5. (a) According to Colossians 1:18, what is the relationship of Jesus Christ to the congregation? (b) What effect should this relationship have on members of the congregation? (Matt. 23:8-10)

⁵ As to the place of Jesus Christ in relation to the congregation, the apostle Paul states: “He is the head of the body, the congregation.” (Col. 1:18) Hence, the congregation rightly looks to him and not to any human as the preeminent one, the head.

6. (a) What can happen when Christians begin attaching undue importance to men? (Mark 9:33, 34) (b) How is this seen from what developed in the Corinthian congregation?

⁶ A failure to recognize this fact results in disunity. This is well illustrated by what happened in ancient Corinth. The apostle Paul had to write to the brothers there: “Disclosure was made to me about you, my brothers, by those of the house of Chloe, that dissensions exist among you. What I mean is this, that each one of you says: ‘I belong to Paul,’ ‘But I to Apollos,’ ‘But I to Cephas,’ ‘But I to Christ.’ The Christ exists divided.” (1 Cor. 1:11-13) Because of giving undue attention to men, members of the Corinthian congregation split up into factions. They failed to appreciate that men taking the lead among Christians were but servants of God and Christ, slaving in behalf of their brothers.​—1 Cor. 3:5-9.

7. (a) Were Paul, Apollos or Peter responsible for the wrong view existing in the Corinthian congregation? (b) How can elders be like the apostle Paul, and so what should they guard against?

⁷ Happily, Paul, Apollos and Cephas, or Peter, were not responsible for the situation that developed in the Corinthian congregation. They personally set the example in looking to Jesus Christ as head. The apostle Paul, for instance, was able to say: “Become imitators of me, even as I am of Christ.” (1 Cor. 11:1) And certainly elders today should want to be like Paul. This requires that they speak in agreement. (1 Cor. 1:10) Once elders publicly express widely divergent personal views, members of the congregation will be inclined to look to those whose opinions are more in line with their own thinking. The situation becomes especially serious when an elder downgrades his fellow elders, perhaps implying that he is more zealous and more faithful than they are or perhaps more discerning, understanding and sympathetic. (Compare 2 Samuel 15:2-6.) This can result in his building up a following within the congregation and in his undermining the efforts of the body of elders to care for the spiritual interests of the flock.

8. How is the congregation benefited when elders set the example in submitting to Christ’s headship? (Eph. 4:11-16)

⁸ On the other hand, when elders strive to speak and act unitedly, allowing themselves to be guided fully by the Scriptures in their decisions, there will be unity in the congregation. The whole congregation will then be encouraged to look, not to individuals, but to Jesus Christ as the head of the congregation.

9. Besides Jesus’ being the head of the congregation, what other reason does Colossians 1:18 give for the preeminence of the Son of God, and what should this mean to us?

⁹ Continuing his discussion of the vital place of Jesus Christ, the apostle Paul presents yet another reason for the preeminence of the Son of God. We read: “He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that he might become the one who is first in all things.” (Col. 1:18) No one prior to Jesus Christ was raised to immortal life in the heavens. Because he was the first to experience a resurrection to perfection of life, he is “the firstborn from the dead.” He prepared the way for his joint heirs to share with him in a heavenly inheritance by being raised to immortal life as he was. (Heb. 6:19, 20; Rev. 20:6) For a person to participate in that resurrection, he must recognize the headship of Jesus Christ over the congregation. In fact, anyone who would become a recipient of divine blessings must do so.​—Phil. 2:9-11.

‘All fullness dwells in him’

10. How is it that ‘God saw good for all fullness to dwell in the Son’?

¹⁰ Recognition of Christ’s headship, however, is not just a matter of acknowledging his foremost position in the congregation. Note that the apostle Paul continues: “God saw good for all fullness to dwell in him.” (Col. 1:19) According to God’s good pleasure, Jesus Christ occupies the foremost place in the congregation, not only as regards preeminence and authority, but also in having the “fullness” of everything that Christians need. The Son of God is the embodiment of divine qualities, including wisdom. Hence, he, not any human on earth, is the one to whom true Christians look as their exemplar and the appointed source of guidance and instruction.

A Christian’s position today

18. When it comes to unscriptural personal viewpoints and philosophies, what must all Christians, especially elders, guard against?

