The Head of the Church
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15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Prayer
A few months ago, a man who I had never met before came into the church on a weekday and he asked me a very profound question. It was a Thursday, and the man and were only a minute into our conversation when he started looked me up and down to assess who I was in relation to the church. I wasn’t wearing anything professional by any means. Just my Nike’s, jeans, and a hoodie. After he made his assessment of me, he asked me this profound question. Who’s in charge around here?
At the moment, I didn’t make much of his question, make no mistake, his question is certainly one that we all must consider.
Paul has been teaching us about who Jesus is in Colossians 1:15-20. And this is what he has to say about him.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Jesus is the Lord of creation
Jesus made all things, and all creatures. He made you and me, and every other person that has ever lived. As such, he is the Lord of creation. But despite this, humanity, the crown of creation, have mutinied against their captain, king, and creator.
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”
In other words, kings don’t like to take commands.
But it’s not just kings who don’t like to be told what to do… you and I aren’t keen on receiving instruction either.
Kids and their parents
drivers and speed limits
creatures and their creator
We don’t on like to take commands from anyone, especially when we don’t like the command that is given. This is especially true between men and their creator. While Christ is the Lord of all creation, he isn’t yet acknowledged by all creation as being Lord.
And so, God did something about this. Because creation has rebelled against the authority of God, he saw it fit to make a new creation that would gladly submit to his authority. That new creation is called the church.
18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
The church is the new creation that gladly submits to the rule and reign of Christ as her king. This is what I am going to preach about today as we focus on v18a - he is the head of the body, the church.
So who is in charge around here? The answer is clear- Christ, who is the head of the church - he is the one who is in charge of his church.
This means that no mere man is in charge of the church. Contrary to what the Catholics may say about Peter, or the Pope, there has never been a man who is the head of the church. This certainly goes for the universal church, but the same should be observed about the local church. No man is the head of the church, because the church already has Jesus Christ as her head.
If you aren’t seeing the connection of Christ as the head of the church meaning that he is in charge of the church, listen to the way David spoke of his authority.
43 You delivered me from strife with the people;
you made me the head of the nations;
people whom I had not known served me.
Lest we think that David, or any other man can be the head the way Christ is the head, David gives the highest praises to God as the exalted head above all.
10 Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. 11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.
Let’s understand what it means for Christ to be the head… it means Christ is in charge. And while it’s true that he is head of all, todays text focuses on the fact that Christ is in charge of the church. He is the head of the body, the church.
Let’s understand what the church is, and what it isn’t.
The church isn’t a building.
The church isn’t a group of leaders or pastors.
The church is a body of believers. And Paul has in mind that Christ is head of the universal church… that is all believers in all places at all times.
If you are a part of the church, Christ being in charge is incredibly good news. Even for those of us who love our liberty, having Christ in charge of the church is amazing news. Regardless of whether if you are a freedom loving patriot, or an anxious teenager who can’t wait to grow up to be on your own, it is best to be under the charge of Christ.
This morning, I have three reasons why it is such good news for Christ to be the head of the body, the church.
1. As the head of the body, Christ is connected to the Church
1. As the head of the body, Christ is connected to the Church
Having Christ as our head is not optional. The church without Christ as her head is no more an option than your body deciding it’d be better off without its head. For a body without its head means is nothing only a corpse. If Christ is not our head… then we are only as powerful as Goliath was when David was finished with him.
And so it was of us were we when we were cut off from Christ. When Adam and Eve were separated from God, it meant that they were separated from the very source of life.
For Moses and Israel to go into the promised land without God, meant that yet again they would be cut off from the God who keeps them alive.
For Peter and the other apostles to leave Jesus would mean leaving the source of eternal life.
67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,
Having Jesus Christ as the head of the church is not optional. Having Christ as our head is what makes us a true church. Sure, you can congregate with other people, you can sing songs together, and you can serve one another, and you listen to speeches. But if Christ is not the head of that so called church, then it certainly isn’t Christ’s church.
If Christ is our head, then we will be one with him. This has multiple effects beyond our life here and now.
For starters, we will be persecuted with Christ.
18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
When you are hated for righteousness sake, know that they are actually persecuting Christ, for you are a part of his body.
4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
But if being in Christ leads to your persecution, rejoice,
Having Christ as our head might lead to our persecution, but it will also lead to our everlasting provision. After all, you are a member of Christ and a child of the Father. He will give you all that you need.
So we ought to all the more
19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.
7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
Oh that we would see the millions of benefits of being connected to Christ as our head. There can be no head of the church except Christ. And if he is not our head, then we are disconnected from life.
This leads right into the next benefit of having Christ as our head. As if having life wasn’t enough, we find out that the quality of our fellowship with Christ is nothing short of sweet.
2. As the head of the body, Christ cares for the Church.
2. As the head of the body, Christ cares for the Church.
God no more begrudgingly give life to the church than any of us begrudgingly care for our own bodies.
Ladies - you love your bodies enough to adorn your toes when you get a pedicure.
Men - you love your bodies enough to eat a delicious meal
There is a reason we are told to love our neighbors as we love ourselves… One might try to justify themself by asking who their neighbor is, but we all know what it’s like to love ourselves.
If you’ve ever splurged a bit to get that extra scoop of ice cream...
Or if you’ve ever treated yourself to a spa day...
Or even when you wake up and make yourself that morning brew of coffee…
We do all these things because we love ourselves!
If we who are sinners know how to love and care our own bodies, then how much more does Christ know how to love and care for his body, the church?
Paul painted the picture of Christ as the head of his body when he instructed husband to love their wives.
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body.
