Where does the phrase 'the Body of Christ' appear in the Bible?
The phrase 'the Body of Christ' appears exclusively in the Apostle Paul's epistles. It is not found in the Old Testament, the four Gospels, or the Book of Acts. Scripture presents it as a Pauline revelation, meaning it was revealed to Paul for the Gentile believers who follow after him as the pattern.
Les explains that the term 'the Body of Christ' is absent from the Old Testament, the four Gospels, and the Book of Acts. He calls it strictly a Pauline revelation, revealed to the Apostle Paul. Paul serves as the pattern—the first sinner saved by grace—and from his Damascus road conversion onward, God began calling people, especially Gentiles, into the Body of Christ. This calling is 'hereafter,' not retroactive to Pentecost.