He Is the Head!

He Is the Head!

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

“And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” Col. 1:15-18.

He is the head of the body, which is the church! Think of coming under His guidance as a member of His body! This surpasses in glory everything that we can comprehend or understand. Therefore we must believe and, in confidence in His election, we can quite simply submit to His leading with the deepest reverence and thankfulness. If there is any place for us to be submissive, humble, and meek of heart, it is here. All human praise and honor are totally excluded in the body of Christ.

He takes care of us, as weak and wretched as we are; we who cannot think a single good thought or perform a single good deed that pleases Him. He wipes away our sins, cleanses our hearts, and gives us the Holy Spirit. He creates within us a completely new man that is renewed in knowledge according to the image of its Creator. Col. 3:10. Christ does not require that we serve Him according to our old man, with our old heart, but the new thing He Himself creates in us is fully capable of doing all God’s will according to what the Head works in us. Whatever is born of God overcomes the world and overcomes sin. 1 John 5:4, 18.

When Jesus was on earth, He revealed the Father by His life, and He became the express image of the invisible God. Now this image is to be visible in every single member, so that the Lord’s glory can radiate to an ever-increasing degree. 2 Cor. 3:18; 4:6.

Once each member has grown to the glory and power that He has determined, Jesus will come and fetch His body (which is the church of the living God) home to Himself. Then Christ will truly be the head of His greatest and most glorious work of creation. All these members have formerly been every possible kind of sinner, but now they are in perfect oneness with Him in life and understanding. They have been fully trained by being faithful in various sufferings and tribulations, just as Christ Himself was made perfect through all the things that He met when He sojourned on earth in the days of His flesh. Heb. 2:10-18; 5:7-9. Now we are being conformed to His image (Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18), and it is vital for us to be aware of our high election so that we can be faithful with joy.

If we have found our place in the body of Christ so that we are experiencing joy and rest by doing His will according to His prompting, then we are in the safest, most exalted, and blessed place in which it is possible to be. He, who is before all and has created everything and everyone, is our leader and protector for time and eternity.

If we have been united together with Christ in the likeness of His death, we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection. Rom. 6:5. “When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” Col. 3:4.

Yes, that will truly be glorious. If we, now in the time of sacrifice, suffering, and reproach, are truly faithful members of His body, we will also be with Him in glory in everything He will create and do. “For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.” 2 Tim. 2:11-12. If we suffer with Him we will also be glorified with Him. Rom. 8:17.

Soon Jesus will come again, and He will fetch His body, which is the church of the living God, His bride. And when Jesus descends to establish the millennium, His body will be with Him, and they will always be with the Lord. 1 Thess. 4:17.

It is getting darker in the world, and the evil and disunity are continually on the increase. However, in the body of Christ we experience the opposite—there is light, life, and power, goodness, unity, and safety; and everything that is good, pure, and true grows and develops strongly in love and wisdom.

If we are alive to our calling and have a living hope, we can say like Paul: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Cor. 4:17-18.