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.