Christ - The Head of the Church

I'm going to read the text again,
Ephesians 1, 22 and 23, and then I'm going to say perhaps the
most important thing I'll say in the entire message, I'm going
to say in the introduction. In Ephesians 1, verse 22 and
23, he hath put all things unto his feet, and gave him to gave
him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body,
the fullness of him that filleth all in all." My subject tonight
is not the church. My subject tonight is the head
of the church. I was sitting there thinking a moment ago,
and I believe God gave me this thought. The disciples did not go out
and try to get people saved. The disciples went out and preached
Christ. I really believe that one of
our problems today, we were discussing this in the study a few moments
ago, someone wanted to know, they were troubled whether or
not they were one of the elect. And I think there are three or
four things that trouble people that turn us in the wrong direction
entirely. I think a lot of preachers, I
hear preachers say, asking people, do you want to go to heaven?
The disciples never ask people that question. Never ask people that question.
That's not the question. The question is, do you want
to know Christ? If you have Christ, you have heaven. If you don't
have Christ, there's no way you can go to heaven. My object is
not to go to heaven. I believe with all my heart,
my concern and object tonight is to know Christ. Paul said
he prayed that he might attain unto the resurrection of the
dead. Before he said that, though, he said, oh, that I may win Christ
and be found in him, that I may know him and the power of his
resurrection. I think there are a lot of people
who think they're going to heaven who are not at all going to heaven.
Paul said, my desire is to depart and be with Christ, which is
far better. I think we've got the wrong object,
the wrong goal. To go to heaven is not our and
should not be our goal. Our goal is to know Christ. And
I verily believe that you can set your thoughts and affections
on heaven and miss Christ. But if you set your affections
on Christ, you can't miss heaven. You see what I'm saying? You
can set your affections on heaven and miss Christ, but you can't
set your affections on Christ and miss heaven. Now don't miss
Christ trying to go to heaven. I'll tell you something else,
and this is important. Don't miss salvation trying to
get saved. Christ is salvation in whom we
have forgiveness, in whom we have redemption, in whom we are
accepted. No, no sir. This thing of salvation is God
forming Christ in us. The old timers used to talk about,
and I'd hear Barnard Muse talk about, well it looks like he's
well saved. He gives evidence of being well
saved. Most of us don't give evidence
of being well saved yet. Every time someone makes a profession,
every time I baptize someone, I don't write them down in the
book as being saved at all. No sir. I do not. I wait. If a person grows not
in grace, they know not grace. If they grow not in love, they've
never been brought to a knowledge of God's love. Unless they start
giving some evidences, evidences of God doing a work of grace,
an operation of grace, a work of faith, a new creature in Christ
Jesus, everybody wants to the same. And not many people want
to know Christ. And this is what the Church is
doing today. They're going out trying to get
people saved. And those people, they're getting saved. They're
not coming to know Christ, and consequently they're not getting
saved. It's a horrible thing to think about, but so is the
same thing true of election. Election is not salvation. Almighty God determined to have
a people like his Son. He determined to have a people
conformed to the image of Christ. He made Christ the surety of
an eternal covenant in whom he predestinated that all in Christ
should be like him. Then he chose them. Then he chose
them. But I'm not trying to find out
if I'm one of the elect. I don't want to seek election
and miss Christ. Now, that can be done. Believe me, that can
be done. A man can believe the doctrine of election and miss
Christ, but he can't know Christ and believe Christ and miss election.
This is a thing that needs to be stressed in this day, and
we see all of this religious revival that's taking place today.
We've got a movie down here, The Great Great Planet Earth.
