The Potter and the clay...
Surely you have things turned around!
Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay;
For shall the thing made say of him who made it,
“He did not make me”?
Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it,
“He has no understanding”? (Is 29:16)
“Woe to him who strives with his Maker!
Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth!
Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’?
Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What are you begetting?’
Or to the woman, ‘What have you brought forth?’ ” (Is 45:9-10)
“O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the LORD. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel! (Jer 18:6)
But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? #Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make #one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? (Rom 9:20-21)
But now, O LORD,
You are our Father;
We are the clay, and You our potter;
And all we are the work of Your hand. (Is 64:8)
And all of us creatures should say, Amen…
For the Day will come when we will all -without fail-- bow to the Living Christ Jesus and confess with our tongues that He ALONE is the LORD of all Heaven and earth.
The Potter and the clay...
If we are true believers in the Salvation of the Son of God we must be as pliable clay yielding to the work of the Potter’s Hand. Our hearts should be crying "Abba, Father!" in desperation for His Love, Mercy, and Grace. We are spiritually and eternally lost, dead, blind, and deceived without this mercy of God. What can we say about this? We must shut our mouths in silence before Him and not utter in our hearts a bitter or unbelieving complaint, for there is none who can successfully overcome the Lord's will. He is God and He is exalted above the heavens, and all things are upheld by the Word of His Power. Jesus Christ, seated at the right hand of God, is the only hope we have on this earth. For this, He is worthy of our praise and worship and a complete yield to Him as the Potter. Our flesh will fail and die --as all mankind from the beginning, barring those taken up without the death of the body-- but His Salvation for souls is Eternal and redemption for the bodies of those saved is near.
God’s Law was given to show us a picture of His perfection and to make us realize our great and dire need of His Mercy and Grace for never being able --in our own strength-- to be holy as He is. The Holy Scriptures say:
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. (Rom 3:19-20)
For none can keep the Law of God except Christ Jesus the God-man. A man who claims he can keep the laws of God without 100% reliance on God’s Grace is an absolute liar. And he who has the Grace of God to maintain a holy life must show grace to those in need of grace for they themselves have received mercy. It is His loving-kindness shown through Christ which leads us to repentance as we see our sinfulness before a Holy and Righteous God. We must come to the point of acknowledging our failure to live up to the image of God --as seen through the Law of God-- and fall before Him and Him ALONE to find Grace to help us overcome this world with it’s influences, our fleshly passions, and the god of this world. The Law is our tutor to bring us to Christ’s Mercy seat that we may find grace to help in time of need.
The greater point I wish to observe here is that the Potter would have us yield not to the Law but to His intended affect of the Law, or we may say the purpose of the Law of God. For Christ is the end of the Law for all who believe. And we must yield to His Grace to transform and keep us in the holiness of God. And if we sin, we have this advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. The purpose of the Law is to bring us to Christ's Salvation. If we are not found coming to the REAL Christ ALONE as we see the picture of God through His Law then we are fighting against the work of the Potter. To enter the narrow gate means we must go through this narrow path all ALONE --without anyone else-- after witnessing the picture of God through the Law. This must be without any others there to thwart our entrance as we must see the path our merciful God has supplied through His Son ALONE. Jesus spoke of those who could effectively thwart your entrance through “the Door” into the Kingdom of God:
“Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered.” ( Luke 11:50)
There are those who would interpret the scriptures with their own understanding and inflict others with the mindset of coming to God via their own design of laws and regulations. This will keep your eyes fixed on the “power of sin” which is the law so you may not see the Salvation provided in the direction of looking solely unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith. As the Scriptures say… He is the Father, the Maker, the Potter. We are the sons, the creatures, and the clay. Do not let man keep you from personally knowing the Salvation of God through His Son because they offer a false system of belief turning from the Living God.
In Christ Jesus ALONE is our Salvation. Look to Him and His Hand of change. Let Him mold you into the image of His Son, for no other human can do this work. All others will keep you from this if they keep your eyes on sin and other sinful men under the pretense of “another Jesus”. This “other Jesus” may be painted as holy and righteous but he has no mercy or grace, only the condemning law to keep you subject to the will of the men who produce their own god's laws and regulations as they twist the scriptures and deny Christ's Power to save and keep. This “other Jesus” --which keeps you from seeing the True Door into Salvation through the Living Christ ALONE-- will never offer you the Key to “the Door”. They will do all they can to keep you from becoming aware of this Key, for they love the control they have over you. BEWARE! Jesus said this word so many times and for a very good reason.
Look to the Door! He is there waiting as He is calling you to enter into the Freedom of the sons of God. He is the only Way and no other who claims to have His name --no other Jesus-- has this power over sin, self, and Satan. The True Christ Jesus came to set the captives FREE! Has your Jesus done this? Yes, look to the Law to realize your need of His Mercy and Grace as a sinner, but don’t remain there for this is NOT God’s design. God has provided a Lamb for the Sacrifice. Look to the Door. Come to the Door. Use the Key of knowledge in His Salvation. Enter by Grace through Faith and be FREED in the Power of the Living God. If you have truly entered this Way then you have been given the right by God to be called a son of God (John 1:12).
Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. “And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. (John 8:34-35)
If your Jesus does not offer freedom from slavery to sin, but only condemnation and endless frustration in it,then you do not know the Living Christ in Truth yet.
In all of this, YIELD to the will and work of the Potter!
posted by Dennis Elslager @ 7:37 PM
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