Leading The Way - Devotional for August 11
August 11, 2025
Jesus, the Head of the Church
By Michael A. Youssef, Ph.D.
What does it mean for Jesus to be the head of the church—for His people to be His body? It means that Jesus is to be the authority over the church, the congregation. We know physiologically that the mind controls all parts of the body. The head makes the decisions while the different parts and limbs follow and obey the prompts and direction of the mind. All parts of the body must work in coordinated obedience to the mind. Likewise, the body of believers must obey the revealed mind of God found in Scripture. We all must respond to what our head has said.
Tragically, many churches today have limbs telling the head, “I’m not going to listen to You. I’m not sure Your direction is sound or relevant for today.” Consequently, we see plenty of dysfunction in the Church. Many Christians are not experiencing growth in their spiritual walk because, like our surrounding culture, we have assumed that we are the masters of our destiny—we are not beholden to the head. This is a serious problem, and not just for the individual who is not maturing in faith. When a Christian stops growing spiritually, it affects the whole body. If I stop growing spiritually, I am impacting you; if you stop growing spiritually, you are impacting me.
So what’s the solution? It’s really simple: Obey the head, Christ Jesus. Our Lord has told us what to do in His book. We must obey Him in two ways: First, we must obey Him privately, or individually, as we read and feed upon God’s Word. Second, we must obey Him corporately as we participate in and mature with the body of Christ. Only when Christ is truly our head—obeyed in both our private lives and our shared life as His Church—can the body be healthy, united, and effective for His glory.
Prayer: Father, forgive us when we act like the body without the head. Help me submit to Christ in my daily life, and help us, as Your Church, to follow Your lead together. Make us a healthy body, fully aligned with Your will and living in obedience to Your Word. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ” (Ephesians 4:15).
Learn more in Dr. Michael A. Youssef’s sermon series Healthy Living in a Sick World: WATCH NOW
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