LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
Christ, Head of the Church
The Scripture says that when the Lord Jesus ascended above the heavens, all things were subjected under his feet. The Lord Jesus Christ is King and Lord of all things. Then the Scripture says that God, after having put all things under his feet "made him the head over all things to the church" (Ephesians 2:22). To the church!
This suggests, then, that the relationship between Christ and all things is different from the relationship between Christ and the church. Above all, he is King and Lord; He governs and rules over all. But in relation to the church, he is not only King and Lord, but also its head!
A head is always linked to a body and is inseparable from its body. Thus Christ, the head, joined the church to express himself through his body, the church. Between Christ and the church there is an intimacy and a relationship that exists between Christ and nothing else in this created universe. The church is closely linked to Christ in a way that nothing else is attached to Him. The church, apart from Christ, makes no sense and has no reason or purpose in this world.
Why does the head need the body? To express himself. Now, the Lord in heaven, is attached to his body on the ground. He then has to express, reveal, manifest, and pursue his aims through his body, the church.
By becoming head of the church, the Lord Jesus, somehow, self-limits himself and becomes attached to His church. He now needs of the church, which is his body, to carry out God's eternal purpose.
God's purpose is for Christ to be all in all. In heaven, everything is full of Him, but not on the earth; the world is under the prince of the power of the air. Satan is moving and expressing his evil designs in the world. In heaven, Christ reigns. And on earth, he will reign, will express the fullness of himself, through the church.
In a sense, he chose to rely on the church to fulfill His purposes. Now, this is very risky, is it not? "Would you put your trust in man?” No, right? But he did so because he believes in man? No. He knows us. He knows how we are. But he also knows that his grace and his power, his mercy, love, and his kindness toward us in Christ, will finally achieve the fullfillment of his purpose.
God's purpose will be fulfilled through the edification of the church. Christ will fill all by building His church and filling his church with himself. And once the church is full of Him, then the church will fill all with Him. The Son is the radiance of the glory of the Father, but the church will also be the eternal radiance of the glory of the Son, "for all ages".