THE BODY OF CHRIST
THE BODY OF CHRIST
“The body is a unit. Though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body – whether Jews or Greeks slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink” (1 Cor. 12:12-13).
It is the purpose of this brief study to remind you that the church is also the “Body of Christ”. Christ, of course, is the Head of His Body (Col, 1:18). Consequently, the church is an “organism” and not an “organization”. An “organism” is alive and grows because of life from within. An “organization” is not alive. It is a man made structure and can only grow because of life from without. The book of Ephesians reminds us that there is only One Body (Eph. 4:4). This One Body is alive and active and includes all the saved in all the earth. We become members of this One Body by means of the Spirit through baptism. Because it is the Body of Christ it is eternal and cannot be destroyed! It is also supernatural, like the union between a husband and his wife. Just as marriage is “a profound mystery” (Eph. 5:32), so also is Body of Christ.
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
Let us begin by studying the “kingdom of heaven”. The “kingdom of heaven”, of course, is the same as the “kingdom of God”. Both names are used in the Bible to refer to the same kingdom. The Bible reveals that this kingdom became a reality 2,000 years ago.
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John the Baptist preached: “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matt. 3:2). •
Jesus also preached: “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matt. 4:17).
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The disciples of Jesus also preached: “The kingdom of heaven is near” (Matt. 10:7). •
Yes! The kingdom was near!
Jesus specifically promised: “I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power” (Mk. 9:1).
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Jesus, of course, told the truth! The kingdom of God came with power 2,000 years ago. •
After his resurrection, and before He ascended into heaven, Jesus spent forty days speaking to his apostles about the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3).
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Apparently, the Kingdom of God came with power on Pentecost (Acts 2).
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The kingdom was a realty when Paul wrote to the Colossians: “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves” (Col. 1:13).
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While the kingdom of God is larger than the church, those who accept Christ as King obviously become a part of His Kingdom.
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This transaction involves the Holy Spirit for by One Spirit we are baptized into One Body. •
The Scriptures connect the “kingdom of God” with “baptism” for when Philip “preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized both men and women” (Acts 8:120.
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While Paul was in Ephesus he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly and persuasively for three months about the kingdom of God (Acts 19:8).
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Paul also identified Christians as “workers for the kingdom of God” (Col. 4:10-11). •
Etc.
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So, at the same time Christians are members of the Body of Christ on earth, we also also a part of the kingdom of heaven. In fact, “our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20).
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS A SPIRITUAL KINGDOM
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Jesus was indeed a king! He told Pilate He was a king and said: “For this reason I was born and for this I came into the world” (Jn. 18:37).
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Jesus, however, further explained: “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place” (Jn. 18:36).
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Since this kingdom is “not of this world” it is not easy to see. It is a spiritual kingdom! In fact, you have to be born again in order to see it (Jn. 3:3).
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Jesus explained: “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you” (Lk. 17:20-21).
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Man cannot produce the kingdom of God, only God can do that!
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Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven was like a man sowing good seed in his field when an enemy came and sowed weeds. Both the good seed and the weeds grew together until the harvest (Matt. 13:24-30). Jesus explained that this referred to the end of the world when his angels will weed “out of his kingdom” everything that causes sin and all who do evil (Matt. 13:36-43).
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As we have said, man cannot “join” the kingdom of heaven. You can only become a citizen of heaven if God personally accepts you to into his kingdom (Acts 2:47).
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The same terminology also applies to the church. Remember! Christ is the Head of His Body which is the church (Col. 1:18). You cannot a “join” the church but must be “added” by God to the Body of Christ. Remember! “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one Body.”
THE GROWTH OF THE KINGDOM IS SUPERNATURAL
Jesus said: “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.” (Mk. 4:26-29).
Man can plant and water a seed, but it is only God can make it grow (1 Cor. 3:5-9).
Man can produce an artificial seed but artificial seeds will not grow. A seed made by man may look like a real seed, and may even taste like a real seed, but only God can create a seed that will grow! This helps us to see the difference between an “organism” and an “organization”. The “organism” is alive and the “organization” is not. Sometimes it is difficult to tell which is which.
Here is how the Body of Christ grows: “Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Eph. 4:15-16).
From the very beginning the Body of Christ flourished and grew because it was alive. By the time Paul wrote to the Colossians the gospel had already “been proclaimed to every creature under
heaven” (Col. 1:23). As we have said, because the church is the “Body of Christ” the gates of Hades cannot prevail against it and it will last forever (Matt. 16:18).
A sure way to kill a living body is to crush it’s head. This is what God promised to do to the serpent (Gen. 3:15). Satan’s days are numbered and his head will ultimately be crushed (Rev. 20:10). By contrast, the serpent would only strike the “heel” of Christ. Satan can strike the heel of the Body of Christ, but the Head of the Body is in heaven at the right hand of God (Heb. 8:1-2). That’s why when the kings and rulers of the earth gather together against Christ, He that sits in the heavens will laugh and hold them in derision (Acts 4:25-26; Ps. 2:1-5).
PERSECUTION
Christianity is the most persecuted religion on earth. Christian Today estimates that 70 million Christian martyrs have died for their faith. Yet the church is bigger than ever and continues to grow! Persecution originally began with the Jews under the leadership of men like Saul of Tarsus (Acts 8:1- 3). Soon, however, the Roman government also joined in the persecution and tried to destroy the church. When the church began the emperor of Rome was the most powerful man on earth. It is significant that eleven emperors of Rome tried to destroy the church but were powerless to do so!
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Nero
murdered thousands of Christians included Peter and Paul.
