The Roman Catholic Church claims to be the body of Christ and the continued incarnation of the heavenly Lord. This means that Roman Catholics are taught that Christ is synonymous with the Roman Catholic Church, being in Christ is synonymous with being in the Roman Catholic Church, and obedience to Christ is synonymous with obedience to the Roman Catholic Church. They are taught that just as Christ had the power to forgive sin, make atonement for sin, and bestow saving grace, so does the Roman Catholic Church have the power to do these things. Protestants and Baptists do not identify the body of Christ with the Roman Catholic Church, but neither do they agree with each other in their definition of the body of Christ. In this study of God’s Word, the two major views of the body of Christ held by Protestants and Baptists will be examined.

I. The Evangelical Protestant View of the Body of Christ

The body of Christ is an invisible, universal, spiritual organism made up of all human beings who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and converted to the Lord Jesus Christ.

A. The body of Christ is one in kind and one in number.

B. Only God can add members to the body of Christ, and He does so through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

C. All Christians are in the body of Christ and will remain there forever.

D. The body of Christ will continue to exist throughout eternity future.

E. The local church is a manifestation of the universal body of Christ.

II. The Landmark Baptist View of the Body of Christ

The body of Christ is a local, visible, ecclesiastical organization made up of human beings who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, converted to the Lord Jesus Christ, and baptized by entire single immersion in water by the authority of a New Testament church.

A. The body of Christ is one in kind and many in number.

B. Acting with God’s authority, a New Testament church adds members to the body of Christ through a church vote and Scriptural baptism, and the church can exclude members from the body of Christ.

C. Not all Christians are in the body of Christ, and some who are nominally in the body of Christ are not Christians.

D. The many presently-existing bodies of Christ will not continue to exist throughout eternity future, but they will cease to exist at the Rapture of the saints of God.

E. The local church is not a manifestation of the universal body of Christ; it is the body of Christ, and there is no universal body of Christ.

III. The True View of the Body of Christ

A. The body of Christ is one in kind and many in number.

1. Ephesians 4:4-6 should be understood to teach the following: There are many false bodies, but only one true body. There are many false spirits, but only one true Spirit. There are many false hopes, but there is only one true hope. There are many false lords, but only one true Lord. There are many false faiths, but only one true faith. There are many false baptisms, but only one true baptism. There are many false gods, but only one true God.

2. The Corinthian church was a body of Christ, or the body of Christian complete within itself in that geographical location (I Cor. 12:27).

B. Acting with God’s authority, a New Testament church adds members to the body of Christ through a church vote and Scriptural baptism, and the church can exclude members from the body of Christ.

1. This is taught in Matthew 16:19; 18:15-20; and I Corinthians 5:1-13.

2. Ultimately, it is God who adds members to and excludes members from the body of Christ. He does this through the use of means, by the authoritative actions of a New Testament church.

C. Not all Christians are in the body of Christ, and some who are nominally in the body of Christ are not Christians.

1. The Old Testament saints, John the Baptist, and the repentant thief on the cross were Christians, but they were not in the body of Christ.

2. Judas Iscariot, Simon the Sorcerer, and many apostates were nominally in the body of Christ, but they were not true Christians (I Jn. 2:19).

D. The many presently-existing bodies of Christ will not continue to exist throughout eternity future, but they will cease to exist at the Rapture of the saints of God.

1. There is no mention of the church or the body of Christ after the third chapter of Revelation.

2. There is no indication in the Bible that the body of Christ will continue to exist throughout eternity future.

E. The local church is not just a manifestation of the universal body of Christ; it is the body of Christ, and there is no universal body of Christ.

1. The body of Christ is synonymous with the church (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18).

2. The church (ekklesia) is a local, visible assembly or congregation that regularly meets to transact the business of the kingdom of God. The doctrine of a universal church is contrary to the meaning of the word church itself.

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