The Head of …
We often play with terms like, ‘Heads up,’ ‘Getting Ahead of things,’ ‘The Head Honcho,’ ‘Departmental Head,’ ‘Head of the Corporation,’ but scripture also dabbles in similar terms for us to explore and to play about with. 1 Corinthians 11:3 “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman [is] the man; and the head of Christ [is] God.” Here scripture gives us a hierarchal ladder of ascending authority; The woman has a boss – the man her husband, or her father if unmarried. That every man has a boss – Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has a boss – God our Heavenly Father. Hebrews 10:7 “Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.” Psalm 143:10-11 “Teach me to do thy will; for thou [art] my God: thy spirit [is] good; lead me into the land of uprightness. Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name’s sake: for thy righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.”
Ephesians 5:21-25 “Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the Saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so [let] the wives [be] to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;” 1 Corinthians 11:3, 8-12 “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman [is] the man; and the head of Christ [is] God. — For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. For this cause ought the woman to have power on [her] head because of the angels. Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. For as the woman [is] of the man, even so [is] the man also by the woman; but all things of God.” Genesis 2:2 “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”
Ephesians 6:1-11 ERV “Children, obey your parents the way the Lord wants, because this is the right thing to do. The command says, “You must respect your father and mother.” This is the first command that has a promise with it. And this is the promise: “Then all will go well with you, and you will have a long life on the earth.” Fathers, don’t make your children angry, but raise them with the kind of teaching and training you learn from the Lord. Slaves, obey your masters here on earth with fear and respect. And do this with a heart that is true, just as you obey Christ. You must do this not just to please your masters while they are watching, but all the time. Since you are really slaves of Christ, you must do with all your heart what God wants. Do your work, and be happy to do it. Work as though it is the Lord you are serving, not just an earthly master. Remember that the Lord will give everyone a reward for doing good. Everyone, slave or free, will get a reward for the good things they do. Masters, in the same way, be good to your slaves. Don’t say things to scare them. You know that the one who is your Master, and their Master is in heaven, and he treats everyone the same. To end my letter I tell you, be strong in the Lord and in his great power. Wear the full armour of God. Wear God’s armour so that you can fight against the devil’s clever tricks.”
Genealogies are fun, and to a Jew, it is most important to trace your lineage back to ‘father Abraham,’ and of course ‘King David.’ Therefore Matthew, who wrote from a Jewish mindset, started his Gospel with the son of David, the son of Abraham {Matt 1:1}. But Luke 3:24-38 takes on an upward path, from Jesus to our Heavenly Father. Now if anyone wants to debate that Joseph was not the real father of Jesus, and in the Hebrew Mindset, he was in every sense, Luke starts out a lineage ‘the son of Heli,’ and on upwards he trends, but Heli is actually Mary’s birth father, but we still get to the same key places, and back to God. It is interesting to notice that these genealogies, when condensed to the most important people, all read the same, 1 Corinthians 11:3 “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman [is] the man; and the head of Christ [is] God.” Here scripture gives us a hierarchal ladder of ascending authority; The woman has a boss – the man her husband, or her father if unmarried. That every man has a boss – Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has a boss – God our Heavenly Father. No matter where you look, God is still our ‘Heavenly Father.’ If you find yourself in a situation, where those in authority over you are requesting or demanding of you things that are wrong or unrighteous, then you must appeal to the highest possible authority and to serve God, non-negotiable. Quote; “Choose poverty, reproach, separation from friends, or any suffering, rather than to defile the soul with sin. Death before dishonor or the transgression of God’s law, should be the motto of every Christian. {MYP 80} Acts 5:29 “Then Peter and the [other] apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.” In consideration of all this, the question for us all to ponder in assessing headship is, who or what is “The Head of …” you? Your answer has ‘Eternal Consequences,’ so choose quickly, choose well, choose ye this day whom you will serve, who or what controls you, who or what sits in the temple of your life ruling and governing? 1 Corinthians 11:3a ERV “But I you to understand this; The head of every man is Christ;”
