What We Believe | Article V: The Church | Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 | Pastor Jonathan Evans | Bible Study | 07.19.2026
Here’s a 5-day Bible study based on this message about the Church as the Body of Christ from 1 Corinthians 12.
You can do this personally or with a small group.
Day 1 – One Body, Many Members
Theme: Understanding the Church as Christ’s body
Primary Scripture:
- 1 Corinthians 12:12–14
- Optional: Romans 12:4–5
Read:
Slowly read 1 Corinthians 12:12–14 twice. Note each time Paul emphasizes “one” and “many.”
Key Ideas:
- The Church is one body with many members.
- The body is unified and yet diverse in its members and functions.
- Like the human body, the Church is interconnected and dependent on each part.
Reflection Questions:
- When you think of “church,” do you tend to think of a building, an event, or a body? Why?
- What part of the “body” do you most naturally identify with (e.g., visible roles, behind-the-scenes roles, supporting roles)?
- How have you experienced the interconnectedness of the body of Christ in your own life?
Prayer Focus:
Ask God to renew your understanding of Church—not as a place you go, but as a body you belong to. Invite Him to show you how important unity and interconnectedness are in His design.
Day 2 – Sharing Christ’s Blood: True Membership
Theme: Salvation as the entry into Christ’s body
Primary Scripture:
- Ephesians 1:7–8
- 1 Peter 1:18–19
- Optional: Matthew 7:21–23
Read:
Meditate on Ephesians 1:7–8 and 1 Peter 1:18–19.
Key Ideas:
- To be part of Christ’s body, you must share His “blood type”—that is, be cleansed and united to Him through His blood.
- Religion, church attendance, or water baptism alone do not make someone part of the body.
- Only faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and new life in Him brings someone into the true Church.
Reflection Questions:
- If someone asked you, “How do you become part of Christ’s body?” how would you answer from Scripture?
- Has there ever been a time when you were trusting religious activity more than Christ’s finished work?
- How does it change your view of church membership to think in terms of heaven’s membership first, then local membership?
Prayer Focus:
Thank Jesus for His blood that never loses its power. If needed, reaffirm your trust in Him alone for salvation. Pray for those who attend Church but may not yet share in Christ’s “blood type.”
Day 3 – Baptized by One Spirit
Theme: The Holy Spirit’s role in uniting us to Christ and His body
Primary Scripture:
- 1 Corinthians 12:13
- Ephesians 1:13–14
- Optional: Galatians 2:20; John 3:3–8
Read:
Focus on 1 Corinthians 12:13 and Ephesians 1:13–14.
Key Ideas:
- Believers are baptized by one Spirit into one body—this is a spiritual baptism, not primarily water.
- The Spirit indwells, seals, and unites every true believer to Christ and to one another.
- Water baptism is a public sign of a spiritual reality that has already occurred.
Reflection Questions:
- How would you explain the difference between Spirit baptism and water baptism to someone who is confused?
- What encouragement do you find in knowing you are sealed with the Holy Spirit?
- In what ways have you experienced the Holy Spirit uniting you with other believers who are very different from you (background, age, culture, etc.)?
Prayer Focus:
Thank God for giving you the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to deepen your awareness that you are already equipped with everything you need for a life of godliness. Pray to walk in step with the Spirit as part of the body.
Day 4 – Diversity, Unity, and Your Part in the Body
Theme: Different members, one purpose
Primary Scripture:
- 1 Corinthians 12:18–27
- Optional: Ephesians 4:1–7, 11–16
Read:
Take your time with 1 Corinthians 12:18–27. Note every phrase that speaks to difference and every phrase that speaks to unity.
Key Ideas:
- God Himself places each member in the body as He wills (v. 18).
- Diversity of gifts, roles, backgrounds, and personalities is part of God’s design.
- Unity does not mean sameness of person, but sameness of purpose—obeying the Head, Christ.
Reflection Questions:
- Where do you see diversity in your local Church (age, culture, roles, gifts)? Where do you see division?
- Are you tempted to look down on your part or envy someone else’s part in the body?
- Based on your gifts, passions, and opportunities, what part of the body might God be asking you to function as right now?
Action Step:
Write down one specific way you can serve the body this week—on stage or behind the scenes (greeting, praying, giving, helping, encouraging, teaching, administrative support, etc.).
Prayer Focus:
Ask God to give you contentment with where He has placed you in the body and courage to fully function in that role. Pray against envy, pride, or comparison.
Day 5 – Accountability, Reward, and “Well Done”
Theme: Living as a faithful member of Christ’s body
Primary Scripture:
- 2 Corinthians 5:9–10
- Matthew 25:21, 23
- Optional: Hebrews 10:24–25
Read:
Meditate on 2 Corinthians 5:9–10 and Matthew 25:21, 23.
Key Ideas:
- Every believer will stand before Christ to give an account—not to determine salvation, but to assess faithfulness.
- God “grades by position”: He looks at how faithful you were with the part He gave you in the body.
- The goal is to hear:
“Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Reflection Questions:
- If Jesus reviewed your life this week as “game film,” where would He say, “Well done,” and where would He say, “You’re inactive,” or “You’re resisting My signals”?
- Are you more focused on being seen or on being faithful?
- What changes do you sense God calling you to make in how you serve His body over the next month?
Action Step:
Write a simple, honest commitment prayer to the Lord about your role in His body (for example, a paragraph starting with, “Lord, by Your grace, I commit to…”).
Prayer Focus:
Ask God to shape your life so that, on that day, you hear “Well done, My good and faithful servant.” Thank Him for the many faithful members who have gone before you and ask Him to make you that kind of member for the next generation.