**This is a good example of fully answering a question while also addressing the more foundational issues that led to the question. The response provides clear explanations with good detail. It also has a personable tone.

Question:When God says a person is in the palm of his hand, does that mean they’re also a member of the body of Christ at the same time?

Answered by: Mark King, who has been a volunteer with us since July, 2014.

Answer: There are two passages that come to mind where the concept of being in the palm of God’s hand is expressed. I think perhaps you are wondering how we can be in Christ’s hand and at the same time be his body.

“See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me” (Isaiah 48:7). This verse in the Old Testament speaks of God’s unfailing love toward Jerusalem, but really says nothing about the Body of Christ.

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:27–30). Here, Christ is speaking of the security of his sheep–in context, the sheep are those who trust in Him for eternal life. They are secure in his hand and also secure within the Father’s hand. These are the same people who in other passages of Scripture would be referred to as the body of Christ.

This, of course, is a metaphor. Christ is not literally holding all believers in his hand, and God the Father is pure Spirit and has no body, so He has no hands in the literal sense. Likewise, believers are not literal sheep. This is a word picture.

Later in the New Testament, believers are called the Body of Christ, and Christ is the Head. This too is a metaphor which is not literally true. However, the statement is true. Christ is the head–He is in control and we are the mechanism by which He accomplishes his work on earth. Just as the head tells the body what to do, so Christ directs the church.

Each metaphor has to be understood individually. There is no problem with believers being in Christ’s hand in one metaphor and being his hands in another. There is no problem with believers being sheep in one metaphor and being Christ’s body in another. And there is no problem with believers being in God’s hand in one metaphor and “under his wings” (Psalm 91:4) in another. The images themselves are not to be understood literally, but the metaphors are true 100%. They are pictures of a larger truth.

If I have missed the mark on what you were asking, let me know and I will work on it some more.