Gooding, David: 2 - Headship

Be invited to address you once more this evening. May God bless our meditation on his word. The conveners of the conference have suggested that tonight our meditation should be on the topic of headship. And therefore, I propose to read to you a few verses from the passages in the New Testament that particularly deal with this question of headship. And the first of them is to be found in Colossians and chapter one. Colossians chapter one, Reading there from verses fourteen to eighteen. In whom, that is, in God's Son, in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things have been created through him and unto him. And he is before all things, and in him all things ha- stand together. 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 preeminence, or literally translated, that he in all things might be the first. Chapter two of the same epistle, verses eight to ten. Take heed, lest there shall be any one that makes spoil of you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and him, and in him you are made full, who is the head of all principality and power. Verses eighteen and nineteen of that same chapter. Let no man rob you of your prize by voluntary humility and worshiping of the angels, dwelling in the things that he has seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast the head from whom all the body, being supplied and knit together through the joints and bands, increases with the increase of God. Now we go back to First Corinthians, first, uh, to the first chapter of the Ephesians, Paul's letter to the Ephesians. Chapter one. beginning at verse eighteen. Having the eyes of your he- heart enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, what the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might, which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. And he put all things in subjection under his feet and gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all. One passage more from Ephesians in chapter four. Chapter four of Ephesians, verse seven onward. But unto each one of us was the grace given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he says, when he ascended on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. Now this, he ascended. What is it but that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. And he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the body of Christ, till we all attain unto the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a full-grown man, unto the measure and the stature of the fullness of Christ, that we may be no longer children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men in craftiness after the wiles of error, but speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into him who is the head, even Christ. One final passage, just to complete our reading, the First Epistle to the Corinthians and chapter eleven, verses two and three. Now I praise you that you remember me in all things and hold fast the traditions, even as I deliver them to you. But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God. God, give us good understanding and enlarge our imaginations, that we may take in with our imagination what we learn through our intellect. I suspect all of us have noticed, or sooner or later will notice, as we read through the epistles in the New Testament, that the emphasis changes a little bit as we move through them. Of course, they all preach exactly the same gospel. How that our sins are forgiven us for Christ's sake, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, and that he rose the third day according to the scriptures. But when we read Romans, it becomes soon apparent that here the great work of Christ is geared to us individually, telling us why we personally need to repent. And secondly, upon repentance, how God has a salvation for us, and 'tis by believing and solely by faith that we enter into the glory of the forgiveness of sins and acceptance with God through the propitiation that Christ has made. Romans then, God's great work as concerns the individual and much more beside, of course. When we enter Corinthian epistles, then we see the great work of Christ geared to our experience as believers in the churches of God. And how so much of God's grace comes to us, not directly, but through our fellow members in the church. Ponder it, my brothers and my sisters. It is not enough to suppose one can get saved and then be neglectful of meeting together with the church. I repeat, much of the grace of God comes to us, not directly, but mediated through our brothers and sisters in the church. But when we come to epistles like that to Ephesus and that to Colossae, the emphasis changes once more. It's the same Christ, the same gospel, the same salvation. But now, instead of that work being sketched out against the background of the individual or of the church, it takes on cosmic proportions. And the work and significance of the person of Christ and what he has done and is doing for us is described in the context of the vast universe of which we're part. We're given to in, uh, given to understand that not only is it sketched against the background of this present heavens and earth, but also against the background of the eternal new heavens and earth that shall be. We shall need, perhaps, we certainly shall need the help of the Holy Spirit, because sometimes, if you are any way like me, I am so narrow-minded in my little heart that I'm always thinking about me. Well, ninety-eight percent of the time there is a half in which I'm thinking about other people, but the rest of one and a half is generally about me, you'll see. Ah, but as the children of God, we're called to bigger things. We have a salvation that is cosmic in its proportion and in the results it shall yet have. And that is why Paul, in writing to the Colossians in chapter one, first, first of all, of course, he reminds them that by God's grace they have been delivered from