I'm going to speak to you today
on this subject, Jesus Christ, the head of the church. Now,
I could select several scriptures, but I'm going to select one over
in Colossians chapter 1, verse 18, just one phrase. It says,
and he is the head of the body, the church. And he, speaking
of Christ, our Lord, he is the head of the body, the church. Now there are those who see the
church as local only. They call it a local New Testament
church. And they believe this. This is
the definition which they give. They believe the church is a
local assembly. A local assembly of believers
called out by the Holy Spirit. Now that definition is certainly
in keeping with the scriptures. For the word church is often
used in the Word of God referring to a local assembly of believers
called out by the Holy Spirit, a church in a given location
like the church at Galatia, the church at Ephesus, the church
at Thessalonica, the church at Philippi, those were local independent
churches, assemblies of called out believers. In Matthew 18
when the Lord was telling the disciples how to settle difficulties
and divisions among brethren He said, you go to a man who
is offended or offended with you, and if he will not hear
you, then take two or three witnesses. And if he will not hear the witnesses,
he says, then tell it to the church. And that's got to be
a local church. Tell it to the church. Tell it
to the assembly of believers. Tell it to the brethren in the
local church. And then in Acts 14.23, it says
they ordained elders in every church. There are several churches
now. They ordained elders in every
church. There were many churches. But
now most believers and most competent writers and preachers of the
past see the church, the New Testament church, or the church,
as both local and universal. In other words, we've talked
about the local assembly of believers called out by the Holy Spirit,
believers in Christ, or professors of faith in Christ, but this
great universal church of which the scripture speaks is the church
of our Lord Jesus Christ, and it's made up of all believers,
of all believers, of all believers, of all generations, of all tribes,
kindred, nations, tongues unto heaven, of all believers. You
say, well, when could such a church be assembled? It's assembled
at the feet of Christ. Our Lord always assembled at
His feet. It's assembled now at His feet.
And believers from the Old Testament, Abraham's in this church, Moses
is in this church, Abel's in this church, David's in this
church, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, Paul, all of these
are in this church. Believers, Luther, Whitefield,
Spurgeon, Calvin, these men are in this church. Some are in heaven,
some are on earth. Some are from one part of the
world, some are from another part, but all nations and people
of the redeemed of Christ make up the church of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Now listen to these scriptures.
Matthew 16, 18 says, I will build my church. The Lord Jesus said,
I will build my church. He's not talking about the 13th
Street Baptist Church, or the church down in Danville, Kentucky,
or the church up in Cincinnati, or Louisville, or Charleston.
He's saying, I will build my church. My true church and the
gates of hell shall not prevail against it. In Hebrews 2 verse
12, Christ said this, I will declare thy name unto my brethren
in the midst of the church. I'll declare the name of God
in the midst of the church to my brethren and I will sing of
thee. In Hebrews 12, 23, listen, the church of the firstborn.
The church of the Lord Jesus Christ, the firstborn, whose
names are written in heaven. And then Ephesians 5.25. It tells
us here that Christ is the head of the church. He's the savior
of the church. He sanctifies and cleanses the
church. He presents it to himself a glorious
church. And it tells husbands to love
their wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. Now this church has no unbelievers
in it, this church has no tares, this church has no hypocrites,
this church has no false professors. A local assembly of believers
in a given location, they have those in that organization or
that assembly who do not know Christ, that's obvious. Our Lord
Jesus Christ had 12 disciples and one of them didn't know him.
And then the Apostle Paul talked about Demas hath forsaken me,
and Alexander did me much evil, and by jealous and a marginese
hath made shipwreck of the faith. And he talks about these people
who departed. John said they went out from
us, but they never were of us, but they were church members.
They were church members, but they weren't members of that
true church, the church of our Lord Jesus Christ, the church
of God, whose names are written in heaven. The old Scottish preacher,
Robert Murray MacShane, is one of my favorite preachers and
writers of the past. He died when he was only 29 years
of age, but he left a great impact with his writings and with his
messages. He said this, the church, which is the object of God's
love, is all people of all ages who are chosen of God, awakened
by the Holy Spirit, justified by the blood of Christ, called
and sanctified, and already risen with Christ, seated with Christ,
and glorified in Christ. And this church, this church
is made up of every person who is saved and who will finally
be saved. And is made up of every person
who will sit down to the marriage supper of the Lamb and be conformed
perfectly to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ and the great
Bishop Ralph who is worthy to be read had a sermon on the universal
church the church of our Lord the true church is one of the
greatest messages ever preached and he shows how that this church
is made up of believers every one of the elect every one of
the sheep of Christ every one of the brethren and in that church
There are none who know not the Lord. Charles Spurgeon, he's
the favorite of most people in our day. Most preachers in our
day read Spurgeon. Men of every denomination read
Charles Spurgeon. He's admired. He's respected.
