The church is the body of Christ
The church is known as the body of Christ. One does not need to fill out applications or meet standards to join. All one needs to do is become friends with Jesus and ask him to become an integral part of one’s life. Once a member, you are called and equipped to function and help the body move. The scriptures tell us that we have been given gifts by the manifestation of the spirit to profit the body (1 Cor 12:7). And just like the human body is in that it functions together in unison, so should the members of the body of Christ. Every member is equally important as the other. The human body is at its strongest when its members are functioning correctly. Power is given to the church, the body of Christ, to overcome whatever comes against it (Mt.16:18). Solomon said that two are better than one, because if one falls the other can pick him up (Ecc. 4:9).
1 Corinthians 12:11-13
11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
The Spirit of Christ makes the church one body. The process of becoming one body begins with baptism. Baptism is a symbol of dying and resurrecting. It is the entry portal for becoming one with the body of Christ. There is the baptism of water, which is for repentance, but there is the baptism of the Spirit, which is for the unity of the body. The baptism of the Spirit provides the believer strength, boldness, and courage to accomplish the work of the ministry, move the body of Christ, and overcome sin (Mt. 3:11). Acts tell us that once the Holy Spirit comes upon us we will be endwelled with power (Acts 1:8). The disciples were struggling with intimidation from the religious rulers, when they prayed, they were given boldness to speak the word of God (Acts 4:31). The scriptures tell us that God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power and sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7). Once we have been added to the body of Christ, we are all made to drink of the Spirit of God for a continual filling (Jh. 7:38).
1 Corinthians 12:7
7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
Matthew 16:18
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Ecclesiastes 4:9
9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.
Matthew 3:11
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
Acts 1:8
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Acts 4:31
And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
2 Timothy 1:7
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
John 7:38
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.