the power of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. But then, so that we should take in the magnitude of this, whose blood it is, by whom we have redemption. And what is this kingdom of the Son of his love into which we have been translated? The Apostle Paul is inspired to go on to tell us about our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. In relation to the Father, you see, he is the express image of his person. The full, absolute expression of God. And of course, of course, to be that, he has to be equal with the Father. There is nothing in God that Christ cannot express. And what is the relation to the universe? Well, it is said here that, you see, he is the firstborn of all creation. The Jehovah Witnesses to whom reference has already been made, not to their benefit. Used to have a translation that said, uh, he's the firstborn of all creation because him all the other things were created, implying that he himself also was created and the first created being. They've changed it now, whether out of wisdom or tactics, I know not. But of course, the very text defeats them. He is the firstborn, and in scripture the term firstborn conveys the idea of first honor, first position. He is the firstborn of all creation. Why is that? Because in him, not just all things, but, to cite Paul's Greek, the all things. Ta penta, says Paul. That's simple Greek for the whole bang universe. Ta penta. Not anything was made that was made without him. In him was life, and that life was the light of men, was made in him and through him and unto him. And he shall be the beneficiary of all the riches of history. He is the heir of all things. Are you not glad in this vast universe? And the more that science goes on to ex- show to us the magnificent marvels of our universe, I say thank God for science. Carry on, I say, showing us all the wonders of a glorious universe. My savior made it all. And thank God, while your atheist has no ultimate purpose in life, can't answer a question a child could ask, what's it all for? Here we have the answer, made not only in Christ as the designer and through him as the agent, but for him. Go on researching about your dark matter and your dark energy, though we don't know quite yet what it is. What holds it all together? We have the answer in front of us. In him all things stand together. And shall do until he releases that bond and the elements melt with fervent heat. He's first in creation. But then Paul can't resist, he hurries on, doesn't he? He's first in another sphere, not just in creation. For have you heard about it? About two thousand years ago, there appeared a new phenomenon in the universe. A phenomenon that never had been known of or even seen before. A brand new, extraordinary phenomenon. The name of that phenomenon is the body of Christ. As you've got, we've got so used to talking about it that we fail to put it in its cosmic proportion. Not the universe itself has known anything like it before. Nor did they know about it when our blessed Lord walked this. It was a something that had to await his death, his resurrection, and then his ascension. And at his ascension, he pulled out the Holy Spirit, with the result that there came into being what the Bible calls the body of Christ. Let me show how, uh, uh, remind you how that glorifies the uniqueness of our Lord. John the Baptist, the greatest of all the prophets. He heralded our Lord Jesus, he the voice in the wilderness, heralded him, of course, as the Lamb of God. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. But John said more. He said, look here, I baptize you in water. But there stands one among you whom you know not. He it is that baptizes in the Holy Spirit. And when our Lord rose from the dead, and for forty days associated with the apostles from time to time, and taught them things about the kingdom of God. He told them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait after his ascension, because there was going to be fulfilled what John the Baptist had said. As John said, I baptize in water, but he shall baptize in the Holy Spirit. They waited until the day of Pentecost, and then this colossal thing happened. The Holy Spirit was poured forth. And the first deduction that the Apostle Peter made from that phenomenon was this. This that you see and hear, says he. This is what was spoken of by Joel the prophet. And let me tell you how it has happened. It has not happened simply after Jesus ascended. It is Jesus of Nazareth who has poured out the Holy Spirit. Well, ponder it, my brothers, my sister. Jesus of Nazareth is his human name, is it not? The Holy Spirit is not sort of a spark of some current like electricity. Comes from the third person of the Trinity. Who must Jesus be if he can pour out God's Holy Spirit? Which is the point that the Holy Spirit made through Peter on that memorable day. Let all the house of Israel know this, says he. Because of this phenomenon, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit by our risen and ascended Lord, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made him whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ, in the fullest sense of those terms. God has decreed it that in the name of him whom people call Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, meaning Lord is the Greek for Jehovah, that Jesus Christ is Jehovah, and the God who are, who demanded that every knee should bow to him, commands now that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and confess Jesus is Jehovah. You say, what's so wonderful about this? Please go back a minute, replay the record, and um, what is so wonderful about, uh, the body of Christ. Well, consider how it is made, you see. It isn't a club in which members try their best to act as if they were a body. It's another thing altogether. It's a new entity, a living thing that acts because it is a body. And in one Corinthians chapter twelve, Paul explains how this body has