and not holding firmly to the Head, from whom all the body, being supplied and knit together through the joints and ligaments, grows with God’s growth.
Parallel Translations
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and not holding firmly to the Head, from whom all the body, being supplied and knit together through the joints and ligaments, grows with God’s growth.
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and holdeth not the heed wherof all the body by ioyntes and couples receaveth norisshment and is knet to gedder and encreaseth with the in creasynge that commeth of god.
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And holdeth not the head, whereof all the body furnished and knit together by ioyntes and bands, increaseth with the increasing of God.
Cross-references (29)
Passages linked to Colossians 2:19 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Ephesians 4:15-16 but speaking truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him who is the head, Christ, from whom all the body, being fitted and knit together through that which every joint supplies, according to the working in measure of each individual part, makes the body increase to the building up of itself in love.
- John 15:4-6 Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me. I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If a man doesn’t remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
- Romans 12:4-5 For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members don’t have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another,
- Colossians 2:2 that their hearts may be comforted, they being knit together in love, and gaining all riches of the full assurance of understanding, that they may know the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ,
- 1 Timothy 2:4-6 who desires all people to be saved and come to full knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, the testimony in its own times,
- 1 Peter 3:8 Finally, all of you be like-minded, compassionate, loving as brothers, tenderhearted, courteous,
- 2 Peter 3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.
- 1 Thessalonians 3:12 May the Lord make you to increase and abound in love toward one another, and toward all men, even as we also do toward you,
- 1 Thessalonians 4:10 for indeed you do it toward all the brothers who are in all Macedonia. But we exhort you, brothers, that you abound more and more;
- 1 Corinthians 3:6 I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:3 We are bound to always give thanks to God for you, brothers, even as it is appropriate, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of each and every one of you toward one another abounds,
- Psalms 139:15-16 My frame wasn’t hidden from you, when I was made in secret, woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my body. In your book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there were none of them.
- John 17:21 that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me.
- Acts 4:32 The multitude of those who believed were of one heart and soul. Not one of them claimed that anything of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.
- Romans 11:17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the root and of the richness of the olive tree,
- 1 Corinthians 1:10 Now I beg you, brothers, through the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
- 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 The cup of blessing which we bless, isn’t it a sharing of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, isn’t it a sharing of the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf of bread, we, who are many, are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf of bread.
- 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 For as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all given to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot would say, “Because I’m not the hand, I’m not part of the body,” it is not therefore not part of the body. If the ear would say, “Because I’m not the eye, I’m not part of the body,” it’s not therefore not part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the smelling be? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body, just as he desired. If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now they are many members, but one body. The eye can’t tell the hand, “I have no need for you,” or again the head to the feet, “I have no need for you.” No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. Those parts of the body which we think to be less honorable, on those we bestow more abundant honor; and our unpresentable parts have more abundant propriety; whereas our presentable parts have no such need. But God composed the body together, giving more abundant honor to the inferior part, that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. When one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. When one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.
- Galatians 1:6-9 I marvel that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different “good news”, but there isn’t another “good news.” Only there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the Good News of Christ. But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any “good news” other than that which we preached to you, let him be cursed. As we have said before, so I now say again: if any man preaches to you any “good news” other than that which you received, let him be cursed.
- Galatians 5:2-4 Behold, I, Paul, tell you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing. Yes, I testify again to every man who receives circumcision that he is a debtor to do the whole law. You are alienated from Christ, you who desire to be justified by the law. You have fallen away from grace.
- Ephesians 1:22 He put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things for the assembly,
- Ephesians 4:3 being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
- Ephesians 5:29 For no man ever hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord also does the assembly;
- Philippians 1:27 Only let your way of life be worthy of the Good News of Christ, that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your state, that you stand firm in one spirit, with one soul striving for the faith of the Good News;
- Philippians 2:2-5 make my joy full by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself; each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others. Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus,
- Colossians 1:10 that you may walk worthily of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God,
- Colossians 1:18 He is the head of the body, the assembly, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence.
