Gal. 1:18 And He is the Head of the Body, the church; He is the beginning, the Firstborn from the dead, that He Himself might have the first place in all things.
1 Cor. 11:3 But I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of Christ.
Christ Being the Unique Leader in the Church
The unique Leader in the church is Christ. Suppose someone asks us who the leader of our church is. If we say that Christ is the Leader, the person may not understand or accept our answer. The person may ask again, “Who is the man, woman, or group who is the leader in your church?” We need to answer strongly that in the Lord’s recovery we have no leader other than Christ. An elder is not a leader but one taking the lead. The Lord Jesus is the Leader, and the elders are those who take the lead.
On the one hand, the elders are not leaders but examples, not rulers but those who take the lead to do things. On the other hand, all the saints should follow the example of the elders and obey them. A proper church life is full of obedience but not human leadership. The leadership is solely the Lord’s. We are all under one leadership; we respect Christ’s unique leadership. The elders are not the leaders but simply the leading ones, those who take the lead to be an example in everything. The rest of the saints should follow and obey the elders.
Needing to Practice the Headship of Christ in Every Aspect of Our Lives
The headship of Christ should be more than a doctrine to us. In 1 Corinthians 11:3 Paul says, “I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man.” In our daily life we need to consider that Christ is our Head. When we do not take Christ as our Head, the self is our head. Although some Christians regard Christ as their life, few regard Him as their Head. However, if we do not realize that Christ is our Head and practice the headship of Christ, it is difficult to take Him as our life. The headship of Christ is a crucial matter that affects our personal life, family life, daily life, and church life. In order to have all the areas of our life fully attuned to the proper, normal way, we must see that Christ is our Head and practice the headship of Christ.
There are many opportunities to practice the headship of Christ in our daily life. To fellowship is wonderful, but we often insult the headship of Christ in our fellowship. Suppose a young brother fellowships with another brother about where he should go to school. In most cases, when a saint comes to a brother asking for fellowship, the brother will immediately begin to give his opinion. This kind of conversation is not fellowship but rather merely a secular conversation. Brothers in such a situation need to realize that neither one of them is the head but that Christ is the unique Head. They should fellowship in a way that honors His headship. No matter what our fellowship concerns, we need to regard the headship of Christ, giving Him the full honor.
No Hierarchy among the Apostles, Elders, or Churches
Honoring the unique headship of Christ keeps us from hierarchy. There being no official, permanent, or unique leading one among the apostles or elders in the New Testament means that there was no hierarchy. This principle applies to the local churches as well—all are on the same level. According to God’s ordination, there is no such thing as a head church. Neither is there any rank among the churches. No matter how new or small a local church may be, it is on the same level as all the other churches. In the first century some considered Jerusalem to be the head church. This may have been part of the reason that God sent the Roman army under Titus to destroy Jerusalem. We should not consider any local church to be higher than others. In order to prevent His people from falling into hierarchy, God would not allow there to be a head church.
Just as we should not consider any church to be the head church, neither should we consider any man to be the leader of the Lord’s recovery. I am not the leader; I am only a bondslave of Christ ministering the word of God to His people. I do not have any authority in myself. Any authority in my speaking comes from the Word of God. When speaking points of the truth, we should not say, “Brother So-and-so says…” Instead, we should discern what is according to the Bible and say, “The Bible says…” We do not have any leader in the Lord’s recovery. This prevents hierarchy from coming in. If all the saints know and practice the truth, no one will have the freedom to claim to be a leader in the Lord’s recovery. We need to learn and practice the truth.
Needing to Help One Another
to Honor the Headship of Christ When We Fellowship
When we fellowship, we need to help one another to honor the headship of Christ. To make the right decision in a situation is secondary; to realize the headship of Christ is primary. Once we are clear that the Lord is our Head and respect His headship, we are ready to know His will, because we have given Him the proper and necessary position. Often when we seek to know the Lord’s will, we do not give Him the right position. For this reason, we may pray for a long time but still not know what we should do. The Lord must have the position as the Head in order to be able to make us clear. Christ is the Head, yet when we do not recognize or regard Him as the Head, we do not give Him this position. When we regard Christ as our Head, we give Him the position as the Head, and we are rightly positioned to learn His will. (The Recovery of Christ as Everything in the Church, ch. 5)
