Where Did The Body Of Christ Begin ?

Hi to all , and as I was looking at some pervious posts , I see that some are Dispensationalist .

Just wondering where you believe , WHERE the did the Body of Christ begin ??

#1 , Covenant Theology , says it began in Genesis !!

#2 , Some begin it at Acts 2 , or Pentecost !!

#3 , Some , like me start it at Acts 9:6 !!

#4 , One , that I know begins it at Acts 11 !!

#5 , Then I personally , know of some that begin it at Acts 13 !!

#6 , Then there are the Acts 28 or Hyper-dispensationalist !!

What say you ??

dan p
 
If, by 'body of Christ' you mean those who are saved by Grace alone though Faith alone in Christ alone, then it is evident that it has its origins in Genesis. Gen 4:26. Joel 2:32. Acts 2:21
If you believe the 'Body of Christ' is in fact rooted in another.....then Acts 9:6
If you believe the 'Body of Christ' had its origin at some point in time after the Resurrection......the sky is the limit.
At the very least, what about Matt 16:18. ?
But as for my self I'll go with Genesis.
 
Hi to all , and as I was looking at some pervious posts , I see that some are Dispensationalist .

Just wondering where you believe , WHERE the did the Body of Christ begin ??

#1 , Covenant Theology , says it began in Genesis !!

#2 , Some begin it at Acts 2 , or Pentecost !!

#3 , Some , like me start it at Acts 9:6 !!

#4 , One , that I know begins it at Acts 11 !!

#5 , Then I personally , know of some that begin it at Acts 13 !!

#6 , Then there are the Acts 28 or Hyper-dispensationalist !!

What say you ??

dan p


Hi , and most of the people that hold that view IN GENESIS believe in Covenant Theology , and say that Grace began with Adam and Eve .

How can that be ??

dan p
 
Grace began with God. Therefore, it is wrong to hang the 'covenant theology' ticket on me! That said and established, there can be no definite point in time that we can say "here began Grace". The best we can do is to recognize God's Grace in action. We could begin with the forming of Eve to be a companion to Adam, we could begin with the placing of Adam within a specially prepared garden in Eden somewhere. We could begin with creation itself, we could begin with Gen 2:17., we could begin with God's remedy for our sinful nature Gen 3:15. , we could begin with Gen 3:21.
But either way, The Lord has shown His Grace throughout the ages, for all who would come to Him.
Do you not see this?
 
Hi , and most of the people that hold that view IN GENESIS believe in Covenant Theology , and say that Grace began with Adam and Eve .

How can that be ??

dan p

Hi , and if you read my post carefully , I said " and Most " of the people who say it begins in Genesis , believe in Covenant Theology !!

dan p
 
That's OK, Covenant theology is mixed up with calvanism.....but this here calvin is not. Just don't want to have people confuse me John Calvin....which has happened. When thinking of my id, refer to my avatar;).
I'm not dispensationalist either, just Christian, as in a disciple of Christ Jesus.
You did not answer my question.
 
Hi , and most of the people that hold that view IN GENESIS believe in Covenant Theology , and say that Grace began with Adam and Eve .

How can that be ??

dan p

I agree with Calvin in that GRACE begins with God because God is Love and Love is the root of grace.

If you are asking about WHEN did the Church of the New Testament begin, it seems to me that would be in Acts chapter 2.

If we are talking about the grace of God, then it would be in Genesis because the grace of God has always been in existance because God has always existed.
 
Hi , and if you read my post carefully , I said " and Most " of the people who say it begins in Genesis , believe in Covenant Theology !!

dan p


Hi , and God has shown His grace , as He was Slain before the foundation of the world .

BUT , there is a big difference between Grace and the Dispensation of Grace !!

dan p
 
Hi , and God has shown His grace , as He was Slain before the foundation of the world .

