• 1 Corinthians 12:12-27
    For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 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. For in fact the body is not one member but many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But 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. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.
     
  • Ephesians 1:22-23
    And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
     
  • Ephesians 4:11-13
    And 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 4:15-16
    but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
     
  • Ephesians 2:14-16
    For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
     
  • Ephesians 4:4
    There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
     
  • 1 Corinthians 11:29
    For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
     
For more scripture references, please see Bible verses for Body of Christ


Resources

Autoimmunity in the Body of Christ

CGG Weekly by David C. Grabbe

Misidentifying parts of the Body of Christ as enemies, or even being highly suspicious of them, causes pain and inefficiency throughout the whole Body.


The Church, One Body

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

God's call to learn from the ant does not teach us to yield to a hierarchical system, but to participate in a community with the goal of edification.


What Does "Discerning the Lord's Body" Mean? (Part Two)

CGG Weekly by David C. Grabbe

When Paul talks about the 'the [Lord's] body' without defining exactly what he means, he does so in the middle of a lengthy discourse on the spiritual Body.


Marriage and the Bride of Christ (Part Twelve)

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

As husband and wife are commanded to become one flesh, members of the Bride of Christ become spiritually unified through the indwelling of God's Spirit.


Marriage and the Bride of Christ (Part Nine)

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

The marriage relationship and the family structure provide a workshop to learn the intricacies of the God-plane relationship between Christ and the church.


Four Views of Christ (Part 7)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Our lives parallel what Christ experienced: crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and glorification. The death of self must precede resurrection and glory.


Loyalty to the Body

Sermonette by David C. Grabbe

When we consider the value of our calling, we must look at Paul's warning about discerning the Body more soberly, maintaining our loyalty to the Body.


Marriage and the Bride of Christ (Part Eleven)

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

Our concept of marriage must be positive and more mature, modeled after Christ's attentiveness toward the Church, as opposed to the world's distorted concept.



For more resources, please see the library topic for Body of Christ