The Head

Head Over Everything For The Church

5.17.26 [Ephesians 1:15-23] River of Life (The Festival of Ascension)

Grace and peace be to you from God our Heavenly Father, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Amen. 

Do you approve or disapprove of the way the president is handling his job? This is the intentionally vague question pollsters ask people. 

So how do people answer it? There’s probably a significant portion that will either approve or disapprove, regardless of how he’s done or what’s actually going on. Their vote was their final word. 

But there is a middle group. A group we’d hope makes up most  people. They’d consider his promises and how he’s carried them out. A group that would be able to distinguish between adversities and mistakes. A group that would recognize that while he wields a lot of power, not everything is under his control. 

How do those people answer that question? Their answer is typically based on four factors. Safety. Stability. Strength. Success. If I feel like I’m safe, the country—and especially the economy—are stable and strong, and we’re set up for success in the near future, I’m pretty likely to say he has my approval. I may not like everything he’s doing. I may wish he had handled certain things differently. But he’s going in the right direction if I feel like I’m safe, things are stable, and we’re in a strong position and set up for success. 

That’s the grid that we evaluate our head of state, and all those who lead and govern us. But we also use the same keys for the head of the church. Whether we realize it or not, we even evaluate Christ our King with a very similar grid. Does I feel safe? Do things seem stable? Do I think my faith and church are strong? Are we geared for success? That’s what we want.

But it’s not often how we feel, is it? We live in a culture that feels very comfortable attacking our faith. Christ and Christians are the butt of many jokes. But it’s not just the cheap shots. It’s the savage accusations. Christians are holier-than-thou, judgmental, & hateful. 

That has led to things feeling unstable for Christians and the Church. So many norms have shifted over the past couple of decades. Things that would never have been tolerated are now being championed. People who claim to be Christians state that there are many ways to be saved, not just through faith in Jesus. They assert that creeds don’t matter, that marriage comes in many shapes and sizes, and that Christmas Day is a day for being with your family rather than worshipping Christ the Newborn King. 

It’s no wonder so many Christians feel weak and wandering. Many struggle to discern between foolishness and sin or personal preference. Many are not so sure what the Bible says or how it guides our lives. 

Maybe that describes you. Or your loved ones. We’re content with our loved ones leading us to think they’re still believers, even though they don’t do much of any of the things Christians have done for thousands of years. In times of trouble, even Christians are more likely to talk to their therapist or ask AI rather than call upon the name of the Lord. When we have doubts, we’re told everyone does rather than what God says to us in our moments of uncertainty or how he answers the questions we are wrestling with. 

With the savage attacks, doctrinal changes and personal doubts, it doesn’t always feel like we have a strong King. It doesn’t always look like the church is set up for success. We think something needs to give, something needs to change. But we’re not sure what.  Maybe it’s the music. Maybe it’s the time or the structure or the demands of life. Maybe it’s the values. But there’s got to be something we’re doing wrong as we watch the Christian church crater in our country. 

And with all these hardships and struggles, it’s easy for us to begin to wonder why Jesus isn’t doing more about this. Why doesn’t he defend his Bride more? Why doesn’t he sort out all these doctrinal divides? Why doesn’t he do more to change the hearts and lives of our loved ones and our beloved nation? Why doesn’t he grow his Church? 

These, and many others, are the struggles of modern-day Christians and churches. They are real. They are challenging. They are painful. But they aren’t new. The church in Ephesus faced many of the same. They lived in a place where people attacked them and their faith. Some who claimed to be Christians sought to divide them and didn’t care what God’s Word really said. At times, they felt demoralized, discouraged, abandoned, and hopeless. 

This is why Paul wrote to them. And as he wrote to them, he wanted them to remember who they were. He reminded them that they were blessed by God Eph. 1:3 with every spiritual blessing in Christ. They were Eph. 1:5 adopted by the Heavenly Father. They were Eph. 1:4 holy & blameless in his sight. They had been Eph. 1:4 chosen by God. They had been Eph. 1:13 marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit. They were Eph. 1:14 God’s special possession. These are all wonderful truths. But sometimes, we don’t see that in ourselves, right? 

