The Church: Christ’s . . .
	In Ephesians, Paul described the church with three different metaphors, all beginning with the letter B: a body, a building, and a bride. Since it is so common to misunderstand what the church is, we ought to pay close attention to these descriptions so that we develop an appreciation for how precious the church is and for how blessed we are to be part of it.
	Ephesians 1:22, 23 reads: “And He (God the Father) put all things under His (Jesus Christ’s) 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.” Here we see the church pictured as a body, with Christ as the head. Of course a body consists of more than just a head. A human body has various parts, or members. Paul taught that the church, the body of Christ, has many members – namely, individual Christians. In First Corinthians 12:12-14 he wrote: “For as the body is one and has many embers, 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.” Dropping down to verse 27, Paul summed it up: “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.” Do you realize what a privilege it is to be a *member* of the body of Christ? Not only does this mean you are attached to the Head (Christ), but you are connected to the other members of the body. Again it was Paul who wrote in Romans 12:5, “so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.” That’s one reason why it is so important for members of the Lord’s body to meet together, to have fellowship with each other, to love one another, to help one another. You cannot cut yourself off from the other members of the body while still being attached to the Head! It isn’t just you & Jesus – you are part of a body!
	But you are also part of a building, to use another illustration. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:19-22, “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers & foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles & prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being he chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” Just as the head is the most important part of a body, so the foundation is the most important part of a building – and the cornerstone is the most important part of the foundation! Peter used this same illustration in First Peter 2:5 – “You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house.” Just as a body has many members, so a stone building has many individual stones built upon the foundation. And those stones not only have a relationship to the cornerstone, but to each other. Pulling one stone out could cause a number of other stones to come loose or fall out. So again, we see the privilege of being a part of God’s house, and the need for us to stand by each other and work together to be a strong house for the Lord.
	Finally, in Ephesians 5, Paul likens the church to a bride. Let’s read from verses 22 & 23. “Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as Christ also is head of the church; and He is the savior of the body.” Paul had more to say about the husband/wife relationship, but we will skip down to verse 32 – “This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” Think of the great privilege of being the bride of Christ! That’s what the church is. So, again, we see the folly of thinking we can have a good relationship with Christ while shunning the church.
	The church is Christ’s body, His building, and His bride. I hope this helps us to appreciate the preciousness of the church  and to understand our responsibilities within it.