We've got evangelists running all over the country. We've got
television with religious programs in prime time during the week,
and all of these things. People are interested in what
God is doing and what God has done and what God will do, but
not many people are interested in who God is. Who God is? Not very many. Who God is? Who is God? That I may know Him. Him. And that's another thing. We seek to learn and understand,
enter into prophecy, and miss Him. If I have Him, what difference
does it make if He comes pre-, post-, or all-millennial? If
I have Him, I'm all right. But I can memorize all these
things and miss Christ. If I have Christ, what does it
matter whether I'm under a democratic government, a communistic government,
or whether I'm a slave? If I belong to Christ, I'm the
Lord's free man. If I don't know Christ, I'm the
slave of sin. I may live under democracy and
be a slave of sin. I'd rather live under communism
and be the Lord's free man than to live under democracy and be
the Satan's slave. How about you? That's right. The Apostle Paul never tried
to straighten out the Roman government, never did. But he sure wanted
to know Christ. He preached Christ. And this
is the thing that scares me, it frightens me. People seeking
the right church and the right doctrine, seeking to know elections,
seeking to know whether or not they're going to heaven when
they die, or whether or not they're saved. I'll tell you this, all
the way through this Bible, seek ye the Lord while he may be found.
Let Israel hope in the Lord, for with the Lord there's mercy.
If you find the Lord, you'll find mercy. If you find the Lord,
you'll find election. If you find the Lord, you'll
find salvation. If you have the Lord, you have heaven. If you
have the Lord, you have everything. What need I more if I have him? If I don't have him, whatever
I have is not worth the time it'd take to forget it. This
is what is frightening. All of these names that are not
are the means we have made to end, to be saved. The thing about it, it's the
unsaved that ask, what must I do to be saved? It's the unsaved
that ask, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Not the disciples.
They preach to persons. And they preach to persons in
reply to these questions. They didn't go around knocking
on doors and asking people, are you saved? They went out preaching
Christ, preaching Christ. And Paul said, I prevail, I prevail,
I prevail, not till you make a profession, not till you get
saved, till Christ be formed in you. And my subject tonight is not
the church. It's the head of the church. It's the head of
the church. argue all up and down the land
about the church, the church. Some people believe only in the
local expression of the church. That's all right. Someone says,
what is a church? Well, it's a local assembly of
believers called out by the Holy Spirit. That's certainly in keeping
with God's Word. For oftentimes in the Scripture,
the Scripture refers to the church as a local assembly. And I believe
it. The first mention of the church
in Matthew 18, when the Lord said, if you've got a conflict
between you and your brother, go to him, if he won't listen to
you, tell it to the church. That's a local church. Paul talked
about ordaining elders in all the churches. That's a local
church. Romans 16, Paul talked about a church which met in a
home. That's a local church. But then there are others who
see not only the local expression of the church, and that's certainly
scriptural. God ordained the Church, pastors,
elders, deacons. God ordained the Church, put
within our hands the ordinances and things of this nature. The
Church is a missionary society. The whole Church is a missionary
society. That's the only way to send missionaries from the
local Church. This is what hurt our missionary program when we
put it in the hands of boards instead of leaving it in the
hands of the local Church. What if every local Church in this
United States had eight missionaries like this Church? Well, the missionaries
would blanket the globe. And then there are other people
who see both the local and universal expression of the church. What
is the universal church, or the invisible church, or whatever
you want to call it? Well, it's made up of all believers
of all ages, you say, but how can it be an assembly? According
to whose presence you're talking about being assembled in. It's
certainly a symbol in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. As
Spurgeon said, they are a symbol at all times at the feet of Christ.
Some of them are in heaven and some of them are on earth. Well,
this is a scriptural term. Let's turn first of all to Ephesians
5. Our Lord Jesus Christ said, I'll
build my church. On this rock I'll build my church.
He talked about the church of the firstborn whose names are
written in heaven. Well, that's not a local church.
And then in Ephesians 5, 22, listen to this. Wives, submit
yourselves to your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband
is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the
church. He's the church's head. And then
he says, he's the Savior of the body, Savior of the church. Verse 24, therefore, as the church
is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands
in everything. The church is subject to Christ.
Verse 25, Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church.
