David King- "Body Count or Head Count" Or "The Danger of Bodily Decapitation"
Col. 1:9-20
9 For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.
13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,
14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him.
17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
19 For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,
20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
Introduction: it is because of the spirit of lawlessness in our age that our view of the church has been affected- we have become focused on numbers rather than discipleship- however, we are not commanded in Scripture to grow in numbers but to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ
1. Christ's headship is declared- v.18
a. the uniqueness of Christ's person: who Christ is is pivotal in how Christ's Church is built- He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation (if we don't have Christ as Creator, we can't have Him as Savior)
b. the uniqueness of Christ's headship: Matthew 16- the church is built upon the reality of who Christ is in Himself, as shown in Peter's confession of "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God"
c. the reality of Christ's headship: the body shares a common life- Col. 3:4- "When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory."- therefore we are one body in Christ, and our life comes from Christ
2. The nature of Christ's headship explained
a. Christ is the organic head of His body: there is a life-giving union present, as the body of Christ is a living organism
b. Christ is the administrative head of His body: He rules over the lives of His people in every aspect
3. What are the practical implications of Christ's headship
a. This tells us what a Christian is: Christ's life has been communicated to him, and he lives under His administrative rule
b. The measure of growth in Christ is determinded by the actual submission of my life in every area to the word of Christ
i. If Christ is our organic head, then any dependence on human strength and wisdom for the life and ministry of the church is a denial of His organic headship: he grows deeper into the truth that Christ is our all in all
ii. If Christ is our administrative head, then any intrusion of human authority into the life of His church is an insult and offense to His headship: Christ alone is head of His church
example of the Covenanters in 17th Century Scotland, who were persecuted and killed for declaring that Christ alone was head of the church, not any earthly magistrate, ruler, or authority
we are in danger of witnessing the decapitation of Christ as head of the church today as well- we must not let human wisdom or methods take the place of Christ in the administration and life of the church
I'm really grateful that you're continuing to post on the segments on board ship. My blog will soon have my impressions of the conference, and I just uploaded a piece on the debate.
Posted by
Laura |
Thursday, November 09, 2006 9:58:00 PM