📖 Biblical Definition
The body in Scripture is never shameful — it is the good creation of God, made for His glory and destined for resurrection. The Incarnation is the ultimate vindication of physical existence: "The Word became flesh" (John 1:14). Paul's uses of sōma include: (1) the physical human body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) and must be presented as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1); (2) the Body of Christ — the church as a living organism with many members, diverse gifts, mutual interdependence, and Christ as the head (1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4:15-16); (3) the resurrected body — glorified, imperishable, and the vessel of eternal life (1 Corinthians 15:44). Gnostic contempt for the body has no place in Christian theology.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
BODY, n.
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BODY, n. 1. The frame of an animal; the material substance of an animal or plant. 2. Matter, as opposed to spirit; the physical frame of a human being, as opposed to the soul. 3. A person; a human being. 4. A collective mass; a number of individuals spoken of collectively — as "a body of men." 5. In theology, the body of Christ is His church, composed of all true believers, of which He is the Head.
📖 Key Scripture
1 Corinthians 6:19–20 — "Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you... So glorify God in your body."
Romans 12:1 — "Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."
1 Corinthians 12:27 — "Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it."
Ephesians 4:15–16 — "Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body... makes the body grow."
1 Corinthians 15:44 — "It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern culture is split in its treatment of the body.
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Modern culture is split in its treatment of the body. One direction is neo-Gnostic contempt: the body is a social construct to be reshaped at will, its biological nature irrelevant to identity. This is ancient Gnosticism in new clothes — the real self floats free of physical reality. The opposite error is bodily idolatry: the body as ultimate object of worship, appearance as the measure of worth. Both distortions fail the biblical view: the body is real, good, created, accountable, destined for resurrection, and belongs to God — "You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body" (1 Corinthians 6:20).
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
G4983 — sōma (σῶμα): body; the whole physical person; the corporate Body of Christ; the resurrection body — one word ...
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G4983 — sōma (σῶμα): body; the whole physical person; the corporate Body of Christ; the resurrection body — one word carrying all three senses across Paul's letters.
H1320 — bāsār (בָּשָׂר): flesh, body, the whole person as embodied — Hebrew does not separate soul from body the way Greek philosophy does.
G4561 — sarx (σάρξ): flesh; the physical body OR the sinful human nature — context determines which Paul intends; often misread as bodily existence being sinful.
Usage
"The Resurrection of Christ guarantees the resurrection of your body — your physical existence matters to God eternally, not just spiritually."
"The church is not an organization; it is a body — organic, interdependent, and dying when members are isolated or amputated."
"You cannot honor God with your soul while dishonoring Him with your body. They are one person before God."