- Colossians 2:6-9 As therefore you received Christ Jesus, the Lord, walk in him, rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, even as you were taught, abounding in it in thanksgiving. Be careful that you don’t let anyone rob you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the elements of the world, and not after Christ. For in him all the fullness of the Deity dwells bodily,
- Job 19:9-12 He has stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head. He has broken me down on every side, and I am gone. He has plucked my hope up like a tree. He has also kindled his wrath against me. He counts me among his adversaries. His troops come on together, build a siege ramp against me, and encamp around my tent.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 19. Not holding the Head. He condemns in the…
19. Not holding the Head. He condemns in the use of one word whatever does not bear a relation to Christ. He also confirms his statement on the ground that all things flow from him, and depend upon him. Hence, should any one call us anywhere else than to Christ, though in other respects he were big with heaven and earth, he is empty and full of wind: let us, therefore, without concern, bid him farewell. Observe, however, of whom he is speaking, namely, of those who did not openly reject or deny Christ, but, not accurately understanding his office and power, by seeking out other helps and means of salvation, (as they commonly speak,) were not firmly rooted in him.
From whom the whole body by joints. He simply means this, that the Church does not stand otherwise than in the event of all things being furnished to her by Christ, the Head, and, accordingly, that her entire safety consists in him. The body, it is true, has its nerves, its joints, and ligaments, but all these things derive their vigor solely from the Head, so that the whole binding of them together is from that source. What, then, must be done? The constitution of the body will be in a right state, if simply the Head, which furnishes the several members with everything that they have, is allowed, without any hinderance, to have the pre-eminence. This Paul speaks of as the increase of God, by which he means that it is not every increase that is approved by God, but only that which has a relation to the Head. For we see that the kingdom of the Pope is not merely tall and large, but swells out into a monstrous size. As, however, we do not there see what Paul here requires in the Church, what shall we say, but that it is a humpbacked body, and a confused mass that will fall to pieces of itself.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain With the increasing which cometh from God.
Christ.
With the increasing which cometh from God.
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The fourth argument, which is of great weight, because they spoil Christ of his dignity, who only is sufficient both to nourish, and also to increase his whole body.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 19 And not holding the Head, from which all…
19 And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.
Ver. 19. And not holding the head] This is worse than all the former, that they despoiled Christ of his dignity; as if he alone were not sufficient to cherish and increase his Church.
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With the increase of God] That proceeds from God, that is, from the Spirit of Christ the head; to which growth is opposed that vain puffing up, Col 2:18, whereby men do not increase, but swell; grow bigger indeed, but weaker, as a gouty hand.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain And not holding the Head: here the apostle suggests,…
And not holding the Head: here the apostle suggests, that those things he had before taxed did proceed from hence, that they let go the Lord Christ himself, Col 2:8,9, from whom all truths are to be derived, and consequently he is all truth itself, Joh 14:6; not to adhere to him is the spring of all apostacies, lie being the Head: see Eph 4:15,16.
From which all the body; whence is communicated and distributed such influence to the body, the church, as is necessary to all the sensations and motions thereof.
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By joints and bands having nourishment ministered; being in all its members fitly framed together by the Spirit, Eph 2:21,22, and united by faith, Eph 3:17, hath a continual subsidy of life and vigour.
And knit together; and fastened together in a spiritual union, which joineth all believers to their Head, and each of them to the other in him, 1Co 10:17; 12:12,20,25,27.
