What do you think of when you hear the word, ‘Church’? I grew up thinking of the church as a building. Maybe that’s true for you too; you think of a place, a building, a structure of some kind. In today’s culture some may picture a storefront, a tent, or even someone’s home.
But the Biblical understanding of a ‘church’ is more than just that of a building or a place of worship. It is the “Body of Christ”— “And He (Christ) gave some as apostles and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of the service, to the building up of the body of Christ” (the Church) Ephesians 4:11-12.
Every person, living or dead or yet to be born who becomes a true believer by placing his/her faith in the living God as Savior and Lord, is made a member of the Body of Christ. “There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all”— Ephesians 4:4-5.
So, when you think about the church, think more than just about a building; think of a Body—The Body of Christ made up of individuals of all ages, from all backgrounds, from all language groups, from all nationalities and nations, from all walks of life, yet all with one thing in common, each with a believing faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and savior of his/her life.
Paul compares the Body of Christ to our human body. Even as the human body has different parts with different functions, so also does the Body of Christ— I Corinthians 12:12. Read also I Corinthians 12:14-26.