come to be. In one spirit, we were all baptized into one body, and were all made to drink of one spirit. Simple words, but absolutely vital to this. Human beings saved, forgiven, born again. Then the living Christ has caused them to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. And of course, the baptizer is not the Holy Spirit himself. The one who does the baptizing is Christ. And just as John the Baptist, if you came to him, would gently get hold of you, in his bachelor fashion, and put you in the river, put you in the water, so the risen Christ. God help us to get the wonder. Takes you, frail human being, that have trusted him, and puts you in the Holy Spirit. And not content therewith. In one spirit we were all baptized into one body and were all made to drink of one spirit. You will say, if you put me into the sea outside here, I go into the water. Yes. But if I have a glass of water and I drink it, the water goes into me. You need both things, don't you? Oh, to take a physical illustration, you're a body, many members sitting there all in one piece, from the toes to the top of your hair, and you know the secret of what keeps you together. It is this, that you are in the air, and the air is in you. Isn't that true? Just one thing won't do. It's no good if you're in the air, but the air isn't in you. Somebody put a stranglehold around your neck, so you're still in the air, but the air isn't in you. You go black in the face. It's no good. But suppose you've got a lot of air in you, but somebody's put you on a rocket at NASA headquarters and put you out into space on the end of the rocket. And they say, take a deep breath, old chap. We're now going to send you out where there's no air. So you've got your air, lungs full of air, and now you're in space where there is none. What happens now? Well, you go pop, that's all. Yeah, to be a human being, all members of the body keeping together and working together, you must have two things. You must be in the air, and the air must be in you. And to be in the body of Christ, two things are necessary. You must be placed by Christ in the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit be in you. We are so used to everyday things, aren't we? To blue jumpers and black suits or whatever. Real human beings. But sometimes the wonder of it escapes us. You, my sister, you, my brother, you are in the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit in you. I tell you, it's a new phenomenon in the universe. You will not read of the body of Christ in the whole of the Old Testament, nor in the gospels that relate his earthly ministry. You won't find it till after our Lord ascended and poured forth the Holy Spirit. It's a new order. I'm not quite sure the angels have got over it yet. We are reliably told in the book of Genesis that at creation, when God's ingenuity of making all kinds of new things so got hold of the otherwise stately angels and archangels that they clapped their hands with very joy, you see. Marvelous God, who made a lion. What an idea. Fancy thinking up that. And what on earth is this over here? Oh, that's a giraffe. Well, interesting. And this thing here, croco- a crocodile. I say, what variety. I wonder what they said among themselves when they saw the first human being. May just not of matter, but with a spiritual dimension. It's less than us anyway, says Gabriel, I expect. Yes, it's better than those animals may be, but under us, man made a little lower than the angels. And they saw with startled wonder man's rebellion against their maker. And the centuries rolled by. Oh, what a sight it was for Gabriel and Michael when they saw the Son of the Almighty leave his exalted throne and come down to Bethlehem, become less than us, the angels. What on earth is God doing? What did they say? What did that angel think, who according to Luke came to the Garden of Gethsemane, when our Lord had lost so much perspiration and blood, ministered to him physically? How could they make sense of it? And had they been told, as evil men nailed him to a cross, that he was doing it and bearing it for the likes of us sinners? You suppose that would have made sense to Gabriel? When we one flick of the finger, he could have eliminated the whole of the human race from the planet. And they saw on the fortieth day after he rose, this marvelous sight. Not just the Son of God returning, he had every right to do that, but the man, Jesus Christ. Man. And the very gates of heaven were ta- told to open. And the serried ranks of the angels stood aside. As the man, Jesus of Nazareth, ascended and sat on the very right hand of God. That's a phenomenon that was utterly new in this universe. A man seated on the right hand of God. Not content with it. Oh, listen to this great God of wonders, says Ephesians, as it talks of the great power that God has exerted towards us, the ripples of which still flow to us, that he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his own right hand in glory, and And you. you. You human beings, redeemed one day with a spiritual body like the body of the Lord Jesus. Not only a physical body, but now part of the great body of Christ. In the Holy Spirit everyone, and the Holy Spirit in everyone, and joined to the head. A heaven never knew such a thing before. It is the new great Phenomenon. phenomenon. You say, well, what are we up there for? Y- you've told us we're members of this body by this tremendous action of God. And in his plan, seated in the heavenlies in Christ. Whatever for? And what does the body exist for? Well, of course, we know the operations of the body of Christ, even now here on earth, and we've been hearing something of them in these last hours, and mightily encouraging they have been. It's more than that, my brothers. For that pers- purpose, I read you from Colossians chapter one, its version of this same truth, that he is seated Christ far above principalities, powers, mights, and