Scripture Reading: Eph. 1:22-23; 4:15-16; Col. 1:18; 2:19; Heb. 11:10; Rev. 21:2
Ⅰ
The purpose of the building is to bring us all into the proper order in life under the headship of Christ—Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18; 2:19:
A
It is when we submit to the government of the Head that there will be the building up of the Body; the extent to which the church is built up depends entirely upon the place given to the Head—Eph. 4:15-16.
B
When we are built up in life under the headship of Christ, God has the ground to make His multifarious wisdom known to the rulers and the au-thorities in the heavenlies—2:21-22; 3:9-11; 4:16.
Ⅱ
In Christ's ascension God made Him the unique Head of the Body, the church, and inaugurated Him into the headship of the universe; the Head of the whole universe is Jesus—Col. 1:18; Acts 2:36; Eph. 1:22-23:
A
Christ is both the Head of the Body, the church, corporately, and of all the believers individually; He is the Head of every one of us directly— Col. 1:18; 1 Cor. 11:3.
B
In order for God to establish Christ as the Head over all things, He must first make Christ the Head of the church—Col. 1:18; Eph. 1:22-23:
１
The future position of Christ in the universe has much to do with His position in the church today—Col. 1:18; 3:4, 10-11.
２
God must first secure Christ's headship in the church; this is why it is a crucial matter for Christ to be the Head of the church—Eph. 1:22-23, 10.
Ⅲ
The church life is a life of being headed up under the unique head-ship of Christ—vv. 10, 22-23; 4:15-16; Col. 2:19:
A
God is heading up His chosen ones to be the Body of Christ with Christ as the Head—Eph. 1:4, 22-23:
１
The first step in the heading up of all things in Christ is for God to place His sons under the unique headship of Christ—vv. 5, 10.
２
When the church takes the lead to be headed up under the headship of Christ, God has a way to head up all other things—vv. 22-23, 10.
B
In the proper church life we are being headed up in Christ—1 Cor. 11:3:
１
If we do not know what it is to be headed up in Christ, we cannot know the church—Eph. 1:10, 22-23.
２
In the church life we are taking the lead to be headed up in Christ; for this we need to grow up into the Head, Christ, in all things—4:15-16.
C
The order of the church comes out of the honoring of the unique headship of Christ—Col. 1:18; Phil. 1:1:
１
In the church there is no human organization, but there is a spiritual order—v. 1; 1 Cor. 14:40; 11:34b:
ａ
The genuine church practice depends on the proper order under the Holy Spirit; without this order we cannot have the real practice of the church life—Acts 20:28; 1 Cor. 12:4-11.
ｂ
The Head of the church is Christ the Lord, and the authority in the church is the headship of Christ—Matt. 28:18; Col. 1:18.
ｃ
The order in the church comes from the headship of Christ being realized by us in a practical way—1 Cor. 11:3, 16; Eph. 1:22.
ｄ
If we all honor the unique headship of Christ, there will spontane-ously be a wonderful spiritual order among us in the church life— 1 Cor. 14:40.
２
We can have the real practice of the church life only by submitting to the unique headship of Christ—Col. 1:18; 2:19:
ａ
When we are right with the Head, we are right with all the mem-bers and with the Body—1:18; 2:19; 3:15.
ｂ
We need to be subject to one another in the fear of Christ; if we are not subject to one another, we offend Christ as the unique Head and have no fear of Christ in His headship—Eph. 5:21, 23.
Ⅳ
If we honor the unique headship of Christ, then in the Lord's recov-ery the church will be not only the house but also the city—Heb. 11:10; Ezra 1:2-3; Neh. 1:9; 2:5, 17; 1 Tim. 3:15; Rev. 21:2, 10-11:
A
The church as the house is mainly with Christ as life, and the church as the city is mainly with Christ as the Head—1 Tim. 3:15; Matt. 5:14; Col. 3:4; 1:18:
１
When we experience and enjoy Christ as life, we have the church as the house; when we realize the unique headship of Christ, the church will be enlarged as the city, which signifies the kingdom of God—Matt. 16:18-19.
２
The church as the city is built not only with Christ as life but also with the headship of Christ; thus, Christ must be not only our life but also our Head—Col. 3:4; 1:18; 2:19.
B
For the church as the city, our will must be exercised, renewed, and trans-formed so that it will be subdued under the unique headship of Christ— S. S. 4:1b, 4; 6:4.
C
If we honor the unique headship of Christ, the church will be enlarged from the house to the city for the King and His kingdom—Psa. 48:1-2; 1 Cor. 1:2; 12:12-13, 27; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:15-16; Rev. 21:2, 10-11, 14; 11:15.