunted and weak. The building up of the body as a unity is vital, and no one member is greater, or more important, than the whole. Paul speaks of ” . . . the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part”, and says that it then “maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love” (Eph. 4:16).

How blessed we should be if we could always bear in mind this precept, conscious of being a part supplying to the whole its need, seasoning every action with love of the brethren, which will edify and help the body grow, contributing constructively to the effectual working of a mature body!

The working together of the members is essential in the natural body, and there devolves upon every member the responsibility to ensure that in the spiritual too it is not merely a nice idea, but a dynamic reality. Where is any unity in my body if, when it stumbles, the mouth should curse the eyes for what they failed to see? And what use a body at all if one leg blame the other for having tripped, or the hands refuse to set the body upright again? Each part is vital to the whole.

Members one of another means that fellowship is not simply an association with’ others who share a common interest. Membership of a stamp club or a photographic society brings people together with common interests, but it does not give fellowship. Fellowship is a ‘participation in’ the lives of one another. Our lives are intimately bound up with one another, because God has set us each in the body. I am my brother’s keeper.

Now, each individual part is seen to be important, too; not more important than the whole, for with us no one member can be greater than the body, nor yet more important than another part. Each has its role to play, and each is vital, first to the body, but also to every other part. Writing to the Romans, Paul urges each one not to think too highly of himself, because each has a different office, and it is God who has dealt to each a measure of faith (Rom. 12:3,5). To the Corinthians he writes warning that they should not despise other members, or have overmuch confidence in their own position in, or importance to, the body, for all are necessary: “God (hath) set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased Him . . . God hath tempered the body together” (1 Cor. 12:18,24).

Submitting one to another

These things are summed up by an attitude of submission to one another in a true seeking after each other’s spiritual wealth and welfare. The reality of being one body has practical implications, as the apostle makes clear to the Ephesians; and unity must have an outworking in daily life, or it is not a unity. He speaks of the need to be honest with one another, not deceiving nor cheating the brethren of the service that they might expect of us; not being easily provoked to anger, but looking inwards to one’s own shortcomings before voicing condemnation; not speaking except to build up or comfort; and labouring, not to feather one’s own nest, but only to help another and to give to them. All this is motivated by being a body, “because we are members one of another” (Eph. 4:16, 25-32).

So in three separate areas of our relationships Paul exhorts to a unity in practice wives and husbands, children and fathers, servants and masters—an exhortation made the more powerful by the realisation that, in relation to God and His Son, we are the servants, the children, and the wife.

There is special reference here to Adam and Eve, examined earlier in this article, in whose example is hidden a “mystery”, or secret, which is really about Christ and the church, made of one flesh, joined together to make one. There is a special concern that Christ has for his bride, that she should be sanctified, washed clean and presented to him without any blemish, for he is her head and the “saviour of the body”. In our human partnerships we shall seek to imitate that love and those same concerns, but the remarks are prefaced by an illustration again of the need for that love to be exhibited in the ecclesia where together as children we are to walk in love: “submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God” (Eph. 5:2,21-33; 6:1-9).

This is an attitude almost lost sight of in the world, where men are so much more conscious of their ‘rights’; and, inevitably, it is beginning to creep into our midst too. Authority is questioned, respect is lost, each thinks himself as good as the next man and, in the things of the truth, regards his own opinion as just as valid. Recognising the fallibility of all but the Divinely-inspired men paraded before us by Scripture, we should nevertheless look up to the spiritual fathers of our Brotherhood and the elders who have laboured long in the bonds of the gospel. We are right to question, we have a responsibility to “prove all things”—even the work of our ‘pioneer brethren’ —but only in humble recognition that we may still not be half the men that they were.

It is this failure to esteem others better than ourselves that leads so many to believe their own interpretation to be right and their view of a matter as the only possible one acceptable. This attitude, condemned in the Corinthians as not edifying, is but a very small step from that which permits a man’s own judgement to be his guide, so that he does what is “right in his own eyes”. Our Brotherhood needs so much: both the backbone to stand by truth, and the presence to bow to the needs of one another in dignified submission of personal wills and whims.

The fulness of Him

Finally, the functioning of a natural body is a miracle, a marvel of the power and wisdom of God. It works through different ‘systems’, where some members may have more than one part to play.

The spiritual body too has its counterparts. Its skeleton is the framework provided by the apostles and prophets, by whose work and writing it can stand firm. Its respiratory system provides the air that keeps the body alive, drawing from its contact with the world, and the signs that there abound, the breath that freshens and excites. It must turn away from the pollutants found there which clog and choke, and from the stale air that promotes the drowsiness of apathy, in search of what invigorates.

The digestive system receives and prepares the food to make it suitable for absorption by the body, discarding the waste, hoping for that balanced diet that provides milk and meat in their season, warms in sickness and gives strength. The circulatory system carries both the air and the nutrients, giving life to all the body, cleansing away waste, building new tissue. Its weakness results in coldness and cramps, and its function is fulfilled by the warm smile that is always there, the oil that is poured on troubled waters, the sound judgement and counsel we know we can count on and turn to, knowing that the answer will be Scripturally given.

The nervous system is the system of feeling, warning of danger, reacting to needs and pressures to prevent harm or damage to the body. It is sometimes not heeded, or damaged to an extent that the body becomes beyond feeling; and at other times it is tender, fearful of pain and apt to overreact. But, like all the others, it is essential to a healthy body, and its alarms should be treated seriously and examined, that confidence can grow and the body be not weakened by the evil influences that assail it.

The reproductive system is responsible for the increase of the body by the nurturing and protecting of offspring until they begin life in the world. In our spiritual body it represents the work of preaching, love at its greatest height, a consciousness of family where no effort is too great for the safety of the little ones in the faith. It is a miracle, existing only through the power and wisdom of God, and every function is utterly dependent upon the head.

All the body must look to him. And yet he is not complete without the body. He yearns for that day when the body shall perfectly yield to his control and be the glorious church he desires: God “put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all” (Eph. 1:22,23).

Reference

*The active voice ‘does’ the verb. The passive voice has the verb ‘done’ to it. Some languages (including Greek) have a middle voice which ‘does’ the verb ‘to itself’. It is this form which is used in Hebrews 9:12, where the words “for us” are in italics as having been supplied by the AV translators, whereas the Greek text implies that Jesus entered in once to the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption (for himself).