This was first given at the Lynnville (IL) UMC on July 25, 2004, and, with a very minor ‘rewrite’, again at the Hartford (IL) East Maple Street Chapel on July 26, 2009. The Scripture is from Colossians 2: 6-15…

       In the beginning, the well-pump at the house where I lived the last 15 years I was in Jacksonville was weak enough that it didn’t take much of a dry spell for the water to drop below what it would pull up. So it was that right off the bat, I had to start hauling water to keep us going. Now, like most people, I didn’t want to spend any more money than I had to, so I tried to figure out how I could do this with ‘stuff’ that I already had on hand. What I wound up doing was to take an old diesel-fuel tank that I had tried to rinse a number of times and mount it to the heavy wooden runners I had just put on an old running-gear that I intended to finish in to a hay-wagon. I couldn’t run very fast with it, so each 500 gallons that I hauled took at least an hour round-trip, depending on how many were in line ahead of me at the pump-house in Lynnville… and depending on how the week went, this was a once-or-twice-a-week affair!

       Now, to fill this tank, I had added about 12” of pipe to the inlet hole and cut a section of hose long enough to slip over it and on to the outlet pipe at the water station. This meant that it was a solid connection, but the tank had it’s normal vent built into it… a short pipe on the top with two elbows to point it back down… so letting the air out while I filled was never a problem. Of course, seeing how much I had in that steel tank was! And of course, the inevitable happened…

On a very cool autumn day… far too cool to want to go swimming… I had gone to Lynnville dragging my homemade water contraption, hooked up the hose, and put in my quarters. As it neared the time I estimated it to be done, I stepped closer to be ready to take it apart and head for home all the quicker. Suddenly, with a whoosh and a splash, there was water everywhere!!! The tank had filled, and the only place for the excess to go was out that vent at the top… those two elbows turned it to hit the top side of that round tank, and since it was coming out under considerable pressure, there was a solid fountain of water surrounding that tank for about ten feet! I not only was in it when it started, I had to go through it to try and reach the shut-off to get it to stop! Not only was I soaked, but it was just cold enough that what water hit the steel surfaces of the wagon was beginning to freeze… thank goodness the heater in the truck was working on that trip home!

       These verses start off with Paul saying, “…just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Now, try to picture, for a moment, how many gallons of water came pouring out as that tank overflowed… now imagine, if you will, that all of those many gallons was ‘thankfulness’! That’s how we should be feeling towards Jesus for our salvation… gushing and overflowing with all of that thankfulness!

       Some years back there was a new billboard I’d noticed starting to crop up along the highways… in big bold block letters it read… ‘Got Faith?’ At the edge was a picture of a garden-hose tap with water running out of it, while the crystal glass below it was catching… wine! And as I looked at that ad with this verse in mind, I couldn’t help but think that that goblet should have been running over as well… with faith! What a world this would be if each of us were so filled with faith and thankfulness that it welled up out of us and overflowed to all of those around us!!

       The Life Application Commentary notes that, “Paul used several metaphors in these verses, first telling believers to walk, then to be rooted like a plant, built like a building, and established like a legal document. Each metaphor has a specific and profound point for Christian living.

First, the Colossians were to be rooted in Christ. Just as plants draw nourishment from the soil through their roots, so the believers should draw life-giving strength from Christ. The more they would draw strength from Christ, the less they would be fooled by those who falsely claimed to have life’s answers…

Second, they were to be built up. This word is in the present tense, describing continuous action. Like a plant, they were “rooted” once and for all, but they had to grow continuously. Or like a building, they had a solid foundation, but had to keep on building with solid materials in order to be strong.

Third, the Colossians were to be strengthened in the faith. This can also be translated “established in the faith”. “Established” was a legal term, often used for a binding contract. This, too, is continuous action… an ongoing process…

The faith, then, in which these Colossian believers were rooted, built up, and established, should be a source of abundant thanksgiving. True understanding of what Christ has done on behalf of believers can lead to no other response than gratefulness.”

Now, all of that is referring to what Paul was telling the Colossians, but I put it too you that it applies just as strongly to us today! F. B. Meyer says that, “The first act of the Christian life is to receive Christ, and every moment afterward we must continue receiving him. The act must become an attitude. Breathe in the love and power of Jesus. Take deep breaths. Then we shall be rooted in him in secret, and built up in him in our outward walk and behavior. If we have Christ, we have all God’s fullness…. in Jesus, we have everything.”

       In the rest of these verses, Paul is explaining the nature of Christ, and what our relationship with Him is! Now, this is not a simple concept… indeed, it is one that I think many people, including myself, struggle with from time to time. Let me see if I can take it slow and explain it to myself, and maybe to you at the same time.

       Paul says that, “…all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” in Christ. The Life Application Commentary states that, “’All the fullness of the Deity’ refers to the whole total of deity… all the divine attributes. God’s nature and person are centered in Christ. ‘Lives in bodily form’ means “dwells permanently” or “continues to live” in a human body.

The false teaching that Paul was debunking here said that Christ could not have been both man and God. But Paul clearly stated that this was indeed the case. Paul made two significant points in this sentence: (1) Christ was not another deity along with God; instead, God’s fullness was dwelling uniquely and supremely in Christ. (2) Christ was not less than God. He was not merely one in a hierarchy of angels who would act as intermediaries between people and God. Instead, Paul emphasized to these Colossian believers, and to us today, that when we have Christ, we have everything we need for salvation and right living. He is our leader. No man-made religion or philosophy can give what Christ gives — salvation and right relationship with God.”

       Paul was very concerned about the “hollow and deceptive philosophies’ being taught and spread about in that day. What would he say about those being told today? How often does one read or hear, in various local news sources, the on-going arguments between those who support gays and lesbians, and Christians trying to express the will of God! The supporters claim that the ‘old laws’ do not apply to today’s world… that the Bible is no longer relevant to today’s society… they are, indeed, spouting, “hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” They do not accept the Bible as the Word of the Living God… and hence, they do not know, nor believe, nor accept His Son, Jesus. What future they have is bleak indeed!

       But we Christians DO believe the Words of Christ! We accept the teachings of the apostle Paul when he says that we have, “… been buried with Christ in baptism and raised with him through …our faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.”

Praise God, Jesus is the Christ!! Praise God, He nailed all of my sins to the cross!! And praise God… He nailed all of yours there, as well!!! Rejoice… keep near to the cross… and let your thankfulness overflow!!!