Jesus is Immanuel, God with us. Because the church is united to Immanuel, the church is Immanuel. As Jesus is the Father’s presence with us, so we’re Jesus’ presence to the world.

Think about it this way: Paul talks about the church as a body. What he means is this: A body is one body but has many different parts. To be healthy, your body needs all its organs and limbs, and every limb and organ serves the whole body.

Your hands don’t have eyes of their own, and your eyes don’t have hands. Ears don’t have feet, and feet don’t have ears. Your eyes see for your hands, and your hands protect your eyes from bugs and finger-pokes. Your ears hear to serve your feet, and feet your transport your ears from place to place. Each organ exists for the sake of all the others, for the sake of the whole body.

Here’s Paul’s point: The church is like that, because the church is the body of Christ. The church needs all her members if it’s going to be healthy. Each member serves all the other members, and the whole body. You might be the eyes of the church, and the people who are tongues or feet or hands need you if they’re going to see.

Then Paul says something amazing: As there is one body and many members, so also is Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12). We expect him to say “so also is the church,” but he doesn’t. He gives the name Christ to the whole body.

Augustine called this the totus Christus, the whole Christ. Christ = Jesus the Head + the members of His body.

When someone encounters the church, he encounters Christ. Whenever someone meets you, he’s meeting Christ. We are Christ’s presence to one another, to neighbors, to strangers. We are Immanuel because we’re the eyes, ears, hands, and feet of Immanuel’s body.

Blessings,
Pastor Leithart