The Church Which Is His Body

Christ the Head and the Mystery of the One Body

Introduction

Ephesians 1:22–23 gives one of the clearest descriptions in all the Bible of what the Church is in this present dispensation. Paul writes that God “hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body.” That is not religious poetry. That is doctrine. The Church is not first identified as a building, program, hierarchy, denomination, sacramental institution, political kingdom, or continuation of Israel. The Church is identified as Christ’s Body. That means its life, identity, authority, direction, unity, and hope are found in its living Head, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Modern religion has almost entirely lost the meaning of the Church which is His Body. Some treat the Church as a religious organization controlled by clergy. Some treat it as the new Israel that has inherited Israel’s covenants and kingdom. Some treat it as a social reform movement. Some treat it as a Sunday event. Some treat it as a building with a steeple. Some treat it as a denomination with membership rolls and traditions. But the Bible says the Church is His Body. A body is joined to a head. A body receives life from the head. A body follows the direction of the head. A body is not complete without the head, and the head is not to be replaced by committees, popes, councils, priests, personalities, programs, or religious systems.

This doctrine matters because the Body of Christ is part of the mystery revealed through Paul. Israel had a nation, land, covenants, temple, priesthood, sacrifices, prophets, and earthly kingdom promises. The Church has a risen Head in heaven, spiritual blessings in heavenly places, one Spirit, one Body, one hope, and a heavenly calling. When men mix Israel and the Church, they confuse prophecy and mystery, law and grace, the kingdom and the Body, the rapture and the Second Advent, and the gospel of grace with religious works. But when Ephesians 1:22–23 is believed, the believer learns who he is in Christ, where he stands in this age, and why the Church must be governed by the doctrine Christ revealed through Paul for the Body of Christ.

I. The Church Is His Body, Not a Building or Denomination

Key Text: Ephesians 1:22–23
Supporting Texts: Colossians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 12:27; Romans 12:5

Paul says the Church “is his body.” That one statement clears away a mountain of religious confusion. The Church is not the sanctuary, the campus, the stained glass, the pulpit, the sign, the organization, or the denomination. Those things may be connected to local ministry in some way, but they are not the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ is a spiritual organism made up of saved people joined to the Lord Jesus Christ as Head. First Corinthians 12:27 says, “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.”

Colossians 1:18 says Christ “is the head of the body, the church.” That means no earthly religious office can replace His headship. A body with two heads is a monster. The Church does not need a pope, priesthood, apostolic succession machine, denominational headquarters, or celebrity preacher to function as its head. Christ is the Head. He is the source of life, authority, direction, nourishment, and increase. Human leaders may serve under Christ, but they must never usurp Christ.

Romans 12:5 says, “So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.” The Body is made up of many members, but it is one Body. The local assembly is important, but no local assembly owns the Body of Christ. No denomination can claim to be the exclusive Body. The Body belongs to Christ. It is His possession, His workmanship, His fullness, and His instrument in this dispensation.

Main Truth:
The Church is not a building, denomination, or religious institution; it is the living Body of Christ.

II. Christ Is the Head Over All Things to the Church

Key Text: Ephesians 1:22
Supporting Texts: Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 5:23; Philippians 2:9–11

Ephesians 1:22 says God “gave him to be the head over all things to the church.” Christ is not merely a helper to the Church. He is the Head. He is not a figurehead while men run the body by tradition. He is not a ceremonial mascot for religious programs. He is the exalted Lord, risen from the dead, seated far above all principality, power, might, dominion, and every name that is named. The Church does not vote Him into office. God gave Him that position.

Colossians 1:18 says, “that in all things he might have the preeminence.” The Head must have the preeminence in doctrine, preaching, worship, service, discipline, missions, fellowship, giving, prayer, and Christian living. A church that talks about Jesus but does not obey His word is not honoring the Head. A preacher who uses Christ as a theme but builds a ministry around himself is not honoring the Head. A denomination that places tradition above Scripture is not honoring the Head.

