Body of Christ

Body of Christ

The New Testament contains 42 explicit references to the body of Christ, which can be divided into four categories of meaning:

1. Christ’s physical body (Rom 7:4; Phil 3:21; Col 1:22; Heb 10:10; 1 Pet 2:24)

2. The Body of Christ as the temple of God (John 2:21)

3. The community of Christian believers (Rom 12:4, 5; 1 Cor 6:15, 19; 10:16, 17; 12:12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27; Eph 1:23; 2:16; 4:4, 12, 16; 5:23, 30; Col 1:18, 24; 2:19; 3:15)

4. The bread in the Lord’s Supper (as its symbolic representation; Matt 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19; 1 Cor 11:24, 27)

It is upon the fourth meaning that we will briefly discuss today.

The practice or ordinance- which means an order given by and with authority- which would be come Communion, is rooted in another important ceremony. Of course, I am referring to the Hebrew Pesach or Passover as it is translated. This was an annual meal meant to commemorate the Children of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt, specifically when the angel passed over their houses marked by the blood of a lamb, but took the lives of Egypt’s firstborn. They were instructed to kill a spotless lamb, mark the door posts with its blood and eat the lamb as a meal. The Passover was instituted to remember this event- but the true meaning of this event would be revealed the night before the Lord Jesus’ crucifixion, referred to as the Last Supper, and after that the Eucharist or Communion.

But why did the Lord use bread to symbolize His Body, and not the lamb? Bread was already in use as a part of worship of God; 12 loaves were placed on a table in the temple, symbolizing the relationship between Israel & Yahweh, the One who gave them their daily bread. But it also bore significance in the life and ministry of Jesus. He used bread when feeding the 5,000 and the 4,000. Jesus blessed the bread, broke it and it was given to the people; both Christians who had experienced this and later generations would reflect on Christ’s miraculous provision of bread- to sustain them naturally, as foreshadow of His promise to sustain them spiritually. There would never need to be another sacrificial lamb- because the once-and-for-all sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God paid the price in full. But there’s more!

1 Co 10:16Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ?

In both the Old and New Testaments, the term “body” is a metonym for the whole person, both spiritual and physical. In this way, the physical body is the expression of the entire person. That is, believers are the present manifestation of Christ. When we take the bread, we take on the identity of Christ- He is a part of us, as we are a part of Him. We died with Him; we rose wuith Him. And one day, we will reign with Him forevermore!