Sermon notes prepared by Steve Felker, Pastor of Swift Creek Baptist Church  Preached 2/16/97; (c) 1997

Ephesians 1:22-23, 4:15-16, 5:23-27

"Christ, the Head of the Church"

     Intro. For several weeks I have been sharing with you about the mission of the church. Though I will cover at least two more of the major functions of the church, so far we have shared the fact that we are to seek to win our world to faith in Christ, make disciples of believers, pray together, and be a worshipping body. Now we are going to begin to focus on what the church is. Are we just an organization of people? Is the only difference between us and other organizations in the community that we are religious? Though a number of church groups may be little more than religious country clubs, the true church is much more than a human organization. The true church is a living organism. Paul was the main New Testament writer that compared the church to a human body. Then, he identified Christ as the Head of the Body. The fact that Jesus is likened to a head of a body is a fitting illustration. The head controls the body. The head is absolutely vital to the life of the body. So my message this morning will focus on Christ as the Head of the Church. We will examine the fact of His headship, the meaning of His headship, and the functions that Christ has as Head of His Church. So notice with me first of all:

The headship of Jesus Christ over the church has been clearly established in several ways:

     A. By Virtue of Creation - This is expressed in Col. 1:16, "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him."

     B. By Virtue of Redemption (1:7) - Not only is Jesus Lord by virtue of creation, but also by virtue of redemption. Jesus is head over the church that He has redeemed by His own blood. He was bruised for our iniquities... He bore our sins in His own body on the tree. God laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. At the cross, God did a miracle. He took all the sin of every person who would ever live and concentrated the guilt of all sin into the body of His Son. Jesus paid in full the penalty for all our sins. Our sins killed Him. He did not die from the wounds in His hands and feet. "It is finished" was a shout of triumph, not the words of a dejected, defeated Man. The plan of God for human redemption was accomplished. You come into the church by virtue of the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Only those who are redeemed and washed with His precious blood belong to the true Church. Furthermore, by His sacrificial death, he proved His love for the Church. Ephesians 5:2 says, "And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour." Rev. 1:5 says, "Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood...." The word "loved" is in the present tense. Jesus loves His church. He purchased it with His own precious blood. And anyone who loves us that much deserves to be the Head of the Church. If Christ loves His church, then I need to love it, too.

     C. By Virtue of His Resurrection, Ascension, & Exaltation (1:18-21) - They took Him down from the cross and laid Him in the grave. They rolled a great stone over the mouth of the tomb. They sealed it with a Roman seal. They set a guard upon it. He was dead! They would keep Him dead! But all the forces of earth and hell could not keep Jesus in the tomb. On the third day, by the mighty power of God, Jesus came forth from the dead. When the Father raised Jesus from the dead, He was placing His stamp of approval on Jesus' finished work. Rom. 1:4 says that Jesus was "declared to be the Son of God with power...by the resurrection from the dead." And He raised Christ from the dead to guarantee resurrection power for victorious living to every person who would receive Him. Then, after 40 days, He ascended to the right hand of God. Acts 1:9 says, "And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight." He took His place in authority at the right hand of the Father.

     D. By Virtue of Establishing the Church - I love what He says in Matt. 16:18: He doesn't say, "...I will build the church"; He says, "...I will build my church." This is also indicated in Colossians 1:18 where Jesus is called "the Beginning." He founded the church. He's the builder, owner, purchaser, chief cornerstone, and foundation of the church. The church is His.

Eph. 1:22 says that God "hath put all [things] under his feet, and gave him [to be] the head over all [things] to the church." Eph. 5:23 says, "For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church." Now this Headship of Christ means the following:

