49 Bible Verses about Headship

Yours, O Lord, is the strength and the power and the glory, and the authority and the honour: for everything in heaven and on earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are lifted up as head over all.

By myself have I taken an oath, a true word has gone from my mouth, and will not be changed, that to me every knee will be bent, and every tongue will give honour.

And at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifting up my eyes to heaven, got back my reason, and, blessing the Most High, I gave praise and honour to him who is living for ever, whose rule is an eternal rule and whose kingdom goes on from generation to generation. And all the people of the earth are as nothing: he does his pleasure in the army of heaven and among the people of the earth: and no one is able to keep back his hand, or say to him, What are you doing?

What may we say then? is God not upright? let it not be said. For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and pity on whom I will have pity. So then, it is not by the desire or by the attempt of man, but by the mercy of God.read more.
For the holy Writings say to Pharaoh, For this same purpose did I put you on high, so that I might make my power seen in you, and that there might be knowledge of my name through all the earth. So then, at his pleasure he has mercy on a man, and at his pleasure he makes the heart hard. But you will say to me, Why does he still make us responsible? who is able to go against his purpose? But, O man, who are you, to make answer against God? May the thing which is made say to him who made it, Why did you make me so? Or has not the potter the right to make out of one part of his earth a vessel for honour, and out of another a vessel for shame?

Then comes the end, when he will give up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he will have put an end to all rule and to all authority and power. For his rule will go on till he has put all those who are against him under his feet. The last power to come to an end is death.read more.
For, as it says, He has put all things under his feet. But when he says, All things are put under him, it is clear that it is not said about him who put all things under him. And when all things have been put under him, then will the Son himself be under him who put all things under him, so that God may be all in all.

But it is important for you to keep this fact in mind, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God.

To whom, though himself in the form of God, it did not seem that to take for oneself was to be like God;

For I have come down from heaven, not to do my pleasure, but the pleasure of him who sent me.

And he went forward a little, and falling down on his face in prayer, he said, O my Father, if it is possible, let this cup go from me; but let not my pleasure, but yours be done.

And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible to you; take away this cup from me: but even so let not my pleasure, but yours be done.

Father, if it is your pleasure, take this cup from me: but still, let your pleasure, not mine, be done.

To whom, though himself in the form of God, it did not seem that to take for oneself was to be like God; But he made himself as nothing, taking the form of a servant, being made like men; And being seen in form as a man, he took the lowest place, and let himself be put to death, even the death of the cross.

Who in the days of his flesh, having sent up prayers and requests with strong crying and weeping to him who was able to give him salvation from death, had his prayer answered because of his fear of God. And though he was a Son, through the pain which he underwent, the knowledge came to him of what it was to be under God's orders;

Who is the image of the unseen God and existed before all living things; For by him all things were made, in heaven and on earth, things seen and things unseen, authorities, lords, rulers, and powers; all things were made by him and for him; He is before all things, and in him all things have being.

But now, at the end of these days, it has come to us through his Son, to whom he has given all things for a heritage, and through whom he made the order of the generations; Who, being the outshining of his glory, the true image of his substance, supporting all things by the word of his power, having given himself as an offering making clean from sins, took his seat at the right hand of God in heaven; Having become by so much better than the angels, as the name which is his heritage is more noble than theirs.

By which he made Christ come back from the dead, and gave him a place at his right hand in heaven, Far over all rule and authority and power and every name which is named, not only in the present order, but in that which is to come: And he has put all things under his feet, and has made him to be head over all things to the church,

Who is the image of the unseen God and existed before all living things; For by him all things were made, in heaven and on earth, things seen and things unseen, authorities, lords, rulers, and powers; all things were made by him and for him; He is before all things, and in him all things have being.read more.
And he is the head of the body, the church: the starting point of all things, the first to come again from the dead; so that in all things he might have the chief place.

And you are complete in him, who is the head of all rule and authority:

You put all things under his feet. For in making man the ruler over all things, God did not put anything outside his authority; though we do not see everything under him now.

But saying true words in love, may come to full growth in him, who is the head, even Christ; Through whom all the body, being rightly formed and united together, by the full working of every part, is increased to the building up of itself in love.

For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church, being himself the saviour of the body.

And he is the head of the body, the church: the starting point of all things, the first to come again from the dead; so that in all things he might have the chief place.

And not joined to the Head, from whom all the body, being given strength and kept together through its joins and bands, has its growth with the increase of God.