He loved the Church, and he gave himself for the Church. Verse
26, he sanctified and cleanses the Church with the washing of
water by the Word. Verse 27, he presents to himself the Church,
a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
but it should be holy and without blemish. So men ought to love
their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth
himself. No man ever yet hated his own
flesh, but nourisheth it and cherisheth it, even as the Lord
the Church." The Lord cherishes his Church. For we are members
of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. Robert Murray MacShane
said this, the Church, which is the object of his love. is
made up of all who are chosen, all who are awakened, all who
believe, all who are justified, all who are sanctified, all who
are glorified, all who are finally saved, all who shall stand with
the Lamb, all who shall sit down to the marriage supper. That's
the church. Spurgeon said the church is the assembly of those
whose names are written in heaven. Any assembly, he continued, of
faithful believers is a church. Any assembly of faithful believers
is a church, but the aggregate of all these assemblies of faithful
believers make up that one church which Christ has redeemed with
his own blood and of which he is the sole and only head. Part
of that church is in heaven, triumphant, part of that church
is on earth, militant, But these differences of places make no
division as to their real unity. There is but one church above
and beneath. Time can create no separation.
Distance can create no separation because that church is always
in the presence of her Lord and is always one church. But here's
our subject. Christ is the head of the church.
Let's look at several scriptures. First of all, Ephesians 1.22. Ephesians 1.22. I hope we'll learn something
tonight as we look at this. Christ is the head of his church. In Ephesians 1.22, he has put
all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over
all things to the church. He's the head. Ephesians 4.15. But speaking the truth in love. may grow up into him in all things,
which is the head, even Christ." Ephesians 5.23, For the husband
is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the
church. He is the Savior of the body.
Colossians 1.18, 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 preeminence." Let this be established, that
the Son of God is not only the head of the Church, but the Son
of God is the head of all things as well. He's not only the head
of the Church, he is the head of the Church. I read that four
different times in those scriptures, but he's not only the head of
the Church, He's the head of all things as well. Let me show
you that. First of all, regarding angels,
fallen or elect, regarding Satan, demons, regarding all principalities
and powers in all the universe, he's the head. He has authority
over it all and over them all. Let me show you that, Colossians
2, verse 10. And you're complete in him which
is the head of all principality and power. All principality and
power. Turn back to Ephesians 1. Ephesians
1 verse 20 and 21. Which he wrote in Christ. I read
this a moment ago, which he wrote in Christ when he raised him
from the dead and sent him at his right hand in the heavenly
places far above all principality and power and might and dominion
and every name that is named, not only in this world but also
in that which is to come. And had put all things under
his feet and gave him to be the head of the church. He not only
is the head of the church, but he's the head of all principality
and power. He said to his disciples in Matthew
28, he said, all authority is given unto me in heaven and earth,
go ye therefore and preach to God, all authority, all power. Before Satan could touch Job,
he had to get the Lord's permission. Then, now watch this, this is
something you may not have given this too much thought. Turn to
1 Corinthians 11. Christ is the head of the church,
right, but he's the head of every human being. He's the head of
every man, whether he's in the church or out of the church.
1 Corinthians 11, verse 3, listen. I would have you know, but I
would have you know that the head of every man is Christ,
every man. And the head of the woman is
the man, and the head of Christ is God. He's the head of everything.
I want you to listen to John 17, verse 1 and 2. You turn over
there and look at it. Christ is what I've said often.
And some fellow chose to reprint it down in Texas. And also a
little group down in Georgia reprinted this in the paper.
We call on sinners to make Christ their Lord. God's already made
him your Lord. You don't make Christ your Lord,
you bow to Christ as Lord. You acknowledge Christ as Lord.
But Christ is your Lord whether you believe or don't believe.
He has all authority over, listen to this John 17 too, as thou
hast given him power over all flesh. Authority over all flesh
that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given
him. Our Lord is sovereign not only over the saved but over
the unsaved. He has total, absolute dominion,
even over the demons. When he came to cast the demons
out of that man, what did those demons say? We know who you are.
