This chapter concerns the headship of Christ and the constitution of the church. We need to see what the constitution of the church is, that is, the way in which the church is formed. The constitution of the church is closely related to the headship of Christ.
First, I would point out that in Christianity today the headship of Christ is altogether denied. This has occurred because Christianity has become an organization. The formation of any organization brings about a hierarchy, and every hierarchy has a head. Thus, the hierarchy in Christianity insults the headship of Christ.
Most are familiar with the organization of the Catholic Church. First, there are the priests. Above the priests are the bishops, then the archbishops, the cardinals, and finally the pope. This hierarchy forms a pyramid with the pope on the top. The Catholic organization, with the pope as the head, is a great insult to the headship of Christ. This organization claims that the pope represents Christ, but this is actually a subtle way of putting Christ aside and denying the headship of Christ.
Besides the Catholic Church, there are the state churches. The Church of England is the state church of England, with the Queen of England as its head. Because the Anglican and Episcopalian churches derived from the Church of England, the Queen of England could be considered the head of these churches also. Historically, the state churches of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway have had the head of state as their head. Every state church is an organization with a head that replaces Christ and is thus an insult to the headship of Christ.
Besides the state churches there are private churches, such as the Baptist Church, the Methodist Church, and the Presbyterian Church. Every private church also has an organization with a person, such as a chairman or a president, as its head. The titles are different, and the complexity of the organizations differ, but the principle is always the same—there is always an organization with a head, which insults the headship of Christ. Besides the Catholic Church, the state churches, and the private churches, there are the free groups. Even every free group has an organization. Regardless of how loose their organization is, they still have an organization with a leader as the head. Thus, it is clear that Christianity is entirely a matter of organization, which leads to a hierarchy with a head, and this insults the headship of Christ.
Now we must come to the Bible to see the headship of Christ. Most Christians do not realize that the headship of Christ was not completed in the Old Testament. Christ’s headship was not completed in the Old Testament because at that time Christ had not yet become a man. As the Son of God, He was only God, not a man. According to God’s eternal purpose in His economy, God needs a man in order to accomplish two things. First, a man is needed because God’s eternal purpose is to work Himself into man and be mingled with man. Thus, there is the definite need of humanity for the fulfilling of God’s eternal purpose. Today the church, which is the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose, is altogether human. The church is simply humanity mingled with divinity. Second, a man was needed by God to destroy His enemy, Satan. Because God would not lower Himself in His status as the Creator to deal with His creature Satan, He needed another creature, man, to defeat Satan.