Having made clear to us the secret of his purpose, in agreement with the design which he had in mind, to put into his hands The ordering of the times when they are complete, so that all things might come to a head in Christ, the things in heaven and the things on the earth; in him, I say,

For his rule will go on till he has put all those who are against him under his feet. The last power to come to an end is death. For, as it says, He has put all things under his feet. But when he says, All things are put under him, it is clear that it is not said about him who put all things under him.

And the heaven was open; and I saw a white horse, and he who was seated on it was named Certain and True; and he is judging and making war in righteousness. And his eyes are a flame of fire, and crowns are on his head; and he has a name in writing, of which no man has knowledge but himself. And he is clothed in a robe washed with blood: and his name is The Word of God.read more.
And the armies which are in heaven went after him on white horses, clothed in delicate linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth comes a sharp sword, with which he overcomes the nations: and he has rule over them with a rod of iron: and he is crushing with his feet the grapes of the strong wrath of God the Ruler of all. And on his robe and on his leg is a name, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

And God gave them his blessing and said to them, Be fertile and have increase, and make the earth full and be masters of it; be rulers over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing moving on the earth.

O Lord, our Lord, whose glory is higher than the heavens, how noble is your name in all the earth! You have made clear your strength even out of the mouths of babies at the breast, because of those who are against you; so that you may put to shame the cruel and violent man. When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have put in their places;read more.
What is man, that you keep him in mind? the son of man, that you take him into account? For you have made him only a little lower than the gods, crowning him with glory and honour. You have made him ruler over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet; All sheep and oxen, and all the beasts of the field; The birds of the air and the fish of the sea, and whatever goes through the deep waters of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, how noble is your name in all the earth!

For he did not make the angels rulers over the world to come, of which I am writing. But a certain writer has given his witness, saying, What is man, that you keep him in mind? what is the son of man, that you take him into account? You made him a little lower than the angels; you gave him a crown of glory and honour, and made him ruler over all the works of your hands:read more.
You put all things under his feet. For in making man the ruler over all things, God did not put anything outside his authority; though we do not see everything under him now.

You have made me free from the fightings of the people; you have made me the head of the nations: a people of whom I had no knowledge will be my servants.

And Samuel said, Though you may seem little to yourself, are you not head of the tribes of Israel? for the Lord with the holy oil made you king over Israel,

For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin (and in sixty-five years from now Ephraim will be broken, and will no longer be a people): And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If you will not have faith, your kingdom will be broken.

You, O King, were looking, and a great image was there. This image, which was very great, and whose glory was very bright, was placed before you: its form sent fear into the heart. As for this image, its head was made of the best gold, its breast and its arms were of silver, its middle and its sides were of brass, Its legs of iron, its feet were in part of iron and in part of potter's earth.read more.
While you were looking at it, a stone was cut out, but not by hands, and it gave the image a blow on its feet, which were of iron and earth, and they were broken in bits. Then the iron and the earth, the brass and the silver and the gold, were smashed together, and became like the dust on the floors where grain is crushed in summer; and the wind took them away so that no sign of them was to be seen: and the stone which gave the image a blow became a great mountain, covering all the earth. This is the dream; and we will make clear to the king the sense of it. You, O King, king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory, Wherever the children of men are living; into whose hands he has given the beasts of the field and the birds of heaven, and has made you ruler over them all, you are the head of gold.

Let everyone put himself under the authority of the higher powers, because there is no power which is not of God, and all powers are ordered by God. For which reason everyone who puts himself against the authority puts himself against the order of God: and those who are against it will get punishment for themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear to the good work but to the evil. If you would have no fear of the authority, do good and you will have praise;read more.
For he is the servant of God to you for good. But if you do evil, have fear; for the sword is not in his hand for nothing: he is God's servant, making God's punishment come on the evil-doer. So put yourselves under the authority, not for fear of wrath, but because you have the knowledge of what is right. For the same reason, make payment of taxes; because the authority is God's servant, to take care of such things at all times.

Keep all the laws of men because of the Lord; those of the king, who is over all, And those of the rulers who are sent by him for the punishment of evil-doers and for the praise of those who do well.

And the children of Israel sent Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, to the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, And with him they sent ten chiefs, one for every tribe of the children of Israel, every one of them the head of his house among the families of Israel.

And the Lord said to Moses in the waste land of Sinai, in the Tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they came out of the land of Egypt, Take the full number of the children of Israel, by their families, and by their fathers' houses, every male by name; All those of twenty years old and over, who are able to go to war in Israel, are to be numbered by you and Aaron.read more.
And to give you help, take one man from every tribe, the head of his father's house. These are the names of those who are to be your helpers: from Reuben, Elizur, the son of Shedeur; From Simeon, Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai; From Judah, Nahshon, the son of Amminadab; From Issachar, Nethanel, the son of Zuar; From Zebulun, Eliab, the son of Helon; Of the children of Joseph: from Ephraim, Elishama, the son of Ammihud; from Manasseh, Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur, From Benjamin, Abidan, the son of Gideoni; From Dan, Ahiezer, the son of Ammi-shaddai; From Asher, Pagiel, the son of Ochran; From Gad, Eliasaph, the son of Reuel; From Naphtali, Ahira, the son of Enan. These are the men named out of all the people, chiefs of their fathers' houses, heads of the tribes of Israel.

