BIBLE LESSONS
(Church name,
Street/Mailing address,
City, State, Zip)
NAME_________________________________
ADDRESS_________________________________
CITY, STATE, ZIP__________________________
(KING JAMES VERSION USED IN PREPARING THESE LESSONS)
_________________________________
LESSON NINE -- “THE BODY OF CHRIST”
The purpose of this lesson is to aid the student in being able to identify the
church which is the true body of Christ.
In the maze of conflicting creeds, contradictory doctrines, and human denominations,
many people find themselves bewildered in searching for the true church. Yet
the cardinal principle in regard to the search is simply this: FIND IT IN GOD'S
WORD.
The only place the truth-seeker can find the New Testament church is in the
New Testament. The trouble today is that most people are not looking for the
church where it can be found.
The pattern for the church in organization, doctrine, and worship is in God's
Word, where we have the Divine blue-print for the church. If we will speak where
the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent, we can have this Divine
relationship exactly as the Lord designed it and brought it into being. It was
not a denomination when He built it, and if it follows His blue-print it is
not a denomination now. It would be impossible for a denomination to exist if
people did not believe something, or become something, or teach something, or
do something, or have something which is not in the Word of God.
1. THE CHURCH IS CALLED THE BODY OF CHRIST (FILL IN THE FOLLOWING BLANKS):
A. Ephesians 1:22-23 (begin reading with verse 17, and see that this is telling
us what
The Father did for Christ), “And hath put all things under His feet•
and gave Him to be the __________________ over ____________ things to the ______________________,
which is His _________________ , the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.”
B. Colossians 1:18, “And He is the head of the _______________ , the ___________________
.”
2. MAN SAYS THERE ARE MANY CHURCHES -- THE BIBLE TEACHES THERE IS ONE:
A. Romans 12:4-5 (comparing the physical body of a human being to the spiritual
body of
Christ), “For as we have ________________ members in __________ ______________
, and all members have not the same office: So we, being ________________ ,
are _____________ __________________ in Christ, and every one members one of
another.”
B. 1 Corinthians 12:20, “But now are they many members, yet ___________
__________ body."
C. Ephesians 2:16, “And that He might _________________________ both unto
____________ in ____________ ________________ by the cross, having slain the
enmity thereby.”
D. Ephesians 4:4, “There is _____________ _________________ , and one
spirit . . . ”
3. CHRIST IS THE HEAD OF HIS SPIRITUAL BODY, THE CHURCH:
A. His dominion over the church is COMPLETE --- ABSOLUTE. Ephesians 1:22-23,
“And hath put _____________ things under _____________ feet, and gave
_____________to be the ____________ over __________things to the ________________
, which is His ___________.”
B. Ephesians 5:24, The ______________________ is ________________________ unto
Christ.
Directions for the body (the church) to move MUST come from the HEAD (Christ).
4. CHRISTIANS ARE MEMBERS OF THE BODY (THE CHURCH) OF CHRIST:
A. Acts 2:47, “And the ________________ added to the ____________________
daily such as should be __________________ .”
B. Romans 12:5, “So ________ , being _______________ , are one _____________
in Christ.”
C. Ephesians 5:23, “ . . . . even as _____________________ is the _______________
of the ________________ ; and __________ is the ____________________ of the
_____________ .”
FROM THOSE PASSAGES AND OTHERS WE WILL SEE, WE CAN DRAW SOME VALID CONCLUSIONS
--- STUDY THE STATEMENTS BELOW, AND GIVE THE BIBLE ANSWER:
MULTIPLE CHOICE (UNDERLINE THE CORRECT ANSWER)
1. The most important consideration in our searching for the New Testament church
is to: (a) Study the New Testament; (b) Look for the church with the largest
membership; (c) Accept our parents' religion without any question.
2. The complete and exact pattern for the church (the body) of Christ is: (a)
Found in the creed-books of men; (b) Of little consequence since we can build
the church to suit ourselves; (c) In the Word of God and must be followed precisely.
3. The body (the church) of the Lord is made up of: (a) All saved people in
the world; (b) Rich people only; (c) Buddhists, Hindus and Moslems. (Ephesians
5:23; Acts 2:47)
4. According to Ephesians 2:16, a person: (a) Will go to Heaven whether or not
that one is a Christian; (b) Can be reconciled to God in a man-made denomination;
(c) Must be a member of the one church (body) of Christ to be reconciled to
God.
TRUE OR FALSE (CIRCLE ONE)
True / False 1. If we follow the Divine blue-print we will be in a human denomination.
True / False 2. The one body of 1 Corinthians 12:20 is made up of members who
are the individual Christians in the church (see verse 27).
True / False 3. The one body of 1 Corinthians 12:20 is made up of members who
are the different religious denominations.
True / False 4. What the Head (Christ) authorizes, the body (church) can do.
True / False 5. What the Head does not authorize, the body cannot do with His
approval.
True / False 6. I consider being a member of the body of Christ all-important
in my life.
True / False 7. We can have peace with God in the “church of our choice”
(Colossians 3:15).
True / False 8. Since the church is the FULNESS of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23),
and since all spiritual blessings are in Christ (Ephesians 1:3); Then a person
must be in the one church in order to be saved (that is, to have the spiritual
blessings).
How simple and precious is God's Truth when we throw away all of man's doctrines
and take the obvious facts as they are made clear in the Bible! We hope you
are glad you are taking this course. No doubt you have friends who would enjoy
it also -- Tell them to send us their names and addresses, and we will be glad
to mail Lesson One to them with no obligation. Thanks very much!
** LESSON TEN Will Be “The Organization Of The Church”
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