Ephesians 5:23 - In LOVE

“For the husband is head of the wife as Christ is the Head of the church, Himself the Savior of [His] body.” Ephesians 5:23

While this verse has been misused and misunderstood by many over the years, we are going to search the heart of God to see that which He meant by them and that, through these words, we are to see Jesus Christ as the Head in light of “mind, intelligence.”

You might ask how we view this verse in Ephesians relating to Christ Jesus as the Head in love. We see that He, Himself was the Savior of His body, His church/His bride. It is more clearly stated in Ephesians 5:25, “husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it.” It was love that motivated Jesus to give His life for her and that is the type of sacrificial love a man should have for his wife and is not referring to man’s headship over his wife as tyrannical control or authority but one as a headship of love and covering. And it is in this place of love that we, the church/the bride are to seek the “mind and intelligence of Christ” as our head just as a wife is to seek the mind, intelligence of her husband and become one with him in “spirit, soul, mind, and body.”

I have often said that God has a sense of humor, putting a man and woman together and expecting them to get along! While this may be said jokingly the truth is there is much to be learned by the parallel between Adam and Eve and Christ and the church and bride. Adam was the first created man and from below his head and close to his heart the woman, the bride was taken out. This man and woman were to become one in flesh (Genesis 2:24) just as we are to be one with Christ in spirit. They were not to contend with each other but to work side by side and their purpose was to fellowship with their Creator and to fulfill His will in tending the garden and in obedience to Him. Even then we see where the first man was the “head” for God had given instruction to Adam to not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, not to the woman. Unfortunately, it is here that Adam dropped the ball, so to speak. Not so with Christ for He ever did and does the will of the Father. And, praise God for that! Had Adam taken his stand as head of that relationship with Eve out of obedience to God and true love for his bride he would not have given into the temptation to eat of the fruit. God had placed Adam in a place of authority over Eve not to lord it over her but to protect her, to love her.

And so it is with Christ Jesus. As the head of the church and bride He has been given instructions and directions from the Father that will protect His people. Many times we are like Eve, being tempted by the things around us and seeing no harm in doing the things we do. Yet we need to know “the mind of Christ” for our own protection! Had Adam shared with Eve the things God told him and protected her as he should, if he had shared the things God had placed in his mind and intelligence, then much heartache and suffering would have been avoided. Through Christ Jesus God has once again availed His will to us but it is up to us to search it out just as it would had benefited Eve had she done this. God had meant them to be one, just as we are to be one in Christ with Him as the head, knowing things we, of ourselves, would not have privy to.

In 1 Corinthians 1:10 we read Paul saying to the church, “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” So, whose ‘mind’ do we come in agreement with? With Christ Jesus, the Head of the church! As we read on in 1 Corinthians 2:16 we find, “For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” Is it available to know the mind of the Lord? Yes, through Christ Jesus we can. And when we accept Him as our Lord, believing in our hearts that He is the Son of God, then we are born again with God’s DNA and the mind of Christ is available to us. He Who is the Head of the church desires to share that which is in Him. He wants us to know what He is thinking, what His desire is. He wants us to know the things our heavenly Father has shared with Him. So, how do we attain the Lord’s mind?

Reading through Scripture is a wonderful way to do this asking the Holy Spirit to help you ‘read through the lines.’ Another way is spending time with the Lord in prayer and just sitting in His presence asking Him to help you to renew your mind to His. Invite Him into your heart and your mind. You will be surprised how He has been longing to spend time with you as well and to find how much He really loves you. He loves you more than you can imagine and has so much He wants to share with you. Take time today to spend it with He Who is the Head of the church. You just might be surprised with what He has to say.