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“The Full Rights Of Sons” Simply Put / 
K.E.Stegall
 
Chapter V
-
“The Head Of The Body”: What Does It Mean?
 
34
 
 
“The Head Of The Body”:
 
(Colossians 1:18)
What Does It Mean?
One can hardly discuss the concept of authority, especially as it
pertains
to the role of women, withoutcon
sidering headship. Two passages that speak about women use this analogy of “the head.” Its
meaning is critical since this word is used to teach us about the relationship between man and woman(I Corinthians 11:3), husbands and wives (Ephesians 5:23).Language scholars tell us there are two possible meanings for the Greek word which is
translated “head” in the New Testament. Its meaning could be “authority over,” or it could be “sourceof.” When the Bible says that Christ is “...the head of the body, his church:...” (Colossians 1:18) does
it mean Christ is the authority over the church or the source of the church? The difference is
important. The principle of headship has traditionally been built on the “authority over” definition.
The consequence is that women are subordinate.Those favoring each meaning site credible evidence that their interpretation is correct. The
arguments deal mostly with how the Greek word “head” is used in other ancient writings, yet seem
inconclusive on both sides.When scholars cannot fully resolve a word meaning through language study, then we mustsearch further to find the one true meaning. All I can do is read these passages in English. But uponcareful reading, even in English, I believe there is much to explain the meaning Paul intended when
he used the Greek word “head.”
 
The most widely accepted meaning for “head of” has been “authority over.” This isunderstandable since this is how we often use the word in English. “Mr. So
-n-So is head of the Acme
Corporation.” We all underst
and this to mean that he is the boss, the final authority, the one who allmust answer to, the director of Acme. inc.
But the “head” that we want to examine is found in Ephesians 5:23, “For the husband is the
head of the wife as Christ is head of the churc
h, his body,...” Here “head” means a physical head,something attached to a body. It’s a
metaphor
. Christ is the “head.” The church is “his body.”
 
This passage is really a simile of metaphors. “...the husband is the head of the wife...” is one
metaphor. T
he other is, “...Christ is head of the church, his body....” These two metaphors are joinedinto a simile with the word “as.” So in order to understand how the husband is head of the wife, we
must first figure out the meaning of Christ being the head of the church, his body.The use of a metaphor to describe Christ in Scripture is not at all new. Jesus himself used thistechnique to describe himself many times. i.e.
“I
 
am....” the gate (John 10:7,9),
the way (John 14:6),the light (John 8:12), the shepherd (John 10:11), the bread (John 6:35,48). John the Baptist called
Jesus “the lamb of God,...” (John 1:29). At times we also use the word “lamb” as a metaphor to
describe people.Suppose I were talking with a friend about needing a little extra time away from the office fora special luncheon engagement. I might
say
of my boss. “Oh, he’s a real lamb. He’ll let me have thetime.” Now is what I described about my boss the same thing that John the Baptist was describing
about Jesus? No, not at all.Then how do we know what John the Baptist meant to tell us about Jesus? We know by
studying the rest of Scripture to see how the word “lamb”
is
used and what meaning it has. We applythe principle of interpretation that Scripture is its own interpreter, giving careful attention to the wayone passage of Scripture is used in another, along with the more general principle that each portion of Scripture must be read and understood in light of the whole (11 Peter 1:20-21; II Timothy 3:16).
There are two passages using “head”
which deal directly with the issue of the role of 
 
“The Full Rights Of Sons” Simply Put / 
K.E.Stegall
 
Chapter V
-
“The Head Of The Body”: What Does It Mean?
 
34
 
 women, I Corinthians 11 and Ephesians
5.
Excluding these two, since they are the controversial and
contested passages, there are four other Scriptures that talk about Christ as “head.” Ephesians
I and 4,
and Colossians 1 and 2. Let’s take a closer look at these four passages to see if we can discern Paul’s
meaning.
In each of these scriptures where Christ is referred to as the “head” of his body, the church,
Paul expands on this idea with the wo
rd “fullness.”
 
“And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for 
the church, which is his body, the fullness
of him who fills everything in every way.” (Ephesians
 1:22-23)
...to prepare God’s people for works of se
rvice, so that the body of Christ may be built upuntil we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and becomemature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer beinfants,... Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is theHead, that is, Christ. (Ephesians 4:12-15)
“Fullness” describes the body of Christ. The church is pictured as the full expression of allthat Christ is. When God’s people reach unity
 
in the faith and become mature, they attain the “wholemeasure” or the complete expression of the person of Jesus.
 
