But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
In Matthew 21:42, Jesus said, “Did ye never read in the scriptures, the stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?”
Jesus is the head of the corner. That means he is the primary corner or angle. [1] The primary angle of a structure is one that directly connects with every other angle within the structure. This is a critical concept to grasp in understanding relationship roles between males and females within the Body of Christ. The Church of Christ is built of living stones[2] with Jesus Christ being the primary angle, the Chief Cornerstone.
A chief cornerstone is not a common stone. Research reveals that it is a capstone. Common structures do not have capstones. There is only one structure that does, and that is a pyramid. A pyramid is a foursquare[3] structure that has many angles (corners, cornerstones). A pyramid has an angle (cornerstone) at each of its four corners on every level, but it can have only one capstone. The primary angle, the capstone, is the chief cornerstone. The capstone has four corners from which the entire structure flows from and connects to.
The body of Christ is depicted as a pyramid that is built from the top down with Christ himself being the chief angle—the capstone—to which the entire structure is connected.
Every member of the body of Christ finds his or her source of and connection with life in Christ himself. The man Christ Jesus[4] is the only mediator between God and mankind. There is no other human mediator between individual believers and Christ himself. This is part of what the “Headship” of Christ consists of. As Christians, Christ is both our Head and our Lord, but his Headship is not to be confused with his Lordship.
It is common to hear the word “headship” used in regards to the relationship between men and women and most especially between husbands and wives, but to use the term headship synonymously with lordship in regards to any human relationship is heresy and blasphemy. Every Christian has only one Lord and that is the Lord Jesus Christ from whom the whole body originates and is jointly fit together and nourished.[5] It is no accident that the Headship of Christ is used in conjunction with building metaphors as seen in Colossians 2:18-19, Matthew 21:42, and in numerous Old Testament passages where the Messiah is referred to as the chief corner stone (capstone or angle).
Both his Headship and his Lordship entail authority. And although his Headship and Lordship are not identical, they are intrinsically linked. Separating the two would be as difficult as separating the soul and the spirit.[6] Careful study reveals that the Headship of Christ has more to do with origins and the construction of his Body—the Church—as a whole, while the Lordship of Christ has more to do with his leadership and guidance of believers individually.
The Headship of Christ in creation is an immutable fact. It is not something we choose to submit to or not. It just is. The Headship of Christ in salvation is also an immutable fact. There is no salvation apart from him. He is the source of all life. He is the resurrection and the life. Jesus did not come to show the way. He came to be the way. Christ is directly responsible for the act of his Headship in both creation and salvation. He participated in, and continues to participate in, the process of headship.[7] In addition to being an immutable fact, The Headship of Christ is also an ongoing, active process of salvation and the building of his Church. No human, therefore, can claim “headship.” Being called “the head” is not the same as “headship.”
The scripture that refers to the man as being the head of the woman[8] is a reference to the origins of man and woman at creation. It is a reference to the way in which they came into being, not a reference to an authority or submission structure within the marriage relationship.
The reference to God being the head of Christ is referring to his incarnation as a human—not to his Deity. As God, Jesus Christ does not need a God.[9] But although all the fullness of the godhead dwells in Jesus Christ bodily, as a human, Jesus needs God just as all humans do.[10] The difference being that Jesus did not need a redeemer, but he had to become exactly like us in order to redeem us.[11] And that has everything to do with the building of his Church.
In an earthly pyramid, the capstone is laid last, but the capstone of the living organism, which is the Church, of necessity, had to be in place first, because that is what all the rest of the structure originates from, receives nourishment from, and grows from.
Jesus Christ, THE WORD,[12] is the creator of all things, and he created both the man and the woman with his own hands. Mankind, both male and female, is a direct creation of God. The fact that woman came into being through the man does not make her an indirect, or secondary, creation of God. Jesus created her with his own hands as well. And she is, in every way—not just in her feminine aspects—created wholly in the image of God just as man is. There is no scripture that substantiates the teaching that males reflect only male aspects of image of God while females reflect only female aspects.
