The one question in the church that should never be difficult to answer is, “Who is the head of the church?” The church only has one King, and His name is Jesus Christ. This one statement by itself, with nothing else being stated, fixes a lot of issues in the church. Consider the following about who does NOT run the church in light of this fact.
Trigger warning! This may offend some groups that think it is “their” church.
- The Pastors are not the head of the church.
- The Deacons are not the head of the church.
- Committees are not the head of the church.
- Church members are not the head of the church.
- Whoever has the most money is not the head of the church.
- Just because your daddy “built this church” does not make you are your family the head of the church.
- Founding members who are still alive are not the head of the church.
- Power groups are not the head of the church, no matter how sinful they think that they are.
- “The way we have always done it” is not the head of the church.
- The bylaws and Church Constitution are not the head of the church.
Now that I have sufficiently offended at least some portion of your average church today, let’s dive into why these people and groups are NOT the head of the church.
The first reason is that, as I have stated previously, the church only has one King, and His name is Jesus Christ.
Authority – right to act, power, jurisdiction.
This means that in heaven and on earth, Christ is King. This means that no one else is King. Christ alone has the power to determine what happens in His Kingdom and His church. He owns it. He died for it. He redeems it!
And He is the head of the body, the church;
(Colossians 1:18a LSB)
Christ is the King of heaven and the earth, and He alone is the head of the church.
In the Great Commission, we get our primary marching orders from our King. We are to make disciples of all the nations. This means that every place on earth is to be discipled. There are no nations or geographical regions that are to be excluded.
We are to “go” and “keep going.” Going out into the world is assumed. As we go about our daily lives, we are to be making disciples. Disciples can only be made of converts. Disciples of Jesus Christ are made up of those who have been raised to life spiritually by the Holy Spirit and have repented of their sin and put their faith in Christ.
These disciples will be individual members of all the nations of the world. However, there is an eschatological aspect to this as well that we will dive deeper into at a later date. The command is to make disciples of all the nations. As individuals are saved and begin to impact their communities for Christ, the towns, cities, states, countries, and yes, nations will be discipled as well. It is not a top-down political eschatology but a bottom-up spiritual one that has real-world consequences.
We make disciples according to Matthew 28 by first baptizing converts. We don’t say anyone. God saves His people. When someone is saved, they are then baptized to identify with Christ. This is by immersion. Then, they grow by being taught all that Christ commanded. Hence, they are taught the Word of God comprehensively. To be a well-rounded disciple, one must be taught the full counsel of God’s Word.
God is not in the business of sharing His glory with another.
Soli Deo Gloria!
All glory to God alone!
When Pastors, Deacons, Church members, power groups, etc., think they have the right to determine how Christ’s church is run, they steal glory from God. The final determination for how the church should be run is found in God’s Word and God’s Word alone.
Sola Scriptura!
Scripture alone is the final rule of faith for the Christian and the church. If your church is run by the whims of unqualified Pastors or by a “board” of deacons, then your church is sinning and needs to correct course. If your church has to get approval from the congregation on every matter or needs congregational approval to do what Scripture already states, then you have a problem on your hands and need to correct course.
Yes, Scripture states that qualified Elders in plurality are to oversee the body. We will define what that oversight looks like at a later date. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that their oversight replaces Christ’s authority. The Elders’ submission to Christ is exercising oversight in obedience to inspired Scripture.
The bottom line to take away for today is that if your church is set up for any person or any group’s voice to be equal or higher in authority than Christ’s, then you have a serious problem on your hands. It will take courage in some cases to stand up to certain groups to rescue that power back and submit it to Christ.
Sadly, in some dying churches, it may be too late. If the power of these sinful people and groups is too entrenched, it may not be possible to save what is left. Sometimes, church revitalization is possible if people are willing to repent, submit themselves to God’s Word, and give up their sinfully obtained power.
God will not bless any church that refuses to obey His Word. This path to death will look different in every place, but some common factors always show up. God will bless every effort of a body of believers to be submitted to Christ and His Word, even if they do it imperfectly. The key is where is your heart in the matter? Are you seeking your own way? Or, are you seeking God’s way?
The church only has one King, and His name is Jesus Christ.
