"And let me make it quite clear that when Christians say the Christ-life is in them, they do not mean simply something mental or moral. When they speak of being 'in Christ' or of Christ being 'in them,' this is not simply a way of saying that they are thinking about Christ or copying Him. They mean that Christ is actually operating through them; that the whole mass of Christians are the physical organism through which Christ acts — that we are His fingers and muscles, the cells of His body."
— C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Albert Einstein spent the latter part of his scientific career in an unsuccessful search for what he called the "single unifying principle of the universe," which would tie together all mathematics, science and physics. I had always felt a similar longing when it came to living the Christian life. There are so many aspects to our faith and different ways of looking at its theology. Couldn't there be one simple theological truth tying our walk with God together in such a way that all aspects of Christian doctrine would work together naturally?

The more I studied the Scriptures, one answer seemed to emerge. First Corinthians 12:27 says, "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it." Paul didn't say, "Now you are like the body of Christ." He seemed to be saying that we as the church really are the physical manifestation of Jesus himself on this earth. And just in case anyone was missing the point, he says in Ephesians 5:30, "... for we are members of his body" — of His flesh and of His bones.

Although this concept had first crossed my mind years before while I was in medical school, the full impact hadn't struck me until recently. I had always thought of the idea of church as the body of Christ as a metaphor. One day I wondered, what if it's literally true and not just an analogy? How would that change things?

In a way, the implications of this concept actually terrified me. I had always thought of Christianity as a way to make me a better person and a way to get God on my side to help me achieve my goals. But now, as I read the fine print of the contract, I found out that I am legally dead, and my body, soul and spirit belong to God. I am now to live as a glove on His hand, to let Him use me to do whatever He wants in this physical world. But not as an individual spiritual commando — I am a part of a whole. I am a specialized member of His physical presence on earth, His body — the church.

This really was unsettling. If I did completely surrender myself to the Holy Spirit, He could do anything He wanted with me. Could I trust Him? What about my goals, my plans? Then God gave me the vision of a Stradivarius violin that was being used as a doorstop or a paperweight. What a waste that would be, I thought. This beautiful instrument was designed to be in the hands of a master, creating beauty for the whole world. Could being an instrument for God's use be similar?

I saw that I was no longer on my own to do as I wished. Body, soul and spirit belonged to God. He created me to be used by Him. I realized that as I yield myself to Him there is no limit to what He can do with my life.

As this concept started to sink in, it began to transform every aspect of my life. It changed the way I saw my marriage and my family. It changed the way I practiced medicine. It changed how I dressed, what I watched, what I read, what I ate and drank, and even got me exercising again. I couldn't put down my Bible. I found myself saying "Oh!" and "Wow!" as I devoured more and more Scripture.

The ramifications of being a member of the body of Christ didn't seem to have the same degree of impact on other believers as it was having on me. What was wrong? They seemed to be relatively unaffected by this concept, immune to its power. In medicine, we have a way of preventing someone from having an overwhelming reaction to something — we inoculate them with a weaker form of it. I couldn't help but feel there was a similar type of "immunity" occurring.

A kind of "ho-hum" theology regarding the body of Christ has not just watered down reality; we've allowed a weak secular concept to replace this core spiritual concept. Based on most preaching and teaching I've heard on the subject, the "body of Christ" is just a vague organizational analogy that describes why everyone in an organization is important, since they do different tasks. One could just as easily refer to the "body" of Microsoft. I've frequently heard the concept of the body limited to the local congregation. The phrase is used to explain why the local church needs a minister, a janitor, a secretary, and so on, to operate. Although this is true, the concept means much more than that.

Instead, what if every Christian is actually a "cell" in the worldwide body of Christ, just like cells in the human body? What if the same Holy Spirit in each believer is the equivalent of the same DNA that we find in every cell of our own bodies? That would mean that Jesus Christ, the Lord of the universe, is again incarnate and walking this earth, healing, saving, comforting and delivering through all believers together.

If this is true, then my old life truly has ended. I gave up all rights to myself when I accepted Christ: "I have been crucified with Christ" (Galatians 2:20); "baptized into his death" (Romans 6:3); "you are not your own" (1 Corinthians 6:19); "he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit" (1 Corinthians 6:17); "your bodies are members of Christ himself" (1 Corinthians 6:15). All that I am and have is now Christ's. I live for only one reason, to allow Jesus to function in this physical world through me.

But I alone am not enough to do His work. He needs every believer's body, soul and spirit together to fully express himself on earth. That way He can do His work on a far greater scale than He could 2,000 years ago when limited to a single human form. Through each believer's unity with the rest of the body, the church, Jesus can say in John 14:12, "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."

Jesus didn't go to the cross and die so that I could add a little spiritual spice to my otherwise miserable, pointless life. Nor am I one of a bunch of little Jesuses going around doing my own spiritual "thing." Instead, with the unique gifts God has given me through the Holy Spirit, I'm a specialized "cell" that gives to the body what no other cell can give. Paul describes in Romans, 1 Corinthians and Ephesians how these gifts work together for the functioning of the body as a whole.

I need to work together with the rest of the body, directed by the central nervous system, which is Jesus the head, from whom "the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work" (Ephesians 4:16).

Countless times the New Testament mentions "in Him," "in Whom," "in Christ," "in Jesus," "in His name," and the like. Now when I read the Scriptures these phrases take on a whole new meaning. We are literally, physically "in Him," and together we make up the body of Christ. This is why our prayers can have the same power as when Jesus prayed. As Matthew 18:19-20 says, "Again, I tell you, that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

Hebrews 11:1 tells us, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Simply put, I need only to truly know in my heart who I am in Christ. I have found that my faith grows when I take even small risks, believing God at His word and watching how He comes through every time. I then trust more and more that I can confidently act on the unseen realities that make up our world. I know in my head that nothing is impossible, and I am growing in the direction where I increasingly know it in my heart. If Jesus can do it, I can do it if I am living "in Him."

The church does not yet appear to be living this reality. If the church ever does understand who she truly is and the power she can access through faith and prayer, there will be a revival such as has never been seen since the birth of the church in Acts 2. If I can ever see who I truly am — dead to my past sinful life and alive in the physical presence of the Lord of the universe here and now on this earth — my life can be transformed by the Holy Spirit into an active, vital cell in His body. No longer is prayer the work of a lone individual trying to get the attention of a distant God, but rather the lightning-fast communication of a part of the body with its central nervous system. The Bible is no longer dead ancient writings, but more like an afferent nerve from the brain, delivering instant messages from Jesus "our Head" for all our immediate needs.

What will happen when the church wakes up to who it really is? When I close my eyes, I see Jesus holding the world on His lap, wrapped in His arms, His piercing eyes constantly roving over the entire globe. He listens in one place then whispers in another. Sometimes He smiles or laughs; other times He weeps. His hands also move to and fro across the land and sea, never ceasing to work.

As I move in closer to my Lord, His features begin to blur. As I move in still closer, I begin to see a fine detail moving busily about. Going in further it becomes clear that His body is made up of believers, literally billions of them! I can see Third-World peasants and American businessmen, Africans, Asians, Europeans and Pacific Islanders — Christians from all over the world in all walks of life doing the work of our Lord together. I see ... the church.