[n] Col. 1:18. Eph. 1:22. [o] Matt 23:8-10. 2 Thess. 2:3,4,8,9. Rev. 13:6.

(Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 25:6)

The doctrine of the Headship of Jesus Christ is perhaps the most fundamental of all the distinctive tenets of Presbyterianism and it is the one for which the Reformed Church in Scotland has especially had to contend during her turbulent history. In his Exposition of the Confession of Faith published in 1845, Robert Shaw helpfully states the following concerning the section quoted above:

“A universal headship or dominion belongs to Christ. As God, he has a natural and essential right to rule and dispose of all creatures at his pleasure, and for the manifestation of his own glory. As Mediator, he has a universal headship by donation from the Father. It is said (Eph. 1:22), the Father ‘gave him to be the head over all things to the Church;’ where, it is to be observed, the apostle is not treating of Christ’s headship over the Church, but of his universal headship as Mediator. He is constituted head ‘over all things;’ but this power is delegated to him that he may over-rule all things for the good of the Church; and therefore he is said to be head ‘over all things to the Church,’ or for her benefit. But Christ has a peculiar headship over the Church, which is his body. This is expressly asserted (Col. 1:18): ‘He is the head of the body, the Church.’ Here he is compared to the head of the natural body; and in Eph. 5:23, he is declared to be the head of the Church, as the husband is the head of the wife.

To the visible Church Christ is head of government and direction. He is the ‘Ruler in Israel,’ and ‘the government shall be upon his shoulder.’–Isa. 9:6. ‘Yet have I set my King,’ says Jehovah, ‘upon my holy hill of Zion.’ Ps. 2:6. To him it belongs to enact laws for his Church–to institute the ordinances of worship, and the form of government to be observed by her–to appoint her office-bearers, and to prescribe the manner of their admission into office. To the Church invisible Christ is not only a head of government and direction, but also of vital influence. Hence he is called ‘the head, from which all the body, by joints and bands, having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.’–Col. 2:19. Christ is the sole and exclusive head of the Church, whether considered as visible or as invisible. His authority alone is to be acknowledged by the Church, as her supreme Lawgiver. Her language must ever be: ‘The Holy One of Israel is our king.’ Let men distinguish as they will, but as a body with more heads than one would be a monster in nature, so the Scripture clearly shows that the body of Christ, which is the Church, is no such monster. As there is ‘one body,’ so there is only ‘one Lord.’ Christ has not delegated his authority either to popes or princes; and though he is now in heaven as to his bodily presence, yet he needs no depute to act for him in the Church below. Before he ascended up on high, he gave this precious promise to his disciples: ‘Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world:’ and ‘where two or three are gathered together in his name, there he is in the midst of them.’–Matt. 28:20, 18:20.”

To maintain that the visible Church must have a visible Head – someone who has been given special authority by the Lord Jesus Christ, now invisible in glory, to occupy a headship over His Church on earth – is a grave error. This doctrine has been the source of untold mischief over the centuries since it first appeared. To Christians Jesus Christ is by no means “invisible”; we see Him with the eye of faith. He says: “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine” (John 10:14). We are to be always “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb.12:2). He is the Lawmaker and Lawgiver for the Church. He exercises His authority as King in Zion through the infallible Holy Scriptures, which are His Word, and for us the only rule of faith and life.

The most serious form of this error is to found in the Church of Rome. So serious is it that the Westminster divines saw fit to identify the pope of Rome as “that antichrist” in the section quoted at the beginning of this article. The Scripture proofs used by these godly men were Matthew 23:8-10, 2 Thessalonians 2:3,4 & 8,9 and Revelation 13:6, which shows that they believed that not only John but also our Lord Jesus Christ and the apostle Paul spoke about Antichrist. So did the prophet Daniel (Chapter 7). We should study these texts. Their doctrine remains important for us today.

There is in Rome the illusion of a profession of Christianity but it is accompanied by actions that amount to a denial of “the faith which was once delivered to the saints.” From John’s Epistles we learn that Antichrist will in effect deny Father, Son and Holy Spirit – the blessed Trinity – and this is exactly what we find in the teachings and practices of Roman Catholicism.

The prefix ‘anti-’ as in “antichrist” often signifies not simply “against” but “instead of” or “in place of.” There can be an opposition by substitution as well as by head-on confrontation. The Antichrist is a pretended friend of Christ who is in reality the great rival of Christ.

The papacy and the system under it arrogates to itself divine titles, attributes and privileges in such a way that it is revealed to be the Antichrist foretold by Scripture. What are titles such as “Holy Father,” “Ruler of the World” and “Vicar of Christ” applied to a mere man but a monstrous supplanting of the Godhead? The interpretation of the Reformers has surely been proven by the test of time.

There are also examples where the civil magistrate, in the form of the king, has been given the place of “supreme governor” or “head” of the Church. Historically this has been the case in the Scandinavian and German Lutheran churches, and in the Church of England. The Parliament at Westminster legislates for the worship of the Church of England and the sovereign, advised by the prime minister, has a role in the appointment of the more important clergy. This too is a usurpation of the sole headship of Christ – or what our Covenanting forefathers termed the “Crown Rights” of the Redeemer. Let us be careful to give Him the place and the honour that is His due.