The Body of Christ is one body with many members, and when one member suffers, all share the suffering (I Corinthians 12:12, 26). Like a physical body afflicted by autoimmune disease, the spiritual Body can turn on itself. Spiritual autoimmunity misidentifies other parts of the Body as enemies, or treats them with suspicion. It shows up in boastful comparisons between one minister or group and another, in insinuations that members are less spiritual or less converted because they send tithes elsewhere, and in leaders forbidding fellowship with members of other organizations merely because their approach or administration differs. This throws the whole Body into tumult and inefficiency. Real defenses are needed, since false prophets, apostles, teachers, and brethren do exist. But poor discernment, a hallmark of this era, combined with a lack of forbearance, finds enemies everywhere. Members blind to their own spiritual state presume the moral high ground and label anyone who disagrees with them an enemy. Church leadership exists to equip the saints and edify the Body, not to add to it, since only God adds members (Ephesians 4:11-13; John 6:44). Leaders are to care for those God places in the Body, binding wounds and setting bones, rather than dragging a wounded Body forward while its parts assault one another. The cure is simple, though hard to apply: focus on the Head, Jesus Christ, and less on the offending parts. He judges who belongs to His Body, assigns each one's responsibility, and determines what the Body should be doing. Members should ask Him for His vision, including a true view of their own spiritual state. When the Body works in concert rather than attacking itself, Christ is glorified.

The Body of Christ represents the church as a unified entity, composed of individual members who each have unique roles yet work together for a common purpose. As a super-organism, the church functions with each part contributing to the whole, much like a hive or swarm where individual needs are met by serving the collective good. We are called as individuals by God, known in our singular state, yet also called to be part of the Body of Christ, harmonizing with one another to move forward toward the Kingdom of God. In this metaphor, Christ is the Head, coordinating through His Spirit, ensuring that each member fulfills their role without interfering with others. We are placed into the Body as He pleases, tasked to perform our duties with gladness and unity, avoiding schism. If one member rejoices, all should rejoice; if one weeps, all should share compassion. As the Body, we must learn to get along, fitting ourselves as a worthy spouse for Christ, avoiding internal conflict or grudges, reflecting His harmony. The Body of Christ is also likened to a building, with Christ as the foundation, where each member and minister builds with care, knowing that their work contributes to the Temple of God. Every act must strive for perfection, as trials will reveal the quality of our contributions to this holy structure. Similarly, as a household or family, the Body includes all members—sons, daughters, and servants—each working for the benefit of the whole, remaining faithful to the Heir, Christ, to stay in good standing. Ultimately, the Body of Christ, seen in the 144,000 firstfruits, reaches its culmination as those who have overcome, worthy to follow Christ wherever He goes for eternity. We must rededicate ourselves to our individual roles for the good of the whole church, preparing for this glorious destiny.

The spiritual Body of believers, the church, is one of the things Paul means by "the body" in I Corinthians 11:29, and the surrounding chapters are all about relationships within it. I Corinthians 10:16-17 first mentions it: what we partake of is what we become part of. Partaking of the bread that symbolizes Christ's body makes us part of the believers who are in Christ and have the Father and the Son dwelling in them. Chapters 10 and 11 deal with interactions within the Body, chapter 12 gives the Bible's fullest explanation of the Body analogy, and chapters 13 and 14 keep expounding on relationships within it. To discern the Body, using the Greek diakrino (to make a distinction, evaluate, or become partial to one), is to distinguish it in the mind from what is not part of it, the rest of humanity. It also means showing partiality to the Body as a whole rather than making distinctions among its members. As Acts 15:8-9 shows, God makes no distinction between believers by ethnicity but only by whether they believe. The Corinthians esteemed some members and despised others. They failed to treat all the brethren for whom Christ died with the highest respect, and so they risked eating and drinking judgment to themselves at the Passover.

The church is the body of Christ, and Christ is its Head, so the relationship between Christ and the church is an intimate, organic, vital union and not a loose attachment of parts. A body is not fingers stuck on a hand; it is a living unity in which the members are part of the head. When Paul says "we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones," he points back to Genesis 2:23. As Eve was taken from Adam's side while he slept, so the church was taken out of Christ, the Second Adam, through the deep sleep of His death and from His wounded side. The church therefore shares His very substance and is a part of Him, though this does not mean believers are divine yet. They partake of the divine nature as a new family begun in Christ. Because the church is His body, Christ nourishes and cherishes it as a man does his own flesh, and love circulates through it like blood. The church is also "the fullness of Him who fills all in all." Christ is the fullness of the church, and in a secondary sense, as Mediator, He is not complete until every saint is gathered in. A husband and wife, one flesh, picture this union.

Because there is only one Bread of Life, who is Christ (John 6), everyone who partakes of that One Bread becomes a single spiritual body. The principle is that people become spiritually unified with whatever they partake of. Israelites who ate the sacrifices became partakers of the altar and so fellowshipped with the object of their worship, and those who ate at a demon's altar joined in fellowship with that demon. No one can have it both ways, fellowshipping with Christ through the wine and bread and also with what demons offer. When an individual partakes of the cup of blessing and the bread at Passover, he becomes one with Jesus Christ. Since the whole church partakes of the symbols, everyone who partakes becomes one with Him, and so with one another. The Lord's body is therefore a collective noun. It is composed of those whom the Father called and who are now in fellowship with Christ through symbolically sharing in His blood and His body. Because the church is this one body, mistreating fellow members is a serious offense. Corinthian members were self-centered, lacked self-control, and shamed and despised brethren for their circumstances. Taking the Passover while doing such social and spiritual violence against those for whom Christ died makes a person guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. Each member must therefore examine himself before partaking.