Ahi, the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, head of their families.

Wives, be under the authority of your husbands, as of the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church, being himself the saviour of the body. And as the church is under Christ's authority, so let wives be under the rule of their husbands in all things.

But it is important for you to keep this fact in mind, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man who takes part in prayer, or gives teaching as a prophet, with his head covered, puts shame on his head. But every woman who does so with her head unveiled, puts shame on her head: for it is the same as if her hair was cut off.read more.
For if a woman is not veiled, let her hair be cut off; but if it is a shame to a woman to have her hair cut off, let her be veiled. For it is not right for a man to have his head covered, because he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. For the man did not come from the woman, but the woman from the man. And the man was not made for the woman, but the woman for the man. For this reason it is right for the woman to have a sign of authority on her head, because of the angels. But the woman is not separate from the man, and the man is not separate from the woman in the Lord. For as the woman is from the man, so the man is through the woman; but all things are from God. Be judges yourselves of the question: does it seem right for a woman to take part in prayer unveiled? Does it not seem natural to you that if a man has long hair, it is a cause of shame to him? But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given to her for a covering. But if any man will not be ruled in this question, this is not our way of doing things, and it is not done in the churches of God.

Wives, be under the authority of your husbands, as is right in the Lord.

Wives, be ruled by your husbands; so that even if some of them give no attention to the word, their hearts may be changed by the behaviour of their wives, When they see your holy behaviour in the fear of God. Do not let your ornaments be those of the body such as dressing of the hair, or putting on of jewels of gold or fair clothing;read more.
But let them be those of the unseen man of the heart, the ever-shining ornament of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great price in the eyes of God. And these were the ornaments of the holy women of the past, whose hope was in God, being ruled by their husbands: As Sarah was ruled by Abraham, naming him lord; whose children you are if you do well, and are not put in fear by any danger.

But we make this request to you, my brothers: give attention to those who are working among you, who are over you in the Lord to keep order among you;

Now when Saul came back from fighting the Philistines, news was given him that David was in the waste land of En-gedi. Then Saul took three thousand of the best men out of all Israel, and went in search of David and his men on the rocks of the mountain goats. And on the way he came to a place where sheep were kept, where there was a hollow in the rock; and Saul went in for a private purpose. Now David and his men were in the deepest part of the hollow.read more.
And David's men said to him, Now is the time when the Lord says to you, I will give up your hater into your hands to do with him whatever seems good to you. Then David, getting up, took the skirt of Saul's robe in his hand, cutting off the end of it without his knowledge. And later, David was full of regret for cutting off Saul's skirt. And David said to his men, Before the Lord, never let it be said that my hand was lifted up against my lord, the man of the Lord's selection, for the Lord's holy oil has been put on him. So with these words David kept his servants back, and did not let them make an attack on Saul. And Saul got up and went on his way.

For the Lord, the Lord of armies, is about to take away from Jerusalem and from Judah all their support; their store of bread and of water; The strong man and the man of war; the judge and the prophet; the man who has knowledge of secret arts, and the man who is wise because of his years; The captain of fifty, and the man of high position, and the wise guide, and the wonder-worker, and he who makes use of secret powers.read more.
And I will make children their chiefs, and foolish ones will have rule over them. And the people will be crushed, every one by his neighbour; the young will be full of pride against the old, and those of low position will be lifted up against the noble. When one man puts his hand on another in his father's house, and says, You have clothing, be our ruler and be responsible for us in our sad condition: Then he will say with an oath, I will not be a helper, for in my house there is no bread or clothing: I will not let you make me a ruler of the people.

Give ear to those who are rulers over you, and do as they say: for they keep watch over your souls, ready to give an account of them; let them be able to do this with joy and not with grief, because that would be of no profit to you.

I who am myself one of the rulers of the church, and a witness of the death of Christ, having my part in the coming glory, send this serious request to the chief men among you: Keep watch over the flock of God which is in your care, using your authority, not as forced to do so, but gladly; and not for unclean profit but with a ready mind; Not as lords over God's heritage, but making yourselves examples to the flock.

Letting yourselves be ruled by one another in the fear of Christ.