The Head Of The Church

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, all authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 

Matthew 28:18 

For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husband in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.  

Ephesians 5:23-27 

Christ’s authority extends to His redeemed people. The church to which our text refers is all the redeemed of all ages. It is not any organization, denomination or local body. The church, as Christ uses the term, is the people whom God the Father has given Him. According to the next verse after our text, ‘Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.’ The language Paul uses makes it clear Christ’s work was on behalf of people not organizations. Therefore, because He has redeemed us by His self-sacrifice, He is the Head and we are His body. The result of that is the organic relationship wherein Christ does for us what our head does for our body. The head is the command center for the body. When we speak of Christ’s authority over all things in heaven and earth, we must of necessity include His redeemed people. His leadership brings us to imitate Him. As He has done, and shown us to do, so we look to Him as the great template for our treatment of others. As we look to Him, the Holy Spirit renews us in the whole person after His image. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning