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
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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.