In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
2 Tim 2: 20-21
"After all," says the apostle in effect, though in fewer words, "it is not such a very great wonder that there should be persons in the Church who are not of the sterling metal of sincerity, nor of the gold and silver of truth, which endures the fire. You must not look at Hymenteus and Philetus as if they were prodigies, there have been many like them and there will be many more; these ill weeds grow apace, in all ages they multiply and increase." Where beneath the skies shall we find absolute purity in any community? The very first family had a Cain in it, and there was a wicked Ham even in the select few within the ark. Isaac, with all his quiet walk with God, must be troubled with an Esau, and ye know how in the house of Jacob there were many sons that walked not as they should. "I have chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil." In the great field which Christ has sown, tares will spring up among the wheat, for the enemy takes pains to sow them; neither is it possible for us to root them up. In the king's garden briars will grow, thorns also and thistles will the most sacred soil yield to us. Even the lilies, of Christ grow among thorns. You cannot keep the best of churches altogether pure. Yea, lift your eyes even to the skies, and though there be myriads of stars, yet ye shall mark wandering stars among them, and meteors which are and are not, and are quenched in the blackness of darkness for ever. Until we shall come to the heaven of the Most High we must expect to find chaff mixed with the wheat. Coming to the text, the apostle suggests the encouragement I have already given, under a certain metaphor. The Church of God being ill the world has its common side and its common vessels, but being also a heavenly house has also its nobler furniture, far more precious than gold which perisheth though it be tried with fire.
I. First let us consider THE GREAT HOUSE. The apostle compares the Church to a great house. We feel sure he is not speaking of the world; it did not occur to him to speak about the world, and it would have been altogether superfluous to tell us that in the world there are all sorts of people, — everybody knows that. The Church is a great house belonging to a great personage, for the Church is the house of God, according to the promise — "I will dwell in them, and walk in them."
1. It is a great house because planned and designed upon a great scale.
2. Because it has been erected at great cost, and with great labour.
3. Because its household arrangements are conducted on a great scale. Speak of fine flour — behold, He has given us angels' food; speak of royal dainties — behold, the Lord hath given us fat things full of marrow, wines on the lees well refined. What a perpetual feast doth the Lord Jesus keep up for all His followers.
4. For the number of its inhabitants. How many have lived beneath that roof-tree for ages. What a swarm there is of the Lord's children, and yet not one of the family remains unfed. The Church is a great house wherein thousands dwell, yea, a number that no man can number.
5. Because of its importance. The Church is a great house because it is God's hospice, where He distributes bread and wine to refresh the weary, and entertains wayfarers that else had been lost in the storm. It is God's hospital, into which He takes the sick, and there He nourishes them until they renew their youth like the eagle's. It is God's great pharos with its lantern flashing forth a directing ray so that wanderers far away may be directed to the haven of peace. It is the seat of God's magistracy, for there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David. The great house of the Church is the university for teaching all nations, the library wherein the sacred oracles are preserved, the treasury wherein the truth is deposited, and the registry of new-born heirs of heaven. It is important to heaven as well as to earth, for its topmost towers reach into glory.