But it’s not uncommon for a person not to have an accurate view of themselves, is it? Sometimes, we’re too high on ourselves. We think we’re smarter, stronger, more important or better looking than we really are. Then some experience in life humbles us real quick. We meet someone better than us. We feel small & foolish.

When that happens, we may overreact and overcorrect. Suddenly, we think we’re foolish, weak, unimportant, and ugly. That’s not the truth, necessarily, but it’s what we think about ourselves. 

How do we snap out of that? Well, we’d need someone with some experience and perspective to tell us the truth. But even that might not work right away. 

When a young girl thinks her life’s over and she’s never going to be loved or beautiful again, her parents can tell her the truth, but she may not listen. We don’t just want experience and perspective. We want someone who is all the things we long to be to tell us how they see us. We want them to open our eyes so that we can see what they see. 

That’s what Paul prayed for for the Ephesians. Eph. 1:17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Glorious Father, might give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know him better. Paul knew the Ephesians, even after coming to believe that Jesus is their Savior, needed to know the love of God more. 

When we feel unimportant and vulnerable, we need to be reminded that the glorious Father loved us and chose us Eph. 1:4 before the creation of the world. The Almighty Lord moved heaven and earth to make us his own.  

When we feel lost and harassed, we need to be reminded that the Son of God is our Good Shepherd who seeks us and saves us and is guiding us through the shadowy & scary places. He knows us and the way. 

When we feel uncertain or overwhelmed with doubt, we need to be reminded that we have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit. He is the divine deposit in our hearts that guarantees our redemption. He is the One who fixes our eyes on Jesus. He is the One who opens our eyes to see wonderful and beautiful things in the Word of God.

That’s what Paul prayed for the Ephesians to enjoy. Eph. 1:18 I pray that the eyes of your heart might be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and the incomparably great power that is at work in your hearts and lives.  

Your hope in Christ is certain. It’s not a wish upon a star. It is the will of God that will be done. Your riches are stored up for you in heaven, where moth, rust, and thief cannot take them from you. Your power is not found in you, but in him. God is wise. The Lord is faithful. He is love. And he has never let you down and he will never leave you or forsake you. Jesus is your hope, your riches, and your power. 

So why then, is he not here? Because, Paul tells us, he is working for us. He is Eph. 1:22 the head over everything for the church. How can that be? How can Jesus be ruling over all things when so many rulings seem to go against his will and his people? How can Jesus be ruling over all kingdoms when some kingdoms martyr his children for sport? How can he be ruling over all things when so many smart-sounding folks say that believing in him is utter foolishness? 

Are any of these things different for us than they were for him? Did rulings go Jesus’ way in Jerusalem? Was he not murdered and mocked, too? Weren’t there smart-sounding folks who said believing that he rose from the dead was utter foolishness? 

How did that turn out? Did he not win us the victory through suffering and shameful death? Did he not pay for our sins and take away our shame when he was disgraced and dying on the cross? Did he not taste death in our place and leave the tomb in his dust so that we might have hope, peace, and power? So that we might be more than conquerors? 

This is the power of our God. The Father planned our salvation. The Son carried it out. The Spirit brought us to trust in it personally. We believe in God and we love God’s people, not because it’s easy. Not because it’s popular. Not because it makes all of our wildest dreams come true. We believe because God has opened the eyes of our hearts to see that it is true. That he is wise and faithful. That he loves us. So we have hope. We have riches. We have power. In Christ Jesus.

We are safe, because nothing of eternal value can be taken from us. We are stable because God does not change. He is not a shifting shadow. His Word is timeless and eternal truth. We are strong because he is our strength, even when we are weak. We are successful because he has shared with us the riches of his grace. We are his beloved body, and we can trust our wise and loving head, Jesus. Amen.