NAMES AND TITLES OF CHRIST
HEAD OF THE BODY, THE CHURCH
DR. JIM DIXON
COLOSSIANS 1:11-20
DECEMBER 14, 1997
What animal lives in the sea, lays eggs, is called a fish but is not a fish, has eyes and a mouth but, incredibly, has no head, is able to extend its stomach through its mouth to capture and seize its prey? This animal eats mussels and clams and oysters. If you cut this animal in two, this animal does not die but grows into two animals. If I were to tell you that this animal is related to the sea cucumber or the sea lily or the sea urchin or the sand dollar…If I were to tell you that this animal has, generally, five arm-like extensions which make it look like a star, then I think most of you would guess that the animal is the starfish, and you would be correct.
The starfish is one of the few animals in this world that has no head. In fact, marine biologists tell us that the starfish actually has no brain. Now, when we use the word “head,” we usually think of the physical, literal head, the part of the body that is joined to the trunk through the neck. We think of the skull, the cranium, in which the brain is housed. Oftentimes in the Bible the Greek word for head which is the word “kephale,” is used in this literal physical sense. But many times in the Bible the word head is also used in a metaphorical or in a figurative sense. And this is certainly true when we think of this name and title of Christ, “the Head of the Body, the Church.”
Now, in this sense, the word head has two figurative meanings, and these comprise our two teachings. First of all, the word head means authority. When we say that Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church or the Head of His Body, the Church, we are saying that Jesus Christ has authority. In the ancient and biblical world, kings and queens and those who sat on thrones were called “heads,” using the Greek word kephale. Even in the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, the leaders of the Twelve Tribes of Israel were called heads, using the Greek word kephale.
We have this same concept in the English. We have this same concept in our language. We speak of head coaches such as Tom Osborne, who has just this week resigned from the University of Nebraska. We speak of heads of state, but when we use heads in this sense, we are connoting authority. When someone is a head of state, that person has authority. So, when we think of Jesus Christ and we refer to Him as the Head, we think of His authority. Jesus Christ said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” Now, the church, His body, consists of those people who recognize and embrace His authority. The world has not accepted the authority of Christ and the world is quite literally headless.
I remember when I was growing up with my brothers. oftentimes when we were running all over the house and were kind of out of control. My father would laugh and he would say, “You guys are running around like chickens with your heads cut off.” Now, that metaphor was graphic for us because my mother grew up on a farm and we would oftentimes visit the farm. My mother grew up on a farm in Missouri south of the Lake of the Ozarks, north of Springfield near a little town called Buffalo. Many summers we, the whole family, would go to the farm in Missouri. We would go to my grandfather’s farm. We would go to my uncle’s farm, and we would visit our cousins. We loved it there. We loved the streams, we loved the woods, we loved the orchards, the fields, and we loved the animals.
There were chickens that just ran all over the place. Of course, on the farm, my relatives there ate a lot of chicken, and they still do to this day and its usually fried chicken. Now, what I’m going to tell you might gross you out since most of you perhaps have never been on a farm, but it’s absolutely true. I can remember the first time I went with my uncle out to the chicken coop. He was going to get the chicken we were going to eat that night. I remember him trapping the chicken in the corner of the coop and then picking the chicken up and just twisting its neck. Then he chopped the head off. I was stunned when he chopped the head of the chicken off because the body of the chicken began to just run around and jump around headless! It was with that image that my father would say to my brothers and I, “You’re running around like chickens with your heads cut off.”
A chicken with its head cut off has no aim, no sense of purpose, and has a very short life. I think it’s safe to say that that’s pretty much the condition of the world without Christ. The world is aimless, the world has no sense of purpose, and the world is short lived. We live in a culture, a nation, where the Ten Commandments have been banished from public school classrooms. We live in a nation where Judeo-Christian values are eroding and moral absolutes have basically been eradicated and people are swimming in a sea of relativity. Many people are searching for some kind of moral compass, but the problem is people are headless and they have not embraced the authority of Jesus Christ. They have not entered the Body of Christ, the church, whose head is Christ.
You may have heard of Flavius Claudius Julianus, who ascended the throne of the Roman Empire in 330 AD. Church historians simply refer to him as Julian the Apostate because Julian was educated as a child in a Christian school, a Christian school that had been founded by Constantine the Great. Julian ultimately rejected the teachings of Christianity and rejected the authority of Jesus Christ. When he ascended the throne in 330 AD, he began to persecute the Christian world once again. Indeed, he became the final Emperor of the Roman Empire to persecute the church of Jesus Christ. He tried to reinstitute the Roman Pantheon and the worship of Roman deities.