Increaseth with the increase of God; whereupon, to mutual edification in love, it groweth with a Divine growth and spiritual increase, arising from the efficacy of God, and tending to his glory; being filled with the influences of his grace, 1Co 3:6, it is established and strengthened by little and little, in light and purity, and all graces, till it attain to the measure of its perfect stature in Christ Jesus our Lord; whereas an increase in the traditions of men, and the inventions of flesh, do only blow it up with wens and imposthumes, to the disfiguring, deforming, and destroying of it.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And not holding the head,.... Christ, as some copies…
And not holding the head,.... Christ, as some copies express it; for by making use of angels as mediators and intercessors, Christ the only Mediator, the Lord and head of angels, and of the church, was dropped and laid aside; which is another reason the apostle gives, why such men, and their principles and practices, should be shunned and avoided by all those that had a regard for Christ the head:
from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God: by "all the body", or the whole body, is meant the church, the mystical body of Christ; which, like an human body, consists of various members, all in union with one another, and with Christ the head: and "by joints and bands" are intended, either the grace of Christian charity, or love, the bond of perfectness; which is that in Christ's mystical body, as joints and bands are in an human body; for by this the members of Christ are joined, united, and knit together, and make increase: or else the ordinances of the Gospel, by which the saints are kept together in order, and through which is spiritual "nourishment ministered", from Christ the head to them; who hates not his own flesh, the members of his body, but nourishes and cherishes them, with the wine of divine love, with the water of life, with himself the bread of life, with his flesh which is meat indeed, and with his blood which is drink indeed; with his own wholesome words, even the words of faith and sound doctrine: and it is from him, that the saints "are knit together": both to one another in him the cornerstone, and also to him, being made one body and one spirit with him; and so from and through him, this body "increaseth with the increase of God": that which God has appointed for his church, and which he gives; and which it will arrive unto, when all the elect are gathered in, and they are filled with all the gifts and graces of the Spirit, and these are brought to their proper pitch and full degree; all which is had from, and owing to Christ: for if Christ the head is not held, the body will have no nourishment, but soon become a skeleton; the members of it will soon loosen from one another and fall into pieces, and there will be no spiritual increase or edification: all which are so many reasons, why the saints should be upon their guard against these false teachers, and judaizing Christians, and which argument and exhortation the apostle further pursues in the following verses.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain And not holding the head - He does not…
And not holding the head - He does not hold Christ, who does not trust in him alone. All the members are nourished by faith, and knit together by love and mutual sympathy.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 19. And not holding the Head] Not acknowledging…
Verse 19. And not holding the Head] Not acknowledging Jesus Christ as the only Saviour of mankind, and the only Head or chief of the Christian Church, on whom every member of it depends, and from whom each derives both light and life. For a farther explanation of these words See Clarke on Eph 4:16, where the figures and phraseology are the same.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And not holding the Head - Not holding the…
And not holding the Head - Not holding the true doctrine respecting the Great Head of the church, the Lord Jesus Christ; Notes, Eph 1:22. This is regarded here as essential to the maintenance of all the other doctrines of religion. He who has just views of the Redeemer will not be in much danger of erring respecting the other points of religious belief.
From which all the body ... - This passage is almost word for word the same as in Eph 4:15-16. See it explained in the notes there.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Translate, "Not holding fast the Head." He who does…
Translate, "Not holding fast the Head." He who does not hold Christ solely and supremely above all others, does not hold Him at all [BENGEL]. The want of firm holding of Christ has set him loose to (pry into, and so) "tread haughtily on (pride himself on) things which he hath seen." Each must hold fast the Head for himself, not merely be attached to the other members, however high in the body [ALFORD].
from which--rather, "from whom."
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the body--that is, all the members of the body (Eph 4:16).
joints--the points of union where the supply of nourishment passes to the different members, furnishing the body with the materials of growth.
bands--the sinews and nerves which bind together limb and limb. Faith, love, and peace, are the spiritual bands. Compare "knit together in love" (Col 2:2; Col 3:14; Eph 4:3).
having nourishment ministered--that is, supplied to it continually. "Receiving ministration."
knit together--The Greek is translated, "compacted," Eph 4:16 : implying firm consolidation.
with the increase of God-- (Eph 4:16); that is, wrought by God, the Author and Sustainer of the believer's spiritual life, in union with Christ, the Head (Co1 3:6); and tending to the honor of God, being worthy of Him, its Author.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 19. Not holding—A fourth particular is, he does not…
19. Not holding—A fourth particular is, he does not hold fast the Head, who is Christ, and so not only derives no life from him, but exalts his creatures to a level with him, thus denying him his rightful eminence.
