Very eloquent—very illustrative—of how the human body is put together and metaphorically, then, or how that represents the Body of Christ—the church. We see that not all parts of the body have the same function. Paul will reiterate that in Romans, chapter 12, verses 3 through 8. [“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”]

If the body and its members are to grow, each member must contribute. Listen to Paul as he states this in Ephesians, chapter 4. He will say, “from the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love,” Ephesians 4:16 (from the English Standard Version).

There are not to be in the body, specifically in the Body of Christ, any vestigial organs. [Vestigial organs are organs, which at one time were fully functioning but now are degenerate or imperfectly developed. These organs are no longer able to contribute to the well-being of the body, and their inability to do so may endanger other members of the body, causing them to become unable to function well in the body. Since all of the body parts that God made in man are vital to his existence, vestigial organs are usually a result of disease, ill-health, failure to take proper care of the body, etc.] That is to say, there are no “decorative parts.” In the Body of Christ, there are no useless or unimportant members.

Well, we see, then, this concept of the Body—the church—being together, knit together, looped together, as the joints of the human body or, as some translations will say in that text in 1 Corinthians, chapter 12, as ligaments of the body.

But let’s notice, too, that there is a concept of LOCAL CHURCH MEMBERSHIP. The local church is different from the universal church. The church of Christ universally is the sum of all Christians together. Jesus said, “I will build My church,” Matthew 16, verse 18. [“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”] There, He is referring to the universal church, the universal Body of Christ—all those who belong to Christ.

However, a church of Christ locally is a specific group of Christians who function together as a community, as a congregation. For example, Paul and Barnabas “appointed elders in every church,” Acts 14, verse 23. [“So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in Whom they had believed.”] “Every church” means the specific congregations in locales where they had previously traveled and preached, and where they had established congregations. Paul will write specifically “to the church of God which is at Corinth,” 1 Corinthians 1, verse 2. [“To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.”] As Paul writes to the local church in the city of Rome, he tells them, “The churches of Christ salute you,” Romans 16 and verse 16. [“Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you.” (King James Version)]

One is added by the Lord Himself to the universal church upon obedience of the Gospel. There in Acts chapter 2, we see that on the Day of Pentecost, there were about 3,000 people that day—as they were responsive to, obedient to the Gospel invitation given by Peter in that first Gospel sermon—there were about 3,000 souls who were added to them. Then in verse 47, we’ll read it again: “And the Lord added daily to the church those who were being saved.” [“praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”] Well this is clearly a reference to the church universal—to all Christians combined.

After having been added by the Lord to the church universal, one should then join himself or herself to a local church—to the local congregation, if you will. An example of this is found when the Apostle Paul went for the first time to the city of Jerusalem sometime after his conversion. He made an attempt to join with the disciples, Acts, chapter 9, verses 26 through 28. [“And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the Name of Jesus. So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out.”] That word “joined”is variously translated to mean “associate”and “unite.”

The mere provision of a local church in God’s Word implies that there is a Divine Purpose for the local church, and that there is a corresponding responsibility of Christians to avail themselves of that Divine Purpose. The idea of becoming a Christian, and then never becoming a part of a local congregation, is foreign to the Scriptures. As Christians, we are obligated to participate in the life of a faithful, local congregation, whenever and wherever that is a possibility.