You're the Holy One of God. Have you come to torment us before
our time? The Lord told them he was going
to cast them out. They said, let us go into that place over
there, into those pits. Let us, give us permission. He turned to Romans 14.9. Now
what I'm saying is so. I'm showing it to you from God's
Word. Christ is not only the head of the church, he's the
head of every man. He's the Lord. He purchased that
right. In Romans 14.9, to this end,
Christ both died and rose and revived that he might be Lord
both of the dead and of the living. He's the Lord. Absolutely. This is the thing Magruder and
some of the boys are talking about. This is a thing that they're
stressing, and I think some of the men are giving their ministries
to prove this point. But when you prove this point,
you've still got men lost. You've still got men out there
wandering around lost. They need to know Christ as Redeemer. Christ is their substitute. Christ
is their Savior. He is Lord. There's no question
about that. This is His world. This is His universe. He's the
head of all the powers of this world. Christ stood before Pilate,
and Pilate said, he asked him a question, Christ never answered
him. The Lord didn't say a word. Pilate said, don't you know I
have the power to crucify you and let you go? He said, Christ
said, you could have no power over me at all, except it were
delegated, given to you from above. He has control, he has power,
he is the head of all power. You read Colossians 1. This is
very emphatically stated here in Colossians 1. Yes, that capital
does belong to him. Yes, that country, that king.
The power of the Supreme Court is from the Lord. The power of
the judicial executive and congressional branches of our government are
of the Lord. They couldn't sneeze without
his permission. The heart of the king is in the hands of the
Lord. He turneth it with us wherever he will. says in Colossians 1 verse 16,
for by him were 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
and for him, and he's before all things, and by him all things
consist. And he's the head of the church.
You see what I'm saying? And he's the head of the church.
Not only the head of the church, he's the head of all principalities
and powers. Not only the head of the church,
he's the head of every man. He's not only the head of the
church, but he's the head of the powers of this world. This
is my father's world. And he turned it over to his
son. His son has bought the crown rights. And I'll tell you this,
this is where we enter into this thing of salvation, is bowing
to the crown rights of King Jesus. Bowing, that's what the whole
thing is about. That in the ages to come, every
knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that he's Lord.
He's already Lord, but they're going to confess it. He's already
Lord, but they're going to bow. He's already Lord, but they're
going to submit. He's already Lord, but they're
going to own it. I own it now. And you do too, and you've entered
into his kingdom already. I've entered into heaven already.
I'm seated in the heavenly. I'm where my head is. The body
is where the head is. You can't have a body without
a head, or a head without a body. You can't have a king without
a kingdom, or a kingdom without a king. We've already entered
into his kingdom. And he's the head of the church.
Now, what does the head mean to the church? First of all,
the head represents the whole body. Somebody said, you're counting
heads down there? What do they mean by that? You
count heads, they mean persons, for the head represents the whole
body. The head represents the whole
body. When you count heads, you count persons, because that head
represents the whole body. And that's the way God dealt
with the human race. He dealt with us, first of all, in our
head, Adam. Adam was the head of a whole
race. I know some folks don't like
the word federal head, but that's all right. But it's a good word,
nevertheless. The whole human race was headed
up into one man, Adam. It was just one man, Adam. And
the scripture says plainly that when he stood, the race stood.
When he fell, the race fell. When he obeyed, the race obeyed.
When he disobeyed, the race suffered. Turn to Romans 5, let me show
you that. Romans 5, Adam was the head, the head of the whole
human race. In Romans 5, verse 12, listen
to this. Wherefore, by one man, by one
man, sin entered into the world, and death by sin. So death passed
upon all men. Father, all sin in that one man. By one man's disobedience we
were made sinners. All right. In order to save a
people, now watch this, this is so, this is where the head
Christ comes in. In order to save a people, God
instituted a second federation. a new covenant of which Christ is the head.