     A. Christ is the Ruler of His Church - Colossians 1:18 says, "And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all [things] he might have the preeminence." This is emphasized in the fact the "He" is emphatic in Greek, "He Himself is the head." And as Lord of His church, He is its ruler. If anyone asks us who is in charge, tell him, "Jesus Christ." No angel, or human leader, or human organization is the head of the church. The pastor is not the ruler of the church. The chairman of the deacons is not the ruler of the church. The biggest contributer is not the ruler of the church. Jesus is the ruler of the church. Headship is absolute! There can be no equal. There cannot be two heads governing one body. There is one Head: Jesus! This is lordship. Jesus is Lord of the church. There can be no rival. The Head is the control center. It does the thinking, directing, planning, and sets forth the strategy and purpose. The Head establishes the vision for the body. It expresses the personality. What joy it is when the entire church body is filled with the personality of Jesus. This Headship of Jesus means the following: 1. We Must Seek to Determine His Will for Our Church - We know most of what He wants to do because it's written in the Bible. When the Scripture is silent about a certain issue, then it's up to us to discern the mind of God prayerfully, thoughtfully, and patiently. We wait until God shows us what He wants us to do. Another important aspect in a church seeking to know the will of God is to elect a godly pastor, deacons, and other leaders who will seek to know God's will. The congregation should be very careful about voting contrary to the leadership of the church. If you ever do, make sure you are voting out of conviction to be in conformity to God's will, and not your own will. 2. He is to Be Obeyed - 1 Corinthians 11:3 says, "But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ..." Have you accepted that truth in your own life? And then we as a church should obey Christ. If we are truly to follow the New Testament, we must submit to the lordship of Jesus, our Head. If a church fails to fulfill the mission of Jesus-it is not more New Testament than some religious country club or social group. There is always the temptation for a church to turn its eyes inward, to think only of itself. A church may settle back in comfort with members simply enjoying themselves rather than reaching their world for Christ. Headship is a theocracy. Humanly, in organization, the church is a democracy, at least, that's the way it is supposed to be in a Baptist Church. Each member of a local church may vote to express personal conviction. But, spiritually, a local church is a theocracy under the headship of Jesus. The right way for the church to conduct itself is to seek His will, come together and vote to do His will, and then do it. The source of most church trouble is when some human personality begins to lift up self to compete with Jesus for headship. Anytime an individual or group within the church begins to rival Jesus for headship, there is trouble. But there is no place for division in the body. Members should not determine what they want, then campaign to build group support for their will. (See illus., Robinson, pp. 28-29).

     B. He Is to Be Regarded as the Source of the Life & Vitality of the Church (5:23b) - The body depends upon the Head for its life. In the Vine-branch relationship in John 15, the life of the Vine flows through the branches. The branches depend upon the Vine. In like manner, the Head sustains the body. Thus, we are absolutely dependent upon Christ, and Him alone for our salvation and sanctification. Our individual and church prayer life is the true measure of how much we truly recognize our dependence upon Christ.

     C. He Is to Be Lifted Up by the Church - Now what part of your body should receive the most glory? The head. What part of your body should receive the most attention? The head. Even so, Jesus should be the focus of our attention, the recipient of glory and praise. Jesus said, "And I, if I be lifted up..." (John 12:32). How do you reach people for Christ? Lift up Jesus!

     A.  He Is the Shepherd of His Church - Jesus is called shepherd 3 times in the New Testament: In John 10:11, He's the "good shepherd"; in 1 Pet. 5:4, He's the "chief Shepherd"; and in Heb 13:20 He's the "great Shepherd of the sheep." As the great Shepherd, what does He do? In Heb. 13:21, we read that the Great Shepherd will "make you complete in every good work to do His will...." He's perfecting and equipping us to do His will. He uses His Word to shape us (2 Tim. 3:17). He's given us gifted men to help equip us (Eph. 4:11-12a). There is another way that we are perfected: 1 Pet. 5:10 says that after we have suffered a while, the Lord will make us perfect. Furthermore, He gives us the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). Eph. 5:29 says, (read). Nourish means "to feed." A sheperd feeds his sheep. Cherish means "to warm with body heat." The Lord shepherds, feeds and warms us. Jesus is the ultimate teacher of His church. First John 2:20 says, "But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things." Then verse 27 says that we have anointing from God; we don't need worldly, human teachers who don't know the Scriptures." As a pastor I'm to open to you the Word of God so that you may know the mind of God and the heart of the Saviour. Christ is the Teacher. I'm only a waiter. I didn't cook the meal; I'm only supposed to deliver it to you hot and without spoiling it. Christ is at work in His church. Sometimes I get frustrated and say, "Lord, how can we get people more committed? How can we make them more equipped and get them growing?" But I'm comforted by the fact that He is taking care of that. He's equipping, nourishing, and cherishing His church.

     B. He Intercedes for His Church - As I said earlier, Christ has been exalted to the Right Hand of God, and He is the Head of the Church. And there, at the right hand of God, He interceeds for the Church. Like a shepherd would protect his sheep by fighting off a wolf, the Lord Jesus Christ fights off the adversary who constantly comes before the throne of God to accuse Christians. He is our defender, intercessor, advocate, and sympathizer. He is our High Priest. In I John 2:1 John said, "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Heb. 4:15 says, "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as [we are, yet] without sin." Christ knows exactly what we go through, so He's able to help us (cf. also Heb. 2:18; Heb. 7:25b).

     C. The Sanctifier of His Church - Eph. 5:25-26 says, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word."

Conclusion: Do you acknowledge Jesus as the Head & Lord of your life? Are you obeying your Head in regard to church membership & service?