Understand that Paul is taking the image of Christ’s love for his body the church, to model how marriage should look. But in a godly marriage, we then see a picture of what Christ’s love for the church looks like. Granted, it is a picture that is marred by sin, but none the less it still gives us a glimpse into the love that Christ has for his body.
Even sinful husbands love their wives and care for them. If this is true of a husband and his wife, then how much more is this true of Christ’s love for the church?
Oh church, know and believe that Christ cares for you, for you are a member of his body. And he loved you so much that he would allow his body to be broken and his blood to be shed, all because he loves you.
Consider this imagery further. As a youth pastor, I ask silly questions a lot. Someone this week asked me if I would rather have my thumb cut off or my index finger cut off… I would prefer a third option, because I want to keep both my thumb and my index finger, because I care for them both!
But not only does the head care for the body, but as the whole body is connected to head, so too we all as individual members of the church are connected to one another.
25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
Don’t you know, that if you stub your pinky toe, the whole body suffers?And I don’t really know what the spleen does, but regardless, it is a part of my body, and I’d much prefer not to have to loose it.
Listen church, Christ cares for you, because you are a member of his body. And one of the ways he cares for his body is by having another member of his body care for you when you are suffering.
Christ, as the head loves his body, the Church. And the individual members of the body that is knit together through Christ also ought to love and care for one another.
Christ cares for you, because you are a member of his body. And the body loves the head and obeys all that they head commands.
3. As the head of the body, Christ commands the church
3. As the head of the body, Christ commands the church
Here we come full circle, and return to the topic that we began with. Who’s in charge here? I’ll tell you what, it’s certainly not me, or any other elder, or even the team of elders. There is a kind of authority that we have, but whatever authority it is, it’s only delegated authority that comes from Christ who alone is the head of the church.
Now, if you’re still not comfortable with being under the authority of another you should know that you have always been and will always be under the authority of another. Don’t be ignorant of this.
Before we had life in Christ, Paul writes,
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
Those who are cut off from the authority Christ are under the influence of the prince of the power of the air… And further, we are slaves to our sinful desires. One might not be under the authority of Christ, but don’t be deceived into thinking that you are free. You are a slave to a master who is commanding you to do the very things that will kill you.
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.
But Christ, who is the head of the church, commands you to do that which will lead to life. Christ’s commands to the church are like the commands of that our mind sends to the rest of the body when we decide we are hungry and we long to eat so that we will be nourished. His commands to the church are like like the command our mind sends to the hand when it touches something hot that will harm the body. Christ commands the church, but he commands us for our good, for the church is his body, and he is our head.
But if Christ is the head of the church, then what should we make of popes and pastors?
Well as far as the pope goes, you ought to utterly reject the notion that any man can be the head of the church. Peter was never the head of the church, for the church has always had one head, and that is Christ Jesus. Come on, you do know that right after Jesus commended Peter he called him Satan right? - Peter is far from being a picture of infallible. But all Scripture is God breathed… be it Peter’s letters, Pauls letters, Johns letters, you name it… the Word of God is perfect, and it will endure forever.
As for pastors, if you understand that a pastor is the head of even a local church, I’d still strongly caution you against such thinking. For if a pastor is the the head of the church, what happens when he sins against you? What happens when he is outed as a false teacher? What happens if his motive is selfish ambition? What happens when he dies? Does the church live and die with the pastors rise and fall? If see a pastor as the head of a church, you ought to brace yourself for utter disappointment when you find out that he is a sinner like you.
But you should follow a pastor only so far as he is following Christ. You out to trust a pastor so far as he rightly divides the word of Truth. For while all authority belongs to Christ, Jesus has delegated authority to his apostles, shepherds, teachers, and evangelists for the good of the church.
Listen to the conduct a elder/pastor is to have among his people
But it’s not enough that you simply obey the commands of God if in your obedience you do not delight in the commands of God. The Pharisees obeyed the commands of God… but their obedience was far from being pleasing to the Lord. Jesus reserved his hardest words for these religious pharisees. He said they were were like whitewashed tombs… clean on the outside, but on the inside they were full of every unclean thing.
Note - the Ps 1 man that is blessed is not the man who meditates on the law day and night… but he is the one who delights in the Law of the Lord… and because he delights in the Lord, he meditates on it day and night. Do you see the difference?
In Ps 19, David says that the Law is desired than much fine gold, and it is sweeter than honey. What’s his point? Kids… have you ever wished you had $1,000? Even adults wouldn’t grumble if they came past a $20 tucked and forgotten in some forgotten pocket. Or have you ever had to be told to eat your ice cream? If you know what it’s like to desire money, or to enjoy a sweet treat, then you’ll get the right idea about what I mean when the Body delights in the commands of Christ as her head.
Now what I’m not saying is that we are going to obey the commands of God perfectly… Read Romans 7 for more on the tension in the Christian life between delighting in the Law of the Lord and yet still fighting against the law of the flesh. But one thing we must know… if we are connected to the head, then we will love his commands.
But what if you don’t like the commands of God? If you don’t delight in the commands of God, then Christ isn’t really your head is he? And if he isn’t in charge of your life, then you’re not a part of his body. And if your not a part of the body, then you are still dead in sin.
Oh that God would cause for us to mourn our sins. Oh that he would take away our heart of stone, and give us a heart of flesh. That we would begin delighting in the law that we once hated. That we would know the love of God. That we would be connected to Christ, who is the head of the Church.
So, who’s in charge around here? Are you in charge of your life? If you are a part of the church, then Christ is in charge. For you are a member of his body, and he is the head. And if Christ is in charge, this is good news.
If men were in charge of the church… the church would certainly be doomed to die.
We have
1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.
22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
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4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5 and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.