Body of Christ

The church as the body of Christ: I am just now getting a better grasp of those passages that talk about the body of Christ. I confess I have overlooked the primary point of those passages. Because I had thought that the body imagery was primarily about unity, I had missed what was most germane. We are all to play our part, work within our strengths, using the talents God has given us, doing and being that which God has called us to do and be because “corporately” we are the only representation of Christ to the world; we are the body of Christ. (cf. 1 Tim. 3:15). The body of Christ is not merely and illustration it is the point. This has profound implications; if we are the body of Christ it means that the mission of the church is the same as the mission of Jesus Christ. It begs the question, ”What was Christ’s mission?”

Maybe this is a no-brainer for the rest of us, but I have always thought Jesus accomplished His mission and now the church has a different mission. Now, before you call me naïve, think about it for a moment. Don’t we commonly think that Jesus came to die on the cross? Didn’t he accomplish that mission? Certainly. Now what remains, but for the church to proclaim what Jesus did? There are two missions here: Jesus made the way, the church is to proclaim the way. What if dying on the cross wasn’t Christ’s mission? What if it was only part of the mission?

I thought I would start with the most simple way of discovering what Christ’s mission was and the church’s mission is: I decided I would start with what Jesus said His mission was. Not what He did—because I know how theological types like myself can wax eloquently on what Jesus did and what that means for how we do church. Not what Jesus did, but simply, what mission did Jesus say he was on. I am reading through the gospels first, then the epistles with one question in mind, “What was the mission Christ said He was on?”