What Is Jesus’ Role in the Church?

And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:18)

Today’s big question: what is Jesus’ role in the church?

God the Father gave His only Son, Jesus, to die on the Cross, and through Jesus’ death and Resurrection, believers are now the adopted sons of God (Ephesians 1:5; John 3:16). The Father also “put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church” (Ephesians 1:22–23). In today’s passage, Paul wrote about Jesus being the head of the church.

Before looking at Jesus’ role, we should define what Paul means by “the church.” The Greek word for church is ekklesia, which can mean “assembly.” God’s will is that “we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). Believers are all unified by the “one faith” we have in Christ (Ephesians 4:4–5). So “church” simply means an assembly of believers, which is the body of Christ.

Furthermore, Paul deliberately writes “the church,” which indicates that there is one assembly of believers. In other words, a building should not separate believers from working together for Christ.

With the church defined, we can conclude that Jesus Christ is the head of all believers. Paul also wrote about this truth from a different perspective in one of his letters to the Corinthians:

But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. (1 Corinthians 11:3)

Jesus is the foundation for all believers: “Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20). Sin entered into the world through Adam, and through the Last Adam, Jesus Christ, sin and death were conquered on the Cross (1 Corinthians 15:45). Jesus paid the price for the church by His blood. We should never forget this foundational truth, and those who have received the free gift of salvation through Christ should respond with love and a desire to obey God’s commandments (Ephesians 5:1–2).

Today’s big idea: Jesus is the head of the church, every single believer.

What to pray: ask God to help you be imitators of God and to love Him with all of our hearts.