Ephesians 5:23 says, “Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.” That means the Body is saved by Him, ruled by Him, nourished by Him, and accountable to Him. The Church does not exist to magnify itself. It exists under the Headship of Christ. The health of the Body depends on submission to the Head. Where Christ is displaced, confusion follows. Where Christ is exalted, the Body is strengthened.

Main Truth:
Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church, and every member, ministry, and assembly must submit to His authority.

III. The Body of Christ Is a Mystery Revealed Through Paul

Key Text: Ephesians 3:3–6
Supporting Texts: Colossians 1:25–27; Romans 16:25; 1 Corinthians 2:7

The Church which is His Body is connected to the mystery revealed through Paul. Ephesians 3:3 says, “How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery.” Ephesians 3:6 explains that Gentiles are “fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel.” That is not Old Testament prophecy repeated. It is mystery truth now revealed. The Body of Christ was not plainly preached by Moses, David, Isaiah, Daniel, or John the Baptist. It was hid in God until revealed in due time.

Colossians 1:25 says Paul was made a minister according to a dispensation given to him “to fulfil the word of God.” Then he immediately speaks of “the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints.” That mystery includes “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” The Body of Christ is part of God’s hidden wisdom now revealed. It is not Israel under a new name. It is not a continuation of the synagogue. It is not the kingdom postponed and spiritualized. It is a new revelation connected to Christ’s heavenly ministry.

Romans 16:25 says believers are stablished according to Paul’s gospel and “the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery.” A believer may be saved and still confused if he never learns the mystery. He may read the Bible and mix everything together. But once he understands the Body of Christ as mystery truth, the Bible begins to open. Israel remains Israel. The Church remains the Body. Prophecy remains prophecy. Mystery remains mystery. Grace remains grace.

Main Truth:
The Body of Christ is mystery truth revealed through Paul, not Israel renamed or prophecy spiritualized.

IV. The Body Is Made of Saved Jews and Gentiles in One New Man

Key Text: Ephesians 2:15–16
Supporting Texts: Ephesians 3:6; Galatians 3:28; 1 Corinthians 10:32

Ephesians 2:15 says Christ made “in himself of twain one new man.” The “twain” are Jew and Gentile. In time past, Gentiles were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise. Israel had covenants, law, service, promises, and national calling. But now, in Christ, saved Jews and saved Gentiles are made one new man. That is the Body of Christ.

This does not mean Gentiles become Israel. It does not mean Israel disappears. It does not mean the Church inherits Israel’s national promises by replacement. It means that in this present dispensation, God is forming one Body made up of saved Jews and Gentiles who are united in Christ on equal spiritual ground. Galatians 3:28 says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek… for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” That is positional truth inside the Body.

First Corinthians 10:32 still distinguishes Jews, Gentiles, and the Church of God. The Church of God is not the same as the Jews or the Gentiles. A man may be born into one of the first two categories, but when he is saved in this dispensation, he becomes part of the third. The Body of Christ is a new spiritual identity in Christ, not an earthly national identity and not Gentile religion wearing Jewish clothing.

Main Truth:
The Body of Christ is one new man made up of saved Jews and Gentiles united in Christ.

V. The Holy Ghost Baptizes Believers Into One Body

Key Text: 1 Corinthians 12:13
Supporting Texts: Ephesians 4:4–5; Romans 6:3–4; Galatians 3:27

First Corinthians 12:13 says, “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body.” This is one of the most important verses on how a sinner becomes part of the Body of Christ. The baptism that places the believer into the Body is performed by the Holy Ghost. It is not a water ordinance performed by a preacher. It is not a denominational ceremony. It is not a sacramental act that regenerates the soul. It is the Spirit’s operation placing the believer into Christ.

Ephesians 4:4 says there is “one body.” Ephesians 4:5 says there is “one baptism.” In the doctrinal sense for the Body of Christ, the essential baptism is Spirit baptism into Christ. Water baptism may be practiced by many as an outward testimony, but water does not place a sinner into the Body of Christ. The Holy Ghost does that the moment a sinner believes the gospel. The saved man is identified with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection because he has been placed into Christ.

