Paul understood the importance of membership in the local church when he was rejected by Jerusalem but later received through Barnabas' appeal. Though he had been joined to the body of Christ after the road to Damascus, it was vital for him to join the local church at Jerusalem and later Antioch.

When he then writes to churches like Corinth struggling with problems and immaturity, it is membership in the body that he establishes as the foundational metaphor to understand why being joined is vital to every member's life, health, and growth in the Lord.