The Church the Body of Christ

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Session 2 The Church the Body of Christ
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The church that Christ is building
Jesus said to them, "But who do you say that I
am?" Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus
answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon
Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed
this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And
I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this
rock I will build My church, and the gates of
Hades shall not prevail against it.
Caesarea Philippi
Matthew 1615-18
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The church that Christ is building
Peter confessed the deity of Christ the
Rock Christ is building His church based on
that fact First mention of this church the
church the Body of Christ
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An Old Testament illustration
And the LORD God said, "It is not good that man
should be alone I will make him a helper
comparable to him" And the LORD God caused a
deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept and He
took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in
its place
Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from
man He made into a woman, and He brought her to
the man. And Adam said "This is now bone of my
bones and flesh of my flesh she shall be called
Woman, because she was taken out of Man."
Genesis 218-23
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The Fullness of Christ
He put all things in subjection under His feet,
and gave Him as head over all things to the
church, which is His body, the fullness of Him
who fills all in all.
Ephesians 122,23
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The Fullness of Christ
This church is intended eventually to be Christs
fullness - to complement Him, to magnify His
glory This will reach its culmination when all
believers are perfectly united with Him It will
one day be united with Him as His bride
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Becoming part of the Body
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one
body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or
free--and have all been made to drink into one
Spirit.
God has set the members, each one of them, in
the body just as He pleased.
1 Corinthians 1213, 18
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Becoming part of the Body
Each believer is placed in it at their
salvation Their place in it is permanent cant
be lost Christ personally cares for this church
preserves it
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Why a "body"?
For in fact the body is not one member, but
many God has set the members, each one of
them, in the body, just as He pleased
God composed the body, having given greater
honor to that part which lacks it, that there
should be no schism in the body, but that the
members should have the same care for one
another.
1 Corinthians 1214, 18, 24, 25
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Why a "body"?
It shows the inter-dependence of members to each
other Christ Each member is different needs
the others The Body is seen as perfect in
Christ
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What should members aspire to?
The church, which is His body, the fullness of
Him who fills all in all.
THE MEANS He Himself gave some to be apostles,
some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors
and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for
the work of ministry, for the edifying of the
body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of
the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature
of the fullness of Christ.
Ephesians 122,23 411-13
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What should members aspire to?
All living members united under the full the
control of Christ as their Lord in full
adherence to His teaching and full
acknowledgement of their total relationship with
Him  
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Limits to fellowship within the Body
not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the
body, nourished and knit together by joints and
ligaments, grows with the increase that is from
God.
speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all
things into Him who is the headChrist
Colossians 219 Ephesians 415
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Limits to fellowship within the Body
 We are to hold fast to the head (Christ) by
only engaging in things which originate from
Him. Sharing in things of purely human origin is
not fellowship of the Body. So there are limits
on proper fellowship with other believers.
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Reaching for the Summit
Session 2 The Church the Body of Christ