¹⁸ Today God’s servants do not face precisely the same situations that prevailed in the first century. Nevertheless, there are vital lessons for us to draw from what Paul wrote to the Colossians. For example, all Christians, especially elders, must exercise care not to inject themselves into the private affairs of others and not to put any unscriptural personal viewpoints and philosophies on an equal footing with the truth revealed in the teachings and example of Jesus Christ.​—Compare 1 Timothy 1:3, 4; 2 Timothy 4:1, 2.

19. (a) On what should spiritual counsel always be based, and why? (b) What would a Christian be denying if he failed to stick to the Scriptures and advocated personal philosophies as a guide for others?

¹⁹ Whatever spiritual counsel or advice that a Christian may give to others should be based, not on personal preference, prejudice or on worldly principles, but on the example and teachings of Jesus Christ. Since everything that the Son of God taught harmonized fully with the inspired Scriptures, the complete Bible can and should rightly be used for giving spiritual help. (2 Tim. 3:16, 17) A person’s failure to stick to the Scriptures would constitute a disregard for the Head of the congregation. (Compare Matthew 7:24-27; 15:3-9; John 17:17.) It would also imply that all “fullness” does not dwell in the Christ but that Christ’s “lack” must be supplemented by personal opinion and human philosophy.

20. As is evident from Hebrews 5:14, why is it dangerous to let the personal opinions of others act as our guide?

²⁰ What of Christians who accept the personal philosophies and opinions of others as a guide for determining the rightness of a particular course? They may well injure their conscience and hinder their spiritual growth. Why? For one thing, the Bible shows that ‘perceptive powers must be trained by use.’ So, when others are unduly influencing or even controlling an individual’s decisions, this person is not going to grow spiritually but will remain a babe, unable to distinguish right from wrong.​—Heb. 5:14.

21. How can efforts to conform to the unscriptural personal opinions of others give rise to feelings of guilt about things that are proper in themselves?

²¹ Moreover, because of trying to conform to what are merely the unscriptural personal opinions of another Christian, some persons may get needless feelings of guilt about caring for personal affairs, wholesome entertainment, recreation, and so forth. For instance, a respected member of the congregation may openly express the view that the “last days” are absolutely no time for God’s servants to be thinking about making major home improvements. While many may recognize this as a private opinion and remain unaffected by it, some could begin to feel guilty about their plans. Those who allow themselves to be unduly influenced by the personal opinion of someone else may later experience problems and inconveniences that could have been avoided by going ahead with their reasonable plans. Similarly, in other areas of life, whenever God’s Word is displaced by the views of imperfect men as a source of guidance, serious problems can result. But we are always safe when we make decisions based on the example and teachings of the perfect Son of God.

Submit to Christ as head

22. (a) In view of Jesus’ exalted position, how should we view his commands? (b) What questions might we ask ourselves in connection with Jesus’ commands found at Matthew 28:19, 20; Luke 21:34-36; 22:19, 20 and John 13:34, 35?

²² In view of the exalted position of Jesus Christ, his commands should certainly be taken seriously and be heeded in a whole-souled way. Are you striving to share fully in bearing witness and in making disciples? (Matt. 28:19, 20) Are you keeping awake spiritually, not allowing yourself to become weighed down by the daily cares of life or by overindulgence in food and drink? (Luke 21:34-36) Do your dealings with others show that you really want to display the self-sacrificing love that identifies true disciples of Jesus Christ? (John 13:34, 35) When you obediently assemble with fellow believers to commemorate the Lord’s Evening Meal, do you think seriously about the benefits that have come to you through Jesus’ sacrifice? (Luke 22:19, 20; 1 Cor. 11:23-32) Are you moved to take careful note of your conduct so that you might maintain the clean standing that resulted from your accepting, in faith, the atoning benefits of Jesus’ shed blood?​—1 Pet. 1:14-19.

23. How did we become reconciled to God, and so what should we continue to do?

²³ We should never forget that as long as our sins were not atoned for, we were alienated from God. But, through Jesus’ blood shed on an execution stake, we have been reconciled to the Most High and are now at peace with him. (Col. 1:20) Nevertheless, after our initial cleansing from sin resulting to us from our acceptance of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice in our behalf, we must continue to put forth effort to remain in an unblemished state before Jehovah God. In his letter to the Colossians, for example, the apostle Paul sets forth clearly what is required of a Christian in the way of conduct.