The Body of Christ began at the conversion of Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus — not at Pentecost.
Les Feldick is convinced the Body of Christ did not necessarily begin at Pentecost because Pentecost was strictly a Jewish holiday with a Jewish message. He teaches that from Paul's conversion on the Damascus road onward, God began calling people into the Body of Christ, a body revealed through Paul and entered by Spirit baptism when the gospel of grace is believed.
Acts 9:3-6 — The account of Saul's conversion, which Les identifies as the starting point of the Body of Christ.
Acts 11:26 — Marks the first time believers were called Christians, connected by Les to the Gentile inclusion in the Body.
1 Corinthians 12:13 — Describes the Holy Spirit baptizing believers into the Body of Christ.
The Bible does not give a dated statement for the beginning of the Body of Christ, but it records the key events. In Acts 9, Saul of Tarsus, on the road to Damascus, met the risen Jesus. Jesus said to him, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest" (Acts 9:5). The Lord later told Ananias that Saul was "a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel" (Acts 9:15). In Acts 11:26, "the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." Paul's letters later identify believers as the Body of Christ — for example, "Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular" (1 Corinthians 12:27).
Les Feldick is convinced that the Body of Christ did not necessarily begin at Pentecost. Pentecost, he says, was strictly a Jewish holiday with a Jewish message. The Body came on the scene in the New Testament after Pentecost, when the gospel of the grace of God began going out to Jew and Gentile. He specifically points to Saul's conversion on the road to Damascus: "from His conversion on the road to Damascus, from that point on, God is now going to be calling people into the Body of Christ." He also explains that the term "Body of Christ" is strictly a Pauline revelation, found nowhere in the Gospels, Acts, or Old Testament. At the same time, Les notes that Saul himself was converted under the Gospel of the Kingdom, because nothing else had been revealed as yet.
Les says Pentecost was "strictly a Jewish holiday with a Jewish message." He is convinced the Body did not necessarily begin there. It came on the scene in the New Testament after Pentecost, when the gospel began to go out to Jew and Gentile alike, and Gentile believers at Antioch were first called Christians.
Les teaches that from Saul's conversion on the Damascus road, God began calling people into the Body of Christ. He also points out that Saul was converted under the Gospel of the Kingdom, since that was the only revelation available at that moment. This makes Paul's conversion the turning point for the Body, even though the full Pauline revelation came later.
Les says the Body began as Paul preached Christ's death, burial, and resurrection — salvation by faith alone, without the law. As men and women believed, the Holy Spirit baptized or placed them into the Body of Christ. This is why the Body is directly connected to Paul's gospel of grace.
Paul's Gospel vs. Peter's: What You Must Believe to Be Saved
but if I had it up there all the way from the call of Abraham until we get the Apostle Paul, who is uppermost in Scripture? The Jew, the nation of Israel. But now read on, "...that at that time you Gentiles were without Christ or Messiah, being aliens, non-citizens from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise, without hope, and without God in this world.
Pentecost Was a Jewish Holiday
Les explains that the Body of Christ did not necessarily begin at Pentecost because Pentecost was a Jewish holiday with a Jewish message; the gospel later went to Jew and Gentile and believers at Antioch were first called Christians.
Paul's Gospel and Spirit Baptism
Les says the Body began when Paul began preaching Christ's death, burial, and resurrection as the gospel of grace, and the Holy Spirit placed believers into the Body.
Paul's Conversion as the Turning Point
Les explicitly states that from Paul's conversion on the Damascus road, God began calling people into the Body of Christ, a term unique to Paul.
Why Israel Was Blinded — Acts 13 & Romans 11 Explained
So now I feel that we're dealing with the church that you and I are most acquainted with, the real New Testament church, which is the Body of Christ, that consortium of every born-again believer, whether we're Jew or Gentile, black or white, makes no difference. We are all placed into the Body of Christ at the moment that we're saved.
Did the Disciples Understand the Cross? Luke 18 Explained
Now, I'm getting more and more definitive on that use of the word church, because very few people understand that the church is the body of Christ. Now granted, the local church is certainly a God-given entity, but not everybody that's a member of a local church is in the body. Believers and unbelievers—baptized or what? But there are no unbelievers in the body of Christ.
The Holy Spirit as the Baptizer
Les notes the Body of Christ is a term unique to Paul and that Paul flips the baptism picture: the Holy Spirit baptizes believers into the Body.
Saul Converted Under the Kingdom Gospel
Les explains that Saul was converted under the Gospel of the Kingdom because nothing else had yet been revealed, so Paul's conversion marks the transition point.
Acts 9:5: And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
The Damascus road encounter where the risen Jesus speaks to Saul — the conversion Les identifies as the beginning of the Body.
Acts 9:15: But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
Reveals God's immediate purpose for Paul as the apostle to the Gentiles.
Acts 11:26: And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people, and the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
First biblical mention of believers being called Christians, in the Gentile church at Antioch.
1 Corinthians 12:13: For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
Describes Spirit baptism into the Body, the way Les says people enter the Body when they believe.
No — Les Feldick is convinced it did not necessarily begin at Pentecost, because Pentecost was strictly a Jewish holiday with a Jewish message. He places the beginning after Pentecost and ties it to Saul's conversion and Paul's preaching of the gospel of grace.
Les says that from Saul's conversion on the road to Damascus, God began calling people into the Body of Christ. The Body itself is a Pauline revelation, so it begins with Paul's calling and message.
In Antioch, according to Acts 11:26. Les connects this to the time when Gentiles began coming to faith in the gospel of grace, which he associates with the beginning of the Body.
Watch the Teaching: Paul's Gospel vs. Peter's: What You Must Believe to Be Saved