Colossians 2:19
And not holding the Head . . .
Among the things mentioned in the BEWARE section of Colossians, we find the failure to hold the Head listed. So this Headship of Christ must be very important for us today.
Only in 1 Corinthians 11:3 and the prison epistles, Ephesians and Colossians, do we find Christ mentioned as Head of anything but the corner. We do find that expression five times in the NT. The corner is probably the arch, and He the keystone.
Let us examine briefly His Headship in the prison epistles;
1. 'And gave Him to be Head over all things to The Church' Ephesians 1:22. Not all things of creation yet, but just all things to The Church. He will take His place as Head of all things in due time. Although this really means that He is the Leader or Commander, the figure of Head in relation to a body is used to make it clear.
2. 'Which is the Head, even Christ' Ephesians 4:15. Before this, it speaks of the edifying of The Body. So we then understand from context that He is the Head of This Body.
3. 'The husband is the Head of the wife, even as Christ is the Head of The Church' Ephesians 5:23. If a body is not in subjection or submission to its head, there is no unity of motion or purpose. And the wife that is not submitting to her husband can break up the home. So these are illustrations to show what is meant by Head.
4. 'And He is the Head of The Body, The Church' Colossians 1:18. This is in a context of His being the Creator of all things, before all things, and one who holds all things together, the principle (beginning), the Firstborn from the dead; so that He might have pre-eminence in all things. Certainly, the Head should be pre-eminent!
5. 'The Head of all principality and power' Colossians 2:10. Here is a context that tells us that all the fulness of the Godhead dwells in Him bodily and that the saints are complete, filled to the full, in Him. A close relationship is insisted upon all the way thru.
6. 'And not holding The Head' Colossians 2:19. As said above, this is a warning. Those who do not do this are those who are puffed up (in the fleshly mind, the old nature). It is the Head from which all the body, by joints and bands (being nourished and knit together), increaseth with the increase of God.
A careful study of these texts will show the importance and the meaning of this Headship we are to hold, acknowledge, and depend upon.
There is one other text found in Ephesians, which is closely related and in which the word Head is found. Look at Eph. 1:9-10;
Having made known unto us The Mystery of His will...That in the dispensation of the fullness of seasons He might gather together under one Head, even Christ, all things, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth.
This is the glorious goal when Headship will be unlimited and confessed by all.
Colossians 1:12-13
Giving thanks unto the Father...Who hath translated us into The Kingdom of His dear Son.
We are here skipping over being made meet, and being delivered, in order to pay some attention to this word translated and its end, the kingdom of His dear Son.
Quite often in the Scriptures, we read of The Kingdom of God. It has to be interpreted by its context. It might have a narrow meaning, such as the kingdom of heaven, as in Matthew. Or it could extend to all that God is Sovereign over. The Kingdom of Heaven is a kingdom that belongs to the Son. He is the King that is coming to take over that kingdom someday.
However, we read in Ephesians 1:9-10 that Christ is made Head over all things in heaven and earth. And we have to find out what all things may be and also what heaven is meant.
In Colossians 1:20, we read about a reconciliation of all things in which He is to have the preeminence. And they are in heaven and earth.
These and other passages show us that all things in heaven and earth are The Church and the principalities and powers in The Heavenly Places. The Church at present is on earth but someday will be in The Heavenlies. Hence it is said right now to be translated into The Kingdom of His dear Son. This, then, is not The Kingdom here on earth which is Israel's hope, but the Great Kingdom beyond the stars, which He also obtained by His faithfulness and obedience, even to the death of the cross.
It is intimated and told plainly in Daniel 2 that the pinnacle of human government or rule is a kingdom, an absolute monarchy. And the head of that great image was Nebuchadnezzar. Along with him followed Evil-Merodoeh, Nabonidus, and Belshazzar. With Belshazzar ended the head of gold. And so, in the Scriptures, the highest rule or government is a kingdom. And we know that it is ideal, providing you have the right kind of king.
His dear Son can just as well mean, The Son of His love. He is the Beloved. And we have been accepted in the Beloved.
No man really knows the Son except the Father. And it is equally true that no one knows the Father except the Son and as many as the Son wishes to know the Father. See Matthew 11:27.
No man has ever seen God at any time, but the Son reveals Him to mankind. And when on earth it was true, that as many as saw the Son, also saw the Father.
God has chosen to make His Son known to mankind today. He is doing that through the work of the Holy Spirit. He speaks of Christ, never of Himself. And since the days of prophets are over, we still have that revelation of the Son thru the Scriptures.
Many times God has expressed His love for His Son. And so the objects of God's love are translated into The Kingdom of the Son, where Christ is the Head of The Body.
