What does it mean to be a member of the body of Christ? The following verses related to the acrostic MEMBER reveal six ways in which God has incorporated you into the body of Christ.
Because you are a MEMBER of the Body of Christ, God:
» Made you part of His spiritual family
“So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household” – Ephesians 2:19
» Equipped you with spiritual gifts for ministry
“Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of the varied grace of God.” – 1 Peter 4:10
» Matched you with specific needs in the body of Christ
“But practicing the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head. From him the whole body grows, fitted and held together through every supporting ligament. As each one does its part, the body builds itself up in love.” – Ephesians 4:15, 16
» Baptized you into one body for unity
“For just as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body—though many—are one body, so too is Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Whether Jews or Greeks or slaves or free, we were all made to drink of the one Spirit.” – 1 Corinthians 12:12, 13
» Enlisted you to bear fruit
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that remains, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.” – John 15:16
» Re-established you into an interdependent network of believers
“For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members serve the same function, so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another.” – Romans 12:4, 5