YOU ARE THE CHURCH
And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all (Ephesians 1:22-23).
The opening text shows that Jesus cannot operate without His Church. The Church is the completeness or full expression of Christ. In other words, if you desire to know about Christ, receive His blessings, or make contact with Him, the Church is the answer.
Now, who constitutes the Church? Christians all over the world are the body of Christ. Wherever they are, they form the body of Christ in that location. Someone might ask, “Pastor Chris, what if I’m the only Christian in that location?” Then you’re the Church—the body of Christ—in that place.
The body of Christ is that man or woman in whom Christ dwells. We don't have to be many to form Him. For example, in Acts 8:26-39, Philip, one of the disciples, was led by the Holy Spirit to approach a high-ranking Ethiopian official—a eunuch. He preached to him and baptized him.
The Ethiopian eunuch received Christ, alone. When the eunuch journeyed back to Ethiopia, where was the body of Christ in Ethiopia? It was in the Ethiopian eunuch;
he was the body of Christ in Ethiopia until he preached the Gospel to other people.
As the body of Christ, operating in your world, you’re His fullness. The fullness of His love, grace, glory and power is in you. This understanding eradicates weaknesses and limitations. Paul declares, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13).
He didn’t say "we can" but "I can," because Paul comprehended that he was the body of Christ. This has to be your consciousness. If it’s just two of you in a certain location, both of you are the body of Christ there. If you’re a thousand, all of you are the body of Christ.
But if you’re the only one; anywhere you are, when you operate outside the assembly, outside the Church, you’re the body of Christ there. You’re His full legal representative and representation. That means you’re authorized by Him, and you’re His image or expression. Hallelujah!
CONFESSION
I’m the body of Christ, His full legal representative and representation of Him anywhere I am. And I declare that in the Church, there’s unity, stability, and growth, as we attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
FURTHER STUDY: Hebrews 10:25 TLB; Luke 4:16
Hebrews 10:25 TLB
Let us not neglect our church meetings, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.
Luke 4:16
And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and, as his custom was, He went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
1-YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN
John 1:1-18 & 2 Samuel 15-17
2-YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN
1 Corinthians 3:1-9 & Psalm 147-148
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