Colossians: Christ the Fountainhead of Life Week 1

Colossians: Christ the Fountainhead of Life Colossians 1:1-12 Week 1

Have you ever had a great shower? that shower in the morning that just wakes you up and is so refreshing that you didn't want to get out. That shower is refreshing because that shower head is the source to you of wonderful hot water refreshment! Oh yea makes me want to take a shower right now? Just as that shower head is the source of that nice shower, Jesus is the fountainhead like a shower in the morning when your butt is dragging. It gives life it starts me off like wow what a beautifully awakening thing. The gospel is Jesus in his supremacy, his knowledge,many things good or worthy of praise ultimately come from Him, and will return to him as a fragrant offering of praise. He is like the shower head or the fountainhead that awakens us to everything. I am going to do a series on Colossians, and in it I will seek to show you that he is the source of all life. Lets have a look

Objective statement: we all can be deepened in gospel awakedness by seeing and savoring our positional status in Christ the fountainhead of life as seen in Colossians 1:1-14. Or first position in the gospel is...

Position #1. We are GREETED in the Gospel: 

I love the German culture of greeting. Every time I talk on the phone with German family or see them they greet me. It is awesome at first I did not know what to do with a greeting, But after a while I learned that they are just thinking about you America is not a culture of greeting and maybe should be. "Gruß Gott" in the south of Germany is a typical greeting it literally means Greet God! What a greeting! The point of sending a greeting is that you know that people are thinking about you. The gospel of Grace and peace means that God himself is thinking about you!!! He is sending His Grace and Peace to you!!! Paul starts off there. You must start off there. You must know that God himself is greeting you!!!

What are the greetings of the gospel. How does the gospel arrive to us? 

-Grace to us from God: undeserved, unearned, favor and kindness

-Peace to us from God: that passes all understanding. And in Christ God has made peace between us and God. whereas before there was animosity or wrath, but He has greeted us in the peace of the Gospel through Christ!

His greeting goes...

1) Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2) To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. 

Position #2. We are made THANKFUL and AFFECTIONATE in the Gospel 

Have you ever noticed how American pop culture is not a culture of affection, but a sort of schizophrenic emotionally backward culture. Every reality show must have at least one emotional breakdown in a tirade, or a weepy mess.

And then when someone has a real emotional moment of compassion, hope, joy, affection, by way of a real emotional response, they are lambasted or at least feel obligated to apologize for their 'unprofessional meltdown. What a double standard! We encourage immature emotional tirades, and handcuff people from real emotional connection. The gospel however is a totally counter-cultural thing. We are freed from emotional dependence and immaturity into a freedom to be truly thankful, and affectionate. Paul is "always" thanking God for the people at Colossae, and expresses a deeply affectionate posture toward them and those involved in their "love in the Spirit"

He writes...

3) We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4) since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5) because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6) which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7) just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf 8) and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. 

3. We are QUALIFIED in the gospel: 

Christ through his death on the cross qualifies us to be brothers with Him! 

After Jesus resurrection he tells the women at the grave to go tell his 'brothers' that he is alive and "I ascend to my father and your father"

"Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her." (John 20:15-18 ESV)

Paul describes our Qualifications in the gospel this way...

9) And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10) so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 11) May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, 12) giving thanks to the Father, who has "QUALIFIED YOU" to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13) He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14) in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

QUALIFIED: 

G2427: ἱκανόω

Pronounced hik-an-o'-o

to enable, i.e. qualify:--make able (meet)

Because of Christ we are qualified and enabled to become His brother and to share in the complete inheritance that he will enjoy...
Romans 8:17 says "And Since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God's glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering"

In closing we see deepened in Gospel awakedness by understanding our positions in the gospel better we are...

1) Greeted by God in the gospel, 2) We are made Thankful and Affectionate in the gospel, and 3) We are Qualified By Christ to stand before God  and He gives us everything we need in the gospel. If this were all the gospel that God would have given to us, it alone would be enough However, the extent of the gospel goes, deeper, richer, wider, and higher than we could ever imagine. And so we rest in this little revealed goodness, knowing it is only the tip of the iceberg of the glorious riches in Christ.feel free to respond to His goodness as revealed in the gospel by worshiping with the song below...

Christ is the Fountainhead of Knowledge

Christ the Fountainhead of Knowledge and Life

I have been thinking and meditating on this concept lately. Jesus is the source or fountainhead of all Wisdom, Knowledge, and Life. I have come across several scriptures that flesh out this idea...