This truth protects salvation from sacramental confusion. Religion wants to put water where God put the Spirit. It wants to put a minister’s hand where God put the operation of the Holy Ghost. It wants to put church membership where God put union with Christ. But the Bible says believers are baptized by one Spirit into one Body. That is why the believer’s standing is secure. He is not merely near Christ. He is in Christ.

Main Truth:
The Holy Ghost places believers into the Body of Christ by spiritual baptism, not by religious ceremony or human ordinance.

VI. Every Member of the Body Has a Place and Function

Key Text: 1 Corinthians 12:18
Supporting Texts: Romans 12:4–8; Ephesians 4:11–16; 1 Corinthians 12:21–27

First Corinthians 12:18 says, “But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.” The Body of Christ is not a pile of disconnected believers. It is a living body with members arranged by God. Every saved person in the Body has a place, a function, and a responsibility before the Head. No member is useless. No member should despise another. No member should boast as though he does not need the rest.

Romans 12 teaches that believers are “members one of another” and have differing gifts according to grace. Some serve, some teach, some exhort, some give, some rule, some show mercy. The point is not that every believer has the same function. A body would be useless if every member tried to be an eye, hand, foot, or mouth. The health of the Body depends on members functioning according to the grace God gives.

Ephesians 4:16 says the whole Body is “fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth.” That means growth comes as members receive from the Head and serve one another in truth and love. The Body is not edified by spectators. It is edified by members who know their place, submit to Christ, believe sound doctrine, and serve faithfully. A believer who refuses to function weakens the practical testimony of the Body, even though his position in Christ remains secure.

Main Truth:
Every member of the Body of Christ has a God-given place and responsibility under the Headship of Christ.

VII. The Body Is Nourished and Built Up by Sound Doctrine

Key Text: Ephesians 4:14–15
Supporting Texts: Colossians 2:19; 1 Timothy 4:6; Titus 2:1

The Body of Christ is not built by entertainment, emotionalism, programs, personalities, or religious marketing. It is built by truth. Ephesians 4:14 warns against being “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine.” The Body needs doctrine because doctrine gives strength, discernment, unity, and maturity. A church that despises doctrine is a body refusing nourishment.

Colossians 2:19 speaks of holding the Head, from whom all the body by joints and bands has nourishment ministered. Nourishment comes from Christ the Head through His word and doctrine. That is why Paul tells Titus, “speak thou the things which become sound doctrine.” The Body cannot be healthy on shallow devotionals, motivational slogans, church-growth talk, and emotional appeals. It needs the meat of the word.

Rightly divided doctrine is especially necessary because the Body of Christ has its own doctrine revealed through Paul. If the Body is fed on Israel’s law, kingdom conditions, tribulation passages, or religious ordinances as though they are Church-age doctrine, confusion will follow. The Body must be built up by grace doctrine, Pauline truth, spiritual discernment, and the gospel of Christ’s finished work.

Main Truth:
The Body of Christ is nourished, strengthened, and protected by sound doctrine from the Head through His word.

VIII. The Body Has a Heavenly Calling, Not an Earthly Kingdom Identity

Key Text: Ephesians 2:6
Supporting Texts: Ephesians 1:3; Philippians 3:20; Colossians 3:1–4

Ephesians 2:6 says God “hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” That is the Church’s position. Ephesians 1:3 says believers are blessed with all spiritual blessings “in heavenly places in Christ.” The Body of Christ is not waiting to inherit the land of Canaan. It is not building Israel’s kingdom. It is not trying to set up David’s throne through politics or religious systems. Its calling is heavenly.

Philippians 3:20 says, “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.” The Body is looking for Christ from heaven. The blessed hope is not the Antichrist, the mark of the beast, the abomination of desolation, or the time of Jacob’s trouble. The Church’s hope is the Saviour. The Body that is joined to a heavenly Head will be caught up to meet the Lord.

