“And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.”
It stands to reason that, if He is Lord of all, Jesus is Lord of the church and this is a point that Paul wants to make very clear. Jesus is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead so that in everything He might have supremacy. God has actually given us a model to carry around with us, our own body, so that we may understand how the church is to function
When I was part of Trade Lake Baptist Church people were willing to give away some of their vegetables at the end of gardening season. It was set up as an honor system for World Relief for anyone to donate, exchange or give.
While I was sitting at the table someone stopped by and asked if they could drop off anything even if it wasn't fruit or veggies. I said, “Sure”. She returned with four live chickens in two cages. Someone stopped and took two. When the afternoon was done there were two chickens still there. So, I put some money in the pot and brought them home.
I contacted the people who donated them and asked, “Now what do I do with these things?”
They said come on over to their farm and we'll show you how to kill and prepare them.
As a city slicker, this was my first attempt at chopping the head off a chicken. I've always heard of people “running around like a chicken with their heads cut off,” but that was the first time I had seen it.
Some churches have lost their head and run around with activity but without the head.
Jesus is the source and origin of the body of believers. The church is not organized by men or denominations. God may use people, but if it is the body of Christ, Jesus heads it up.
One of the difficulties with church worship is that people come to be blessed rather than bless, for self-service rather than His service. They come to take from the Lord instead of presenting themselves to the Lord as Paul talks about in Romans 12.
Do people come for videos, movies, special singing groups, musicians, famous speakers, Christian celebrities or is Jesus the Lord of the church and the reason why we come? We can use all those things to attract people, but to seek church growth on what interests most people is like building on fluff or shifting sand. We need to have a relationship with Christ as Lord and if He is, those things don't matter. There is a big difference between being a believer in Jesus and a follower of Him. As our Lord, we submit to His authority and serve Him.
Application: Recognize Jesus authority and submit to Him; it eliminates lots of conflict. Its purpose is to serve Him together in the unity of love.
Prayer: Lord, purify my heart that I might present my body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to You. May this be my spiritual worship.
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