For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light. (Psalms 36:9 NASB)

"For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, To hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns That can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:13 NASB)

O Lord, the hope of Israel, All who forsake You will be put to shame. Those who turn away on earth will be written down, Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, even the Lord. (Jeremiah 17:13 NASB)

And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, (Hebrews 5:9 NASB)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-5, 10, 14 NASB)

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me. (Colossians 1:15-20, 28, 29 NASB)

Christ is the fountainhead of all knowledge and wisdom so transformational education services/christian education must and can only originate with Him (Colossians 1:15-20, 28,29) . Personal transformation starts at salvation and continues in a person until they have been transformed into the likeness of Christ on the great day of transformation at the resurrection of the dead when we shall all 'be like Him'.

Because there is none wiser, none stronger, none more glorious than any teacher in all the universe as our creator. Only He can exegete and expound on any mystery in the entire universe. So then He must not just be referred to and given lip service within our curriculums/education, but He must be, and is the center of our entire curriculum in transformational educational services/christian education. He is the fountainhead of ALL knowledge and wisdom, and without Him we actually do not have true wisdom because the "Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of wisdom". If He is the creator and sustainer of all life in the universe (see Colossians 1:15-29) then He is The Lord, master, inventor, initiator, creator, author, and sustainer of math, science, language, history, culture, philosophy, and any other system of learning that we have currently, or will establish in the future.

Therefore we must not just add Him as the tack on to our subjects within transformational educational services or christian education. As teachers we must always look to Him to illuminate our darkened minds to understand the deep mysteries of His world, and universe which He has so wonderfully made. This means 'setting apart Christ continually as Lord of our hearts', so that we may continue to keep Him as The Lord of our subjects. 

You cannot be a teacher in a transformational education or christian education without entering this process of transformation yourself. This brings me to our part in transformation that is described in Romans 12:1-2 the word transformed there is 'Metomorphoo'. It is what it sounds like, a metamorphosis. A living thing being changed into something of completely different quality. 

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God,  which is  your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1, 2 NASB)

μεταμορφόω is the greek if you are interested or met-am-or-fo'-o meaning to transform (literally or figuratively, "metamorphose") to change, transfigure, transform.

The transforming power is not a thing to be sought out by us because we are great and inspired individuals. Notice it is something that we seek by the 'Mercies of God'. We seek transformation in Him because He is a merciful God who will certainly do it in us because we seek it from Him. And that metamorphosis that we seek will certainly happen according to that great mercy which He is ready to disseminate and extend to us. 

The way this presenting of our bodies should be understood in the greek is as a 'one time' act. I had been a Christian for 20 years or so at the time I understood this. I had never presented my body to God. I went home to my little apartment and was studying the passage again. I realized I must do this too, so I kicked the chair out from under me made some space in my apartment and laid down on my face prostrate and presented my body to God. Things almost immediately changed for me. I was a different person physically. I had given God my body for Him to do with what He wanted from now on. I was transformed. I was 'metamorphooooooed'. And now anything I do physically I do as a response to Him having ownership of my body and soul. People used to ask me when I played basketball "who do you play for" (They don't ask me anymore. They usually ask me to get off the court now). So back in the day, I would say "I play for Jesus". Before I had only played for my own fleeting glory, and now I do everything I do, physically, for the fountainhead. Have you ever once and for all presented your body to God as an act of worship? If not do it today! It will transform you!

The other two aspects of transformation are not conforming to patterns of this world and renewing your mind. What pattern of this world do you fall prey to easiest and what mercy of God are we leaning on to resist that pattern of ungodliness? After we move away from the pattern of this world, we should not leave those minds, as empty slates. We must renew them into usable vessels for The Lord, creator, and sustainer of all life. Remember we are leaning on the 'fountainhead of all knowledge and wisdom' for the renewal of our minds, how can we then fail as transformed people? It would be impossible because the 'fountainhead' of life and knowledge will not fail, He has not failed, and He cannot and will not ever fail. How then can we fail in this transformation process if we are yielded to Him being transformational agents when Christ our greatest and most wise transformer is our source and the fountainhead for our own personal transformation? We cannot fail! while keeping Jesus at the center of our own transformation! By the mercies of God, He will transform us, and in turn we can and should transform those around us. This is the basis and source of our work in any field. and He will certainly do it when we pursue Him with abandon! I want to give you a chance to respond to the fountainhead in worship. This song is called 'Pursuit'. So pursue Him as your great fountainhead and sing to Him!