He's well read. He was a great preacher of the
Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, England for 38 years. He died
in 1892 at the age of 58. But Charles Spurgeon wrote this.
about the church. He said the church is the assembly
of those whose names are written in heaven. Now, as I said to
you, you say, well, when does it assemble? It's assembled in
the mind and purpose of God. It was assembled in the mind
and purpose of God before the world began. It's assembled at
the feet of Christ the Lord. With God there's no time. We're
time creatures and we're time conscious. But with God everything's
in the everlasting presence. everything now always has been
and the church is the assembly of those whose names are written
in heaven the aggregate of all believers make up the church
which Christ both redeemed with his most precious blood this
is Spurgeon speaking and of which he is the soul and only head
now part of that church is in heaven triumphant and part of
that church is on the earth militant. But these differences of places
makes no division as to the unity of that church. I have a son
who's in glory. I have a son who lives in Ashland.
I have a son who lives in Tennessee. But they're still my sons. We're
one family. When my son died, he didn't cease
to be my son. When my son moved to Tennessee,
he didn't cease to be my son. So it doesn't matter where Christ's
sheep are. It doesn't matter where believers
are. They're his sheep. They're in him. And their unity
is not divided. There is but one church, Mr.
Spurgeon continued, only one church. It's above and beneath. And time creates no separation. Place creates no separation.
The church is always one because they're one in Christ. Can Christ
be divided? Then all who are in Christ are
in the church. It does not matter where they
are. It does not matter what time or generation in which they
might have lived. They're in Christ. And that brings
me to my subject. Christ is the head of the church.
That's what it says here. Let me read it to you in several
places now. Ephesians 1, 22. The Father, the Father, the Heavenly
Father, hath put all things under His feet. And gave him to be
the head over all things to the church, which is his body. Christ is the head of the body,
which is his church. The Father gave him that distinction.
The Father gave him that position. And then Ephesians 5.23, for
the husband is the head of the wife. That's scriptural. Marriage is not a 50-50 proposition. I know we cooperate, we live
in love, and affection, and unity. But the husband's the head of
the house. That's what the Word of God says. He told Eve when
they were thrown out of the Garden of Eden, He said, Now you shall
be in subjection to your husband, and he shall have the rule over
you. And as the man is the head of the woman, Christ is the head
of the church. That's what He says. The husband
is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church. And
He's the Savior of the body. In Colossians 1.18, and he's
the head of the body, the church. Now I've got about seven or eight
points, and I'm hopeful that I'll be able to get all of them
into this message. And I want you to listen carefully
as I speak to you now on Christ the head of the church. What
does it mean? Well, first of all, Christ as the head of the
church, every believer, every sheep, every child of God, Christ
as the head of the church represents the whole body. You ever heard
somebody say, well, they're counting heads. Counting heads. What does that mean, they're
counting heads? Well, they're counting people. The whole person
is represented by the head. We count heads, you know. Well,
the body goes with the head, you know. The head is the whole
person. And so now watch this. So this
thing of headship, headship, The whole human race was represented
by one head, headship, and that's Adam. Now that's what the Word
of God says. I'm not just telling you something
I suppose or surmise. But this is what Scripture says.
Adam was the head of the human race. When he stood, we stood.
When he fell, we fell. When he sinned, we sinned. Now
listen to Romans 5, 12. By one man, sin entered this
world. And death by sin, so death passed
upon all men because he was the head of all men. He was the representative
of all men. Adam stood as the head, the federal
head of a whole race. In Adam all die. As we born the
image of the earthy, we shall bear the image of the heavenly.
The first man was of the earth, earthy. And he stood for all
men. When he fell, we fell. There
was imputed to us, and imparted to us, and reckoned to us, and
passed down through Adam to us a sinful nature and a sinful
standing before God. Now then, in order to save a
people out of Adam's race, God in a covenant of grace, this
is what the Bible teaches, in a covenant of grace instituted
a second federation of which Christ Jesus is the head. Now
in Adam, all who are in Adam die. In Christ, All who are in
Christ are made alive. By one man's sin many were made
sinners, by one man's disobedience. By the obedience of another man
were many made righteous. By man came death, by man came
the resurrection. The first man is of the earth
earthy, the second man is the Lord from heaven. Do you understand
what I'm saying? Christ as the head of the church,
and we call the church the family of God, the kingdom of God, we
call this church the elect of God, we call the church spiritual
Israel, we call the church those whose names are written in the
Lamb's Book of Life, those whose names are written in heaven,
and their head is Jesus Christ. I'm going to make that as simple
as I can, as clear as I can. Adam, the word Adam means man,
Red earth, taken from the earth. God took man. He didn't create
but one man. Even Eve came out of Adam. He
took a rib from Adam and made the woman. She came out of the
man. She was called woman. She came out of the man. God
didn't make but one man. He didn't create but one man.
