Sermon Tone Analysis
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
When you are hated for righteousness sake, know that they are actually persecuting Christ, for you are a part of his body.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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