What Is A Member?

Is church membership explicitly commanded in the New Testament? No - because it's always and everywhere assumed throughout it. Because there is no go-to verse about it, we can often miss the reality hidden in plain sight. For example, almost all the New Testament books are written to groups of or individually defined churches with teaching and instruction to those within them.

However, membership in the church is not like we think about membership in another club, association, or group. Rather, it is like belonging in a body - namely, a human body. In 1 Corinthians 12, the Apostle Paul shows us what membership in the church is, what makes it so unique, and why we need it.