The phrase "body of Christ" in the Bible refers to three things:
Jesus Christ's physical body.
The bread and wine used in the Lord's Supper to remember Jesus. His broken body is compared to the bread and his blood shed compared to the wine.
The church, both local and worldwide.
The Physical Body of Jesus Christ
The New Testament says that God the Father prepared a human body for Jesus, the Son (Hebrews 10:5). The body was made when the Holy Spirit caused Mary, who was a virgin, to become pregnant (Matthew 1:20). Jesus was born as a descendant of David (Romans 1:3). But, Jesus was also called the Son of God (Luke 1:35).
The apostle John stressed that Jesus's body was really human, not just a spirit (1 John 4:2–3). Some people in John’s day were already beginning to argue Jesus was only spirit. God “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14; compare Isaiah 53:1–4). Jesus’s earthly body possessed ordinary human characteristics and limitations. As a real human being:
Jesus experienced sadness (John 11:35; Hebrews 5:7–8).
When Jesus died on the cross, his physical body died (John 19:30, 33). The New Testament says he took the sins of the world on himself when he died (1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 2:2; compare Isaiah 53:5–6). His death is described as a perfect sacrifice (Hebrews 9:12–14, 26–28) that makes believers holy and right with God (2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 10:10).
Jesus’s body was buried in a normal way (Matthew 27:59; Mark 15:46; Luke 23:53, 56; 24:1; John 19:39–40). It was placed in Joseph of Arimathea's rock tomb (Matthew 27:57–60; John 19:41). On the third day, his body came back to life, as he had said it would (John 2:19–22).
He was seen in his physical resurrection body (Matthew 28:9; Luke 24:31, 36; John 20:10–19, 26). People saw, heard, and touched him after he came back to life. (Matthew 28:9; Luke 24:39; John 20:17; 1 John 1:1). He let people touch his scars (Luke 24:39; John 20:27). He could eat food, showing he had a real body (Luke 24:42–43). But his body was also special. He could enter and leave rooms in unusual ways (Luke 24:31, 36; John 20:19, 26). The Bible says that because Jesus's body came back to life, believers will also return to life one day(1 Corinthians 15:20–23, 50–57; Philippians 3:20–21).
The Body of Christ in the Lord’s Supper
At the last supper (Matthew 26:26–29; Mark 14:22–25; Luke 22:15–20; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26), Jesus held the bread and said “This is my body.” He held the cup of wine and said, “This is my blood of the covenant” (Matthew 26:26, 28). Jesus meant that the bread represented his body. His body was broken when he was beaten at his trial and pierced at his crucifixion (Luke 23:33; John 19:1–2). Paul said that Jesus our Passover lamb was sacrificed for us (1 Corinthians 5:7). This means that the Passover lamb in the Old Testament was an object lesson. It points to “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).
For Christians, the body of Christ is viewed (Matthew 8:17; 1 Peter 2:24; compare. Isaiah 53:4–5) as the broken bread at the Lord’s Supper. The cup of wine represents Jesus's blood poured out. The blood is the main factor in God’s covenant of grace with his people.
Jesus called it “the new covenant in My blood” (Luke 22:20). The whole event of the Lord’s Supper was also to be a time to remember (1 Corinthians 11:25–26). In the event, believers are reminded that Christ died for sinners. They remember his forgiveness of their sins (Matthew 26:28). They are also reminded that they are united with him as part of the body of Christ (Romans 6:1–11; 1 Corinthians 10:16; Galatians 2:20; Philippians 3:10).
The Body of Christ, the People of God
The “body of Christ” also used to mean the whole church. All the believers joined together with Jesus are considered God's people. God’s people are said to be members of Christ’s “mystical body” (1 Corinthians 12:27). This means they are close to Jesus, and he takes care of them (Ephesians 5:25, 29). The Bible uses a number of other comparisons for the whole people of God, such as the vine (Psalms 80:8), the temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16–17), building (1 Peter 2:5), chosen people (2:9), and family of God (Ephesians 3:15). These comparisons show how connected and dependent the “body of Christ” is upon the living God.
Paul often used “body of Christ” to remind a local church that it was part of something bigger. Paul taught that all believers are part of one body, with Jesus as the head. “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and not all members have the same function, so in Christ, we who are many are one body, and each member belongs to one another” (Romans 12:4–5). Paul taught the Corinthian Christians that they were part of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27). They and Paul were all baptized by one Spirit into that one body (1 Corinthians 12:13).
In many passages written by Paul, the church is called the “body” and Christ the “head” (Colossians 1:18). Christ has been made “head over everything for the church,” which “is His body” (Ephesians 1:22–23). The body grows through “connection to the head,” (Colossians 2:19). As head of the body, Christ is its Savior (Ephesians 5:23).
The head/body comparison leads to a natural dependence of the church on Christ and his rule over the church. The church understands itself in terms of its Head. The relationship is natural in that the life flows from and is sustained by the Head. The relationship is quick, direct, and complete. Without Christ, both in his saving sacrifice and in his present position at the right hand of God, the church would not exist
In the New Testament, the phrase “body of Christ” means the worldwide church and each local group of believers. It includes both Jewish and non-Jewish believers united in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:14–16; 3:6; 4:4).
Jesus saved the "body of Christ" (Ephesians 5:23).
Jesus leads the "body of Christ" (Colossians 1:18).
Jesus rules the "body of Christ" (Ephesians 1:22–23).
Jesus gives the "body of Christ" strength and unity (Ephesians 4:15–16; Colossians 2:19).
The Gifts of the Body of Christ
Each member of the body of Christ has been given special abilities (called spiritual gifts) to serve Jesus (Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 12:11). These abilities are discussed many times in the bible. They include things like teaching, encouraging others, and showing kindness (Romans 12:7–8; Ephesians 4:11). The ministry of serving is to be shared by all Christians. Christians can do this through giving to the physical needs of others (Acts 11:29–30; 1 Corinthians 16:1–4; 2 Corinthians 8:1–5). They can also do this by praying for one another (Ephesians 1:15–23; 3:14–19; 6:18–20).
No one should look down on others or their gifts. God has chosen each person to have a special job in the body (1 Corinthians 12:14–26). The gifts are given to support “the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12–13). Everyone should become more like Jesus (4:15–16).