He Is the Head of the Body - the Church

On 8 May 2025, a papal conclave of the Roman Catholic Church elected a new Pope, Leo XIV. In Catholicism, the Pope (from the Greek, pappas – Father) is the “supreme pontiff” and the “head of the Catholic Church." To Catholics, the Pope has “supreme jurisdiction as pastor and governor of the Universal (i.e. Catholic) Church." Out of the 8 billion people in the world, approximately 1.4 billion of them profess to be Catholics, with the Pope as the head of their church.

What does the Bible have to say on this matter? Let us examine Colossians 1:18 to learn about the relationship between Jesus Christ and His church.

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. (Colossians 1:18)

“And He (i.e. Jesus Christ) is the head of the body, the church…” – The church is likened to a body with many members / body parts (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:12). But every physical body has only one head, and likewise, the spiritual body that is the church has only one head, which is Jesus Christ. After all, did not Jesus build the church (Matthew 16:18) and purchase it with His own blood (Acts 20:28)? How then can we truly be followers of Christ, if we install a man as the head of the “church” while simultaneously claiming Jesus as our head? What a strange and grotesque sight that would be, for a body to have two heads!

“…who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead…” – We are reminded here that Christ has the right to be the head of His church because He was the One who created the world and everything in it. As Colossians 1:16 says, “For by Him (i.e. Jesus Christ) were all things created… all things were created by Him, and for Him.” Can mere mortal men create something out of nothing? The sheer hubris and arrogance of men, to install themselves as head over the “church," when they owe their life and breath to the God of Heaven and Earth (Acts 17:24-25)! Furthermore, Christ has the right to be the head over His church because He is “the firstborn from the dead." Although Jesus was not the first to be raised from the dead, He was the first to be raised, never to die again (cf. Acts 26:23). His resurrection from the dead, never to die again, declares to the world that He is the Son of God with power (Romans 1:4). If we are faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ, we will likewise one day rise from the dead, never to die again (1 Corinthians 15:20-23).

“…that in all things He might have the preeminence.” – The Greek word proteuo, translated as “preeminence," means “first in rank or influence." Since Jesus is the head of the body, the church; since He was the source of all Creation; since He was the first to rise from the dead never to die again; therefore, He and He alone deserves to be first in rank. How then can we call a mere mortal man a “Pope” (pappas – Father), when we have only one Father in Heaven (Matthew 6:9)? How can we revere a mere human as infallible, as the so-called “Vicar of Christ on earth," when all “power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing” belongs to the “Lamb that was slain” (Revelation 5:12)?

My fellow brethren, let us not be deceived into thinking that the church which our Lord built has an earthly head. Let us always remember that Jesus is the head of the body, the church, and that in all things He might have the preeminence.