And He put all things under His feet, and
gave Him to be head over all things to the church.
Ephesians 1:22
The Apostle Paul just finished a seven-verse, 166-word prayer for the Ephesian church that was all contained in just one sentence. The old missionary focused on the beauties of Christ as he asked God to reveal a better knowledge of the Savior to the believers. It was the sentence prayer that seemed to never end, and by the time he finally got to the period, Paul still hadn’t gotten to the bottom line. He added it in this verse: They needed to know that Jesus was the Head over All Things to the Church.
Christ certainly isn’t over all things to the world, because He isn’t their Lord. Satan is the god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4), but people also follow a pantheon of lesser gods that include prosperity, power, passion, and pride. It’s no wonder that people today seem confused and pulled in different directions.
It’s not supposed to be that way for the body of Christ. The Lord is Head over All Things to the Church and supplies and equips every believer for every situation (Ephesians 1:23). Jesus is the facilitator of every committee, Head-pastor over the head-pastor, as well as the CEO over every program, project, and person in the church. Well, it doesn’t always happen that way, but that is how it’s supposed to be.
True, sometimes He is not acknowledged as Head over All Things to the Church. Some local churches operate by tradition. They’ve always done things a certain way so long, there’s no need for Jesus to give them direction now. In some places, the pastor does everything. Why should the congregation have to do anything? “After all, that’s what he is paid for.” Sometimes, even the preacher can go on for years recycling old sermons, so no inspiration or divine guidance is ever needed.
That’s probably why Paul had to remind the Ephesians that Jesus is the Head over All Things to the Church. He’s in charge; He bought it; He directs it. It would probably be a good idea for those who are a part of it to ask the Guy-in-charge what He wants them to do.
March 28