There's never been created on this earth but one man. That's
Adam. He was created from the earth and God breathed in him
the breath of life. He became a living soul. Every
person who's ever walked on this earth came out of that man. He's
the first man. He's the head. He's the federal
head. He's the headship. And when he stood, the whole
race stood in his loins. When he fell, the whole race
fell. When he became a sinner, the whole race became a sinner.
The only kind of son that he can beget is a sinful son with
his nature, with his likeness. Now God determined to have a
people different from that fallen man. And he chose them out of
Adam's race, and he instituted and anointed and ordained a living
head, another head, Christ. And by Adam's transgression we
fell, by Christ's disobedience we were made righteous. In Adam
we die, in Christ we are made alive. By man came death, by
man came the resurrection. Just two men, two Adams. The
Bible calls them two Adams. It said the first man, the first
Adam is of the earth, earth is the second Adam. is the Lord
from heaven. Read 1 Corinthians 15 and tell
me who the second Adam is. You know who the first Adam is,
it's man. It's the one who was in the garden
of Eden. Who's the second Adam? It's the Lord from heaven. He's
the head. And when God deals with the church,
he deals with the head. The head represents the whole
body. All that's second. Christ as the head of the church
is the life of the church. Not only does he represent every
believer in the church, but he's the life of the church. A man
can't live without his head. I can live without this arm.
I can live without an ear. I can live without an eye. I
can live without a leg. I can't live without a head.
The life is in the head. And even so, Christ is our life.
The scripture says your life is hid with Christ in God. When
Christ, who is our life, He's the head of the church, and being
the head of the church, He's the life of the church. And when
Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall we appear
with him in glory. Where the head is, there the
body's got to be. You don't have a head and a body
unless they're both in the same place. And Christ being the head
is the life of the church, and where the head is, the body is.
You say, well, he's seated at the right hand of God. Paul said
in Ephesians, we're seated with him in the heavenliness. Seated with Christ in John in
1st John 5 it says this is the record God has given us eternal
life and that life is in his son He that hath the son hath
life he that hath the head hath life he that hath not the head
the son Doesn't have life. It doesn't matter what he claims
professes. He doesn't have life Christ is
the life And then thirdly Christ as the head of the church is
the chief glory of the church I said this to our congregation
recently. I said, you go into a person's
home. You got pictures of their children and grandchildren. What
kind of pictures are there? Well, they're not even pictures
of feet. No picture of a big hand up there on the wall. Pictures
of heads. When we take a picture of someone,
we take a picture of the head. And when we point to that head,
we say, that's so-and-so. That's so-and-so. Well, that's
just his head. Well, that's the glory of the person, the head.
That's where the glory is. And when you make a carving,
you make a carving of the head. And even so, all that is glorious
and beautiful about the church is because of the beauty and
glory of her head, the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the head. He's the
glory and beauty of the church. Listen to Jeremiah chapter 9.
Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty
man glory in his might. Let not the rich man glory in
his riches. Let him that glorieth glory in
this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord. All hail the power of Jesus'
name. Let angels prostrate fall. Bring
forth the royal diadem and crown him Lord of all. He's the glory
of the church. He's the beauty of the church.
He's the head of the church. And I tell you this, when you
put a crown on a monarch, you don't put it on his hand, or
on his knee, but on his head. And that's where the crown, on
his head, are many crowns. He's the beauty and glory of
the church, because he's the head of the church. And when
the Father sees him, he sees us. It's like when you come into
the house and see a picture of a person on the wall, and they
say, there's my son, or there's my daughter, or there's my friend.
or there's my wife, or there's my husband, there's the whole
person, but you're only looking at the head. But the head represents
the whole body, and the head is where the glory and the beauty
is. All right, quickly, fourthly, Christ as the head of the church
is the Lord and the King, and the absolute sovereign in the
church. I hear people talk about the
church being democratic, and one man, one vote, and all this
sort of thing, but really and truly, Christ is the King. He's the sovereign Lord. You
know, this body, it's from the head that all orders are issued
to different parts of the body. I'm using my hand to illustrate
and to make points, but my head's telling my hand what to do. My head is telling my eyes what
to do. My head is telling my eyes to
look down here or look up there or read this scripture or say
this. I'm getting all my orders from up here. My feet aren't
giving any orders to this body. And my hands are not giving any
orders. My head's giving the orders. And even so, the Church
is subject to the will of Jesus Christ. He's the Lord. He's the
King. He's the Sovereign. He's the
Supreme Ruler of the Church. From Him, we get our life. From
Him, we get our commandments. And we're pleased with them.
