In our last blog, I looked at a few passages that teach us that Jesus is God. I considered some of the statements of Paul in Colossians 1. A deeper dive into that chapter will reveal that Paul was emphasizing the preeminence of Christ, probably due to some false teaching that was taking place at that time, very likely of a Gnostic nature.

There were several aspects of Gnostic-thinking that would devalue the importance and authority of Christ. While Gnosticism was not fully developed until the second century, the seeds of it were already being planted in the first century. There were already teachings that denied both the humanity and deity of Christ, and some clearly believed that Jesus was just a created being. Both John and Paul refuted these things in their writings. In Colossians, Paul does so by pointing to the preeminence of Christ in several areas.

One area where Paul emphasized the preeminence of Christ is with regard to the church. This is what he writes:

Colossians 1:18 (ESV)
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.

Clearly Jesus has the preeminence in the church for He is the Head of it. What is the church? Man may be confused about what it is, but the New Testament is clear about it. It is not a physical building; it is people. What people make up the church? Again, the Bible is clear. It is those who have answered the gospel call by believing in Jesus and being baptized (Mark 16:16). The church, then, is composed of those who are saved (Acts 2:47), and Jesus is the Head of them.

The headship of Christ points to His absolute authority over the church and every aspect of it. Every organization has to have a head, that is, someone who possesses final authority. On the job there are bosses who are heads over certain departments. In the home, God ordained the husband to be head over the family. These are people who have final authority. In the church, it is Christ. He, therefore, is the only One who can set forth rules and regulations that are to govern the church. No man or group of men is qualified to do this. The church of Christ does not have little heads. There is one body and one Head; thus, all that we do must be authorized by Christ (Colossians 3:17). This is the major flaw in denominationalism. They are guided by counsels that they have elevated to positions of power. These counsels can implement new laws and make new creeds whenever they feel like it. All they need is a majority vote. This is not the case with the church you read about in the Bible. Christ is the Head, and we must do only what He, through His word, has directed us to do.

It is good to be under the rule of such a righteous leader. We know that Jesus only leads us into the ways of righteousness. All His rules are in our best interests. His only concern is our spiritual well-being, desiring to present us in all splendor, without spot or wrinkle (Ephesians 5:27). By His word, Jesus will lead us to heaven, but we must be willing to follow.

As you wind down for the night, think on these things.