The Bible Book

306

T

he image of the community

of believers as a discrete

entity unfolds and develops

in the Pauline writings of the New

Testament. It was by no means a

new idea. The concept of the “body

politic”—an understanding of a

nation of peoples as one body—

was commonplace among Greek

and Roman philosophers. Plato had

used it, as had Aristotle, Cicero,

Seneca, and many others.

For his part, Paul takes hold

of the idea and begins to develop

it in earnest in his first letter to

the Corinthians. Writing to the

fractious people and chastising

them, Paul employs the image to

press home a message about unity

despite diversity. “Just as a body,

though one, has many parts ...

all its many parts form one body,”

he tells his readers. Then, he

continues: “So it is with Christ”

(1 Corinthians 12:12).

A united body

Despite coming from diverse

backgrounds, the Corinthian

believers must remember the basic

unity they have through God’s

Spirit. “For we were all baptized by

one Spirit so as to form one body—

whether Jews or Gentiles, slave

or free—and we were all given the

one Spirit to drink” (12:13).

Continuing with the image of

the body, Paul reminds the different

cliques among the Corinthians

of their inescapable need for one

another: “The eye cannot say

to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’

And the head cannot say to the

feet, ‘I don’t need you!’” (12:21).

St. Ignatius, painted in oils by

Giuseppe Franchi (1565–1628), was

an early Christian writer and Bishop

of Antioch. He was the first to employ

the term “Catholic Church” in writing.

IN BRIEF

PA S SAGE S

Colossians 1:15–23,

1 Corinthians 12:12–31,

Ephesians 4:1–16

THEME

The body of Christ as

a metaphor for the

Christian Church

SETTING

c. 54 ce Letters written to

the churches of Asia Minor

by Paul and his disciples.

KEY FIGURES

Paul An Apostle of Christ,

writing to the churches in

Corinth and Asia Minor.

Author of Colossians Early

Christians believed this to be

Paul. Some modern scholars

argue that it is more likely to

have been one of his disciples.

AND HE IS THE

HEAD OF THE BODY,

THE CHURCH

COLOSSIANS 1:18, THE BODY OF CHRIST

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307

Pope Francis, the 266th head of the

Roman Catholic Church, rides through

the crowds of the faithful in September

2015, as he attends mass at the Vatican.

See also: The Word Spreads 288–89 ■ The Way of Love 296–97 ■ The Holy Trinity 298–99 ■

The Power of the Resurrection 304–05

ACTS, EPISTLES, AND REVELATION

Nor is there any room for one group

of members to regard itself as

better than the others: “God has

put the body together, giving

greater honor to the parts that

lacked it, so that there should be

no division in the body, but that

its parts should have equal concern

for each other” (12:24–25).

In several letters, Paul refers to

certain “gifts,” such as wisdom or

faith, that Christians receive by

believing in Jesus. The analogy of

the body as a united entity is a way

of ensuring that none of these gifts

is viewed as superior to others. If

more visible “gifts” are held in too

great esteem, they will promote

pride, with one exception—love—

as there is no greater gift that one

can possess or give in return.

Paul ends his exhortation with

a simple metaphor: “Now you are

the body of Christ, and each one

of you is a part of it” (12:27).

The concept

of the Church

In Greek, the word ekklesia,

usually translated in the New

Testament as “church,” simply

refers to an assembly called

together for, say, a political

purpose. The Greek version

of the Hebrew Bible, the

Septuagint, uses the term in

this sense to describe various

assemblies of the people of

Israel. It is later—in Acts and

the Pauline writings, above

all—that the word starts to

acquire the meaning of

“church” as we know it today.

Generally, in the Pauline

writings, the term refers to

an assembly of believers in

a particular city or region—

as when Paul refers to the

Galatians, for example, as the

“churches in Galatia.” In the

later New Testament books

of Colossians and Ephesians,

the use of the term “church”

(ekklesia) further develops the

more transcendent meaning

of the body of all believers,

united as the body of Christ

and the Holy Spirit.

This is the first mention of “the

body of Christ” in the Bible and,

in 1 Corinthians, the concept has

a relatively narrow focus. It is about

living out the Christian message of

love and service in the context of a

local place of worship.

Developing the image

Two later writings of the New

Testament—the letters to the

Colossians and the Ephesians—

are regarded by some scholars as

the work of two of Paul’s disciples,

and add to the image of the united

body. Jesus Christ “is before all

things, and in Him all things hold

together” (Colossians 1:17).

The author of Ephesians

expounds on this idea: “We will

grow to become in every respect

the mature body of 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” (Ephesians 4:15–16). This

vivid depiction presents the body

of Christ as a living, breathing

organism. Built on love, the body

of Christ depends and thrives on

the faith of its members. ■

Instead, speaking the

truth in love, we will

grow to become in every

respect the mature body

of Him who is the head,

that is, Christ.

Ephesians 4:15

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