“For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.” 1 Corinthians 12:12 (NIV)
Did you catch the last phrase of this verse? “So also is Christ!” This phrase teaches us who exactly the Bible says Christ is. Just as a body is one, yet has many members, so also is Christ. If we are looking for Christ, we should expect him to be one but have many members.
Yes, it is true that Christ is a personal Savior. It is necessary for every true believer to have a personal faith experience that the Bible calls being “born again.” Yet, there are more aspects of Christ than the personal alone. Christ is one, yet has many members.
You see, every born again person also becomes mystically joined to Christ. They become members of Christ. They become joined to Christ, who is the head of the church, and also joined to each other in a vital way.
The question is, “Do you have this view of Christ?” Do you see the church like this? It is not merely a group of individuals who are unified because they all share a common interest for their personal spiritual advancements. It is organic. Christ is one, yet has many members. This makes church imminently practical, yet supremely spiritual and profound.
A person alone lacks something of Christ. He or she does not have the full experience Christ intended. Church is a life of appreciating the head and members of the body. Church is aspiring to know Christ in all His rich and full aspects. Church is also a life together with others who are seeking him and drawing life from him.