The creation of male and female and the marriage relationship are types of the creation of, and the mystical one flesh relationship between, Christ and his Church. Christ’s redemption and his Church was part of the cosmic plan from the foundation of the earth.[13] Although each human-being, individually, is a type of the triune godhead (one of the ways we are each created wholly in God’s image is that we are three-fold beings) the creation of the marriage relationship and the physical, mental, and emotional differences between the sexes has to do with the mystery of Christ and his Church, not to our being created in the image of God.[14] We see this in the “types” provided in the creation account.[15]
When God said, “It is not good that man should be alone,” he was giving us a type of the longing of Christ for his bride. The deep sleep that Adam fell into during the creation of his bride was a type of Christ dying for our sins (the Church could never have come into being without that).[16] His awaking out of sleep was a type of the resurrection of Christ. The fact that the bride was taken out of Adam’s flesh is a type of the creation of the church through the suffering of Christ’s flesh during his crucifixion. The woman being presented to the man was a type of, the human, Christ Jesus, presenting his bride to himself without spot or wrinkle (the human husband will not present his wife to Christ).[17] And Adam’s proclamation that the woman was bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh is a type of the Church which is Christ’s Body as well as his Bride. [18]
The fact that the woman was created from the flesh of the man (being a type of the creation of the Church through the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ) confers no authority upon human men over human women. This is a type, not a prescription for a bizarre, life-long, human role-play. The apostle wrote that the mystery of marriage has to do with the bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh relationship between Christ and his Church. And it remains a mystery. Humans simply cannot grasp or portray this mystical relationship in its fullness— We cannot flesh it out. It remains a mystical, completely voluntary, one flesh relationship, and men have been given no divine prescription of “headship/lordship over women. That privilege is reserved for Christ alone.
Only the Headship of Jesus Christ could bring us into being, and then redeem fallen mankind. If Christ is not our head, then we do not have life; we are not saved. We would have no access into the presence and power of God. Separation from the presence and power of God is the biblical definition of DEATH.[19]
Jesus builds his Church, one stone (soul) at a time, adding the cornerstones at each level, with himself being the chief cornerstone, the capstone—the primary angle. The scriptures tell us that women will be cornerstones as well as men.[20]
We are commanded to walk in Christ’s love with all people and most especially with our spouses. Christian men and women should reflect the love relationship between Christ and his Church by serving Christ, and that does entail serving one another, but all Christians are commanded to be subject to one another—not just wives to husbands. Husbands are required to submit to wives as well.[21]
Saying that the man is the head of the woman is not the same as saying the man has “headship over” the woman. Mankind has been given no authority that can remotely be referred to as “headship.” The 1 Corinthians reference to the man as the “head” of the woman is a direct reference to the manner of her creation and the great mystery having to do with Christ and his Church. It is not a reference to any authority/submission, “lordship,” structure between husbands and wives.
[1] Strong’s Greek Lexicon defines corner (#1137) as, an external or internal angle or corner
[2] 1 Peter 2:4, To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, 5: Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 6: Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
[3] Revelation 21:16 “The city lieth foursquare”
[4] The terms “Son of Man” or “The man Christ Jesus,” always refer to Christ’s humanity as opposed to his Deity.
[5] Colossians 2:18
[6] 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
[7] His Church continues to be built: Matthew 16:18 upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it
[8] 1 Corinthians 11:4
[9] All the fullness of the godhead dwell in Jesus bodily. Colossians 2:9
[10] His most desolate hour was when he hung on the cross and the Father laid the sins of the world on him. That was when he cried Father, Father, why have you forsaken me? For God could not look on sin. Jesus tasted death for us when bore our sins. The work was “finished” while he yet hung on the cross. Before his physical death, for the first and only time in his life, Jesus was separated from the power and presence of his Father, and that is the biblical definition of death. We are wholly without excuse if we reject the salvation he provided.
[11] John 1:14, Hebrews 2:16-18
[12] John 1:1, Colossians 1:16, Hebrews 1:2,
[13] Revelation 13:8
[14] Ephesians 5:31-32
[15] Genesis 1:27, 2:18-24, Types prophetically foreshadow good things to come in regards to Christ’s redemption of our souls, bodies and the earth, but types have their limits. A type may reveal only one aspect of a truth but not all of it. For instance in under the old covenant, it took the sacrifice of two birds to illustrate different aspects of the one redeeming work of Jesus Christ on the cross (Leviticus 3:7). Hebrews 10:1a tells us that the Law of Moses was a shadow (a prophetic “type”) of good things to come
[16] Saints are frequently referred to, in scripture, as “sleeping” or “asleep.”
[17] Ephesians 5:25-27, the doctrine that husbands are mediators for their wives and will present them to God is utterly false. The passage in Ephesians is speaking of Christ presenting the bride—not the earthly husband. The view that husbands give account to God for the behavior of their wives presents numerous difficulties, not the least of which would be the question of which husband would present which wife in the case of more than one marriage, as the Bible does give instructions for biblical divorce and remarriage.
[18] Genesis 2:21-24, Ephesians 1:22-23 … the church, Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.
[19] 2 Thessalonians 1:9
[20] Psalms 144:12 That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace:
[21] Ephesians 5:21