Julian had one Christian friend whose name was Agaton. Agaton had been in that same Christian school with Julian. When Julian became Emperor, he placed Agaton in his royal court and he did this in spite of the fact that Agaton was a Christian simply because they had been childhood friends. But every once in a while, Julian would make fun of Agaton. Once in the presence of many members of the royal court in the year 332, Julian was overheard saying to Agaton, “Agaton, how is the carpenter of Nazareth? Is He finding any work to do?” Agaton smiled and he said, “Well, perhaps He’s taking time away from building mansions for the faithful to build a coffin for your empire.”
Well, Julian was enraged, and he almost had Agaton beheaded. But it was only one year later in 333 AD on June 26 that Julian the Apostate lay dying on a battlefield in Mesopotamia. He had taken his Roman armies and he had sought to conquer the Persian Empire and he had failed. He had an arrow in his chest. He grabbed some blood-soaked dirt from by his side. He took the dirt, and he flung it heavenward. His generals who surrounded him said that his final two words were these: “Vicisti, Galilaee,” “you have conquered, Galilean.”
Of course, the Roman Empire is no more. The Roman Empire has long since faded from the earth, but the empire of the Carpenter remains. The empire of the Carpenter remains and today 1,700,000,000 people call Jesus Christ Lord. Ten days from today, 1,700,000,000 people the world over will celebrate Christmas, all of these people claiming to be part of the Body of Christ, the church. But, of course, many of them are simply nominal Christians and only Jesus Christ knows those who truly believe in Him and belong to Him. Only Jesus Christ knows those who are truly part of His Body, the church. But on the authority of the Word of God, I can tell you this: Those who truly believe, those who truly belong have embraced the headship of Jesus Christ, have embraced His authority.
I hold in my hand a copy of the New York Times Magazine that’s entitled “God Decentralized.” This is December 7th of this year. This issue of this magazine points out that in America in this culture God is up for grabs. They point out that never have Americans been more interested in God. Never have Americans been more interested in spiritual things, and yet never have Americans been more clueless as to who God is. On the cover it says, “Americans are still among the most religious people on the planet but these days they’re busy inventing unorthodox ways to God.”
This magazine points out that people are creating God in their own image and in their own likeness. The magazine points out that the real issue is authority. People don’t want to embrace the authority of God, so people are creating their own gods. People are looking for spirituality, a spiritual experience where they don’t have to undergo behavior modification. They’re looking for a spirituality that doesn’t require the transformation of their life. They’re looking for a tolerant god, a politically correct god, and it doesn’t matter whether they’re Catholic or Protestant. They make their own rules. Most people in American today agree that God is love and God wants us to be loving, but according to the New York Times Magazine, most people do not want anyone to define what love requires for them. They want to make their own decision as to what love requires.
In the Bible, Jesus tells us what it means to love God with all of our heart, soul, strength, and mind. He tells us what it means to love our neighbor as ourselves. He said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” That’s authority. But a lot of people will not come to Christ truly simply because they reject authority. Jesus said, “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you to do?” I tell you this… if you would be a Christian, if you would join the body of Christ, the church…if you would be part of the church universal… if you would be bound for heaven, you must embrace the headship of Christ. You must embrace the authority of Christ. It is not your will, but it is His will if you would follow Him.
Well, this word “head” has a second meaning, and this is our second and final teaching this morning. The word head means source. It not only connotes authority, but it connotes source.
In Israel, you can travel north of Caesarea Philippi to the region of the Old Testament tribe of Dan and you will see a range of mountains which include a mountain called Mt. Herman. The Jewish people who lived in the Jordan rift, who lived in the Jordan valley, would sometimes refer to Mt. Herman by the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek word kephale. They would call Mt. Herman “the head.” Why did they call Mt. Herman the head? Because from its snows which cover the mountain year-round comes the Sea of Galilee and the River Jordan. The headwaters, the source waters of the river Jordan, are found in Mt. Herman and the surrounding mountains. So, when we think of the word head, we think of source. And indeed, in the ancient and biblical world the body was viewed as supplied by the head. The head was the very source of life itself. This is how the ancients viewed the head, and to sever the head was to cut off life. When we say that Christ is the head of the body, we’re not only saying that He is the authority, but He is the source. Of course, this takes on many meanings.
