2Ti 2:20-23 “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. But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.”
Paul is continually, in this chapter, writing to Timothy about both desirable and undesirable behavior among God’s children. He makes a statement here that we sometimes do not truly recognize in our lives: God has a great house. It is built and furnished according to His purpose. Even though we cannot see the whole design, we can certainly trust the One who designed it.
In a great house, there are both vessels of great value to the function of the house. They are full of the grace and beauty of the maker. They have been tried in the fire and purified as gold and silver. Then there are also vessels of little worth in the house.
These vessels contain only baser elements and are susceptible to being consumed by fire or rot. When we cleanse ourselves of vain babbling and bear the affliction of the gospel as good soldiers, then we are vessels unto honor. We are not vessels to our own honor, but to the honor of the owner of this great house. How glorious is the thought that we are readily used by the Master!
It is a wondrous work that the Holy Spirit performs in our hearts to set us apart for the Master’s use. We are prepared (made ready) unto every good work that He has ordained for us to walk in (Eph 2:10). The time has come for us to outgrow (flee) the desires of our Adam nature (youthful lusts). Our Master has better plans!
The Lord has given us an example that we should follow. We need to look to Christ and those to whom He has given a heart of flesh. In this we will walk right, clinging to our reliance upon Jesus for our salvation. We will display His love (charity) to His people and be living examples of the peace of Jesus.
This path of righteousness, faith, charity, and peace does not have room in it for the many debates of men. We should never shrink from the truth, but neither should we engage in arguments over God’s word simply for argument’s sake. Always avoid questions that are asked simply for the purpose of offending others, or so that we might appear wise in answering our own questions. We cannot be vessels of honor in God’s house if we deliberately go about advancing those things which only lead to controversy.
May God bless us to always remember that the great mystery of godliness is without controversy!
