The Head and the Body

Part 3 of a six-part series on “The Church” by Dick York

What if someone were so tall that when you looked out your window you could see his body, but his head was obscured from sight by the top of the window opening. Would you assume that because his head was out of your sight that his hands and feet were moving independently of it? Perhaps that seems like a foolish question, but there is a correlation here to how we perceive the body of Christ. Simply because we cannot see the head does not mean that the members of the body move independently of Him.

Granted, the person in our example is a natural human, while the body of Christ is a spiritual entity. However, the spiritual body of Christ is as real and as factually connected to its Head, as is yours. We have already seen that God raised up Christ from the dead and set Him at His own right hand in heavenly places…and gave Him to be Head over all things to the Church, which is His body. 1 Paul summarized what Jesus did in these words:

“Now that he ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things.” 2

Paul tells us that when Jesus ascended, He gave gifts unto men. 3 As we read through the epistles of Paul, we understand that these gifted people are the members of the body of Christ. In Ephesians 4:11, Paul mentions five of these gifts: apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher. Not only are these giftings to these men, but these men are gifts to the Church. However, God’s gifts are not limited to these five, nor to these men. Every member of the body is gifted in a specific way, as God deems fit. There are obviously different kinds of gifts. Paul makes three separate gift lists in three different epistles, all of them slightly different. One of those is that which we have just cited in Ephesians 4; another is in 1 Corinthians 12; and the third is in Romans 12. These seem to cover the areas of ministry, manifestations and service to the body of Christ, and together they include every member. This is a body; and as in any healthy body, every part has a purpose and every part functions. 4 However, no part functions independently of the Head.

We must keep in mind that we are talking about a head, not a CEO; and about a body, not an organization. We repeat this because of its extreme importance to the discussion of the Church as the body of Christ. Even though we may acknowledge the organic nature of the Church and her head, the Lord Jesus, and the biologic of the relationship, it is easy and customary to continue to think organizationally. If that happens,we end up with a distorted view of the Church, and consequently of who we are and of our day-to-day relationship with the world.

While warning the Colossian believers about error, Paul explained this relationship. There were those, he said, who did not hold the Head, Jesus,

“ From which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.” 5

Paul speaks as though the nourishment for the whole body flows from the Head; and as it does, it courses through the members to the other members. By joints and bands, each body part receives its nourishment from the head. The same scenario is described to the Ephesian believers.

“ He [Jesus the Head] gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:” 6

It is evident from the text that these gifts are given for a specific purpose, and for a specific duration of time. The purpose is to perfect the saints for the work of the ministry, which is to edify the body of Christ. The duration of time is until we all come into the unity of the faith and grow up to the stature of the fullness of Christ. So nothing has changed since these words were written, since that objective still lies in a future time.

A further objective, and a more immediate one, is:

“ That we henceforth [from now on] be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things…” 7

In the present generation, spiritual immaturity and doctrinal instability can be an enormous shadow on the testimony of the body of Christ as the world sees it. The evidence is in the trendiness of the churches, the constant search for new methodology to attract the world, which often becomes a snare to compromise the work of the Spirit. But with “now” as a starting point, the objective announced here is that we should be no more children plagued by immaturity and instability, but that we might be preoccupied with the Truth whereby we might grow up into Christ in everything. Christ is the Head,

“ From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” 8

That seems like a mouthful, but the concept is simple. The whole body is made up of parts that are perfectly fit together. Not onlydo they fit with each other, but also they are compacted. They are pressed tightly together like parts of fine furniture that are glued under pressure until the joints are perfect. Every joint is supplying something. Every part is working to its capacity [measure], causing the body to grow up. The body is edifying [building up] itself in love.

As we have stressed before, the concept of the Church is not a new one, nor is it limited to the New Testament. There are diagrams of it in the Old Testament in the Tabernacle in the wilderness and also in Solomon’s temple. Let’s consider Solomon’s temple for an example, and the components of its story.

Solomon, the son of David, was the builder of it. That is prophetic. He foreshadowed the Son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ who said, “I will build my Church.”

The Levitical priests ministered within the temple, offering up sacrifices, trimming the lamps and setting in order the Shewbread.

Then there were the stones of which the temple was built.

