Make no mistake. There is only one body (Eph. 4.4). This one body is invisible to us since it comprises those whom God knows intimately and personally. It includes those who have died in the Lord previously and those who are chosen, but, who have not yet turned to the Lord. This is the church that Jesus is building (Mt. 16.18 – where “rock” refers to the revelation of the Father in vs. 17). It is comprised of those who are His sheep who know Him personally:
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. (Jn.10.14-16 ESV)