From Him, we get our orders. From Him, we get our doctrines.
and from him we get our authority from the head the head of the
church is the Lord Jesus Christ and being the head he's the indisputable
absolute unconditional total sovereign in all things in creation
providence and salvation we bow to our Lord we worship our Lord
we adore our Lord holy and reverent is his name he is the great and
only potentate But I ask this question in the fifth place.
Who but Christ can be the head of the church? The Father made
him the head, and anyone who claims to be the head of anything
called a church is an imposter. Because the Father said, I have
set my King on my holy hill of Zion. And everybody listening
to me that knows anything about the Bible knows Zion is the church. And he said, God the Father said,
I've put my king on the holy hill of Zion. And our Lord Jesus
said in Matthew 28, all authority is given unto me, to no one else. In John 17 too, he said, I have
all power over all flesh, because Father, you gave it to me. So
who but Christ can be the head of the church? The Father decreed
it, the Father designed it, and the Father made him the head.
And then he purchased that right. He bought that right. It says
in Romans 14, 9, to this end, Christ both died and rose again,
that He might be Lord of the dead and the living, of those
in glory and those on the earth, of the unsaved and the saved.
He bought that right. Not only did the Father make
Him Lord and Sovereign and Ruler and King, but when He went to
the cross, He bought that right. It's like the thief who died
on the cross next to him said, Lord, you're not going to stay
dead. You're coming into a kingdom, the kingdom, the only kingdom. And when he comes into that kingdom,
he comes in as the absolute king, king of kings and Lord of lords.
Remember me when you come into your kingdom. He's the head of
the church. He's the ruler. He's the only
one who has the right. He bought that right. And then
watch this. He's the only one who deserves
to be the head because he's the only one who can do for the church
what needs to be done. He's able. Listen to the scripture. Abraham believed God that he
was able to do all that he promised. All that he promised. No one
else can do that. There's not another creature in the universe
who can do all that he promises. I can't. You can't. No one can,
but Christ can. And then He's able to save to
the uttermost them that come to God by Him. Doesn't matter,
doesn't matter, to the uttermost. He's able because He has who
He is and because of what He did. Because of where He is,
at the right hand of God. And not only that, but He's able
to keep us from falling. None of His sheep shall fall
away because He's able to keep them. And then it says this,
He's able to present us faultless, holy, without blame, before His
Father with exceeding glory. No one else can do that. And
then watch this, He's able to raise us from the dead. Now let
me tell you something. I hear these fellows talking
about their power to do different miracles. Nobody has ever been
able to go out to the cemetery where a man has laid in the grave
days, his eyes dried up, his veins collapsed, his lungs fallen
in, his heart already decayed, his body already stinking, and
to say in a loud voice, last with come forth, That man came
out of the grave. That's power. That's power. That's the immutable, infinite
power of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he's the head of the church,
and he's the only one who has that right and that power to
say to the dead, live. Now watch this. Yet let it be
said that our Lord Jesus not only is the head of the church,
but he's the head of all things. Oh, he's the absolute monarch
of this universe. It says, The Father loveth the
Son, and hath given all things into his hands. It says, Thy
throne, O God, is forever. Sit thou on my right hand, until
I make thine enemies thy footstool. Now, I'm reading this in closing.
Listen carefully. God hath delivered us from the
power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of his dear
Son. That's Christ. in whom we have
redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sin.
Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature,
for by him, by Christ, are all things created that are in heaven,
that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones
or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created
by him, For him, and he's before all things, and by him all things
consist, and he is the head of the church." That's who we're
talking about. He's the head of the church.
He has all authority. For, by him, and for him, and
through him were all things created. And he is the head of the church. Now I have this message on a
cassette tape. It's called Christ, Head of the
Church. I have another one that I preached
last week on Worthy is the Lamb. These two messages on one cassette
tape. If you'd like to have it, you
get the address now given by the announcer and write to me
and send two dollars and we'll mail you this tape. Worthy is
the Lamb, Christ the Head of the Church. Try to join us next
week at the same time. Until then, I bid you a pleasant
good day.