And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

There’s nothing quite so humbling as trying to learn something new as an adult. Before we moved to Alaska in 2018, I had dabbled in weightlifting. However, after joining a Crossfit gym, I quickly realized I had so much still to learn.

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Working with a barbell for squats and lifts has proven quite challenging for me! It feels unnatural, and it’s super technical. One thing I learned early on is that your body follows your head. If you are looking down while trying to squat, you will go too far forward to carry the load. One coach jokes, “Nothing to see down there!” when he catches me looking at the floor while trying to complete a lift. I’m getting better at the correct posture, but sometimes as the weight increases or I’m having an off-day, my head isn’t where it should be.

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Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus is all about the new identity believers have in Christ and strategies for their new way of life. In today’s Scripture verse, Paul is telling the new Christians where their focus needs to be, who they need to follow. He needs them to know that, similar to my work at the gym, if they don’t follow Christ as the head of the church, they will end up out of alignment, unable to bear the burdens of living out a Christian life.

So according to this verse in Ephesians, what defines the church’s identity? It is amazing to think back to the early church and how few examples they had to reference, compared to the thousands of years of church history we have today. They were closer to the time when Christ walked the Earth, but what template did they have for what they were supposed to do and how they were supposed to live?

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The Jewish people had lived under the old laws for generations, as God’s chosen people. What they knew was what the priests had told them and what they had memorized of the Torah. Did Jesus Christ in fact have the authority necessary to be the head over everything? How hard it must have been to leave all that behind and change their way of thinking and living to follow Jesus! But Paul emphatically tells the church that Christ does in fact have ALL authority. ALL things are under his feet. Maybe this is childish, but this comparison makes me think of a gigantic Jesus as big as the universe and our planet is like a soccer ball to him. Everything is smaller than Jesus and everything is under his authority.

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I know sometimes in my life I am looking down, like at the gym, distracted or fearful that I won’t be able to lift the weight I am under. Maybe I don’t trust that Christ is REALLY over EVERYTHING. I try to do things in my own strength. But this is not my job. I am part of the body, not the head.

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The Message translation says, “The church is Christ’s body in which he speaks and acts.” A body carries out the work of the head. It moves, ministers, feeds, comforts. As the head goes, the body follows. Where do you need to submit yourself to the authority of Christ, as the head, so that you will be in proper alignment with the Church, others, and yourself? Where are we being called to go to live out the fullness of Christ? As you set your goals and intentions for this new year, how are you submitting yourself to the authority of Christ? Several areas to consider are your relationships, finances, work environment, free time, or thought life.

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One definition of the body of Christ that I read said that the limbs and organs are made up of individual believers, united in Christ and functioning for mutual benefit. God has a role specifically for me to play in this beautiful body of Christ called the church and there’s one for you too. Let’s not be focused on what we lack this year or how little we can control, but on the supreme authority of Christ, his sovereignty and fullness that fills everything.

God, I pray that as we begin this new year that we will submit our whole lives under the authority of Christ. God, you placed Jesus above all things; nothing is out of his sovereign control. Forgive us for when we take our eyes off you, when we go rouge as the body. We confess that we try to muscle our way through instead of surrendering to the One who is all knowing and all powerful, gentle and loving, the Shepherd taking his sheep to the green pastures and still waters. Please guide us as a church body this year to go where you lead us, and to live out your specific calling in our lives, to serve in unity the body that you died to save. Amen.