Ephesians 4.15c-Jesus Christ is the Head of the Body
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday April 8, 2025
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 4:15c-Jesus Christ is the Head of the Body
Lesson # 245
Ephesians 4:11 Therefore, on the one hand, He Himself generously gave some to be apostles but on other hand, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be pastors, specifically, teachers 12 for the purpose of equipping the saints for performing the work of service in order to ultimately build up the members of Christ’s body 13 until each and every one of us as a corporate unit attains to experiencing the unity produced by obedience to the one and only Christian faith. Correspondingly, until all of us without exception attains to the unity produced by an experiential knowledge of God’s Son. Until each and every one of us as a corporate unit attains to experiencing a mature man. Until all of us without exception attains to experiencing proportionately to the full stature of the one and only Christ’s character. 14 In order that each of us as a corporate unit would no longer be children. Specifically, those who are tossed back and forth by waves so as to be carried about from place to place by means of every wind, that is teaching by means of the trickery produced by certain members of the human race because of craftiness according to their program which is characterized by that which produces deception. 15 Instead, on the basis of each and every one of us as a corporate unit making it our habit of practicing the truth by means of the practice of divine-love, let all of us without exception grow with respect to every area of our character into the state of being like Him, namely, Christ, who is the head. (Lecturer’s translation)
Ephesians 4:15 is composed of the following:
(1) Causal participial clause: alētheuontes…en agapē (ἀληθεύοντες...ἐν ἀγάπῃ), “Instead, on the basis of each and every one of us as a corporate unit making it our habit of practicing the truth by means of the practice of divine-love” (Lecturer’s translation)
(2) Hortatory subjunctive clause: auxēsōmen eis auton ta panta (αὐξήσωμεν εἰς αὐτὸν τὰ πάντα), “Let all of us without exception grow with respect to every area of our character into the state of being like Him.” (Lecturer’s translation)
(3) Relative pronoun clause: hos estin hē kephalē, Christos (ὅς ἐστιν ἡ κεφαλή, Χριστός), “namely, Christ, who is the head.” (Author’s translation)
Now, the relative pronoun clause, which completes the exhortation in this verse, contains the relative pronoun hos (ὅς) whose referent is of course Jesus Christ since He is the referent of the word’s antecedent, which we noted is the accusative masculine singular form of the intensive personal pronoun autos (αὐτός).
It is further indicated by the nominative masculine singular form of the proper name Christos (Χριστός), “of Christ,” which functions as a nominative of simple apposition, which means that it stands in apposition to this relative pronoun.
It identifies specifically for the reader who the referent is for this relative pronoun.
This is indicated by the fact that both words agree in gender (masculine), number (singular) and case (nominative).
The noun kephalē (κεφαλή), “the head” is employed in a metaphorical or figurative sense and means “head” expressing the fact that Jesus Christ is the sovereign ruler over the church.
This word kephalē (κεφαλή), “the head” is functioning as a predicate nominative indicating that it is making an assertion about Jesus Christ, namely that He is the ruler or head over the body, which is the church.
The articular construction of this word is monadic meaning that there is only one head of the body, the church and that is Jesus Christ.
So the article expresses the idea that Jesus Christ is in a class by Himself and is the one and only ruler of the church.
This is not the first time in Ephesians that Paul has described Jesus Christ as “the head” of the body, which we noted is the church since he describes the Lord as such in Ephesians 1:22.
Ephesians 1:15 For this reason, after I myself heard about the faith among each and every one of you in the one and only Lord Jesus as well as you are practicing divine-love, which is on behalf of each and every one of the saints, 16 I never permit myself to cease regularly expressing thanks to the one and only God because of each and every one of you. I do this while disciplining myself to make it my practice of remembering each and every one of you during my prayers. 17 I make it a habit of occupying myself with praying that God, that is, the glorious Father of the one and only Lord ruling over each and every one of us as a corporate unit, who is Jesus Christ, would cause each and every one of you to receive divine wisdom, specifically, divine revelatory wisdom provided by the one and only Spirit with respect to an experiential knowledge of Himself. 18 Namely, that the eyes of your heart are enlightened in order that each and every one of you would possess the conviction of what constitutes being the confident expectation of blessing produced by His effectual call, what constitutes His inheritance, which is characterized by glorious wealth, residing in the person of the saints. 19 Also, what constitutes being His incomparable, great power on behalf of each one of us who believe which is equivalent to the exertion of His sovereign, omnipotent power to overcome. 20 This He caused to enter into the state of being exerted on behalf of the incomparable Christ. Specifically, by causing Him to be raised out from the dead ones. Then, by causing Him to be seated at His right hand in the heavenlies 21 above each and every sovereign ruler, authority, power exercised, dominion as well as each and every designated rank, by no means only during this age but in fact also during the one certain to come. 22 In other words, He caused each and every animate and inanimate object to be placed in subjection under His feet. Correspondingly, He gave Him as a gift as head over each and every animate and inanimate object for the benefit of the church. (Lecturer’s translation)
Now, in Ephesians 4:15, in this relative pronoun clause, the verb eimi (εἰμί) expresses the idea of Jesus Christ “existing in the state or condition” of being the head of the body, which is the church.
