What is a Member
in the Body of Christ?
A member of the Body of Christ means much more than is thought of!
Nab B.
September 3, 2022
(updated Sep 18, 2025)
"For just as the body is one and has many members,
and all the members of the body, though many, are one body,
so it is with Christ...For the body does not consist of one member but of many...If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together."
(1 Cor 12:12,14,26)
ESV
I used to view a church member as someone who joins or associates with a group. This is because the word 'member' as used today suggests someone or something that can be easily removed or replaced, like a member in a club.
A 'Member' is defined in one dictionary as "Someone or something that belongs to or is part of a group or an organization, such as a club/committee/team member, family members, the club has 300 members." ( Source: The Britannica Dictionary )
There is nothing wrong with the above definition, but that is not the sense portrayed in Paul's passage above. The Greek word ‘melos’, translated as ‘members’ in 1 Cor 12:12, means "a body organ" like a limb, an eye, or lungs:
“Now you are the body of Christ and members [Gk, melos] individually”.
This biblical meaning of the word "member" is vastly different from today's. How easy is it to remove a body organ (member)? A body organ can’t be easily removed or replaced without inflicting a lot of pain on all other organs (members)!