And he is the head of the chosen. Adam is the head of all flesh.
In Adam, all flesh fell. In Christ, all of this spiritual
kingdom, this new kingdom, this kingdom of regeneration Let me
show you that Romans 5, 18 and 19. Therefore, Romans 5, 18,
as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men the condemnation,
all men who went at him, all men of whom Adam was the head,
the federal head, the representative. Even so, by the righteousness
of one, the free gift came upon all men under justification of
life, all men who were in him, their heads. For as by one man's
disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the obedience
of one shall many be made righteous." Now turn to 1 Corinthians 15.
Now watch this. The head represents the whole
body. It's the head. Adam the head represented the
whole human race conceived in him, begotten by him, brought
forth from him. And when he fell, he took his
whole, when the head was bruised and broken, the whole body fell. Christ is the head of a new race,
new creatures, given him by the Father, and he obeyed. Look at
1 Corinthians 15, verse 21-22. It says here, For since by man
came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ. can all be made
alive. See, they headed up their covenant. Under Adam, the whole first covenant
perished, and all who participated, which are all of us, under Christ
the new covenant. Look at 1 Corinthians 15, verse
45. And so it is written, The first
man, Adam, was made a living soul. The last Adam was made
a quickening spirit. Two Adams there. Who are those?
The first man, Adam. The last Adam. That's Christ. How be it? That was not first,
which is spiritual, but that which is natural. Afterward,
that which is spiritual. That is in revelation on this
earth. Christ was before Adam. We're talking about revelation.
The first covenant, the covenant of works, was revealed first.
But the everlasting covenant being revealed secondly was still
called the new covenant. The first man is of the earth
earthy. The second man is the Lord from heaven. They're just
two men. Just two. God sees two men. He sees the first Adam, the second
Adam. All men stood in the first Adam, all of the human race,
everybody that came from Adam. He created one man, Adam. And
every son of Adam came from him. Every one of us can go back to
one daddy. And that's the first Adam, the first man of the earth
earthy. He returned to the earth. Everything
about him is of the earth, the flesh. The second Adam, the second
man, is the Lord from heaven. And he came down here as the
head of a chosen race, as the head of a people, and he fulfilled
the law, he fulfilled the covenant, he fulfilled every requirement,
he died on the cross for our sins, and all who were chosen
in him and given to him are redeemed by him. The second Adam. That's
the head. He's the head of the church.
So the head is the representative. The head represents the body.
All right? Second, now watch this. The head
is the life of the body. The head is the life of the body.
Separated from my head. You can cut my arm off. You can
cut my leg off. I still live. Can't live without
my head. He that hath the Son of God hath
life. He that hath not the Son of God hath not life. Hath not
life. Christ, who is our life, shall
appear. He said, because I live, ye live.
The head is the life of the body. Thirdly, the head, now watch
this, the head, Christ is called the head, the head is the seat
of the senses. The mental life is all right
here in the head. And what I see, what my body
sees. In other words, I see that glass,
I reach out and take it. All that's right up here. The
response here is directed from up here. This hand raises because
this head tells it to. It falls because this head tells
it to. If something happens to this head, that hand will not
raise. It may have the same nerves and bones and muscles and everything,
but this head told it what to do. What I see, what I hear,
what I taste is right here in the head. And whatever comes
from God that is beneficial to the body, the church, comes through
the head. It's revealed in Christ. Anything that is outside of Christ,
God didn't send it to you. You can't get nothing, this body
can't get anything except through Him. When this is not functioning,
this body can't receive anything. It can't receive a thing. Whatever
comes from God that is beneficial to the body comes through Christ. Because the head is the seat
of senses. And then the head received the
hand of blessing. Turn over here to Genesis 48.
Let me show you something. This is a beautiful picture here.