BUT , there is a big difference between Grace and the Dispensation of Grace !!

dan p
Not to be argumentative but God "dispensed" His grace from the beginning before time began. And grace is grace. A gift from God, "given" by God, before He created anything simply because He IS. There being no difference in who He is from then to now, there is no difference in Grace and the Dispensation thereof.
 
That's OK, Covenant theology is mixed up with calvanism.....but this here calvin is not. Just don't want to have people confuse me John Calvin....which has happened. When thinking of my id, refer to my avatar;).
I'm not dispensationalist either, just Christian, as in a disciple of Christ Jesus.
You did not answer my question.

YOUR NOT JOHN CALVIN?????
 
Hi , and God has shown His grace , as He was Slain before the foundation of the world .

BUT , there is a big difference between Grace and the Dispensation of Grace !!

dan p


Hi , and you quoted Eph 2:8 , " having been saved " , and just where else do you see that written in the OT ??

Paul , in Col 1:25 , is made a minister , according to the Dispensation of God which is given to me for you to fulfill the Word of God .

Rom 16:25 , was given the MYSTERY , which was kept secret since the world began ,

I have never read of any Prophet or Apostle teach what Paul taught ?? Do you ??

dan p
 
Hi Dan,

I have gone through this thread and forgive me but I dont see what you actually want to discuss.

Is it about dispensationalists or grace or the church?

The "Body of Christ" only began after Christ died on the cross and rose again making Himself a living sacrifice for all mankind. Before that all mankind had was the "Law" by which to live. The "Body of Christ" is a specific reference to His church which only began on the day of Pentecost. Check out Rom. 7. If that makes me a dispensationalist in your eyes, well so be it. The church never existed before Christ or during His physical life on earth - I have yet to see any reference to the word church before that in scriptures. There is a reference in Genesis to the covenant made with Abraham, but all that means is that the covenant made with Abraham and his decendents was transferred to all those who believe in Christ - it is not a specific reference to the temporal creation of the church.

The grace of God never had a beginning because God is not temporal and has always existed. As long as God has existed so has His grace. The very day Adam and Eve sinned God put a plan of redemption in place for man which came from grace.
 
Hi Dan,

I have gone through this thread and forgive me but I dont see what you actually want to discuss.

Is it about dispensationalists or grace or the church?

The "Body of Christ" only began after Christ died on the cross and rose again making Himself a living sacrifice for all mankind. Before that all mankind had was the "Law" by which to live. The "Body of Christ" is a specific reference to His church which only began on the day of Pentecost. Check out Rom. 7. If that makes me a dispensationalist in your eyes, well so be it. The church never existed before Christ or during His physical life on earth - I have yet to see any reference to the word church before that in scriptures. There is a reference in Genesis to the covenant made with Abraham, but all that means is that the covenant made with Abraham and his decendents was transferred to all those who believe in Christ - it is not a specific reference to the temporal creation of the church.

The grace of God never had a beginning because God is not temporal and has always existed. As long as God has existed so has His grace. The very day Adam and Eve sinned God put a plan of redemption in place for man which came from grace.


Hi , and in Acts 7:38 , " it is called a EKKLESIA /CHURCH , a church in the wilderness which is the OT .

The Body of Christ " SOMA CHRISTOS is difference than the Greek word for EKKLESIA , which means Assembly .

Paul is the ONLY one that writes about the Body of Christ .

Paul was given the Revelation of the Mystery , Eph 3:1-6 and Col 1:25 !!

dan p
 
Hi , and in Acts 7:38 , " it is called a EKKLESIA /CHURCH , a church in the wilderness which is the OT .

The Body of Christ " SOMA CHRISTOS is difference than the Greek word for EKKLESIA , which means Assembly .

Paul is the ONLY one that writes about the Body of Christ .

Paul was given the Revelation of the Mystery , Eph 3:1-6 and Col 1:25 !!

dan p


Correct! And I do not mean to be non-respectful Dan but that is not really new news!

The church was a mystery until Paul explained it in the New Test.
 
