Answer: Christ has one body, the church, (verses 27 and
28a).
MORE INFORMATION AND/OR OTHER SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:
1 Corinthians is written to the local church at
the city of Corinth. Each local church is the one body of
Christ just as the universal church (the sum of all local churches
around the world) is Christ's one body.
Ephesians 1:22-23: "And God placed
all things under His [Christ's] feet and appointed Him to be
head over everything for the church, which is His body, the
fullness of Him Who fills everything in every way.
Ephesians 4:11-16: "It was He
[Christ] Who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to
be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare
God's 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. Then we will no
longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown
here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and
craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead,
speaking the Truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him
Who is the Head, that is, Christ. 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."
Colossians 1:18, 24: "And He is the
head of THE body, THE church...Now I rejoice in what was
suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking
in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of His body, which
is THE church."
Romans 12:4-5: "Just as each of us
has one body with many members, and these members do not all have
the same function, so in Christ we who are many form ONE
BODY, and each member belongs to all the others."