I just love this. You know, over here in Genesis
48 verse 18, Joseph brought his two boys before his father, Jacob. And he wanted Jacob to bless
his two boys. And his two boys named Ephraim
and Manasseh. And Joseph led his two boys there
in front of Israel, his father, to be blessed. And he was careful
to place the oldest son over here under the right hand. The
right hand. When these old patriarchs blessed
their sons, they always blessed the oldest son with the birthright. He became the priest of the family,
the leader of the tribe, the birthright was his, he was the
spokesman for God, and all these things. And that right hand came
down on his head. That's where he blessed, on his
head. The dying father's hand was placed
on the head of the firstborn, and all of the father's birthrights were passed to that
boy. And he was the father from then on. And when Joseph brought
his boys, he put Manasseh, the oldest one here, and Ephraim,
the youngest one, over here. And you know what Jacob did?
The old man was about blind, but God was leading him. Verse
14 says, And Israel reached out his right hand over here and
laid it on Ephraim's head, verse 14. And reached out his left
hand and put it over here wickingly. Manasseh was the firstborn. And
Joseph ran and grabbed his father's arms. It displeased him. Verse
17, And he saw his father lay his right hand on the head of
the youngest son, and it displeased him. And he was going to remove
it. And Israel said, I know what
I'm doing. Oh, Manasseh will be a great man, but God has chosen
to bless Ephraim. And let me tell you something,
God's put his hand, and you think, you know where he's put his hand?
I don't know whether we all sing these songs like this or not,
Lord put his hand, reached down his hand on me. That's not where
he put the hand of blessing, he put it on Christ. That's right,
that's where he put it, he put it on Christ, Christ the head.
I'm just the little toe. Old Jacob didn't touch the little
toe, he touched the head. He took the blessings and put
it on the head. And that's where the blessings
are, they're on Christ. He hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in Christ. Now that's something to think
about. The head received the anointing oil when the priest,
when they took the oil and had the priest kneel down and anoint
him with oil, they didn't anoint his shoulders, his hands, his
feet, they poured it over his head. And the oil ran down over
his beard, over Abram's beard. But the Holy Spirit, the anointing
of God is upon Christ. And it's mine as I am in Christ.
He's my head. And then, where did they put
the crown? They put it on the head. That's where they put the
crown, on the head. And scripture says on his head
are many crowns. Old David, he knelt and the prophet
put the crown on his head. He didn't wear it in his pocket,
he didn't carry it around in his hand. And that's where the
crown of government is. Christ. This is not, this church
is not a democratic body. Oh yeah, all the members are
equal, but all of us are under one head, Christ. And what we
need to do in seeking to do what God wants us to do is try to
find his will, because he's the head of the church. And then
the head, watch this, the head is the object of wrath. That's what gets the wrath, the
head. Genesis 3.15, he talked about
Satan, he said, the seed of woman will bruise your head. That's
where God's wrath will be. And Christ, our head, was the
object of Satan's wrath, the wrath of man, the curse of the
broken law, the judgment against sin. He died, but he rose again,
his head, his head. He, our head, suffered. suffered, our head suffered under
the wrath of the broken law, but he rose again. And then the
head, listen to this, the head is the chief glory of man. When
we take a picture of someone, what do you take? The head. I've got a bunch of pictures
in there on my wall, I don't have any feet, don't have any
up there, and we have a picture of a hand. This is Edgelmore's
hand. No, I've got Edgelmore's head
in there. I've got a picture of Edgelmore's face in his head. You see what I'm saying? We'll
make a carving of a great man out there at Mount Rushmore.