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Domitian
also killed thousands of Christians and banished the Apostle John to the Isle of Patmos
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Trajan
was one of the best emperors but still persecuted Christians because they were an illegal religion. He even killed Simeon, the brother of Jesus.
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Hadrian
killed Telephorus, pastor of the church in Rome and many others. He was, however, more moderate in his persecution than other emperors.
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Antonius Pius
, like Trajan, persecuted Christians as a matter of upholding Roman law. There were many martyrs under his reign including Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna. Polycarp is famous as he was a personal disciple of the Apostle John.
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Marcus Aurelius
was the most severe emperor since Nero. Thousands were tortured, beheaded, or thrown to wild beasts during his reign. He killed thousands of Christians including Justin Martyr.
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Septimius Severus
was also severe. In Alexandria martyrs were burned, beheaded, or crucified on a daily basis. Among those martyrs was Leonidas, the father of Origen.
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Maximin
also killed many Christian leaders. He tried to kill Origen but couldn’t find him. •
Decius
murdered thousands and devastated the whole of the Roman world in a violent attempt to exterminate all Christians.
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Valerian
was even more severe than Decius in his desire to exterminate Christianity. He executed many leaders including Cyprian, the Bishop of Carthage.
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Diocletian
was the last and most severe persecutor of all the emperors. For ten years Christians were hunted down like animals and put to death by every torture and cruelty that man could devise.
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EVERY ONE OF THESE POWERFUL EMPERORS FAILED TO DESTROY THE CHURCH. AS JESUS PROMISED, THE GATES OF HADES WILL NOT OVERCOME THE CHURCH (MATT. 16:18).
CONSTANTINE
The persecution of Christians ended in A.D. 313 with the Edict of Milan. At that time, however, the Body of Christ had grown so much that approximately half of the Roman Empire was Christian. Obviously, persecution, does not stop the church from growing.
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In fact, only a few years after Diocletian thought he had destroyed the church, the emperor, Constantine, claimed to be a Christian. As a professing Constantine radically reformed the Roman government. He gave to all the citizens of Rome the privilege of worshiping any religion of their choice. This was the first edict of it’s kind in history. Consequently, Christians no longer had to worship in secret. Constantine gave special favors to the Christians. Christian ministers were exempted from taxes and military services. Church buildings could now be constructed without fear of punishment. Since Christians met for worship on the first day of the week, Constantine decreed that laborers didn’t have to work on Sunday. The Gladiatorial Fights, slavery, and killing unwanted babies also came to an end.
Under the direction of Eusebius of Caesarea, Constantine ordered that 50 Bibles be produced on the finest vellum and speedily conveyed through the empire. It is thought that the Sinaitic and Vatican manuscripts were in this group.
THE INSTITUTIONAL CHURCH
When Emperor Theodosius (378-395) came to power he made Christianity the State Religion and also made Church membership compulsory. Henry Haley, in his Bible Handbook, states “THIS WAS THE WORST CALAMITY THAT HAS EVER BEFALLEN THE CHURH”. Someone has observed that when a boat is in the water that is the way it is supposed to be. When the water gets in the boat, however, it is a problem. Similarly, it is not a problem when the church is in the world, that is the way it is supposed to be. But when the world gets inside the church you have a problem. Making church membership mandatory filled the institutional church with unconverted people.
The true church, of course, did not cease to exist when the government corrupted the church. Jesus has never been a Head without a Body, a King without subjects, or a Shepherd without sheep. Now, however, the true members of Christ’s body were again persecuted as heretics for daring to disagree with the government church.
So, when the Barbarians were “forced” to be part of the church they brought their barbaric behavior into the church. They joined an “institution” but obviously the Spirit did not add them to the “Body of Christ. Here is a small sample of corruption that characterized the institutional church. It is taken from from Haley’s Bible Handbook p. 881. As you can see, forced conversions corrupted every part of the institutional church including the Papacy. For example:
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Pope Sergius III (904-911 A.D.) had a mistress, Marozia. She, her mother Theodora, and her sister, “filled the Papal chair with their paramours and bastard sons, and turned the Papal Palace into a den of robbers”.
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Pope John XII (955-963), a grandson of Marozia, was “guilty of almost every crime; violated virgins and widows, high and low; lived with his father’s mistress; made the Papal Palace a brothel; was killed while in the act of adultery by the woman’s enraged husband”.
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Pope Boniface VII (984-985) murdered Pope John XIV, and “maintained himself on the blood stained Papal Throne by a lavish distribution of stolen money”.
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Pope Benedict IX (1033-1045) was made Pope as a boy 12 years old, through a money bargain with the powerful families that ruled Rome. He “surpassed John XII in wickedness; committed murders and adulteries in broad daylight; robbed pilgrims on the graves of martyrs; a hideous criminal. The people drove him out of Rome”.
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The 200 years between Pope Nicolas I, and Pope Gregory VII were so corrupt that historians call it the MIDNIGHT OF THE DARK AGES!
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History has much more to say on this subject, but I think you get the point!
IS YOUR NAME WRITTEN IN HEAVEN?
It is easy to have your name on the roll book of an institutional church. What really matters, however, is your name written in heaven? When the disciples of Jesus rejoiced that the demons were subject to them, Jesus responded: “However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Lk. 10:20. At the great white throne judgment we are told: “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:15). Nothing is more serious than not having your name written in heaven!
Peter warned: “It is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, if it is hard for the righteous to be saved., what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” (1 Pet. 4:17-18).
Jesus also warned: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evil doers” (Matt. 7:21-23).
So, as Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you – unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Cor. 13:5).
“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lies as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming” (2 Pet. 3:1l-12).
OBVIOUSLY YOU NEED TO BE BAPTIZED BY ONE SPIRIT INTO THE ONE BODY!