Ephesians 1:5
Having predestinated us unto the adoption
of children by Jesus Christ to himself,
according to the good pleasure of his will,
David wrote:
You need to study some more about The One Body. In the third paragraph, you said that Christ is the head of the Body, which is absolutely true, and you also said that the body is not described as having members; then, in the fourth paragraph, you spoke of members of the body. How does a person get to be a member of that One Body? Does 1st Corinthians 12:13 throw any light on the subject?
Dave
Dear David,
God Bless you, and thank you for writing. We thank God for your Berean spirit to search and see with careful attention to the Scripture. Let's look at the text of paragraphs 3 and 4 with additional Scripture added to clarify our position:
Paragraph 3
This body is not described as having any parts or members except for the fact that The Head is Christ Jesus. In this unity, He is the central figure.
Eph 4:15 But speaking the truth in love may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Eph 4:16 From whom 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, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
This body is unique in all the universe, for here, every joint is equal, and every part has equal measure. This is not the body of 1 Corinthians, as we will soon demonstrate, for in this body, only Christ is mentioned as a member in particular, and He is Head. Each part has equal strength, so it would be like a body where the little toe is as strong as a leg and can exist only in the Heaven of heavens, not in this physical world.
Paragraph 4
This body had its beginning from a former body of believers who accepted The Truth of The Mystery after Acts 28:28. Both Jew and Gentile were made one and created into one new man (Ephesians 2:12-16). Both Jew and Gentile were then reconciled in one body to God by the cross. This mystery is further explained in Eph. 3:6 that in this one body, all members are in a joint relationship: joint heirs, joint members, and joint partakers of a promise of life in Christ, which promise was made before the ages began (2 Timothy 1:1, Titus 1:2).
This body is in contrast to the former body of 1 Corinthians and was never revealed until after Acts 28:28:
1 Cor. 12:14 For the body is not one member, but many.
1 Cor. 12:15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
1 Cor. 12:16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
1 Cor. 12:17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
1 Cor. 12:18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
In the Scripture above, the believers are members of the body and are called eyes, ears, and nose, but in the Body, which is seated in The Heavenly Places, Christ only is The Head. One must separate those Epistles written by the Apostle before Acts 28 from those written after and see the huge dividing line God has placed at the event of Acts 28:28 and that after this was revealed:
Eph. 3:2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
Eph. 3:3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
Eph. 3:4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
Eph. 3:5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
Eph. 3:6 That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
Eph 3:8. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
Eph 3:9. And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10. To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
Eph 3:11. According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
All God's Blessings,
The Believers
