When Paul speaks of the Church as “one body with many members,” in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, he is not describing Christian community. He is revealing a mystical pattern: that the Divine expresses itself through differentiated function, united by a single animating Spirit.
“For as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.”
— 1 Corinthians 12:12
In the opening lines of Genesis, God is introduced not as a singular person but as Elohim—a plural name describing many powers acting as one. The revelation of the “body of Christ” is not a new structure—it is the unfolding of Elohim in conscious human form.
Elohim: Unity Through Divine Multiplicity
The name Elohim appears in Genesis 1:1:
“In the beginning, Elohim created the heavens and the earth.”
Though often translated simply as “God,” Elohim is a plural noun paired with singular verbs—a deliberate tension in the Hebrew that points to a divine mystery: oneness expressed through many facets.
Elohim is not a cluster of deities but a composite power—a single creative force comprised of multiple expressions. Neville Goddard often equated Elohim with the creative faculties of the human imagination:
“Elohim is a compound unity, one made up of others.”
This mirrors Paul’s teaching: we are not separate, isolated individuals—we are aspects of the One Creative Being, differentiated in function but unified in essence.
Paul’s Revelation: The Body of Christ as Divine Structure
In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul maps out a spiritual anatomy:
-
The body has many parts—hands, eyes, ears, feet—but one life.
-
Each member is placed by God (v.18) and needed by the others.
-
No part can be discarded without wounding the whole.
-
This is not metaphor only—it is the pattern of divine function, revealed in form.
“You are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
— 1 Corinthians 12:27
Here, Paul is not inventing a new theology; he is unveiling the meaning of Elohim in human terms. The body is the structure through which the divine powers act in union—a visible expression of what Genesis declared invisibly.
"But now God has put every one of the parts in the body as it was pleasing to him." — 1 Corinthians 12:18
Function Over Hierarchy: The Divine Equality of Powers
Paul is careful to warn against spiritual elitism:
“The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you.’” (v.21)
“Those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.” (v.22)
This affirms the Elohim principle: each power has its place, and the seeming lowliness of one function does not negate its worth.
In the framework of Neville’s teaching, we might say:
-
The imagination that dreams,
-
The feeling that accepts,
-
The act that sustains belief—
These are all members of the body of creation.
There is no “lesser” faculty when all are divine powers operating in harmony.
The Body as Image and Instrument
Genesis 1:26 says:
“Let us make man in our image…”
Paul’s teaching completes this: the image is not a static form—it is a living, dynamic body, an organised structure of divine powers moving in unity. The “image” becomes a functioning body, not just a likeness, but an instrument of creation.
To say “we are members of one body” is to confess that:
-
No power is outside the whole,
-
No function stands alone,
-
And the whole structure reveals God—the Elohim—moving through us.
Conclusion: Elohim Revealed Through the One Body
Paul’s vision of the body is more than church unity—it is the inner architecture of creation itself. Each believer, each function of the imagination, is a member—not an ornament, but a power. Together, they form the body of the Christ, the visible revelation of Elohim in action.
“There is one body and one Spirit… one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
— Ephesians 4:4–6
This is the mystery: not that God is far off, but that Elohim is revealed in the body of man—when every faculty of being moves in harmony with divine intent.
Comments
Post a Comment
Thanks for your comment! Comments are reviewed before publishing.