“And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones and hewed stones to build the foundation of the house,” 9 These great foundation stones are a picture of what Peter and Paul both described as the foundation of the Church. 10

Upon these foundation stones other stones were laid until the walls of that great temple rose to be a dwelling place of God; a place where His name was written, the temple of Jehovah, God of Israel.

“And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought hither.” 11

What a picture is drawn for us in this simple statement about the origin of the stones that made up the temple, which illustrates the Church. The stones were mined from the earth and shaped to fit their place in the building before they were ever installed. That is meant to encourage us. Why did we go through what we experienced before we came to Christ? Because it made us unique and somehow gave us the capacity to exercise the gift with which God has endowed us. It is unli kely there are two identical stones. We cannot, therefore consider ourselves of no consequence. We are each irreplaceable, like fingers on a hand.

We read that Jesus ascended above the heavens. But first He descended into the lower parts of the earth. So “He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things.” And does He fill all things? This is what the Church is all about. Since the Holy Spirit was poured out, Christ’s body, the Church, is a witness unto Him “both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and to the uttermost part of the earth,” just as Jesus told His disciples on the mount of Olives.. As your head governs the fingers on your hand, so the Head of the Church governs every member of the body. Therefore the Church everywhere in the world is governed, not by a human hierarchy, as a company might be, but by its Head as a great living organism.

Tradition is a difficult thing to overcome, especially if it is of long standing and almost universal. Religion has always been a major part of the world system since sin was introduced and Adam fell from his original relationship with God. Religion was the immediate replacement. Since that day, Satan has used religion as his chief weapon of deception. It is adaptable, and almost every spiritual concept has a religious counterpart. This is especially true as it concerns the definition of the church, church government, ministry and a vast number of related topics.

Most major religions were around before Jesus was born, with the exception of Islam. Satan was already poisoning the well of Truth with many parallel concepts, such as a version of Trinitarianism, of virgin birth, expiation of sin through blood sacrifice, etc. Other pagan doctrines have been preserved and carried over into the world’s version of Christianity, such as the worship of the Queen of Heaven which now appears as Mariolatry.

Almost as soon as Jesus had ascended, Satan began his campaign of confusion and deceit so that by the early part of the fourth century he was able to blend the truth with a pseudo version of “Christianity.” Until that time, the Church, as Jesus had prophesied, was hated by the world. Christians endured great persecution, especially by the Roman government. Because the government of the Roman Empire was itself a religion, demanding that its citizens worship its emperors as gods, Christians, who refused such worship, were considered a most egregious enemy of the state and persecuted to death.

About 313 AD, however, Constantine, one of the contenders for supreme power over the empire, saw a vision instructing him that through the sign of the cross he would conquer his enemies. He did, and became emperor of Rome. He credited the God of the Christians for his achievement, declared himself a follower of Christ and stopped the persecution. By the time of his death in 337, he had elevated himself to the head of the “church,” and, although he would not receive sacrifices, was, by himself and other subscribers to the religion of Rome, considered a deity like the Son of God. 12

Now there was a religion called “Christianity,” which was no longer persecuted. The “church” had become an official part of the Roman State and it was now even desirable to be a member of it. A hierarchy, as in the Roman government, was established with its bishops and pastors; and a system of clergy and laity became the religious church’s tradition. The primate of Rome had become the head of this “church,” which, as time went on, became the persecutor of other religions, and even of the true believers that, of course, were never a part of this caricature.

However, religious tradition prevailed; and, because of its power and great influence, “Christianity” became to be considered one of the world’s great “religions.” For about twelve hundred years it grew, presenting itself as the church that Jesus Christ had planted, incorporating many of the previously-mentioned doctrines and traditions and establishing them as Christian “fundamentals.” Some within its ranks, because they sought after God, found Him. In 1511, Martin Luther, a Catholic monk, seeing the corruption of this religious monster, tried to introduce into its doctrine salvation by faith and to reform its practice. The result was the Reformation.

Because of the Reformation, many in the past nearly five hundred years have heard the Gospel in their churches and been saved. But, within the resulting Christian churches, most of the traditions of that Roman religious system still prevail, and are thought to be biblical in spite of the fact that they are not supported by Scripture. So impervious has their influence been, that even in today’s Gospel-preaching Evangelical churches, the system is still taught. Seminaries still teach church history as though its legitimate course traces the true church through Catholicism and the Reformation, embracing whatever was not purged from that worldly system, and Scripture is interpreted according to that preconception.

It is evident that there are two radically different views of the church represented here. One is an organic body, every member of which is controlled by the Head and has a part in nourishing the body and being nourished by it. The other is a religious political organization with a ruling hierarchy and subservient laity. Which view of the Church we hold will determine how we see the scriptures that pertain to it. It will color our evaluation of everything from the church meeting to missions to ministry, even to how we perceive success or failure, or view accomplishment, or engage the Great Commission.

The ultimate objective of our Head, the Lord Jesus Christ, is two-fold: first, to redeem some from every kindred, tongue, people and nation; and second, to perfect the Church. To that end, He gave His life. This was reflected in His final instructions to those He left behind. He said,

“ All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” 13

At this time, Jesus said that power [authority] was given to Him. Therefore they were to go, and He would be with them. There was no promise here of power independent of His presence. Then He said to them, “Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.” 14

And they did receive power. But when that power was displayed through them, they acknowledged that it was not their power, but the power of the Lord Jesus that was doing the work. 15 Paul taught the church at Ephesus that God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that they ask or think. Obviously, then, they could not plan it, strategize for it, or even pray specifically about it. Nevertheless, He would do it through the power that worked in them. 16 Furthermore, the apostle Paul taught the Philippian believers the same thing when he wrote to them,

“ Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” 17

Apparently the Philippians were like most of us. They behaved and worked well under the supervision of Paul. Now, because he will be absent, he is instructing them to work out their own salvation, because God is working in them both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Perhaps it was easy for them to believe that God was working in Paul, therefore, they would perform because of him. But the message is, perform because of your own salvation, not mine; because God is also working in you, not only in me.

This is an important principle in the life of believers. Church life is not being a member of an organization (even if it is called a church), keeping its rules and participating in its program. Obeying God is not the same as doing what the man in charge tells me to do, or living up to the traditions. Jesus said it this way,

“ As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.” 18

This was not said for the immediate hearers only, or directed at a special group of people. Its subject is “he that eateth me,” whoever that might be. Those who are partakers of Christ, then, live by Him in the same way that He lived by the Father. Jesus did not live a life independent of His Father. He didn’t receive a briefing every morning by letter or by email or by telephone conversation telling Him how to live and what to do for the day, and then it was up to him to figure out how to get it done. To His disciple Philip, Jesus said,

“ Believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, He doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.” 19

Jesus was in the Father and the Father dwelled and walked in Him. God was not far away in another world. The Omnipresent Father occupied the very space Jesus occupied. And the Father was doing the work that was being done in and through Jesus. What’s more, Jesus continued by saying,

“ Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do because I go unto my Father.” 20

The tense of the verbs in Jesus’ statement is critical to His meaning. He did not say, “the works that I did shall he do also;” or “that I have done.” Had He said that, we would assume that He would expect us to imitate some work that He had done in the past But Jesus himself has already told us that even when He worked, it wasn’t Him, but His Father working. He did what His Father was doing. It is clear, then, that we who believe will not imitate what He did in the past, but we will do what He is doing today. How do we know that that was His meaning? Because the rest of the New Testament bears it out. For example, Paul said on one occasion, “I also labor, striving according to his working which worketh in me mightily.” 21

There are gifts of the Spirit, and they are distributed among every member of the body. Each one has his own measure, and each is unique. As each of us obeys the leading of the Spirit, the Lord himself controls and coordinates the members. The head is the head of the whole body. It is also the head of each part of the body: the hands, the feet, etc. It is also the head of each digit on each hand. All are controlled and coordinated by the head. So it is in the body of Christ. He is the Head of the whole body; He is the Head of each assembly; and He is the Head of each member.

Our growing up to maturity, then, is not a matter of learning the rules and complying in a progressively more proficient manner. It is growing up in Him: responding to His leading; knowing His voice, and lending our members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 22

As the saints are not independent of their Head, neither are they independent of one another. Together they are the Church. When they assemble in a locality, they are a microcosm of the Church, and their behavior in the assembly is a demonstration of the leadership of the Spirit.

11 I Kings 6:7
12 Catholic encyclopedia
13 Matthew 28:18-20
14 Acts 1:8
15 Acts3:10; 4:12
16 Ephesians 3:20,21
17 Philippians 2:12,13
18 John 6:57
19 John 14:10,11
20 John 14:12
21 Colossians 1:29
22 Romans 6:13