Body of Christ

The "Body of Christ" is used by Protestants to collectively describe believers in Christ, as opposed to only those who are members of the Catholic Church. In this sense, Christians are members of the universal body of Christ not because of identfication with the institution of the Church, but through identification with Christ directly through faith. This is based on several passages in the Bible, including Romans 12:5, 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, Ephesians 3:6 and Ephesians 5:23, Colossians 1:18 and Colossians 1:24. Jesus Christ is seen as the "head" of the body, which is the church, while the "members" of the body are seen as members of the Church. In this way, Protestantism defines the "Body of Christ" in a much broader way than the Catholic Church.

Historically, the reason Protestantism has defined the Body of Christ more broadly than the Catholic Church is because of its emphasis on faith and the Bible alone (Sola fide) and (Sola scriptura). This has allowed for a broad base within Christianity to call itself part of the "Body of Christ."