Body Life: Unity in Diversity,pt1-Romans 12:3-5

Jim Boice mentioned, "Anyone who is interested in the doctrine of the church and senses its importance must be a bit surprised to notice how little the word "church" actually occurs in the Bible. It is not found in the OT at all. The first time it occurs is in Matthew 16:18, then again in 18:17. It is not in the other gospels. It is scattered throughout Acts, of course (about 18x's), but it is found only 5 x's Romans, all in cht 16 (v1,3,5,16,23). There are quite a few instances in 1 Cor & Ephesians (18 & 19x's respectively), but then the references become infrequent again. All in all, the word "church" occurs just under 80 x's." But the Bible does use many compelling metaphors, like bride, wife, family, household, and flock. Yet Paul's favorite metaphor, used time and again is body and he always used this image when speaking of spiritual gifts. This image of a body reveals that the church is not an organization but a living organism made up of many interrelated and mutually dependent parts. Christ is the head of this Body, and the Holy Spirit is, as it were, its lifeblood. We'd like to look at this unique metaphor in our study, "Body Life: Unity in Diversity" (Rom 12:3-8).