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THE HEADSHIP OF CHRIST (NOTES OF A READING)

CAC Solomon is regarded as a type of Christ up to the end of chapter 10. After that he becomes an exemplification of sorrowful departure. As having wisdom put in his heart by God he is a type of Christ as Head: we see him here as pre-eminent, “greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom”.

Ques Have you any thought why riches are put first — “riches and in wisdom”?

CAC I suppose the thought of riches is specially connected with the Head. We read of “the unsearchable riches of the Christ”, Ephesians 3: 8. All the wealth of the Head is available. To the Corinthians Paul could say, “In everything ye have been enriched in him, in all word of doctrine, and all knowledge”, 1 Corinthians 1: 5. They had not known how to utilise it but it was there for them — the infinite riches of the Head. And this is true for us all: the riches of the Head are for us, and in a sense for all men.

Ques Is wisdom connected with the use of the riches? This scripture has, of course, application to Christ personally, but wisdom is necessary for us if we are to make a wise and just use of what riches we have.

CAC And do you suggest that we need to hold the Head in order to have wisdom in the handling of all spiritual wealth? Of some we read that they had departed altogether from the truth and one is warned not to be “^[p. 115] vainly puffed up by the mind of his flesh, and not holding fast the head” (Colossians 2: 18, 19) as though to suggest that departure from the truth is the result of not holding the Head. If such were holding the Head they would be characterised by the wisdom of the Head and would not fall a prey to the puffing up which is so natural to the fleshly mind. I think we see here that as Christ is known as Head every one who comes under His influence becomes a contributor. It says, “All the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. And they brought every man his present”. Is there a practical suggestion here which would help us in the service of the assembly? That is, as coming into subjection to and with reverent affection for Christ as Head we should become inevitably contributors: “they brought every man his present”.

Ques It is interesting to see that the things enumerated as brought were completed things — many of them things which had been made — necessitating work.

CAC Things serviceable to Solomon; that is very interesting.

Ques We read that Christ Jesus “has been made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and holiness, and redemption”, 1 Corinthians 1: 30. How can we acquire this wisdom practically?

CAC The epistle to the Corinthians would help us greatly in this, the cross shutting out the wisdom of the natural man which is all brought to the place of the skull, that is, the cross. There is the end of all the plannings and thinkings and devisings of the natural man. Then there is the bringing in of what is of the Spirit of God. Would not that make room practically for holding the Head? The positive side came in with the Spirit. If I am self-judged in the light of the cross and giving place to the Spirit there is nothing to hinder development. Holding the Head needs ^[p. 116] development but these are the conditions for it: that is, the cross shutting out man after the flesh and the Spirit bringing in what is of God.

In Corinthians the apostle is really presenting to them the Head: He is for all men: “All the earth sought”, it says here, and in the great epistle of headship Paul speaks of the glad tidings having “been proclaimed in the whole creation which is under heaven” (Colossians 1: 23) and he speaks of “admonishing every man, and teaching every man, in all wisdom, to the end that we may present every man perfect in Christ” (Colossians 1: 28), but the assembly alone comes into the good of Headship.

Ques 1 Corinthians 11 speaks of His headship, does it not?

CAC But there is a further thought there. He is Head to every man, not to every woman: man is woman’s head. But He is Head of every man. J.N.D. said you could go to any man in the street and tell him that Christ was his Head.

Rem The type suggests that the wisdom was resident in Solomon and that the benefit was only obtainable by coming to Solomon. Wisdom is never said to be resident in us: it is a question of being in His presence to obtain this wisdom.

CAC With us it is a matter of holding the Head. This is a most important exercise for us in relation to qualification for assembly service. Our poverty and lack of intelligence and competency for spiritual service would all be met if we held fast the Head.

Ques I am not sure what the term “holding” means. Will you tell us what is the idea of holding fast?