dominions, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but in that which is to come. And these principalities, powers, mights, and dominions, who might they be? I don't know. We're not told, are we? We're told what kind of things and entities they are. They have to do with government, don't they? They are principalities and powers and mights and dominions. The great spirit hosts of God's creation, some of them loyal to him still, the archangel and the loyal angels. Some have rebelled. But the epistle to the Hebrews tells us straight, not to angels has he set in subjection the world to come of which we speak. What's the point of that statement? Well, this world is to some extent being administered under God by angels. There have been angels at your side more often than you've realized, my brother, my sister. In your times of danger and peril that you have not realized, maybe. For the angels are sent forth to be ministers, servants of those who are heirs of salvation, God's executives. But not to them is the age to come subjected. Well, to whom then? And you say, well, to our Lord Jesus, of course. Yes, you've got it right, of course you have. But you didn't quite quote the terms. But one in a certain place testified, saying, what is man that thou art mindful of him? And that's a po- question, isn't it? Because the writer of the Psalm has been looking at the stars. When I consider the heavens, the works of thy hand, and the vast multitude of them. I say to myself, says the psalmist, what is man that thou art mindful of him? And you would suppose the psalmist is going on to say, man compared with this vast universe is like a little centipede or less. A little germ that you might need a magnifying glass to see. What is man? But instead of that, the psalmist goes off in the other direction. What is man? Thou has crowned him with glory and honor. Thou has set him over the works of thy hand. Thou has given him dominion. And Hebrews tells us that those words are in the first instance fulfilled in our blessed Lord Jesus. Oh, what is this man, my dear brother, that you say you've been saved through? God has set him over the works of his hand, truly human though he is. And now this will take you some believing. It's not just he, risen in glory now, seated at the right hand of the Father, but God is in process of bringing many sons and daughters to glory, and you along with them. And you believe it, don't you? Dare to believe it, for it makes sense of the universe and our experience of it, and brings a hope that your atheist, poor, poor, poverty-stricken atheist doesn't have. They are without God and without hope in the world. We are therefore not only now as the body of Christ to be God- Christ's executives, but shall be for all eternity. As Christ will govern and administer the universe to come, or the world to come, whatever other worlds there are to come, will administer them through his body. Marvelous, isn't it? There is, at the moment, a very big practical need, because this is not just wild imagination. This is God's solid truth. And the need for us as believers, put simply, is this: we have a desperate need to grow, to grow up, to become adult. And the standard of growth is up to the statue of Christ, that we might grow up to him who is the head. The head of the body, of course. That is the church. It would be grotesque to have a very large head and puny arms and legs, wouldn't you? We desperately need to grow. And of course, as Paul warns us in Ephesians chapter four, there are powers working against our growing. The Did you Jerusalem. see, uh, he says in verse fourteen that we may be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men in craftiness after the wires of error, but speaking and acting truth in love may grow up in all things into him, which is the head, even Christ. At this level, there is a battle. As unclean forces will do everything to stop the growth of the children of God and get them waylaid by all sorts of fancy, nonsensical doctrines and pernicious doctrines. I think of past experience and in this very island, and by the witness of some local believers, some ex-drunkards professing Catholics got saved, professed to be saved. And one of them particularly went on so well and studied scripture and began to preach. The last time I saw him, he and the girl he'd married from a lovely Christian family had gone over to Jehovah Witnesses and denied the deity of Christ. There is a battle on, my dear brothers. And it's a battle not merely about experience, as you see, though it will be about that too. It's a battle about what you believe. So that we're no longer tossed to and fro like a feather in a storm, with every old wind of doctrine that comes along. But grow of adult discernment to see what is according to God and to Christ, and what is dishonoring to him. And into that battle we need not lose heart. Into that battle our blessed Lord Jesus himself has stepped. For Paul, on one occasion, was reading the Psalms, apparently, and he came to Psalm sixty eight, And he read the verses in Psalm sixty eight that said, Thou hast ascended on high, thou has led captivity captive. And as he read that, he scratched his apostolic head, wondering what this could mean. Who is this that has ascended up on high? Can't be God the Father, can it? Because he is at the height. He couldn't possibly ascend any higher than he is. Well, then who could it be? Thou hast ascended up on high and led captivity captive. And then he saw it, of course. He that has ascended, what is it but that he first descended to the lower parts of the earth? And now he that descended is the one that has ascended, taking captivity captive, a multitude of captives, and like a victorious general is distributing the spoils of war with his people to enrich them. You say, what, what, what, what now are you talking about? Spoils of war? What are they? Ha. Well, let me quote you the man that wrote Ephesians, if you don't mind. He was one of the biggest enemies