«　WEEK 4　DAY 3　»

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

　　14:40 But all things must be done becomingly and in order.

　　The order of the church comes out of the authority in the church…. We are told clearly that the church is the Body of Christ and the house of God. To be sure, there is authority in our body, and there is also authority in a house, that is, in a family…. As long as a body is living and standing, there is authority in it…. As long as there is a body, there must be authority, and as long as we have a family, a home, there also must be authority. This illustrates that in the church there truly is an authority. (CWWL, 1963, vol. 3, “Basic Principles for the Practice of the Church Life,” pp. 299-300)

　　The authority of a body is the head. When a person is standing, does his body bear his head, or does his head hold up his body? If we were to cut off a man’s head, his body would fall down. Without the head, the body cannot stand. It seems that the body bears the head, but in actuality, it is the head that holds up the body. Therefore, the head is the authority. The Head of the church is Christ the Lord, and the authority in the church is the headship of Christ. It is clear that in the church there should be an order, but this order comes from the headship of Christ. We must realize, honor, and respect the headship of the Lord. If we are not under the headship of the Lord, we can never be right in the order of the church. Many times in the past years, brothers or sisters have come to me and said, “Brother Lee, I simply cannot go along with some of the elders.” Every time someone has brought a problem like this to me, I ask them, “At this moment and concerning this very issue, are you under the headship of the Lord?” Invariably, the one asking admits that he or she is not under His headship. I reply, “First, you must be right with the Lord. Submit yourself to the headship of the Lord, and then you will be clear.”

　　There is only one way to be an elder, and that is to submit to the headship of the Lord. The more you submit yourself to the headship of the Lord, the more you are qualified and equipped to be an elder. The headship of the Lord is the authority in the church. If we want to practice the church life, we have to learn the lesson of always submitting ourselves to the headship of the Lord. The Lord is the Head, and we are all members under His headship. If our relationship is wrong with the Head, we will be wrong with the Body, and to be sure, we will be wrong with the other members. It is when we are right with the Head that we are right with all the members and with the Body. If we are not under the headship, we have no ground to say anything to the brothers and sisters in an adjusting way. If we want to say something to them, we must submit ourselves under the headship of the Lord. To not submit to the headship of the Lord and yet say something to the brothers and sisters simply means that we are rebellious. We are rebellious to the Lord and rebellious to the Body, the church.

　　The best way to glorify Christ and honor the Lord is to take Him as the Head, praying, “Lord, You are the Head. I take You as the Head, and I speak and act in a genuine way. I am under Your headship.”

　　The order in the church comes from the headship of Christ being realized by us in a practical way…. If each one of us would submit to the headship of Christ and pray, “Lord, You are the Head, and I realize Your headship in my life in a practical way,” every problem will be solved. Problems are solved not by doctrine or by teaching but by realizing the headship of Christ. (CWWL, 1963, vol. 3, “Basic Principles for the Practice of the Church Life,” pp. 300-303, 305)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1956, vol. 2, “Three Aspects of the Church, Book 3: The Organization of the Church,” chs. 2, 4, 6