Body of Christ
Body of Christ is a term of Christian theology, implicitly traceable to Jesus's statement at the Last Supper that "This is my body" in Luke 22:19–20, and explicitly used by the Apostle Paul in KJVTemplate:Bibleverse with invalid book. When it comes to Pauline epistles, the usage of the body of Christ is extremely complex. The usage of this phrase within Paul's seven undisputed letters (1-2 Corinthians, 1 Thessalonians, Galatians, Romans, Philippians, Philemon) is different from the so-called Deutero-Pauline letters and Pastoral letters. In Ephesians (4:12; 5:23) and Colossians (1:18, 24; 2:19), church is equal to the body of Christ, which means the metaphor of the body of Christ is used as an organism. But it is questionable whether in 1 Cor 12:27 the body of Christ is also a metaphorical organism. In 1 Cor 12:27, it is "you are the body of Christ," not that "the church is the body of Christ," as Yung Suk Kim points out that the metaphor of the body of Christ here in 1 Cor 12:27 can be an attributive genitive case ("you are Christic body").
Roman Catholicism
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In the Roman Catholic tradition, the term "Body of Christ" refers not only to the body of Christ in spiritual realm, but also to two distinct though related things: the Catholic Church itself as the visible presence of Christ on Earth, and the idea of the transubstantiated Host of the Eucharist.
The Church
The first meaning that Catholics attach to the expression "Body of Christ" is the Catholic Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church quotes with approval, as "summing up the faith of the holy doctors and the good sense of the believer", the reply of Saint Joan of Arc to her judges: "About Jesus Christ and the Church, I simply know they're just one thing, and we shouldn't complicate the matter."[1] In the same passage, it also quotes Saint Augustine: "Let us rejoice then and give thanks that we have become not only Christians, but Christ himself. Do you understand and grasp, brethren, God's grace toward us? Marvel and rejoice: we have become Christ. For if he is the head, we are the members; he and we together are the whole man.... the fullness of Christ then is the head and the members. But what does 'head and members' mean? Christ and the Church." In light of all this, the Catholic Church calls itself the "universal sacrament of salvation" for the whole world, as it dispenses the sacraments, which give the grace of Christ himself to the recipient.
Saint Paul the Apostle spoke of this unity of Christians with Christ, spoken of in the New Testament also in images such as that of the vine and the branches,[2] in terms of a single body that has Christ as its head in Romans 12:5,1 Corinthians 12:12–27, Ephesians 3:6 and 5:23, Colossians 1:18 and 1:24.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "the comparison of the Church with the body casts light on the intimate bond between Christ and his Church. Not only is she gathered around him; she is united in him, in his body. Three aspects of the Church as the Body of Christ are to be more specifically noted: the unity of all her members with each other as a result of their union with Christ; Christ as head of the Body; and the Church as bride of Christ."[3] The Catechism then spells out the significance of each of these three aspects.
To distinguish the Body of Christ in this sense from his physical body, the term "Mystical Body of Christ" is often used. This term was used as the first words, and so as the title, of the encyclical Mystici Corporis Christi of Pope Pius XII. In that document, Pope Pius XII clearly states, "the mystical Body of Christ... is the Catholic Church."
The reality of the bread consecrated in the Eucharist
While teaching that in the bread consecrated in the Eucharist there is absolutely no change open to the senses or to scientific investigation, the Catholic Church claims that the reality of the bread is changed into that of the body of Christ. To refer to this change of the "substance" or considers particularly apt the term "transubstantiation",[4] but rejects that of "consubstantiation", which suggests that the substance or reality of the bread remains after the consecration, instead of being converted or changed into that of the body of Christ. At the same time, it holds that all that can be examined either directly or by scientific investigation — what in philosophy are called the "accidents" (as opposed to the reality) - remains quite unchanged.
Thus, in the Roman Rite, the priest or other minister who gives the consecrated host to a communicant says: "The body of Christ", indicating what is held to be the reality of what is given.
Since the consecrated bread is believed to be truly the body of Christ, what remains of it after celebration of Mass is reverently kept in the church tabernacle, primarily for the purpose of taking Communion to the sick, but also to serve as a focal point for private devotion and prayer, and, on appropriate occasions, for public Eucharistic adoration.
Protestantism
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"Body of Christ" is used by Protestants to collectively describe believers in Christ, as opposed to only those who are members of the Catholic Church. In this sense, Christians are members of the universal body of Christ not because of identication with the institution of the Church, but through identification with Christ directly through faith. This is based on several passages in the Bible, including Romans 12:5,1 Corinthians 12:12–27, Ephesians 3:6 and 5:23, Colossians 1:18 and Colossians 1:24. Jesus Christ is seen as the "head" of the body, which is the church, while the "members" of the body are seen as members of the Church. In this way, Protestantism defines the "Body of Christ" in a much broader way than the Catholic Church.