CAC It seems to suggest an energy of soul. Holding fast the Head lies at the root of a great deal. We were speaking last week of Solomon in connection with the great throne of ivory, a type of Christ as Lord, sitting on ^[p. 117] the throne of judgment in the porch of judgment, passing scrutiny on everything and giving judgment upon it. That is one side of the truth, which would correct lawlessness, but headship brings in the more positive side of things from God. Think of Christ as being the wisdom of God! What an immensity is in that! Nothing is going to be able to baffle that! Each one who came to Solomon to hear his wisdom derived from his greatness but each became a contributor of something serviceable to Solomon. We are all, I trust, desirous of being qualified to become contributors of something serviceable to Christ. We can scarcely imagine the spiritual quality and moral beauty which would result from holding the Head. There would be increase with the increase of God. That is not a matter of right doctrine and correct procedure but something vital — of God. The increase of God is a marvellous conception.

Rem The universe will be subjugated by the influence of the Head more than by a display of power as we think of it.

CAC 199:5 is one of the best hymns we have on headship:

‘Great source of wisdom, power and food,
All riches from Thee flow’.

Holding fast the Head is a beautiful thought. You hold a Person, a Person who is divine but in manhood, One in whom everything is substantiated for the pleasure of God. There is infinite wealth there.

Ques Is it an attitude of soul?

CAC It is a spiritual condition at which we have to arrive. Many christians have had very little exercise about it. Many have never heard in any practical sense of the headship of Christ. It is said of some “not holding fast the head”, as if that accounted for all the defects and erroneous views, their superstitions and their professing great knowledge of unseen things.

Ques Does it not involve affection for ^[p. 118] Christ?

CAC It must be so. One gets some idea of it in thinking of Christ looking up to His Head, “holding” His Head, God. See how every moment of His life on earth He was looking up with reverent affection to God! Not merely did He do the will of God, but He received every impulse from God. Now in the assembly every impulse should come from the Head. After the breaking of the bread, for instance, there should be the holding fast the Head in a particular way, so that an influence would come from Him on each one, to make each a contributor.

Ques Is Psalm 16 the perfect Man looking up to His Head? “I have set Jehovah continually before me” (verse 8).

CAC Yes. That is much more than obedience. Each would become a contributor; so that in the teaching of Colossians, “From whom all the body, ministered to and united together by the joints and bands, increases with the increase of God”, Colossians 2: 19. All the body becomes serviceable. We should have before us that the body does not remain dormant at any point in its history, so that in result we would get “teaching and admonishing one another, in psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to God”, Colossians 3: 16. There is a result for God.

Rem This increase affects every saint, all the members, not merely gifts.

CAC The same thought is in Ephesians, “we may grow up to him in all things, who is the head, the Christ”, Ephesians 4: 15. As we move on lines of self-judgment and giving place to the Spirit, “the whole body, fitted together, and connected by every joint of supply, according to the working in its measure of each one part, works for itself the increase of the body to its self-building up in love”, Ephesians 4: 16. Each one part becomes a contributor.

Rem These contributions are not to be spasmodic in character. Verse 25 says, “a rate year by year”.

CAC We can see what freshness then would be maintained ^[p. 119] in the service of the assembly. These verses are like a further development of the beginning of the chapter where the queen of Sheba is said to bring precious things to Solomon.

Ques Does verse 24 imply that we are to seek, that is, I take it, to go after Christ in glory?

CAC Yes, it is a matter we should all be concerned about — to know Christ as Head, not only as Saviour or as Lord. And this holding Him as Head is to be a daily experience with us, getting fresh new impressions from Him continually. We all have the light of it, but Paul could refer to Timothy as having “fully followed up”, 1 Timothy 4: 6. If we do not do this we shall not know what it is to take firm hold of Christ as Head.

Ques Is not headship properly a collective thought rather than individual?

CAC Yes, it is to work out in the assembly. This would bring continual freshness into all assembly service. There is to be no mere repetition about it.

Rem Intelligence is required.

CAC It is there for us, but we need much exercise. We have not got the full gain of it yet.

Rem I am glad you say ‘no mere repetition’, for repetition is sometimes right. You get it in Scripture.

CAC Quite so. I am glad you call attention to that. We may use the same word, perhaps, but if there is impulse from the Head there will be an expansion every time. The question is, What do the words we use mean to us? If we are going on with God, the same words will mean more to us each time we use them. What a breath of life that brings into the assembly!

Ques Is there an element of originality suggested here in the variety of presents brought? There is different handiwork in each, even the animals being the product of training and care? The spices, too, a certain amount of ^[p. 120] work was represented in them.

