and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power”
(Col 2:10, NKJV)
To not necessarily link a position of authority to the term “head”, but to read it as a functional relational position, and to thus see it as a functional term for connoting unity, was pointed out in the previous teaching. Obviously a body cannot function without a head. And if it is not used relationally, it makes no sense – a heart is just as important for life as the brain is. John the Baptist’s head had to be severed (Matt 14:10) because he was the prototype of the old covenant/dispensation (Matt 11:11), so that Jesus could become the Head of the Body of the New Covenant. Col 1:18 aptly states “And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the pre-eminence.” The man was first; Jesus was first; God was first – they were/are head/Head – first/First.
This first, the head’s aim is to bring everything to completion (Col 2:10; Eph 4:10) – it is one of the important functions of the Head/head.
If we can return to 1 Cor 11:3 for a moment – “But I would have you know, that the head of every man [= andros = mankind, male and female] is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man [aner, or husband] …” Jesus is the Head of the man and also the head of the woman. The line of authority, which is God→Jesus→Man→Women is thus not an unfolding of authority, but an unfolding of order so that those who follow the line can come to complete fulfilment!
In this light the following Scripture is of great importance – “Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.” (1 Pet 3:7). We read weaker here as the opposite of what is not stated here, of the fact that man is then the stronger of the two genders. THIS IS HOWEVER NOT STATED! It also does not state that the woman IS the weaker one, merely that man should treat her as the weaker (= “a most delicate vessel” – ISV) partner. (Even though Satan walks around like a roaring lion, that is not what he is – 1 Pet 5:8; Isa 14:16). The emphasis is thus not on what he or she is – it is on the fact that they are both heirs together of the grace of life.
In the teachings of Day 429-431 it was extensively argued that the woman is strictly speaking actually superior to man, but in God’s perfect system of order she is positioned under man. BUT, with the following qualifier – if he does not honour his wife (“a valuing by which the price is fixed” – Thayer), God will not listen to his prayers. Men who feel that their prayers are merely hitting the roof are often guilty of not honouring their wives enough – they are not willing to lay down their lives for their wives. If the men in Mal 2:13, “with weeping and crying, so he does not regard the offering anymore, nor receive it with goodwill from your hands”, ask what the problem is, God answers clearly in verse 14 – “Yet you say, ‘For what reason?’ Because the Lord has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, with whom you have dealt treacherously; yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant.”
- Sela: Try to explain this Godly line of authority to someone.
- Read: Num 16-18
- Examine how this has been fulfilled: Num 18:11 (Tip: Rev 6:6; 9:4; Ezra 6:9).