The body of Christ is a common metaphor used throughout the New Testament to refer to the unity of those who share faith in Christ. In this sense, those with faith in Christ share fellowship with Him and with each other. This common unity is the foundational basis for mutual charity, encouragement Hebrews 10:24–25, usage of spiritual gifts to build up the church 1 Corinthians 12:12–27, and hope 1 Timothy 4:10 This metaphor also has a mysterious literal element that Paul refers to in Ephesians 5:22–33 in referring to the future marriage of Christ and His Church. In citing Genesis 2:24 in Ephesians 5:30–31, Paul is noting the future union of the Church and Christ as one flesh, which Paul says is, "a profound mystery." Thus, in some sense, the "Body of Christ" will become one body with Christ.
Historically, the reason Protestantism has defined the Body of Christ more broadly than the Catholic Church is because of its emphasis on faith and the Bible alone (Sola Fide) and (Sola Scriptura). This has allowed for a broad base within Christianity to call themselves part of the "Body of Christ." By contrast, the Roman Catholic Church placed equal emphasis on Scripture and Tradition in order to maintain conformity of its members to its own authority and orthodoxy. By doing this, the Catholic Church was able to define its membership as those who identify with the beliefs held by the Church. The reason for this is because in the first several centuries of the Church, there was a period in which Apostolic Succession and Tradition were important for providing a defense against heresy. Church Apologists and Fathers (such as Irenaeus and Cyprian of Carthage) attempted to tie their doctrinal teachings and interpretations to the original Apostles by means of Apostolic Succession. While this was useful for illustrating the orthodoxy of their teachings, over time it allowed for the Roman Catholic Church to secure more power as the basis for its hierarchical authority over matters concerning the Church, including its membership. Eventually, this would lead to the ascension of the Bishop of Rome to take the first title of "Pope." Later, it would be Gregory I who would see the power vacuum left after the fall of Rome and transform the office of Pope from being the Bishop of Rome into the chief position of political and religious authority in the West for centuries. It would be this authority over doctrine, interpretation, and membership of the Church that Reformers would later oppose in the Protestant Reformation.
Lutheranism
In the Lutheran Church, the Body of Christ is used similar to the Roman Catholic teachings. Though the church reject the Catholic teaching of transubstantiation, the Body of Christ is the formal title of the bread in the Eucharist, as seen in the Lutheran Divine Service. It is also said in the Words of Institution.[5] A similar teaching is taught in various Methodist Churches.
Eastern Orthodoxy
The Eastern Orthodox Church also believes that the Eucharistic elements of bread and wine become the actual Body and Blood of Christ. It has authoritatively used the term "Transubstantiation" to describe this change, as in The Longer Catechism of The Orthodox, Catholic, Eastern Church[6] and in the decrees of the 1672 Synod of Jerusalem.[7]
The Orthodox see the description of the Church (Ecclessia) as the "Body of Christ" as being inextricably connected to Holy Communion. According to St. Ignatius of Antioch (ca. 35-107), the unity of the Church is expressed in Eucharistic terms. Just as there are many offerings made throughout the world on any given day, and yet all partake of one and the same Body of Christ, so the Church, though existing in many separate localities, is only one.
See also
References
- ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church, 795
- ^ John 15:4–5
- ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church, 789
- ^ Council of Trent, The Thirteenth Session
- ^ Luther's Small Catechism
- ^ "The bread and wine are changed, or transubstantiated, into the very Body of Christ, and into the very Blood of Christ" (question 339).
- ^ "In the celebration (of the Eucharist) we believe the Lord Jesus Christ to be present, not typically, nor figuratively, nor by superabundant grace, as in the other Mysteries, nor by a bare presence, as some of the Fathers have said concerning Baptism, or by impanation, so that the Divinity of the Word is united to the set forth bread of the Eucharist hypostatically, as the followers of Luther most ignorantly and wretchedly suppose, but truly and really, so that after the consecration of the bread and of the wine, the bread is transmuted, transubstantiated, converted and transformed into the true Body Itself of the Lord, Which was born in Bethlehem of the ever-Virgin, was baptised in the Jordan, suffered, was buried, rose again, was received up, sitteth at the right hand of the God and Father, and is to come again in the clouds of Heaven; and the wine is converted and transubstantiated into the true Blood Itself of the Lord, Which as He hung upon the Cross, was poured out for the life of the world" (Decree XVII).