The Church of Christ is one of God’s great mysteries. (This mystery is great- I am talking about Christ and the Church. Ephesians 5:32)

This plan/project, the Church of Christ, was conceived in eternity. Even the dominions and principalities of the heavenly places look upon the Church and are amazed at its way of functioning. (So that the dominions and powers in the heavenly places may get to know today, through the Church, the manifold wisdom of God. Ephesians 3:10-11)

To understand God’s eternal plan for Christ and His Church, we will need to carefully investigate what the Scriptures tell us about it.

In order to have a clear understanding, we will highlight a few verses from the Holy Word.

1. “I will build My Church…”(Matthew 16:18)
2. “He is the Head of the Body, of the Church”. (Colossians 1:18)
3. “You are the body of Christ, and each one of you are its members”. (1 Corinthians 12:27)
4. “For no one ever hated his own body, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the Church, because we are members of His body”. (Ephesians 5:29)
5. “I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake… for the sake of His body, that is, the Church”. (Colossians 1:24)

The Church is identified as the body of Christ. He is the Head of the body and the people born of the seed of God are its organs/members. (He is the Head of the body, of the Church. Colossians 1:18; You are the body of Christ, and each one his members. 1 Corinthians 12:27

God’s plan for the newborn is to raise him, to perfect him, to make him like Himself. He does this through His Word, the Holy Spirit, and the members of the Body of Christ. This project was conceived in eternity in Christ Jesus. (According to the eternal plan, which was made in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Ephesians 3:11)

God formed the Body of Christ, its mode/manner of functioning being very similar to that of the human body. (God made the body. 1 Corinthians 12:24) In the Body of Christ, He only puts members who have life from above/are born again. (Every day the Lord added to their number those who were saved. Acts 2:47)

He begins His work with us, and if we remain obedient to His Word, He will finish His project with us. (I am confident that He who has begun this good work in you will finish it until the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6)

An infant cannot choose where to grow on his own, so the One who gave birth to him takes care and puts him in His family, respectively in the Body of Christ. See God’s work with Cornelius the centurion in Acts 10.

He promised to be with us every single day, He promised to never leave us. He will take us by our hand and accompany us until the end. (And behold, I am always with you, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matthew 28:20; For He said: I will not leave you; I will not abandon you. Hebrews 13:5)

He does not abandon his newborns and will not let them grow without His help. (And He gave some… for the perfecting of the saints… for the building up of the body of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-12)

God places the members in the Body of Christ just as He placed the organs/limbs in the human body; the heart in its place, the pancreas in its place, the nail in its place, each with its respective function. (I will build My Church… Matthew 16:18)

God does not place any organ to grow outside the body, because being separated from the body, it cannot have life or growth. The pancreas cannot sustain life outside the body. It is placed in the body and is closely connected with the other organs, from where he is receiving and then giving further on.

The Scriptures show us the relationship that is required to be had between the members of the Church of Christ/His Body:

They are closely bound together. (Through Him all the body, closely bound and joined together, receives its growth through the work of each respective member according to their own capacity; and is built up in love. Ephesians 4:16)

• Do not live for themselves. (No one lives for himself. Romans 14:7)
• Are members of one another. (So, we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Romans 12:5)
• Each one seeks the benefit of the other. (To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the benefit of others. 1 Corinthians 12:7; Let no one seek his own good, but the good of the other. 1 Corinthians 10:24)
• They take care of one another. (God has so composed the body… that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 1 Corinthians 12:24-25)
• They bear each other’s burdens. (Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2)
• They are subject/submitted to one another. (Obey one another in the fear of Christ. Ephesians 5:21)
• In humility, each one counts the others as more significant than themselves.

(In humility count others more significant than yourselves. Philippians 2:3)

• The greatest/most mature are the servants of all. (The greatest among you shall be your servant. Matthew 23:11)
• They watch over one another. (Let us watch over one another. Hebrews 10:24)

• They watch so that no one is worldly/evil is not tolerated. (See that there be no worldly people or fornicators (sexually immoral) among you. Hebrews 12:16)

• They love one another in Christ’s way/model. (Love one another as I have loved you. John 15:12) Only within the Church can we experience these relationships, which are essential for our growth, until we all reach the state of a mature man, to the stature of Christ’s fullness. (Ephesians 4:13)

Questions:

• Do we belong to a well bound and tightly joined body? (Ephesians 4:16) Comment:
• Are we in the Body for the benefit of the other members? (1 Corinthians 10:24) Comment:
• Who are we tied to, whose burdens/tasks do we carry? (Galatians 6:2) Comment:
• Are we subject to Christ and to other members? (Ephesians 5:21) Comment:
• Do we watch over one other so that no one among us is worldly? (Hebrews 12:16) Comment: