What Does "Christ Is the Head of the Church" Mean?

Consider the following passages.  "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" (Colossians 1:18).  "For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body" (Ephesians 5:23).

Some leaders and ministers like to quote this as a way of bolstering faith and confidence of the members in the leadership of the Church and the ministry and their policies, doctrines, and decisions.

I heard one leader say, in reference to these passages, something like, who is the head of media operations?  Who is the head of church administration?  He mentioned various departments.  His implication was, since Christ is the head of the whole Church He is also the head of all these departments.  His further implication seemed to be, if you criticize those departments or their administrators, you are criticizing Christ.  Since Christ is the head of the Church, He is also the head of all those departments, and He leads their decisions.  If you disagree with their decisions, you are disagreeing with Christ.  

Is that what these passages mean?

Who is the head of church administration in a fellowship?  Who is the head of media operations in a fellowship?  Christ because He is head of the whole Church?  No.  Those are different offices.  The head of church administration is a man, not Christ.  It is a different office, a delegated office, an office that is delegated to a man who can sin or make mistakes and thus make bad decisions.  Christ may or may not allow those bad decisions for a time.  But to criticize bad decisions or bad policies or false doctrines that come from that office is not criticizing Christ.

The Bible says, in a multitude of counselors there is safety (Proverbs 11:14, Proverbs 24:6).  A leader should seek advice.  But how can those who give him advice tell him he is wrong if telling him he is wrong is criticizing Christ?

When Mr. Armstrong taught that Pentecost was on Monday, how could his advisers tell him he was wrong if disagreeing with Mr. Armstrong was disagreeing with Christ?

This may illustrate why saying Christ is head of the Church does not mean He is head of every department in the Church.  Who is the king of the universe?  Who has all authority over everything in heaven and earth?  God the father is king over the universe, and He has delegated all authority and power to Christ.  "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth' " (Matthew 28:18).

So you can say that God the Father is king over the universe, and you can also say that Christ is king over the universe since the Father delegates all authority to Christ.

Now, who is king over the earth right now?  Who is ruler of this evil world?  

"Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him, 'All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours' " (Luke 4:5-7).  

"I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me" (John 14:30).

"And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience" (Ephesians 2:1-2).

"So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him" (Revelation 12:9).

Satan is still on the throne of the earth and will be until Christ returns.

Does the fact that Christ rules the universe mean that everything Satan does as ruler of this world is right and above criticism?  Of course not.  Christ allows Satan to make bad choices and decisions for now.

King of the earth is a delegated position, delegated to Satan.  Christ will take over that office in the future, but not yet.

Likewise, in the Church of God, there are delegated positions, offices that men hold, and Christ sometimes allows those men to make bad decisions.  It is not right to say or imply that Christ is head of those positions.  He is head over the whole Church, not each department.  Those are separate offices.  To disagree with the decision of a man is not necessarily disagreeing with Christ.

Yet some leaders of fellowships and ministers may use the argument that, since Christ is the head of the Church, to disagree with a man who holds an office in the Church is to disagree with Christ.  They may say, "Do you believe that Christ is the head of the Church or not?"

This is a false argument.

Look at recent Church history.  When the Church of God fell away from the truth after the death of Mr. Armstrong, Christ still was head of the Church, yet men holding offices in the Church made bad decisions and taught false doctrines.  To disagree with those doctrines and decisions was not disagreeing with Christ.  Christ allowed men to make those bad decisions, but those decisions were not from Christ.

The Bible also shows that God's servants make mistakes.

Consider this passage.  "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.  Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.  But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 24:44-51).  

Note, the one who sins in this passage is called a servant.  He is a servant of God and God is his master, but he is also called evil and will be condemned.  So even servants of God can sin.

Take it to the individual member level.  Who is the head of every man in the Church?  "But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God" (1 Corinthians 11:3).  Does that mean that every man always makes right decisions?  Does that mean that to criticize or disagree with any man in the Church is disagreeing with Christ because Christ is his head?

Is Christ your head?  If He is, does that mean that everything you do and say is above criticism because for someone to disagree with you means they are disagreeing with Christ?  Not always.