The present tense of the verb eimi (εἰμί) is a gnomic present, which expresses the idea that Jesus Christ “as an eternal spiritual truth” exists in the state or condition of being the head of the body, which is the church.
The proper name Christos (Χριστός) denotes the Messiahship of Jesus of Nazareth; thus He is the Deliverer of the human race in three areas through His death, resurrection, ascension and session: (1) Satan (2) Cosmic System (3) Old Sin Nature.
The Lord’s Messiahship has a four-fold significance: (1) Separation unto God. (2) Authorization from God. (3) Divine enablement. (4) The coming Deliverer.
The proper name Christos (Χριστός) is a technical word designating the humanity of our Lord as the promised Savior for all mankind who is unique as the incarnate Son of God and totally and completely guided and empowered by the Spirit as the Servant of the Father.
The word denotes the Messiahship of Jesus of Nazareth, thus He is the Deliverer of the human race in three areas through His death, resurrection, ascension and session: (1) Satan (2) Cosmic System (3) Old Sin Nature.
Christos (Χριστός) signifies that Jesus of Nazareth served God the Father exclusively and this was manifested by His execution of the Father’s salvation plan which was accomplished by His voluntary substitutionary spiritual and physical deaths on the Cross.
The word also signifies that Jesus of Nazareth has been given authority by God the Father to forgive sins, give eternal life, and authority over all creation and every creature as a result of His execution of the Father’s salvation plan.
Furthermore, it signifies that Jesus of Nazareth was perpetually guided and empowered by God the Holy Spirit during His First Advent.
Lastly, the word signifies that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised deliverer of the human race from the bondage of Satan, his cosmic system and the old Adamic sin nature.
The head metaphor to signify the rulership of Jesus Christ over the church is employed by Paul in several places in his writings (Eph. 4:15; 5:23; Col. 2:19).
The body metaphor is employed often by Paul in his writings to describe the church’s intimate and eternal union with Jesus Christ (Rom. 12:4-5; 1 Cor. 6:15; 10:17; 12:12-13, 27; Eph. 1:23; 2:16; 4:4, 12, 16; 5:23, 30; Col. 1:18a; 1:24; 2:19; 3:15).
The head and body metaphor is one of eight metaphors used in the New Testament to describe the relationship between the church and the Lord Jesus Christ:
(1) The last Adam and the New Creation (1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 5:17a).
(2) The Great Shepherd and the Sheep (Heb. 13:20).
(3) The True Vine and the Branches (John 15:5a).
(4) The Chief Cornerstone and the Stones in the building (Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:5-6).
(5) The Great High Priest and members of the Royal Priesthood (Heb. 4:14a; 1 Pet. 2:9a).
(6) The Groom and the Bride. (Our wedding occurs at the Second Advent) (Rev. 19:7).
(7) The King of Kings and the Royal Family of God (Rev. 19:14-16).
As he does in Ephesians 4:15, the apostle Paul teaches the Colossian Christian community in Colossians 1:18 and 2:19 that Jesus Christ is the head of the church.
Colossians 1:18 Furthermore, He Himself, as an eternal spiritual truth exists in the state of being the head over His body, namely His church who, as an eternal spiritual truth exists in the state of being the founder that is the firstborn from the dead ones. The divine purpose was accomplished so that He alone became the Preeminent One among each and every person with no exceptions. (Lecturer’s translation)
Not only does the apostle Paul mention the headship of Christ in Colossians 2:19 but he does so in relation to the spiritual growth of the Christian community.
Colossians 2:19 In fact, he absolutely never at any time existed in the state of being united with the Head from whom, each and every member of the body is, as an eternal spiritual truth being abundantly provided for as well as united experientially through the ligaments who act as tendons too. As an eternal spiritual truth, it grows spiritually with a growth which is produced by God the Father. (Lecturer’s translation)