II. We will now go inside the great house, and we at once observe that it is well furnished. Our text, however, invites us to note that it contains a number of MEANER VESSELS, articles of the coarser kind for ordinary and common uses. Here are trenchers and buckets of wood, and pitchers and pots and divers vessels of coarse pottery. Some have thought that this figure of vessels to dishonour relates to Christians of a lower grade, persons of small grace and of less sanctified conversation. Now, although believers may from some points of view be comparable to earthen vessels, yet I dare not look upon any child of God, however low in grace, as a vessel to dishonour. Moreover, the word "these" refers to the earthen and wooden vessels, and surely they cannot represent saints, or we should never be told to purge ourselves from them. Besides, that is not the run of the chapter at all. The real meaning is, that in the Church of God there are unworthy persons serving inferior and temporary purposes, who are vessels to dishonour. They are in the Church, but they are like vessels of wood and vessels of earth, they are not the treasure of the mansion, they are not brought out on state occasions, and are not set much store by, for they are not "precious in the sight of the Lord." The apostle does not tell us how they came there, for it was not his intent to do so, and no parable or metaphor could teach everything; neither will I stay to describe how some professors have come into the Church of God, some by distinct falsehood and by making professions which they knew were untrue, others through ignorance, and others again by being self-deceived, and carried away with excitement. The parable does not say how they got there, but there they are, and yet they are only vessels of wood and vessels of earth. The vessels in the great house are, however, of some use, even though they are made of wood and earth; and so there are persons in the Church of God whom the Lord Jesus will not own as His treasure, but He nevertheless turns them to some temporary purpose. Some are useful as the scaffold to a house, or the dogshores to a ship, or the hedges to a field. I believe that some unworthy members of the Church are useful in the way of watch-dogs to keep others awake, or lancets to let blood, or burdens to try strength. Some quarrelsome members of the Church help to scour the other vessels, lest they should rust through being peaceful. There is one thing noticeable, viz., that the wooden and earthen vessels are not for the Master's use. When He holds high festival His cups are all of precious metal. How sad it is that many Christians are useful to the Church in various ways, but as for personal service rendered to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, in that they have no share whatever and never can have till grace changes them from wood to silver, or from earth to gold. Note that in these vessels of which the apostle speaks the substance is base. They are wood, or they are earth, nothing more. So are we all by nature of base material, and grace must make us into silver or into golden vessels, or the Master cannot Himself use us, nor can our use in the Church ever be to honour. These vessels unto dishonour, though turned to some account, require a good deal of care on the part of the servants. When our forefathers used to eat from wooden trenchers, the time the good wives used to spend in scalding and cleaning to keep them at all sweet to eat upon was something terrible, and there are members of the Church who take a world of time from pastors and elders to keep them at all decent; we are continually trying to set them right, or keep them right, in the common relationships of life.
III. We are now going into the treasury, or plate room, and will think of THE NOBLER VESSELS. These are, first of all, of solid metal, vessels of silver and vessels of gold. They are not all equally valuable, but they are all precious. Did you ever hear how vessels come to be golden? —
"There stood a golden chalice wondrous fair,
And overflowing with deep love for him.
He raised it to His gracious lips, and quaffed
'The wine that maketh glad the heart of God,'
Then took the cup to heaven."
1. On the vessels to honour you can see the hall mark. What is the hall mark which denotes the purity of the Lord's golden vessels? Well, He has only one stamp for everything. When He laid the foundation what was the seal He put upon it? "The Lord knoweth them that are His, and let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from all iniquity." That was God's seal, the impress of the great King upon the foundation-stone. Do we find it here? Yes, we do. "If a man, therefore, purge himself from these he shall be a vessel unto honour." You see that the man who is the golden or silver vessel departs from all iniquity, and that is the token of his genuine character.
2. Notice, however, that they are purged, for the Lord will not use filthy vessels be they what they may.
3. And then notice that these gold and silver vessels are reserved as well as purged. They are made meet for the Master's use. As Joseph had a cup out of which he alone drank, so the Lord takes His people to be His peculiar treasure, vessels for His personal use.
4. Oh, for a holy character and holy communion with God; then we shall be golden vessels fit for the Master's use, and so, according to the text, we shall be ready for every good work, ready for the work when it comes, and ready at the work when it has come, because completely consecrated to God and subject to His hand,
IV. We must speak about THE MASTER.
1. He is introduced here, you see, as having certain vessels meet for His use, and this shows that He is in the house. Secondly, the Master knows all about the house, and knows the quality of all the vessels. And then reflect that the Master will use us all as far as we are fit to be used. What comes of this, then, lastly? Wily, let us bestir ourselves that we be purged, for the text says, "If a man therefore purge himself."
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