Also, note that the husband is head of the wife as Christ is head of the Church (Ephesians 5:22-24).  Now, does the fact that the husband is the head of the wife mean that the wife always obeys?  You men can answer that.  Likewise, because Christ is our head does not mean we always obey.

The important thing is, just because Christ leads us in a right way does not mean we follow Christ perfectly in that right way.  Christ leads, but we don't always follow where He leads.  We are imperfect.  We make mistakes.  We sin.

This goes for every rank in the Church, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, local elders, and lay members.  None of us in this physical life can be trusted to always follow Christ perfectly.

Don't fall for the argument that every decision a leader in the Church makes is right because Christ is the head of the Church.  That is a false argument.

If you hear a leader of a fellowship or a minister say, "Do you believe that Christ is the head of the Church, or not?", that should be a red flag.  It should set off alarm bells in your mind.  What other cliches or metaphors can I use?

There is another problem here, and that is the use of the word, "church".

What do you mean?  Do you mean the whole Church of God, what some people call the greater Church of God?  It don't like that word "greater" in regard to all the divided Church of God fellowships.  Greater can mean bigger but it can also mean better, and I do not think all the scattered and divided fellowships are "better" than any one fellowship.  So I use the term, "whole Church of God".  What does that include?

I do not say that it includes every fellowship that calls itself "Church of God", or every member that counts himself a member of the Church of God.  It includes everyone, minister or member, who has the Holy Spirit dwelling in him or her (Romans 8:9).

So when a speaker or writer refers to Christ being the head of the Church, does he mean the whole Church of God?  Or does he mean only the one fellowship that speaker is part of?  That is not clarified.

When a leader of a fellowships says, Christ is the head of the Church, as a way of trying to get members to accept that leader's doctrines, does He mean Christ is the head of the whole Church of God including any members or leaders in other fellowships that have God's Holy Spirit, or does he mean just the one fellowship he leads?  This ambiguity is a rhetorical trick, I think.  If he means the whole Church of God, he is technically correct, but it can be said in a way that implies, in the minds of the listeners or readers, that it means just the one fellowship.

And notice, some of the very same leaders or ministers who like to say, Christ is the head of the Church, do not hesitate to criticize other Church of God fellowships or their doctrines.  Are they criticizing Christ?  Or do they think only their fellowship is the true Church?  They won't say that openly, but that may be what they imply.

It is like when a speaker says, we have wonderful unity in the Church.  What?  The whole Church of God is scattered into competing and divided fellowships.  That is not unity.  But he is talking about his own fellowship.  Yet, he calls it, "the Church", implying only his fellowship is the Church.

Another phrase ministers like to use is, "where Christ is working", as if Christ is only working in one place and with one fellowship.  That is nonsense.  They will say that we need to find out where Christ is working, or they will say we should have confidence in the decisions of the Church once we know where Christ is working.

There is no question that some fellowships and some people follow Christ more faithfully and more accurately than others.  Certainly we should try our best to seek out and support a fellowship that is more faithful than others.  But to say, "where Christ is working" implies that He only works in one place or through one man at a time.

That is a myth.

From the time I entered the Church I have heard members say, God only works through one man at a time.  But that is not what the Bible teaches.  God worked through Jeremiah and Ezekiel at the same time, did He not?  He worked through David and Nathan at the same time, using Nathan to rebuke David for his sin (2 Samuel 12:1-12).  He worked through Peter and Paul at the same time (Galatians 2:7-8).

Christ can work through many people at the same time, and each person has free moral agency to follow Christ fully, partly, or not at all.

Our faith must never be in the human leadership of the Church, but only in God and Christ.  We should follow men only as they follow Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).

Believe God first.  Believe God and His word the Bible more than the Church.  If you disagree with the Church, do not discuss it with other members.  Do not create division.  Disagree quietly and wait for Christ to make the matter clear.  But put God and the Bible first, the Church and its traditions, leadership, and ministry second, in your mind, in your thinking, in your faith.

That is the principle of faith the Bible teaches.