Increaseth—As the human body strengthens and grows by its joints and sinews being properly nourished and knit together, so the body of Christ, from him as the source, and holding him fast as the means, grows with the increase which God works.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 19. holding] Holding fast (R.V.). The word is used…
19. holding] Holding fast (R.V.). The word is used Act_3:11 of the healed cripple’s grasp of the Apostles who had healed him.—The erring teacher is said “not to hold” the Head, not only as a man but as a teacher.
the head] “Regarded as a title, so that a Person is at once suggested” (Lightfoot). Angel-worship, and all its ways, was ipso facto a slackening of the soul’s contact with Christ.
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On this sacred word “Head” see Col_1:18 and notes; and cp. the close and full parallel, Eph_4:15-16.
from which] Better, out of Whom. The relative pronoun is masculine, while the Greek word for “head” is feminine.
“Out of”:—so in Eph_4:16. The thought conveyed is at once of vital connexion and derivation.
all the body] Verbatim as Eph_4:16.—The emphasis is on the “all.” No part, no member, must be for a moment out of direct life-contact with the Head.
by joints and bands] Better, through the (its) joints and ligatures. The phrase is closely akin to that of Eph_4:16, where “compacting” and “joints” are mentioned. Here as there (see our notes) the thought is of the direct coherence of every part of the Body with the Head. The other cognate thought, of the cohesion of the parts and limbs with each other, is not present, at least not prominent. The Christian has here to be warned that nothing must make him lose or loosen his own direct communion with Christ his Head.—The physical imagery must not be pressed. In our body, doubtless, the central forces of the organism affect the remoter structures through the nearer. But the mystical Body is such that, while it is a true organism as a whole, yet all the while individually “the Head of every man” (in Christ) “is Christ” (1Co_11:3; cp. ibid. 1Co_6:17). And this was what the Colossian errors tended to obscure.
having nourishment ministered] Better, simply, being supplied (R.V.).—The cognate noun to the (one) Greek word here, a present participle, appears Eph_4:16; “every joint of the supply.” The thing “supplied” is all the Virtue of the Head; grace in all its forms.
knit together] Another present participle, indicating a continuing and developing process. The Greek is identical with that rendered “compacted,” Eph_4:16.—The constant “supply” of the life and power of the Head tends to a constant closer and firmer internal cohesion of the body, in its spiritual development.
increaseth with the increase of God] Lit., groweth the growth of God.—The growth contemplated may mean in part the numerical growth, the attraction of new converts to the manifestly living and holy community. But the more immediate reference is to development from within; the individual’s and the community’s “growth in the grace and knowledge” (2Pe_3:18) of the Head.
“The increase of God”:—His, because He is its Origin, and Secret, and as it were Atmosphere. The brief pregnant phrase conveys this truth with a peculiar grandeur and force.
Lightfoot suggests that we have here also an implied caution against the Jewish errors. “Thus the finite is truly united with the Infinite”; not through intermediate orders of being, but in Christ. In an interesting note he goes on to explain the perfect fitness of St Paul’s imagery of the Head and Body, in the light of modern physiological discoveries. “The volition communicated from the brain to the limbs, the sensations of the extremities telegraphed back to the brain, the absolute mutual sympathy between the head and the members, the instantaneous paralysis ensuing on the interruption of continuity, all these add to the completeness and life of the image.” He then gives instances of ancient scientific speculation on the seat and distribution of vital power in the human body; and concludes: “Bearing in mind all this diversity of opinion among ancient physiologists, we cannot fail to be struck in the text not only with the correctness of the image but also with the propriety of the terms; and we are forcibly reminded that among the Apostle’s most intimate companions at this time was one whom he calls ‘the beloved physician’ (Col_4:14).”—Such subsidiary assistance, if used by the Apostle, would leave untouched the authority of inspiration in the resulting language.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (19) Not holding the Head.—In this lay the fatal…
(19) Not holding the Head.—In this lay the fatal error. All these speculations and superstitions interfered with the direct hold of the soul on the mediation of Christ, as the Head, from whom alone, as being “the image of the invisible God,” come all spiritual life and growth. Therefore they had a practical and spiritual importance.