Colossians 3:1–4 tells believers to seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. That does not mean the believer neglects duty on earth. It means his life and identity are fixed above. Israel has an earthly kingdom hope that God will fulfill. The Body of Christ has a heavenly calling in Christ. Both are true. Right division keeps them in order.

Main Truth:
The Church which is His Body has a heavenly calling and hope, not Israel’s earthly kingdom identity.

IX. The Body Is the Fulness of Him That Filleth All in All

Key Text: Ephesians 1:23
Supporting Texts: Ephesians 3:10–11; Ephesians 5:25–27; Colossians 2:9–10

Ephesians 1:23 says the Church is “the fulness of him that filleth all in all.” That is a staggering statement. The Church is not an afterthought, accident, or emergency repair plan. The Body of Christ is part of God’s eternal purpose in Christ. Through the Body, God displays the riches of His grace, the wisdom of His plan, and the glory of Christ’s headship. The Church is not full because of itself. It is full because it is joined to Him who fills all in all.

Ephesians 3:10 says that by the Church, the manifold wisdom of God is made known unto principalities and powers in heavenly places. That means the Body of Christ displays God’s wisdom before heavenly beings. The mystery of the Body was not Satan’s victory. It was God’s wisdom revealed after the cross. The powers of darkness did not defeat God at Calvary; they unwittingly served the very work by which God would redeem sinners and later reveal the Church which is His Body.

Colossians 2:9–10 says that in Christ dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and “ye are complete in him.” The Body’s fullness comes from Christ’s fullness. The believer is not complete in religion, rituals, law, or denomination. He is complete in the Head. The Body is glorious because Christ is glorious. The Church’s dignity rests entirely in its union with Him.

Main Truth:
The Church is the fulness of Christ because it is joined to the One who fills all in all.

Conclusion

The Church which is His Body is one of the greatest truths revealed in the Pauline epistles. It is not a building, denomination, continuation of Israel, Gentile religious system, or earthly kingdom. It is the Body of Christ, joined to a risen Head in heaven. Christ is the Head over all things to the Church. The Holy Ghost places believers into one Body. Saved Jews and Gentiles are made one new man in Christ. Every member has a place and function. The Body is nourished by sound doctrine and called to heavenly hope.

Much confusion disappears when the Church is understood as the Body of Christ. Israel keeps her earthly promises. The Church keeps her heavenly calling. Prophecy remains distinct from mystery. Law remains distinct from grace. Kingdom truth remains distinct from Body truth. The gospel of grace remains clear. The rapture remains the blessed hope. Paul’s doctrine becomes essential, not optional. The believer no longer has to wander through the Bible stealing passages from Israel or forcing every verse into the Church.

The Church must recover the doctrine of the Body. It must stop thinking of itself as a religious corporation and start functioning as members under the Head. It must stop replacing Christ’s authority with tradition and stop replacing sound doctrine with entertainment. It must hold the Head, walk worthy of its calling, edify itself in love, stand in grace, preach the gospel clearly, and rejoice that Christ has made saved sinners members of His Body. The Church is His Body, and that truth should humble us, establish us, and move us to serve Him faithfully.

Final Call

The sinner is not saved by joining a church building, signing a membership card, taking sacraments, keeping ordinances, or trying to become religious. The sinner is saved by the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. He was buried. He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. Salvation today is by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. When a sinner trusts Christ, he is sealed by the Spirit and placed into Christ. He is no longer standing outside in Adam. He is in Christ, accepted in the Beloved, complete in Him, and made part of the Body of Christ.

Believer, do not live like a disconnected member. Hold the Head. Learn your doctrine. Find your place of service. Walk worthy of your calling. Love the brethren. Defend the gospel. Rightly divide the Book. Remember that the Church is not yours, not mine, and not a denomination’s. It is His Body.

Closing Verse:
Colossians 1:18 — “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.”

Closing Statement:
The Church is His Body, Christ is its Head, and every member finds life, direction, fullness, and glory only in Him.