But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 2 Timothy 2:20-22
Jesus said “Unless you are Born Again, you will not see the Kingdom of Heaven” (John 3:3) Until we crucify the flesh, become washed by the blood of the Lamb, be sanctified by the Holy Spirit, we are never going to be able to serve The Lord. The Apostle Paul , under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, gives us a great analogy for this teaching of regeneration. A concept that seems to be foreign to the majority of Christians today, which is why we see so much depravity in the Churches today.
“In a great house, there are not only vessels of gold and silver (valuable), but also of wood and clay (not valuable), some to honor (saved) and some to dishonor (unsaved) Growing up, whenever we would have family over for dinner and a Holiday meal, you would get out the special plates and silverware, and we would use the cheaper stuff on a daily basis. This was kind of the same in this cultural context, the gold and silver vessels or articles were for special use, put out for display. The items of wood and clay, were cheaper, and mostly hidden from use as they were not impressive.
The Apostle Paul is applying this analogy to the state of our souls. Unless you are Born Again, you are unable to be used for service, because you can’t be in the presence of the King! We are separated from God because of our sin, therefor we need to be reconciled back to our Heavenly Father through Christ. Unless you have been Born Again, you can never be used for proper service of The Lord.
So what should we do? See what the Apostle Paul says here “Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.” I don’t know if there is a better explanation of regeneration that this, you must be Born Again! Notice it says “useful for the Master” without the Holy Spirit, you are still dead in your sins, leading others dead in their sins!
So how does the Holy Spirit change us? The Apostle Paul teaches us “Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” God will remove the heart of stone and give you a new heart and put the Holy Spirit within you (Ezekiel 36:26) How do we flee from sin and pursue righteousness? Because the Holy Spirit lives inside of you, you are a New Creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:7) Amen!
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