Christ Is the Head of the Church, His Body (Colossians 1:18–20)

Christ Is the Head of the Church, His Body (Colossians 1:18–20)

Jesus, who was crucified and shed his blood for us, is the Creator God who made heaven and earth by his word. Jesus created what is seen and what is unseen, every power, authority, and dominion, and he rules and sustains all things with his authority, glory, and power. Nothing can resist his authority and power. Yet, people fell into sin, trapped in ignorance and darkness, unable to know God or obey him. Jesus Christ, as the Judge of all, should judge the world in righteousness and justice. But instead of condemning the world, Jesus bore our sins and was crucified, shedding his blood. He offered the authority and power of the Creator as a sacrifice before the throne of heaven to bring salvation to this world.

God looks upon the blood of his Son, and to anyone who believes, he forgives sins and gives eternal life. God looks upon the blood of his Son, passes over the sins of those who believe in Jesus Christ, opens the gates of heaven, and pours out immeasurable grace. When we recognize our sins and come before him with a broken and contrite heart, God cleanses us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). No sin of man can surpass the grace of God. Truly, God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son without holding back. He did this while we were still sinners. Now that we have become God’s children through faith, Paul says, how much more will he love us:

“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).

Colossians 1:18–20 tells us that Jesus Christ, who is the head of the church, his body, died on the cross and rose again, becoming the firstborn from among the dead, and through his blood on the cross reconciled all things to himself.

The Head of the Church, His Body, Jesus Christ

“18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” (Colossians 1:18–20)

Jesus is the head of the church, his body. A body cannot exist without a head. The head of a human body is the brain. The brain is the central organ of the nervous system that controls all human activity—thinking, emotions, memory, learning, behavior regulation, maintaining bodily balance, and integrating higher cognitive functions and physical operations. It consists of the cerebrum, brainstem, and cerebellum, each responsible for processing sensory information, sustaining life functions, and coordinating movement, playing an essential role in our existence.

The brain and the body constantly exchange and cooperate with information. The brain commands the arm to move toward what we want to grasp, and the body obeys. At the same time, the body sends sensory signals such as light and sound to the brain, allowing it to perceive and judge. The brain is the control center, and the body is the executor, functioning together in an organic relationship to sustain life.

Without Jesus Christ, the head of the church, the church cannot exist by itself. The church on earth is his body, established upon the rock of Christ’s blood. The church is not a building but the believers in Jesus Christ. The body is made up of many members. Each believer is connected to the body of Christ, the head, and functions as a different part. God gives different gifts to each member: some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers, some to serve, some to administer, and some to give generously (Ephesians 4:11–12; 1 Corinthians 12:8–10; Romans 12:6–8).

The gifts are diverse, but the one who gives them is the same—Jesus Christ, the head of the church. Each member uses their gift, received from the Lord Jesus Christ, to build up the church. Just as the body parts function in union with the brain, the believer who has received a gift continually receives life, authority, and power from the Lord Jesus Christ and offers it back to him. Just as the members of the body cannot be separated from the brain, we cannot be separated from Jesus Christ, the head. Separation means losing function as a member and losing life.

Christ is the Beginning and the Firstborn from the Dead

Jesus Christ is the beginning. In Colossians 1:15–17, we see that Jesus is the Creator who made all things, visible and invisible. But here, the “beginning” means the beginning of the new creation. Why is a new creation necessary? Because this world has fallen into sin. In the beginning, everything God made was very good. Everything was completed as God willed. The vast universe and all creation operate with perfect order, sustaining life in an environment designed by God.

Yet, there was one who rebelled against God’s authority, power, glory, and honor—the fallen angel, the devil. He deceived the woman, and she gave the fruit to her husband Adam, who also ate. As a result, just as God said, “You will surely die,” mankind in Adam lived physically but died spiritually. This means the perfect union with God was broken.

After Adam’s fall, God came to him and promised that the offspring of the woman (singular, male)—the Son of God, Christ—would crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15). When the set time had fully come, he was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary in Nazareth, Galilee, and born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:4–7). When the time had fully come again, Jesus Christ was arrested on the Mount of Olives, condemned by the Sanhedrin, sentenced to death by the Roman governor Pilate, and crucified on the hill of Golgotha, shedding his blood (Luke 22:47–53; 22:66–71; 23:13–25; 23:26–49).

