Christ Leads the Church

Nearly every group has someone who is in charge. An Indian tribe has a chief. A basketball team has a coach. A school has a principal. What do these leaders do? They lead the group in the right direction, enforce rules, and make sure people in the group are doing what
is good and right.

The church is a group, too. Who is the leader? Ephesians 5:3 says that "Christ is the head of the church." In Matthew 28:18, Christ said that "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth." If Christ has all authority in heaven and on Earth, He must have authority over the church. The apostle Paul wrote to the Christians at Colosse that "He is the Head of the body" (the church—Colossians 1:16-18). The "He" whom Paul was discussing is Jesus—the One by Whom all things were created (verse 16). Jesus not only is head of the church, He owns the church. He "purchased" it "with His own blood" (Acts 20:28).

The Bible describes Jesus as a leader in different ways, all of which help us to understand Christ's leadership more completely. In John 10:14-16, Jesus described Himself as the supreme shepherd of the flock. Jesus is the shepherd, and we are the flock. Like sheep that follow the shepherd, we should follow Jesus—the Good Shepherd. He is also described as the bridegroom. A bridegroom is a man who gets married. In Ephesians 5:22-23, Paul wrote: "For as the husband is the head of the wife, so also Christ is the head of the church…." Similar to how the husband and father is the leader of his household, so Jesus is the leader of the church.

Concerning His authority, Jesus also taught: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except by me" (John 14:6). That means Christ is our guide to God. He is the guide, and the church consists of His followers. The church follows Him, because He built it (Matthew 16:18), He is the head of it, and He is the way to heaven.

---

Copyright © 2014 Apologetics Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

*Please keep in mind that Discovery articles are written for 3rd-6th graders.

This document may be copied, on the condition that it will not be republished in print unless otherwise stated below, and will not be used for any commercial purpose, as long as the following stipulations are observed: (1) Apologetics Press must be designated as the original publisher; (2) the specific Apologetics Press Web site URL must be noted; (3) any references, footnotes, or endnotes that accompany the article must be included with any written reproduction of the article; (4) textual alterations of any kind are strictly forbidden; (5) Some illustrations (e.g., photographs, charts, graphics, etc.) are not the intellectual property of Apologetics Press and as such cannot be reproduced from our site without consent from the person or organization that maintains those intellectual rights; (6) serialization of written material (e.g., running an article in several parts) is permitted, as long as the whole of the material is made available, without editing, in a reasonable length of time; (7) articles, in whole or in part, may not be offered for sale or included in items offered for sale; and (8) articles may be reproduced in electronic form for posting on Web sites pending they are not edited or altered from their original written content and that credit is given to Apologetics Press, including the web location from which the articles were taken. Further, documents may not be copied without source statements (title, author, journal title), and the address of the publisher and owner of rights, as listed below.

For catalog, samples, or further information, contact:

Apologetics Press
230 Landmark Drive
Montgomery, Alabama 36117
U.S.A.
Phone (334) 272-8558

http://www.apologeticspress.org