Sixth Grade Lessons, Block 6—The Meetings
Week 29
The Church—The Body of Christ
Reading Reference: Lesson Book, Level 5: The Church—The Vision and Building Up of the Church, lessons 4; Eph. 1:22-23; 1 Cor. 12:27; 1 Cor. 12:13
Memory Verse: And He subjected all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church, which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all. (Eph. 1:22-23)
Suggested Songs: Hymns, #1226
Scripture Reading: Eph. 1:22-23; 1 Cor. 12:27; 1 Cor. 12:13
Points to Emphasize:
The Church Being the Body of Christ
We are born of God into the church. We do not join the church as we would join an organization.
Ephesians 1:22-23 says, “…the church, which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all.” The church is the Body of Christ. The Body is not an organization but an organism. The church is an organic Body constituted of all the believers, who have been regenerated and have God’s life, for the expression of the Head. The Body is the fullness of the Head, and the fullness is the expression of the Head. If a person only has a head but does not have a body, he has no fullness and he cannot be expressed. If he has a body, but the body is small and skinny, that is not full enough, and such a body can hardly express him. Christ, as the One who fills all in all, needs a great Body to be His fullness. This Body is His church to be His expression.
All the saved ones in all times and in all space added together become the Body of this mysterious Christ. Individually speaking, we, the saved ones, are members one of another (1 Cor. 12:27); corporately speaking, we are the mystical Body of Christ. Every saved one is a part of the Body of Christ.
We Being the Members of the Body of Christ
A body must have members. Who are the members of the Body of Christ? We are! We, the God-chosen, Christ-redeemed, and Spirit-regenerated people are the members of the Body. We do not join the Body by signing up. We become members by being saved and baptized into the Body. First Corinthians 12:13 says, “For also in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.’’ Therefore, the Body is organic, of life; it is not formed organizationally.
Like the human body, not one member is hired and not one member can be fired. Every member is of life. The Body of Christ is the same. We were not hired nor can we be fired. None of us were admitted into the Body, so we can not remove anyone from the Body. This is wonderful. We can be assured that we will remain in the Body of Christ forever.
The Body Receiving from the Head
Ephesians 1:22b says, “And (God) gave Him (Christ) to be Head over all things to the church.’’ Christ is the Head of the church to direct the church’s every move; and in order for the church to express Christ as His Body, the church must be connected to Christ all the time to receive all that Christ is. The phrase “to the church’’ implies a continuous transmission from Christ the Head to the church His Body. All His divine riches are ours to enjoy continually.
When you get up in the morning, you may pray, “O Lord Jesus, You are my Head. I want to enjoy all that you are. Flow into me.’’ As you are praying, the Spirit will flow from the Head into you to revive your spirit. Then you should pray-read the verses for the day. The Head on the throne will be your rich supply for you to live Him out that day. God will be expressed in your manner of living. The most enjoyable and fulfilling way to live our human life and our Christian life is to live as a member of the Body of Christ.