The death of Jesus Christ was a sacrifice, an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world (John 1:29). The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a). The death of Jesus was to break the hopeless destiny of mankind, trapped under the power of death. Through the precious blood of Jesus Christ, God forgives sins and delivers man from the chains of death.

God gave proof of this by raising Jesus Christ from the dead on the third day by the power of the resurrection (Luke 24:6). Jesus Christ died and rose again, becoming the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Corinthians 15:23a). Following the resurrection of Jesus Christ, those who belong to him will be raised when he comes again (1 Corinthians 15:23b).

Through his death and resurrection, Jesus Christ destroyed the old self and established the new self. The old self, which was under the power of sin and death, died with Christ, and he created the new self under the law of the Spirit of life in the resurrection (Romans 8:2). Therefore, every church is a member belonging to Christ Jesus, who is the head of the church.

And Jesus Christ himself is the supremacy over all things. Christ not only upholds and sustains all creation that he made, but as the head of the redeemed church, he is the Lord who supplies every grace and life. This means that the solar system, the earth, people, animals, grains, plants, fruits, the sea, mountains, and even the invisible powers and authorities are under his rule and reign. It also means that from the beginning of the church, redeemed by faith, until its completion, Christ is Lord over all growth.

The Father Dwells in Fullness in the Son

God made all his fullness dwell in his Son, Christ. In Jesus was the Spirit of the Lord—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2). This is the delight of God the Father. Everything that Jesus Christ did during his public ministry, from his incarnation until his sacrifice as the atoning sacrifice on the cross, was the work of God the Father dwelling in him in fullness. Jesus is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15).

So Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does” (John 5:19).

God the Father was pleased to reveal the secrets of the kingdom of heaven through Jesus Christ, to heal the sick, and to drive out demons. God was pleased through Jesus Christ to open the eyes of the blind, to raise the dead, to walk on water, and to calm the wind. God was pleased to teach the secrets of the kingdom of heaven through many parables and to give the hope of heaven. God was also pleased to give words of warning of judgment to those who disobeyed.

Therefore, God the Father was pleased to reconcile to himself all things through the blood of his Son’s cross—things on earth and things in heaven—by making peace through Christ (Colossians 1:20). Because of man’s fall, the ground was cursed (Genesis 3:17). All creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed, longing for restoration (Romans 8:19–22). The restoration of all things is accomplished through the blood of Jesus Christ, who is supreme over all.

God made a covenant with Israel through Moses at Mount Sinai. When God made a covenant with his people, Moses sprinkled the blood of animals on the altar and on the people. This blood foreshadowed that through the blood of Jesus Christ all things would be reconciled to God.

“Moses came and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws. They responded with one voice, ‘Everything the Lord has said we will do.’ Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed against the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, ‘We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.’ Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, ‘This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words’” (Exodus 24:3–8).

Why was blood required? Because without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22). The life of a creature is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11). The blood in the body carries oxygen and nutrients to every part, removes carbon dioxide and waste, fights infection, and stops bleeding when injured—it is essential to sustaining life. Losing 20% of blood puts life in danger; losing 30% results in death.

The covenant God made with his people is a covenant of blood. The tabernacle in the wilderness and the temple in Jerusalem could be described as slaughterhouses. Countless bulls, sheep, and goats were slaughtered and their blood sprinkled on the altar. The remarkable thing is that when God made the covenant with his people, before they kept the law or offered sacrifices, blood was already sprinkled on the scroll and the people through Moses. See Hebrews 9:18–22:

“This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. He said, ‘This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.’ In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:18–22).

Two things stand out here. First, even before the people kept the law or offered sacrifices, God had already forgiven their sins. This means God’s righteousness is not obtained by human works but only through faith. Second, reconciliation with God comes only through the blood of Christ. Not only the people but even the scroll (the Word) was sprinkled with blood, pointing to the covenant of God being sealed with the blood of Christ. The sprinkling of blood on the tabernacle and on all the vessels used in sacrifice shows that through the blood of Christ, all things are reconciled to God.

September 14, 2025

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Scripture quotes are from the NIV.