Ques All the result of exercise?

Rem A measure of completeness, too, was arrived at before anything was presented. Many of our contributions are immature or incomplete, but there is a certain finish about the things mentioned here.

CAC Is not that the practical result of impressions from the Head? There is nothing immature about those!

Rem As the reality of things and the majesty of Christ come home to us our present would take on the greater finish.

Rem It is of note that the word is “his present”, not ‘a present’; it is what the contributor had made his own.

Rem There is the idea of a minimum, too — “a rate year by year”.

Rem Under Lordship contributions are prescribed, but great results flow from impressions from the Head.

CAC The Lord’s supper belongs to the sphere of commandment. Another sphere, connected with headship, requires nearness. “Holding fast” supposes the Person near and as the assembly is characterised by that we can move in a spiritual order not under commandment.

Rem The result of hearing wisdom from the Head must be that some divine impression is made.

CAC A military thought comes in, in verse 26. Solomon had military resources.

Ques For what, when there was no enemy or evil occurrent?

CAC They are there in case of need. It is peculiar that a man of peace should have such a display of military strength.

Ques Does it not remind one of the Lord’s words, “Hades’ gates shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16: 18)?

CAC Yes. In the spiritual sphere connected with the headship of Christ we are not immune from attacks of the ^[p. 121] enemy. Even in such an epistle as that to the Ephesians there is the armour mentioned. This is one of those hints which show that the type does not apply to millennial conditions but to a time when what is adverse has to be considered.

Rem The Lord would cherish movement towards Himself on these lines. He would take care of it.

CAC That goes along with the shields and targets. They suggest protection. Chariots and horsemen are more aggressive.

Ques “He placed them in the chariot-cities, and with the king at Jerusalem”. Are the chariot-cities for aggression, on the outskirts, so to speak, to enlarge the kingdom? Do they refer to gospel activities?

CAC Perhaps gospel activities are rather suggested in the king’s merchants. They carry on commerce with the world for the king’s advantage.

Ques What do you say about the injunction in Deuteronomy that the people were not to multiply horses?

CAC I think that would work out if we were considering Solomon only as king of Israel. If we look at him as a type of Christ we must seek to find the spiritual import of this as connected with Christ. They are part of the commerce carried on by the merchants for the king’s advantage. My impression is that these things are not presented as future but in relation to Christ as Head. There is a certain commerce going on with the world by the assembly through the evangelists who are the King’s merchants.

Rem And we have all been drawn from the world.

CAC This is a kind of intercourse with the world which is legitimate. If we are only seeking to bring out from the world what will be advantageous to our Solomon, that is right.

Rem That is not going into the world to help them.

CAC The merchants have no business in Egypt,

^[p. 122] except to do the Kings business.

Rem For the greatness of Solomon.

CAC If every preacher of the gospel realised, ‘I am one of the King’s merchants doing business for the King’, how good that would be!

The horse is generally a figure of natural strength; “He delighteth not in the strength of the horse”, Psalm 147: 10. Chariots, I believe, are generally figurative of human contrivances. “Some make mention of chariots, and some of horses, but we of the name of Jehovah our God”, Psalm 20: 7. Generally they have that aspect, but the types have to be understood according to their setting.

Rem Chariots are associated with the saints in the Song of Solomon.

CAC And, of course, horses are not always figurative of natural strength. The Lord comes out of heaven sitting on a white horse. If we do not distinguish between the settings of the types we shall get into strange confusion. For instance, a lion is sometimes the devil, but a lion in some scriptures is representative of the Lord. Solomon as typical of Christ finishes up with this commerce.

Rem The virtuous woman of Proverbs 31 carries on commerce.

CAC Yes, for her husband. This is a great presentation of the Headship of Christ and the different ways in which it works out, first in the assembly, then in this commerce with Egypt.

Ques Is holding fast the Head the result of the Supper, or prior to that?

CAC Actually it is the privilege of each, but it works out in a collective way in the assembly. What will go on after the breaking of bread? Are we going to allow Christ to suggest and indicate what is to go on? If we do, we shall not be so casual and haphazard and so up and down!

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