that ever faced Christ. He was determined to eliminate the very name of Christ from the earth. And persecuted his believers. And stood over them while they were tortured and get to get them to blaspheme the name of Jesus. God defeated him, brought the man to his very knees. And if you say, how could God do it? Well, listen to Paul himself. The grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant through grace and faith that are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, for if he saved me, he'd save anybody. And this, says Paul, went to my heart. He not only saved me and forgave me, but he counted me faithful and put me into his service. Would you have done that with Saul of Tarsus? I wouldn't. Mm-hmm. When he got converted, I would say, all right, old chap, you sit on the back row, huh? And you prove yourself for the next ten years. You say, did Christ take a big risk? He counted me faithful and said to Ananias, go and tell him he's a chosen vessel to me, and tell him what things he must suffer for my sake. Magnificent victor is Christ. Not only for big sinners, colorful sinners, I nearly said admirable sinners, but no, I don't mean that really. But when I hear some brethren give their testimony, I think they were marvelous sinners, weren't they? I wish I had been a sort of a marvelous sinner like that, but I haven't, you see. So my testimony is a very, very weak thing, you see. Seemed to me a bit unfair sometimes that these chaps got all the best of the world, and then they got salvation, and then they got heaven as well. Silly talk, isn't that, from me? For Saul was faithful to the deposit given him. The arch enemy converted through Christ and given to the church as one of the gifts in the church. And you, men? And you, sir? I don't suppose you were outrageous sinner like Saul of Tarsus. Bible holds that you were once enmity against God. And Christ has saved you. Out of his infinite compassion. Why does he bother with us? And saved you. Given you to the church. For you see, the point of these gifts in the church, the noticeable ones like prophets and apostles and teachers and pastors, are only there to help the believers in general to serve. As John Stott, the Anglican parson, is, uh, says in his book, we want to get rid of the idea of the parson perched on his pulpit. The notice board outside should read, not ministers that Mister so and so, ministers every member of the church. Given by the risen Lord to the church. That by that which each joint supplies, from the head, of course, ministering in- makes increase of the body until that glorious day, when the body shall be complete, and we in be in glory, the body of Christ, his executives, in all those magnificent schemes that the God of endless ingenuity will have throughout the coming ages. My brothers and sisters, whatever be life's trials, whatever be the pains through which the Lord allows us to go for the sake of our spiritual education, if this is the purpose in view, it will be worth it all when we see Jesus. We must make progress. There are dangers associated with making progress. And Paul in Colossians remind the Col- reminds the Colossians of those positive dangers. We have not time to consider them tonight. They are what you might call false recipes for the advancement of spiritual life. They are theosophy, a perverted kind of philosophy. They are an excessive observation of holy days as though they were the means of salvation. They are ecstatic experiences in which people claim that they go up into the heavenly realms and join in the worship of angels. And they are also asceticism, rough treatment of the body. All of them are perversions of something good. But the key for our purposes this evening is this. If we would be saved from false recipes of spiritual advancement, we must not do what some of the Colossians were doing. They were not holding the head, vainly puffed up in their own minds, and as they would have told you, there were all sorts of marvelous things going on in their minds, and who are we to deny it? Wonderful experiences. But that was puffed up by their fleshly mind, says Paul. Didn't come from the head. As you would eventually see if you examine the doctrinal basis of these so-called experiences. We're only safe as we make progress, holding fast to our glorious head and through his word, by his inspired apostles. We read one last thing. It is a practical matter. In the few seconds I have before I close, I mention it now. When we meet in church, says Paul, we have sundry symbols. Like the symbol of the bread and wine at the Lord's Supper. Valuable symbol. And in the Christian church, from the early days, the men wore no head covering, as distinct from Jews to this very present day, where in the synagogue, the men wear a covering of the head, even if it's only a trilby. Looks odd, but still. Why don't the Christian men wear a covering out of reverence to God, as the Jew does? The man praying with an uncovered head is a symbol that Christ is his head. Christian gentlemen, this is not an antiquated custom that passes with fashion. For if a Greek had come into a Christian church in those far off days and saw the men praying without any covering on their head, they might have said, how odd. But unless they asked the Christians, they would never have known what it signified. Unless the Christians had told them. And there, what they said was the significance of it would have startled the Jew. They believed that Christ is the Son of the living God, creator of the universe, head of the church, and it is in his honor that the men symbolically don't wear a head covering in church. You say, what about the ladies? Hmm. Well, I'm not only a man, I'm a bachelor. My job tonight is to exhort the men not to wear hats in church. I leave the ladies to work out the corollary of that, as is given us in one Corinthians chapter eleven. And so may God bless our evening meditation and grant it may be fruitful for eternity.