Read it again. The head of every man is Christ. That includes me. It included Paul. He didn't say the head of any man is another man. The church only has authority so long as Christ is in the church. Jesus declared the house of Israel desolate, which in due time resulted in its destruction in 70ad. Yet that was the church of that time. Jesus even said earlier regarding the Pharisees, "do as they say, but don't do as they do". Their rejection of Jesus after 3 and 1/2 years resulted in Jesus leaving them to the master they had chosen. Now please understand this. The early apostolic church has Jesus in their midst in the form of the holy Spirit. Pentecost and the days following was evidence of that. All they had to do was preach Jesus, and as He said, "if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto Me". The gospel continued to be preached for several centuries, and in that time the church grew as far as Britain to the west and China to the east, and everywhere in between. How was that possible in the midst of rampant paganism? Jesus in the midst. Jesus as the head of the church. The elders facilitated missions, they were appointed as local heads and had hundreds of bishops under them, but Jesus always remained as the Head of the church. Did you know that Baghdad was the centre of Christianity in the East for centuries before Rome even knew they existed?
In Rome however, it was a very different story. What the bishops of Rome did was the same as what Protestant bishops and pastors are doing today. They sought the favour of the emperor and the king's and queens of the fledgling European nations. Why did they do this? Possibly in the beginning for good reasons. After Constantine abandoned they place, some sort of civil rule was necessary, and the bishop seemed an obvious choice. But history reveals that the more they courted politics, the more they neglected Jesus. Just as Israel did. Just as protestants are doing today. History repeats. And as the neglected Jesus, the holy Spirit ceased to be a power in the church, and it was discovered they were less effective in growth and in establishing the church. It became their church, and no longer Christ's church. And they them made up the lack of spiritual power by using political power, legislation to enforce doctrine, and persecution and war to enforce obedience. Clovis, the king of the Franks, loved and revered in Catholicism as the first son of the Catholic church was a warmonger and killer, but was successful in establishing the "Catholic" church, but not by the spirit of God and uplifting Jesus, no. Perhaps in name yes, but in practicality, no. It was by washing way in anyone opposed to Rome in the name of squashing heresy. This Jesus did not do, nor did He inspire such actions then.
Mary. What has Jesus done for you in your life? How has He led you and changed your life for the better? Who is the most important person in your life Mary? Jesus? Or someone else?