God’s Process for a Vessel of Honor
by Mica Olinghouse
Over the past few weeks in my prayer time, I have found myself praying out the phrase from 2 Timothy 2:20-21, “Vessels of honor meet for the Master’s use.” This morning, that phrase came to my heart again during my devotional time, and so I went to 2 Timothy 2 to study out that passage and meditate on it for a while. What I discovered blessed my heart!
If we’ve spent time growing up in church, we are probably familiar with the term “a vessel of honor.” In fact, most believers would respond positively if asked if they wanted to be used by God. However, just because a believer may want to be used in God’s house doesn’t mean they will be used. God has a qualification process for His vessels of honor and glory.
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Separation
From Sin, Compromise, and Worldly Influences
Throughout this passage of 2 Timothy 2, Paul uses a powerful set of semantics, all of which portray a physical, spiritual, emotional, and moral separation from the things of this world and the unholy desires of the flesh. The King James Version uses the words shun (verse 16), depart (verse 19), purge (verse 21), flee (verse 22), and avoid (verse 23). The Amplified expounds on this message by adding the phrases stand apart and withdraw (verse 19), cleanse (verse 21), run away from (verse 22), and have nothing to do with. That’s some pretty strong language Paul is using to drive home a message of separation to Timothy, who is not only a believer, but also a minister of the Gospel! Timothy wouldn’t have needed to be instructed and encouraged by his spiritual father with such a stern admonition of separation if the things of this world didn’t have the potential to pull him away from his calling and election in the house of God.
So what were potential pitfalls that could taint Timothy’s ministry, hinder the anointing, and cheapen his service in God’s house? Verse 16 highlights profanity, irreverent conversations, and godless chatter, which “lead further to ungodliness.” Verse 19 clearly calls out iniquity stating that everyone who names the name of Christ should depart from iniquity, removing themselves from wickedness, and withdrawing from wrongdoing. Verse 21 takes the separation a step further calling for separation from “these,” or the ungodly compromised Christians that refuse to repent and align themselves with God’s character of holiness. Verse 22 continues the escalation of separation and sounds the alarm on youthful lusts. Finally, verse 23 wraps it up by basically saying avoid all manner of foolishness and ignorant speculations. Wow, when it came to things that Timothy could not tolerate in his own life, the list was exhaustive!
If Timothy didn’t keep his heart clean from the ingredients listed in this passage, not only would he violate God’s standards of holiness, but he would also corrupt his vessel. In other words, any manner of compromise would taint his ministry and leave him useless in the Master’s house. He wouldn’t meet God’s qualifications for an honorable and noble vessel!
The key to this entire passage in found in verse 22, “If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel of honor, sanctified, and meet for the Master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.” The separation had a unique purpose in God’s process, and that was sanctification. God knew that if Timothy didn’t set a standard in his life of separation from worldly compromise, he would frustrate the sanctifying grace of God. In order to be a prepared and set apart vessel in God’s house, Timothy had to first undergo God’s requirement and process of separation, which then made room for God’s sanctifying grace to work in his life and ministry.
Finally, after Timothy had gone through the God’s processes of separation and sanctification, he was sent to God’s preparation room where the Lord added the final touches to his calling, his character, his fellowship with the Lord, and his revelation of the Word of God. After all this process was complete in Timothy’s life, he could emerge a qualified vessel of honor ready to be used for every good work in the house of God.
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Containers
For the Glory of God
What’s interesting about the word “vessel” is that the dictionary describes it as a hollow container used for holding liquids, or a person regarded as a holder or receiver of something. By going through God’s process of separation and sanctification, Timothy became an empty, hollow container ready to receive and hold the glory of God. Sin didn’t have a hold on him, compromise couldn’t sway him, the praise of the world couldn’t inflate his ego, criticism couldn’t throw him into an emotional tailspin, lust couldn’t find a foothold, greed didn’t taint his hands, iniquity wasn’t found in his heart, profanity wasn’t on his lips, and foolishness wasn’t anywhere near him or his life. Because he chose to hold God’s standards of holiness higher than the desires of the flesh, God developed His character and nature in him, sanctifying him and molding him daily into the image of Christ. And because Timothy had yielded his heart, mind, body, and spirit to the sanctifying grace of God, the Lord could trust him. His purity before God proved he was a prepared, ready, and trustworthy vessel to contain His power and His glory.
This passage in Timothy reveals to us an incredible truth: Of all the vessels God can choose to serve His most sacred purposes, He is searching, examining, and selecting those who have willfully undergone the testing process of purity, separation, and sanctification. These are the vessels God is ready to put His gold stamp of approval on in this final hour of the Church age. These will be the most unlikely candidates in man’s eyes, but they are the ones whom God has chosen to fill with His glory in these last days.
And do you know what is most astounding about this passage? The word “work” used in 2 Timothy 2:22 is the same Greek root word used for the harvest “laborer” Jesus references in Matthew 9:37. The trending buzz words in church today are revivaland harvest, but if we examine things from Scripture, God tells us there’s a qualification process for His harvest workers! Not everyone who desires to be used by God in this great outpouring will see God’s glory manifest in them. They have to qualify first by passing through God’s process! King Jesus is a Master Craftsman serious about quality control in His house. He won’t share His glory with anyone, and those He chooses to fill with His glory and power are those who have first proven themselves trustworthy of the glory. They have allowed God to take them through His proper process of separation, sanctification, and preparation.
Today, I want to challenge you to examine your heart. Have you cried out for God’s glory but refuse to yield to His process? Are you still flirting with the ways of the world, tainting your mind and spirit with fleshly desires and lusts? What’s your conversation like? Do you shun profanity, godless chatter, foolishness, and speculation? Are you departing from iniquity and purging yourself from compromised influences, even those unrepentant believers and leaders?
We can never reach God’s standard of holiness in and of our own selves—that’s why the Lord has given us the Holy Spirit, who works His character in us through the process of His sanctifying grace. But we have a part to play in this process of maturity—we have a responsibility to obey the call of separation from the profane and unto the holy. God is a holy God! As the Head of the Church, He is commanding His Body to rise up in His holiness in this hour. As we respond to the cry of His heart, He will sanctify us from the inside out, prepare us to handle His power, fill us with His glory, and thrust us out as laborers into the vast harvest fields of these last days.