What have they got up there on the side of that mountain? They've got
heads. That's the glory of man. And I'll tell you this, all that
is glorious and beautiful about the church is what? the head
of the church, the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul didn't go around
bragging on the flesh, he preached Christ. He preached Christ. This is the glory of man. He
holds his head high, his countenance. When you remember a person, you
don't remember the size of their hands, or the size of their feet,
or whether their legs were bold or straight, you remember their
eyes were blue. That's the glory of man. And Christ is the head of the
church. He's the glory of the church. He's the beauty of the
church. He's the object of worship and adoration and praise. He's
the head. And then in the last place, the
head is always the King, the Lord. Turn to Genesis 3.16, listen
to this right here, and I'm going to carry it over to a scripture
I read a moment ago. Genesis 3.16, the Lord said to
Eve, and he said to Eve, Genesis 3.16, "...I will greatly multiply
thy sorrow and thy conception. In sorrow thou shalt bring forth
children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall
rule over thee." And the scripture says the husband is the head.
He rules because he's the That's the reason he rules. He's the
head. The head rules. That's the seat
of government. And Christ rules over the Church. From him we
get our doctrines, from Christ. I had a man write me from Huntington
this week, and he goes to the Johnson Memorial Methodist Church
up there, and he said the teacher of the men's Bible class is a
retired minister, I believe he said, and he said he He went
through the Bible and told the things he didn't believe. He
didn't believe that Israel crossed the Red Sea on foot. He didn't
believe the sun stood still. He didn't believe all of these
different things. Jonah, of course, he didn't believe
that. That wasn't true. And he went right on through
the Bible, things that were not true in regard to the word of
God. This man seemed to be greatly
upset, but who is this man? We don't get our doctrines from
a man. Who is Martin Luther? Who is
John Calvin? Who is John Weston? Who is Charles
Spurgeon? Christ is our head. We get our
doctrines from him. We get our orders from him. We
get our authority from him. All of it comes from Christ,
who is our head. The Pope talks about being the
head of the Catholic Church. That's foolish. If it's a church
at all, Christ is the head. And if he's not the head, it's
not a church. We're not a church if Christ
isn't the head. Let me ask three questions and
I'll close. Who but Christ can be the head of the church? Only Christ, because the Father
made him the head. Turn to Psalm 2 and listen to
what this says here. In Psalm 2, the Father made him
the head of the church. We didn't elect him, the Father
made him the head. Verse 6, he said, I, yet have
I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I set him there. I set
him there. I will declare the decree, the
Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my son this day, have I begotten
thee. I set him there. Paul wrote in Philippians, God
hath highly exalted him and given him a name that is above every
name. Second question, turn to Revelation 5. Who but Christ
can be the head He's the only one that can open the book. In
Revelation 5, he talked about, Revelation 5, verse 1, I saw
in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book. And
verse 3 says, No man in heaven nor in earth, neither under the
earth, was able to open the book. Verse 4, And I wept much, because
no man was found worthy to open and to read the book. And one
of the elders said, Don't weep, behold the line of the tribe
of Judah, the root of David. He can open the book. Why? Look down at verse 9. And they
sung a new song and said, Thou art worthy to take the book and
open the seals, for thou wast slain, and thou hast redeemed
us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, nation, tongue
unto heaven. Now, who can be the head? The one God appointed,
the one who can open the book, the only one. He's the head. Who else but Christ could be
the head? Because he's the only one who, as Paul said, is able
to save, able to keep, and able to raise our bodies. And I might
add, fourthly, who can be the head? He who has the keys. And the scripture says he has
the keys of hell and death. Christ my head. Listen to this old hymn. My Lord,
I sing thy matchless grace that
calls a worm thine own. Give me among the saints a place,
and to me make thy glories known. Joined to thee, our vital head,
we live and grow and thrive. From thee divided each is dead. when most he seems alive. But
thou, saints on earth, and these, those above, all join in sweet
accord one body, all in mutual love, and thou, our reigning
Lord. Come ye that love the Saviour's
name, and joy to make it known, the Sovereign of your heart proclaim,
and bow before his throne." Our Father, we are grateful for the
words which exalts and magnifies him who is worthy of being exalted
and his name magnified. Reveal Christ to our hearts in
all of his glory, splendor and beauty, and his redeeming graces. To him be the glory, both now
and forever. Amen.

Christ - The Head of the Church

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Christ - The Head of the Church

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