The Body of Christ
“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free: and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.” I Corinthians 12:12-14
The human body is the most intricate entity that God created. Our bodies are made up of blood vessels, organs, bones, muscles, flesh, nerves, and a brain. All the parts must work together to allow us to think, feel, hear, see, taste, smell, walk, and talk. When one part doesn’t work as intended, all the rest of the body suffers. Christ’s body, too, is made up of many parts. All who are born again make up His body, His spiritual body, which functions in much the same way as one’s physical body in that each part has a specific task to contribute to the Body.
We are joined to the body of Christ by repenting of sin and placing our faith in Him and His work on the cross that He did to provide forgiveness of sin and reconciliation with God the Father and Creator. When we are born again, we receive the Holy Spirit which fits us into the body of Christ in the place designed for us. This is the baptism of the Spirit to which Paul referred. It is a spiritual baptism which cleanse us from sin by the blood of Christ which He shed on the cross. When we are born again, the blood of Christ covers our sin so that it cannot be seen by God, the Father. Next time you prick your finger on a briar, notice how the blood pools up over the prick. It is opaque, which means that it can’t be seen through. Thus if our blood hides a finger prick, imagine how powerful the blood of Christ is to be able to hide every sin that we have committed or will commit in the future. Remember that when Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin, all of our sins were in the future.
Habakkuk 1:13 tells us that God’s eyes are so pure that He can’t look upon sin. When one is still in his or her sin, unrepentant and filled with pride, God must separate Himself from that man or woman who are deemed “lost” in their sin. They are lost to God in their sinful state, not that He is not aware of them because He always stands ready to receive one who answers His call to repent. I guess it might be more correct to say that God is lost to them, and in their sinful state, they have no desire to search for Him. Isaiah 55:6 tells us to “Seek the LORD while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near.” (The phrase “while He may be found” implies that there is a window of time when God makes Himself available to hear the cries of the lost.) It was for lost sinners like you and me that Christ came to save (Matthew 18:11). Paul wrote that believing Jews and Gentiles, freemen and slaves have access to the body of Christ because of His sacrifice. (It was common in ancient times for those who could not support themselves for one reason or another to become a slave to those who could provide for them in exchange for work, but the slave and his master were on equal footing regarding their relationship to the Lord.)
Paul didn’t include it here, but Jesus doesn’t discriminate due to race, color, socio-economic status or position, gender, age, height, weight, intelligence, all things of which man is guilty of discriminating against his fellow men and women. (Jesus knows all people better than they know themselves and still doesn’t discriminate, yet we humans may discriminate against another person of whom we know very little or nothing.) All who repent and trust Christ are welcomed into His spiritual body. When we are spiritually baptized into Jesus’ body as His blood is applied to our sinful hearts covering our sin and cleansing us, we are then commanded to be baptized in water as a symbol to show to the world that we now belong to Christ and have become part of His body. External water baptism cannot save, but it is to indicate that inwardly our hearts have been changed, and we have made Jesus Lord of our lives, a public profession of faith. Water baptism is an outward picture of what has taken place internally. It should also be the first act of obedience when one has given his or her life to Christ. It is, in effect, making a promise to the Lord to live for Him and leave the sinful life behind. Water baptism is to show the world that one has a new identity as a member of the body of Christ.