Correct! And I do not mean to be non-respectful Dan but that is not really new news!

The church was a mystery until Paul explained it in the New Test.

Hi , then where do you begin the Body of Christ and what verse is your proof ??

dan p
 
Hi , then where do you begin the Body of Christ and what verse is your proof ??

dan p
If you want to look for a verse that says " here begineth the body of Christ".............luck with that;).
If you accept that the body of Christ is made of members who have faith in and trust the Lord Jesus Christ,(as God) then Gen 4 is a good place to begin. If anyone seriously wants to understand that the Body of Christ only began sometime in acts, then that is OK (for them). However they now have the problem of fitting all the OT patriarchs and Godly prophets into the scheme of things. They need to explain how Abraham Issac and Jacob, Daniel, Moses......etc.etc. fit into the grand scheme of things. We need to be remembering that Christ had His origin with, and as God, not 2K or so years ago. So those who had faith in God, had faith in the Christ of God, though they knew Him not by the name of Jesus.

Look up the place where Paul spoke of the Gentiles being grafted into the Vine. Romans ch 11.
OT people of faith would necessarily be left as part of the same Vine, because the key requirement for being a part of the vine is faith in God.

An important verse to consider here is Rom 11:20. "That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. " Esv.
In order for 'They' to be broken off from the vine, they must have once been part of the vine, right?
Remember the vine is supported by the 'Root' (v18) not the other way round.
The Root is Christ, and in context the natural branches were the National Israelites. The vine has been pruned and all the dead branches have been discarded. This then equates to Christ and the body of Christ. The vine therefore is not a 'new Testament' plant, but has been tended and nurtured by the Lord since creation.
So, I believe that the 'body of Christ has its beginnings at least as early as when men began to exercise faith in God.
 
Hi , then where do you begin the Body of Christ and what verse is your proof ??

dan p

As Calvin has stated, and I agree with by the way: the believers in Christ began in Gen. 4.

Genesis 4
1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord. " 2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.

God first made Himself known by creating our parents, Adam and Eve in His likeness. After the fall of man through sin, God's promise of redemption gave man the hope of salvation (Gen. 3:15). God made salvation possible through covenants, prophets, promises to all the Old Test. people. He then manifested His salvation in the fullness of time in the revelation in Jesus Christ.

The Old Test. saints were saved because of their faith in a Messiah which places them into the body of Christ IMHO. New Test. saints are saved because of their faith in that same Messiah who we now know is Jesus the Christ, the Messiah of God which places them into the body of Christ.

Then as has been stated, the "Church" was a mystery until was expaned by Paul in ....................

Acts 2:12-21.......
Peter stood and reminded them of the miracles, wonders, and signs performed by Christ, being Crucified and resurrected according "to the plan and foreknowledge of God" (v. 23). The people, upon hearing this from Peter, asked him and the other Apostles: "'Brethren, what shall we do?' And Peter said to them, 'Repent, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit'" (vs. 37-38). The words of Peter so moved the people that "those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls" (v. 41). "And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved" (v. 47).

This movement of the Apostles established theChurchofChriston this day of Pentecost, which is regarded as the birthday of the Christian Church.

Rom 16:25............
"Now to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began".
Eph 3:3-5............
"How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote before in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit."
Eph 3:8-10...........
" Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God".

A hidden truth about God’s plan is called a 'mystery' not because it cannot be known today, but because it was kept by God as a secret in past ages, before it was revealed by God through the apostles at the start of the church age.
 
Rom 7:4 - Paul refers to people becoming part of the body of Christ as soon as they depart from the law to believe in Christ. The body of Christ began as soon as the gift of eternal salvation became possible. As soon as a person repents and is baptized in the Holy Spirit they are baptized into the church (the body of Christ).

The "body of Christ" does not refer to a physical body but is more of an analogy of belonging to Christ and becoming part of His church. Paul uses the word body in different contexts to refer to belonging to something. If we belong to the body we are part of the body.
 
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