Quote:
Originally Posted by Drake
With deft use of the cute little Quote button I chime in.... 
Bible-believer... okay... let's read and study the word of God. If I teach anything that you do not believe to be in the Bible then call that out and let's compare scripture with scripture. I'll do the same.
Obviously, 1 Cor 12:12 does not completely define what is meant by the title phrase... but in my view it provides clarity on the principle.... here is what I mean.
1 2"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."
Paul uses the physical human body to express the spiritual reality concerning Christ. Our head and body are one by an organic physiology and animated by our human life. Our physical body only functions because of the human life and without it we don't have a functioning body ..... rather there is only a corpse. In Paul's analogy of the human body he did not in this verse use the words "human life" but since he speaks of a functioning body then it is already presumed. A corpse has no ability to function and Paul saw no need to explain here that a human body must have life in order to function. The Corinthians knew that else Paul's analogy would make no sense. From the other verses you quoted about the Spirit I assume you and I are in agreement about this most basic and fundamental teaching of the Bible ----that He came that we might have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10) and Christ is our life (Col 3:4) and for us to live is Christ (Phil 1:21)
If this basic truth is not understood then most everything in the New Testament would be closed to us because everything that pertains to the Christian life, the growth in the divine life, fruit bearing, the Body of Christ, and God's purpose issue from the seed of divine life that then grows in life (Matt 13:23). That began with our regeneration.
Bible-believer, assuming we are in agreement about the the testimony of the Scripture concerning the life of Christ in us (if not we can backup before going forward) then we can examine how Paul applies the analogy of the human body to Christ. Just as a human body has a head and a body and lives and functions as an organic whole according to the life within so also the Christ has a Head and a Body, functions according to the life of Christ, grows with the growth of God.
According to Eph 4:16 only that which issues out of the Head may be considered the Body of Christ.
I'll pause to hear your point of view on this so far. Based on your previous response I am certain that we are in agreement on this part. But again, I do not want to presume.
Thanks,
Drake |
Hi, Drake,
1. Sorry, I don't see your argument relate to the topic of this post.
2. The context of 1Cor.12 is on the gifts of the Spirit. Chapters 12–14, as a unit, deal with the gifts of the Body of Christ. It starts with 12:1, “Now concerning spiritual gifts,” and ends with 14:40, “Let all things be done decently and in order.”
Every member functions according to his/her gifts, so "whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." That is individual members growing so that the Body will grow into “maturity” (in the sense of Christ-likeness).