“And he is the head of the body. the church:... For God was pleased to have all his
fullnessdwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in
heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” (Colossians 1:18
-20)
Here “fullness” describes Jesus Christ as the complete expression of God. Jesus, being the“fullness” of God, carried out the action which was demanded by God’s being, person. and character.This is a repetition of what Paul had said three verses earlier. “He is the image of the invisibleGod,...” (Colossians
1:15).
This idea was first taught in John, “The Word became
flesh and lived for a while among us.We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of graceand truth. ...
 No one has ever seen God, but God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has madehim known.” (John
1:14 & 18) Jesus is the incarnation of God, God made flesh.
In Colossians 2 these two ideas of “fullness” are brought together. “For in Christ all the
fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the heado
ver every power and authority.” (Colossians 2:9
-10)
Christ is the “fullness” of God, and the church is the “fullness” of Christ. Christ is the full
manifestation of and expression all that God is. Likewise, the church is the full manifestation of andexpression of all that Jesus is. Jesus is the incarnation of God, God made flesh. The church is theincarnation of Jesus, the body of Christ (Matthew 10:40, I Corinthians 12:27, II Corinthians 3:2-3,17-18, John 1:16, I John 4:16-17).
“Fullness” is further elab
orated on in Ephesians 4 with the concept of growth.
“...we will in all things
grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him thewhole body. ...grows
and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (Ephesians 4:15— 
16)Paul repeats
this in the Colossians 2 passage, “He has lost connection with
the Head, fromwhom the whole body. ...grows
as God causes it to grow.” (Colossians 2:19)
 The body grows from the head, becoming like the head, becoming the full expressionof the head.
“Head” is
also linked to the idea of something that holds everything together.
 
“The Full Rights Of Sons” Simply Put / 
K.E.Stegall
 
Chapter V
-
“The Head Of The Body”: What Does It Mean?
 
35
 
 
“Instead, ...we will in all things grow up into him who
is the Head, that is, Christ. From himthe whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in
love, as each part does its work.” (Ephesians 4:15
-16)
“He has lost connection with
the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and heldtogether by its ligaments and sinews
, grows as God causes it to grow.” (Colossians 2:19)
 The head is the part of the body that holds all the body together, gives it unity and oneness.The head is what all the parts have in common. Even though there are many parts there is only onebody (I Corinthians 12:12, Ephesians
4:2-5).
This idea of holding everything together is further reflected in other passages that describe
Christ using the Greek word for “head” as in “head cornerstone.” The church is described not only asa body, but also as a building. And what holds a building together? The “head cornerstone.” “H
olding
together” is the function of a cornerstone.
 
“The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone;...” (Psalm 118:22). This verse is
 quoted various times in the New Testament (Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10, Luke 20:17, Acts 4:11. IPeter 2:7) showing
that Jesus Christ is that “head cornerstone.” This quote is prefaced in I Peter 2
 this way,As you come to him, the living Stone - rejected by men but chosen by God and precious tohim - you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood,offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ...you are a chosen people,a royal priesthood. a holy nation, a people belonging to God. (I Peter
2:4-5,9)
Jesus holds us together as one building, a temple in which God lives (I Corinthians 3:16, IICorinthians 6:16, Hebrews 3:6).
...you are...God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the
apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
1
In him the wholebuilding is joined together and rises to become a holy temple
2
in the Lord. And in him you tooare being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (Ephesians2:19-22)Christ is referred to as the head of a body in each of these four Scriptures. He is not referred toas just the head of the church, but rather as the head of the church, which is his body.
“And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for 
the church, which is his body,...
”
(Ephesians 1:22-23).
“...to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that
the body of Christ may be builtup...attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. ...we will in all things grow up into himwho is the Head, that is, Christ.
” (Eph
esians 4:12-13,15)
“And
he is the head of the body, the church;...
” (Colossians 1:18).
 
“He has lost connection with
the Head, from whom the whole body. supported and held
1
The G
reek word translated here as “chief cornerstone” may mean
“top
of the corn
er.” The Greek word fo
r
“head” is not used in th
is verse, (Young, Robert, Analytical Concordance to the l3ihle, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.,Grand Rapids, MI., 1970, page 203, Index-Lexicon to the New Testament, page 58, 72.)
2
Could this have been what Jesus was referring to, at least in part, in John 2:18-21? When Christ completed hiswork, through his life, death, and resurrection the worship of God would no longer be centered in a temple of stone. WhenJesus died and rose again three days later he
 both destroyed and rebuilt the temple, that is, God’s dwelling place among his
people. With the entrance of the new covenant a physical building was no longer needed, but a spiritual one. (Ephesians2: 19-22) The new temple, his body, the church, was a place where God could Live by his spirit.
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