The Church, The Body of Christ

Now this is not usually a subject that we have to deal with in today’s Christian culture among Gentiles (non-Jews) who believe in Jesus. But "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV) So, let’s look here at how this might be applied to our lives today, shall we?

What is the underlying message here? Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to do what? Well, the first thing that came to my mind is that they try to compel you that you have to be in a building called “church” at least once a week, usually on a Sunday morning, and that you have to sit in a pew or on a chair, and usually as a spectator, except you may be allowed to sing along with the songs previously chosen by the music director. Then you listen to a sermon, and then you go home.

And they call that “church.” And they often misquote Hebrews 10:25, for they presume that the “assembling together” of the believers is to be on a Sunday morning in a building called “church” where they mostly sit as spectators and then they go home and resume life as normal until the next week. So, if you have a biblical perspective of what is “the church,” and of what our biblical gatherings should look like, and so God has called you to come out of any unbiblical gatherings, they may think of you as a heathen.

[Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-17; Acts 5:27-32; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Philippians 3:18-19; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22; Revelation 13:5-8; Revelation 18:1-5]

But the church is not a building called “church.” We who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives, we are the church. We are the body of Christ, and as his body, we are to be ministering to one another. The church is not something that you go to once a week for a “church service” where you really have nowhere to use your body part which was assigned to you by God, in your area of spiritual giftedness, for the encouragement of the rest of the body of Christ, which is what it talks about in Hebrews 10:24-25:


Body of Christ: [Acts 2:14-18,42-47; Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]

And I am certainly not saying that it is wrong to go to a building called “church” to gather with other believers in Christ to sing songs of worship of God and to listen to the preaching of the word. The point of this is that what that describes is not the biblical body of Christ operating as the body of Christ in ministering to one another, as each part does its work, which is the point of the message in Hebrews 10:25 and these other verses above. And choosing to not attend those “church services” does not make us heathen.

For the whole purpose of the church, the body of Christ, is that we might help one another to grow together in our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord in holy living. And it is to warn each other against false teachings and the lies of the enemy, and to warn against the deceitfulness of sin, and to help one another to live for Jesus and to be his witnesses. And that can happen on any or every day of the week in any appropriate location, which includes the internet, which is where I am finding my Christian fellowship.

And going back to this passage in Galatians 6:12-13, perhaps many of the “church people” who try to shame you into attending their weekly services are not following the Lord Jesus in obedience to his commands in holy living and in the forsaking of their sins, but they may be living very fleshly and worldly lives. And they may not be out in the world sharing the truth of the gospel with the people of the world, and perhaps they are not gathering together to help one another to walk in holiness, for the glory of God.

So don’t be intimidated by others who may or may not be walking in obedience to our Lord’s commands who think you need to attend a weekly gathering of people in a building called “church.” Get together with other believers in Christ wherever you can, and encourage one another in your walks of faith in obedience to the Lord. Use your spiritual gifts for the glory of God and for the encouragement of the body of Christ in the body parts assigned to you by God wherever God has you, even on the internet.

As the Deer

By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You


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The Church, The Body of Christ
An Original Work / January 24, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

timothyu said:

Agree. But then think where this concept came from. Consider that instead of spreading Jesus' Gospel of the Kingdom as commanded (which is God's ultimate defeat of adversity), that man went out and converted the world to a religion instead. They demanded allegiance to their human religion rather than to the Kingdom of God in the same way the Sanhedrin did in Jesus' time. Something He chastised them for doing. How typically human to use God for their own purposes. Institutional Christianity set its own rules much in the way that Corporatism controls governments today.

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Thank you for your response. Well stated.