How much does Paul emphasize the Body of Christ in his early letters?
In his early letters, Paul does not make that big a deal over the Body of Christ. In Romans there is just one mention, and in 1 Corinthians only one or two mentions. Only later, in Ephesians, does he emphasize it more.
Les teaches that Paul's writings are a progressive revelation, like the Bible as a whole. When Paul first begins his letters, he does not make a big deal over the Body of Christ—Romans has just one mention, and 1 Corinthians one or two. But in Ephesians, after further revelations during his Caesarea imprisonment, deeper things come. That is why the Body is seen more in Ephesians than in Romans and Corinthians, as part of the greater revelation of our position in the Body, which is in Christ. Ephesians 4:12 speaks of edifying the Body of Christ, and Les notes that not every church member is a member of the Body of Christ.
More Questions
Why does Paul talk about the Body of Christ so much more in Ephesians than in Romans or 1 Corinthians?
Paul speaks of the Body of Christ far more in Ephesians than he did in Romans or 1 Corinthians because Ephesians comes later in a progressive revelation, after Paul received further and deeper revelations and wrote from prison.