Body of Christ – Three Minute Bible

January 13, 2025January 13, 2025

Colossians 2:19b – In Search of a Body

A crowd of people in the style of a stained glass window. Each person is depicted with an aura around their head.

… from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

Summary: The body Paul describes can seem elusive in a world marked by divisions in the church. Exploring the concept in more detail leads us to a place of hope and introspection.

Paul raises a very interesting question in this passage: Does the body grow from the head?

It seems like a silly thought, but then I’ve never seen how the body of a human (or anything else) begins life. The miracle of life always begins hidden away from sight.

However, if we use the body as a metaphor for an organization, then yes, it begins with the head. Jesus is not only the “head” of the church, he is also the heart and the soul.

November 13, 2023November 13, 2023

Ephesians 6:18c – Request Granted

… with all kinds of prayers and requests.

Summary: All who believe are called to be part of the body of Christ. As Paul reminds us, there are many different parts in the body. All of us need the armor of God, and all of us have questions.

September 21, 2023September 21, 2023

Ephesians 5:31 – Uncontrolled Growth

“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”

Summary: Following the bread crumbs in Paul’s thinking leads us to a meditation on how cancer affects the body. How does the metaphor of cancer provide guidance for the modern family and church?

September 19, 2023September 19, 2023

Ephesians 5:29b – Caring for the Church

… but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church—

Summary: What does it mean to care for your body? A second look at this question reveals that Paul is right. Everyone does care for their body.

July 3, 2023July 4, 2023

Ephesians 4:16 – What if God Sneezed?

From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Summary: Paul continues with his description of the body of Christ, and with it, we continue our exploration of what that means.

July 2, 2023July 3, 2023

Ephesians 4:15b – What Will Jesus Do?

… we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.

Summary: Today’s passage brings us to a place where we consider the body of Christ in a new light. If we are, in fact, the body of Jesus, what should we be doing?

June 22, 2023June 22, 2023

Ephesians 4:11-13 – The Goal of Faith

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Summary: Sometimes it helps to restate what Paul has said in simpler terms. Here we look at a simplified version of this passage to get a better picture of what Paul is trying to say.

June 15, 2023June 16, 2023

Ephesians 4:3 – Unity & Peace

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Summary: The bond of peace is not to be taken for granted. We were given the gift of peace at great cost to our Creator. To keep it requires effort.

May 20, 2023May 20, 2023

Ephesians 3:9a – Man With A Mission

… and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery,

Summary: Paul is a man with a mission. In fact, Paul is a man with two missions! Today’s passage is all about the second one.