From which all the body . . .—Comp Eph_4:15-16, and see Note there. The agreement is nearly verbal, but the characteristic difference of idea, so often noted, is still traceable. There the body “maketh increase unto the building up of itself in love;” here the increase is simply “the increase of God”—the increase which God gives, and which grows into His likeness. In this passage there is also a greater scientific exactness: the “joints and bands” are the “articulations and ligaments;” the two functions thereof are the diffusion of nourishment and the knitting together of organic unity.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And not holding fast the Head (vers. 6, 8;…
And not holding fast the Head (vers. 6, 8; Col_1:15-20; Eph_1:20-23; Php_2:9-11; Rom_9:5; 1Co_8:6; Rev_19:16) In the last verse the errorist was judged "out of his own mouth," and the intrinsic hollowness of his pretensions was exposed. Now" he appears before the judgment seat of Christ," charged with high treason against him, the Lord alike of the kingdoms of nature and of grace. So the apostle falls back once more (comp. ver. 10) on the foundation laid down in Col_1:15-20, on which his whole polemic rests. Both in creation and redemption, the philosophic Judaists assigned to the angels a role inconsistent with the sovereign mediatorship of Christ (see notes on vers. 10 and 15). From whom all the body, through its joinings and bands being supplied and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. (Eph_1:22, 23 4:15, 16; Joh_15:1-6; 1Co_3:6) Disloyalty to "the head" works destruction to "the body," which in this case "proceeds from" ("grows out of," ejx... au) its Head, while it depends upon him. Gnosticism from the beginning tended to disintegrate the Church, by the caste feeling (Col_1:28, note; 3:11) and the sectarian spirit to which it gave birth. (ver. 8; Act_20:30) Its vague and subjective doctrines were ready to assume a different form with each new exponent, Here lies the connection between this and the Ephesian letter, the doctrine of the Church following upon and growing out of that of the person of Christ, each being threatened the latter immediately, the former more remotely by the rise of the new Judaeo-Christian mystic rationalism. Colossians asserts the "thou in me" of Joh_17:23; Ephesians the corresponding "I in them;" and both the consequent "they made perfect in one" (comp., especially. (Eph_3:14-21 and Eph_4:7-16 with Col_1:15-20 and Eph_2:9-15) (On "body," see note, Col_1:18) Afai signifies, not "joints "as parts of the bony skeleton, but includes all points of contact and connection in the body; Latin nexus, junetura (see Lightfoot). Bengel and Meyer, following Chrysostom, interpret it as "senses," or "nerves;" but this does not commend itself either lexically or contextually. The sundesmoi (Col_3:14) are the "ligaments," the stronger and more distinct connections that give the bodily framework unity and solidity. So, by the organic cooperation of the whole structure, the body of Christ is furnished with its supplies, enabled to receive and dispense to each member the needed sustenance; and "knit together" (ver. 2), drawn into a close and firm unity. "Supplied" (comp. 2Co_9:10; Gal_3:5) indicates a sustenance both required and due. In Col_1:6 we read of the increase of the gospel, in Col_1:10 of the individual believer, and now of the Church as a body) (Eph_2:21 Eph_4:16) "The increase of God" is that which God bestows, (1Co_3:6) as it proceeds "from Christ" (ejx ou=: ver. 10; Col_3:11; Joh_1:16) in whom is "the fulness of the Godhead". (ver. 9: comp. Eph_1:23 and Eph_3:17-19) In Eph_4:16 the same idea is expressed in almost the same terms. There, however, the growth appears as proper to the body, resulting from its very constitution; here, as a bestowment of God, dependent, therefore, upon Christ, and ceasing if the Church ceases to hold fast to him.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 19. Not holding the Head. Not clinging to Christ…
19. Not holding the Head. Not clinging to Christ the Head, from whence the whole body, the church, derives its nourishment and increase.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.