The Head of the Church
Paul, in writing to the church at Colosse, speaks of Christ, "And he is the head of the body, the church; who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead: that in all things he might have the pre-eminence." (Colossians 1:18).
The most obvious point of this passage is that Jesus Christ is the head of His church. Many men presumptuously have claimed to be head of the church to which they belong. In that case, those men very well may be the head of THEIR church, but anyone who makes the claim to be head of Christ's church is an antichrist.
Since Christ is the head of this church, it is for Him to say what members of the church should or should not do, what one must do to become a member, and how one should worship God. We have not been left in the dark on these things for all of them are revealed unto us in the New Testament. This then should show that since Christ is the head and does have that right, no council, synod, or convention has any scriptural right to do anything, much less legislate on matters on which Christ has already given us instruction.
If we claim to believe in, respect, and obey the scriptures, and seeing that Christ is the head of the church, why should we do anything more or less than what He says? Let us heed the true authority in religion; it's the only safe course to heaven (Luke 6:46).
From Our Archives, 1984
By: Oran Rhodes