Historically there are two ideas about the body of Christ that are wrong, that cause confusion. The first is to think in purely physical terms, and the second is to think in purely spiritual terms. Both lead to false conclusions.
Our modern, scientific world tends toward the first. Most people think that the human body is a physical thing. We think that the essential elements of the human body are flesh and bone. Today, Christians think that we are bodies that have spirits, and unbelievers think that we have bodies that have minds. Both think that our fleshly bodies control our minds and spirits through the blood chemistry of our glandular systems.
This is most prevalent in the medical industry, where miracle drugs are prescribed for every sort of ailment, physical, mental, and emotional. For instance, we believe that our moods are controlled by our blood chemistry, so various psychological disorders are treated with drugs that alter the blood chemistry. In addition, we tend to think that our lives are defined as existing from birth to death. In short, we think we are physical bodies, physical beings, and our minds and spirits are abstractions. Our minds and spirits are understood to be projections or images that are imaginary.
In contrast, the biblical understanding is the opposite. The Bible defines human beings as spiritual beings that have temporary, physical bodies.
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