Some of you may have heard of George Mueller. George Mueller was born in Prussia in 1805, born to a tax collector’s family. He would later become a British citizen. In his early years, George Mueller was wild, and he soon learned to steal and to lie and to drink to drunkenness. He left home when he was a teenager. He lived in hotels, but he never paid. He just walked out. He would go from hotel to hotel, but finally he was apprehended and he was incarcerated. He was released from prison when he was 20 years old. George Mueller was invited to a prayer meeting when he got out of prison. He didn’t want to go but he knew his life was a mess. He went to this prayer meeting and there at this prayer meeting he heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and he gave his life to Christ, accepting Christ as Lord and Savior.
George Mueller went on to become a great force for the kingdom of Jesus Christ. It was April 11, 1836, when George Mueller founded his famous orphanage on No. 6 Wilson Street, Ashley Down, near Bristol, England. That orphanage literally served thousands and thousands of boys and girls, serving them with the love of Christ.
George Mueller believed in Christ as His only source. He resolved early in his ministry that he would never ask for money. He did not believe that charity organizations and ministries were wrong in asking for money. It’s just that he felt led of God to never ask for money. He felt led of God to be a living example to the world that Jesus Christ provides for His people and provides for His ministry. George Mueller ran his orphanage needing money, needing food, needing provisions, but never asking for anything, just praying. It was miraculous the way God always provided, oftentimes just in the nick of time.
There’s one well known story that took place in 1856. That morning, they were completely out of food, completely out of milk, with nothing to eat or drink. But George Mueller had all of the boys and girls come into the mess hall. They all came into the dining hall. He had them all get around their tables. He had place settings at each position on the tables—a plate, a bowl, and a cup. There was no food and no drink. George Mueller led the kids in prayer, quoting the Lord’s Prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread…” and then he thanked Christ for His provision. He said “Amen,” and shortly thereafter there was a knock on the door and it was the local baker. He said, “You know, I woke up at 2:00 last night and I couldn’t sleep, and I don’t know why but somehow I was restless and I felt prompted to bake bread and bakery goods for your orphanage. I don’t know why but I’ve been up all night. Could you use a truckload of bakery goods?” And he could use them.
It was only a few moments later and there was another knock at the door. A milk truck had just broken down outside the orphanage. The milkman said, “This truck is never going to be repaired in time. This milk is all going to go to waste. Could you use a truckload of milk?” It was all brought into the orphanage. I know when you hear stories like that, you think, “Well, I don’t know whether I believe it or not,” but that story is well documented and it is simply true. Jesus Christ is the source. He provides for His people. He is Jehovah Jireh. He is the Lord Who Provides.
George Mueller continued to run that orphanage with ten thousand kids until he was 70 years old in 1875. Then for 17 years, George Mueller traveled the world, starting orphanages all over the world. He died in 1898 at the age of 93, never doubting that Jesus Christ is the Head of the Body, the Church, and He is the source for His people.
Our daughter, Heather, is sitting down in the front row today. Heather will be 23 next month in January. I remember so clearly when Heather was born at Aurora Presbyterian Hospital. It really was a miraculous birth. Some of you know what happened. Heather was one of the first babies born at Aurora Presbyterian Hospital. Barb and I had gone through Lamaze classes, and we were all excited. We were there in maternity, and we were doing all the Lamaze stuff. Barb had been in labor for quite a while. What we didn’t know was that Heather was in a whole lot of trouble. The cord was prolapsed, and it was also wrapped around her neck, and she was literally choking to death, and nobody knew it in the hospital because it was brand new and didn’t have a fetal heart monitor.
It was Friday night, and I know you’re going to find this hard to believe but a salesman came by the hospital that Friday night and he wanted to demonstrate a fetal heart monitor to the hospital staff. They took the fetal heart monitor down to the maternity ward and the only woman in delivery was Barbara. They hooked the fetal heart monitor up to Barb. When they got the readout from the machine, they didn’t even know how to interpret it. I remember the doctor had to get out the book and turn through the pages and try to find what it meant, and they discovered that Heather was dying. They rushed Barbara in and they did an emergency C-section and probably saved Heather’s life. That’s why Heather’s here this morning.
