No—in Paul's teaching, Christ is never called the King of the Church; He is the Head of the Body, the Savior, and the Lord of believers.
Les Feldick repeatedly stresses that Paul never refers to Christ as the King of the Church. A King rules over subjects, but believers are members of His body and joint heirs with Him. Scripture presents Christ as the Head of the Church, the Savior of the Body (Ephesians 5:23), and the One who fills all in all. The relationship is one of union and connection, not king-and-subject.
Ephesians 5:23 — This verse explicitly calls Christ the head of the church and the saviour of the body—not a king.
Ephesians 1:22-23 — These verses describe the church as Christ's body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all, showing union rather than kingship.
In Ephesians 5:21-23, Paul tells believers to submit one to another and then writes, “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.” The passage does not describe a king over subjects, but a head joined to a body and a Saviour who loves His body. In Ephesians 1:22-23, Paul says the church is Christ's body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all. In 1 Corinthians 12:12, Paul describes believers as members of one body, and in Ephesians 5:25 he compares Christ's love for the church to a husband's love for his wife.
Les Feldick teaches that it is not scripturally correct to call Christ the King of the Church. He notes that Paul never refers to Christ as the King of the Church. Instead, Paul presents Christ as the Head of the Body, the Savior, the Redeemer, and the Lord. Les explains the difference: 'A King rules over His subjects, and we're not Christ's subjects. We're joint heirs with Him.' In a kingly relationship, believers would merely be subjects, but in the Body relationship, believers are members of Christ's body and part and parcel of Him. Christ will be King of kings and Lord of lords, but not in relationship to the Church. He is the Head of the Church, and the Church is His body.
Scripture says Christ is the head of the church and the saviour of the body (Ephesians 5:23). The church is also called His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all (Ephesians 1:22-23). Les Feldick repeatedly emphasizes that the relationship is not king-to-subject but head-to-body. Believers are not subjects under a king; they are joint heirs with Christ and members of His body.
Les says a King rules over His subjects, and believers are not Christ's subjects—they are joint heirs with Him. If Christ were King of the Church, believers would merely be subjects under the King. Instead, Paul describes a much closer relationship: believers are members of the Body of Christ, with Christ as the Head. The term 'King of the Church' is never used by Paul in his letters.
Les points to Ephesians 5, where Paul says the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, the Savior of the body. As a husband is one with his wife, so Christ is joined to the church as the head is joined to the body. Les says the husband should live to the benefit of his wife, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it.
The Body, Fullness, and Marriage Picture
Les connects 'the church which is His body' to Eve as Adam's complement and to the husband-wife picture, showing Christ's relationship to believers is union, not kingship.
Head of the Church, Not King
Les explicitly says it is not scriptural to call Christ our King; He is the Head of the Body, and believers are joint heirs, not subjects.
No Kingly Title in Paul's Letters
Les explains that if Christ were King of the Church, believers would be subjects, not joint heirs; Paul never calls Him King of the Church.
The Body of Christ Is a Pauline Doctrine
Les notes that the term 'body of Christ' is strictly Pauline and points to 1 Corinthians 12, where members belong to one body.
Looking for the Savior, Not the King
Les says believers look for the Savior and Head of the Body, not a King; believers are co-heirs, not subjects.
Kingdom, King, and the Body
Les says the Kingdom is where the King is, but Paul never calls Christ King of the Church; as members of the Body, believers are joint heirs.
Husband as Head, Christ as Head
Les applies the marriage relationship to Christ and the church, with Christ as the Head of the Body and the spiritual Husband.
The Head's Love for the Body
Les emphasizes the head-body relationship is one of pure love and abundant life, using Christ as the head of the church.
Ephesians 5:21: Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
This verse shows the context of mutual submission before Paul describes Christ as head of the church.
Ephesians 5:23: For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
This verse directly defines Christ as head of the church and Savior of the body, not a king.
Ephesians 5:25: Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
This verse shows Christ's sacrificial love for the church, parallel to a husband's love for his wife.
Ephesians 1:22-23: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
This passage describes the church as Christ's body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
1 Corinthians 12:12: For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
This verse depicts the unity of believers as one body in Christ.
No. Les Feldick repeatedly states that Paul never refers to Christ as the King of the Church. Paul presents Him as the Head of the Body and the Savior of the Body.
Because believers are members of His body and joint heirs with Him. A king rules over subjects, but Les teaches that Christians are not subjects; they are co-heirs with Christ and will reign with Him.
Yes. Christ will still be King of kings and Lord of lords, but not in relationship to the Church. He is the Head of the Body now, and believers are not subjects but part of Him.
A head is joined to its body; a king is over subjects. Les says the relationship of a head to its body is much closer than that of a king to his subjects, because believers are part of Christ's body.
Watch the Teaching: What Does "Church" Really Mean? Acts 2 & Ekklesia Explained