Head over the Church is the title and reality of the risen Christ as the supreme authority, source of life, and governing Lord of His people.
God has given Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
As Head, Christ directs, nourishes, protects, and unites His people, and from Him the whole body grows.
No other head is needed or permitted; the church lives under the sole headship of Christ.
In the New Testament the relationship between Christ and the church is repeatedly described with the image of head and body. Christ is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. God has put all things under His feet and given Him as head over all things to the church. From the Head the whole body is joined and held together, and it grows with a growth that is from God. This headship is both organic and authoritative. Christ is the source of the church’s life, the One from whom every spiritual supply flows, and at the same time the One who has the right to direct and command His people. The church is not a human institution free to invent its own government or message; it is the body that must hold fast to its Head and receive all its direction and nourishment from Him alone.
- Christ alone is Head of the church; no human leader or institution shares that title.
- As Head He is both the source of the church’s life and the One who exercises full authority over it.
- The church is His body, organically joined to Him and dependent on Him for growth and unity.
- God has already placed all things under Christ’s feet and given Him as head over all things for the benefit of the church.
- Holding fast to the Head is the safeguard against false teaching and human traditions.
- From the Head the whole body is nourished, knit together, and built up in love.
- The headship of Christ will be openly displayed when He presents the church to Himself in glory.
- Supreme Authority – All rule and direction for the church belong to Christ alone.
- Source of Life – The body receives its life, nourishment, and growth from the Head.
- Organic Union – Believers are members of His body, joined to Him and to one another.
- Preeminence – In everything He is to have the first place.
- Provision and Care – As Head He nourishes and cherishes the church as His own body.
- Protection from Error – Holding fast to the Head guards the church from being led astray.
- Goal of Glory – The Head will one day present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle.
- Ephesians 1:22-23 – “And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”
- Colossians 1:18 – “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.”
- Ephesians 4:15-16 – “…speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”
- Colossians 2:18-19 – “Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 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.”
- Ephesians 5:23-25 – “For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior… Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”
- Ephesians 5:29-30 – “For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.”
- 1 Corinthians 11:3 – “But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.”
- Colossians 2:9-10 – “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.”
- Ephesians 4:4-6 – “There is one body and one Spirit… one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all…”
- Matthew 28:18-20 – “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…”
- Acts 20:28 – “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”
- Revelation 1:12-13, 20 – Christ walks among the lampstands (the churches) as their living Lord.
- Ephesians 2:19-22 – The church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone.
- 1 Peter 2:4-5 – Believers are living stones being built up as a spiritual house, with Christ as the living stone.
Christ is the sole Head of the church. No pastor, council, tradition, or movement may take that place. From the Head the body receives its life, its unity, its direction, and its growth. God has already put all things under His feet and given Him as head over all things for the sake of the church. Therefore hold fast to the Head. Receive your nourishment from Him. Submit to His Word as the final authority. Build up the body in love under His direction. The church that remains joined to its Head will grow with a growth that is from God and will one day be presented by Him to Himself in glory, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. The Head is sufficient. The body needs no other.
Entry compiled for the JESUSaves.com Bible Glossary. Optimized for wiki.js Visual Editor.