I can tell you, Jesus Christ is the source. He is the source of every need. Of course, most of all, He’s the source not of physical life but of spiritual life. Heather was 5 years old when she asked Jesus into her heart. That was true of Drew, too, and that was true of Barb and I. Five was a big year in our family. But that’s when we began to experience spiritual life as we came into the body of Christ with Christ the Head and the Source. He is the source of life eternal, and no one gives life but Christ.
You know, Samuel Porter Jones (and with this we’ll draw things to a close) was born in Chambers County, Alabama, in the year 1847. Samuel Jones, when he was nine years old, moved to Carterville, Georgia. His father was a Christian and Sam’s father loved law and he loved the study of law, so Sam Jones grew up with a love for the law. When he was 21 years old, Samuel Porter Jones seemingly had the world at his fingertips. He was a lawyer, 21, and he already had a legal practice. He was married and he had a little baby girl, but it all went to ruin because Samuel Jones was an alcoholic and he was drunk most of the time. It ruined his career, and it ruined his marriage. One year after his marriage, he was divorced. He became a street person, just wandering around. Every once in a while, he would shovel coal, trying to get enough money to fuel his addiction.
The year was 1872 when Samuel Porter Jones was 25 years old and he received word that his father was dying. He loved his dad and hadn’t seen his dad in years. He went to his dad’s bedside, literally his dad’s deathbed. His father, who loved Christ, said, “Son, I long to see you someday in heaven. Would you promise me that you will ask Jesus to be your Savior and Lord and that you will repent of your sins?” Samuel Porter Jones promised his father that day, but he didn’t mean it. In fact, he left the deathbed of his father and he went down the street to a bar and he ordered a drink. He had the drink in his hand when he looked in the mirror. Suddenly it was like he saw himself clearly for the first time. His hair was matted. He had vomit over his clothes where he had thrown up the night before in a drunken stupor. He was ashamed of himself. He took that drink and he threw it to the ground. Right there in that bar, he asked Jesus Christ to be his Lord and Savior. His life would never be the same.
He was delivered from alcoholism that day. And Christ doesn’t always work like that. Sometimes Christ requires that we go through counseling and therapy and sometimes He requires a long struggle for sanctification. But in this case, Christ just healed Samuel Porter Jones in a moment in time. He never had a desire for a drink again. Samuel Porter Jones became, with the exception of Dwight L. Moody, the most famous evangelist of 19th century America. Church historians tell us that he preached in every major city, conducting crusades and leading more than 500,000 people to a personal faith in Jesus Christ.
It was March 5, 1899, when Samuel Porter Jones was conducting a crusade in Toledo, Ohio, and the amazing thing about this crusade is the mayor of Toledo, Ohio, was also named Samuel Jones. The mayor was not a Christian, but he thought it would be politically expedient if he introduced Samuel Jones, the evangelist who was renowned, the opening night of that crusade. So he did that and then Samuel Porter Jones, the evangelist, stood up to speak. He began to renounce the evil that was in the city of Toledo. He said, “You have 700 saloons in this city and most of them serve people until they are falling down drunk. You have 150 gambling houses in this city and greedy people are getting rich off the tragic addiction of the masses. You have homeless people. You have poor people and there’s not a lot of compassion, not a lot of love in this city.” He said, “In fact, if the devil were the mayor of this city, he wouldn’t change a thing.” He went on to renounce sin and to lift up the cross of Jesus Christ.
Samuel Jones, the mayor, went out of that crusade enraged. He never accepted Christ. A month later he was reelected by a population that didn’t care about his morality or the morality of the city. They only cared about the economic prosperity that they were currently enjoying. But that night at that crusade when Samuel Jones the evangelist was done one thousand people asked Jesus Christ to be their Lord and Savior. They found the source of life. You see, it’s that way when the gospel’s presented whether it’s over a cup of coffee, if it’s in a Sunday school class or at a crusade. Wherever the gospel is presented, life if offered from the source of life, the Head of the Body of Jesus Christ. He offers life.
People have choices to make. Jesus said to Peter two thousand years ago, “Who do you say that I am?” He asks that same question of you today. The Bible says, “Choose ye this day whom you will serve.” Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me.” Jesus said, “I have come that you might have life and that you might have it abundantly.” The Bible says, “There is no other name under heaven given amongst men whereby we may be saved.” He is the Head of the Body, the Church. He has all authority in heaven and on earth and He is the source of every good gift, every good endowment. He is the source of eternal life itself. Let’s look to the Lord with a word of prayer.