What Does it Mean to Be Part of the Body of Christ?

The Problems in Corinth

If you’ve been around Christians for any length of time, you might have heard the phrases “body of Christ” or “my body is a temple.” Normally, Christians use these phrases when talking about communion or explaining why we shouldn’t participate in certain kinds of sin. But both of these phrases are used by the Apostle Paul to unite a deeply divided church on the verge of falling apart.

The Church in Corinth is a mess. They’re getting drunk during communion (1 Corinthians 11). They parade around a man sleeping with his stepmom as an example of Christian open-mindedness (1 Corinthians 5:1-5). They’re suing each other over petty things (1 Corinthians 6). They’re obsessed with proving their spirituality by speaking in tongues (1 Corinthians 14). And most significantly, they deny that God will resurrect their bodies (1 Corinthians 15).

This denial of resurrection is likely the underlying cause of everything wrong in Corinth. Because they don’t believe God will restore their bodies after they die, it doesn’t matter what they do with their bodies now. They can sleep with whomever they like. They can drink however much they want. Real spirituality is not found in helping or encouraging others but in private spiritual experiences where they speak in tongues that no one understands. 

The Body of Christ is a United Whole

So Paul tells this divided church that their bodies are far more important than they realize. Just as Jesus’ body died and rose, so will theirs. Paul says their bodies are mysteriously united with Jesus’ body. This unity is so real that when they have sex with prostitutes (apparently another common problem in Corinth), they are, in effect, uniting Jesus with that person as well (1 Corinthians 6:12-17). Paul says what the Corinthians need to keep in mind is that because of  Jesus, they will live in bodies forever, and so it matters deeply how they use their bodies now. In fact, Paul says their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). Their spirituality is intimately connected with their physicality, and to diminish that connection is a massive mistake. 

Later in Corinthians Paul expands the metaphor of “bodies” to refer to all members of the Corinthian church. Apparently, some in Corinth kept boasting that their spiritual giftedness made them a more important part of the church. But to Paul, this makes no sense. He says that when they gather together they make up one body, the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-31). As in a normal human body, the body of Christ is an interconnected whole. Every part needs the other. And no part is more essential than another. He tells the Corinthians they need to remember that they are like a body. Rather than focusing on their own spiritual giftedness, they need to prioritize helping and encouraging one another. Instead of elevating themselves they should treat every part of the body with the respect, honor, and care that it needs.

The chaotic and divided church of Corinth needed to be reminded of the importance of the body, and so do we. Right now, our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. We are mysteriously and deeply united with Jesus. Every one of our individual bodies will live forever, and what we do now has eternal and spiritual consequences. Also, we are members or limbs of a greater body, Jesus' body, the church. And we should use our spiritual giftedness to encourage and build up those around us.