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Peterson's Reformed World
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A visitor to the shop of a famous potter was puzzled by one operation which seemed to have little purpose. The workman was beating a lump of clay with a large mallet. It looked as if nothing was happening, and so the one who was taking the tour finally asked, "Sir, why are you doing that?" "Just wait and watch the results; then you'll understand," was the reply.
He heeded the advice and soon noted that the top of the mass began to quiver and swell as little bumps formed on its surface. "Now you can see the need for the pounding," said the man. "I could never shape the clay into a worthwhile vessel if these bubbles remained in it, so I must gradually work them out."
The one watching was a Christian and immediately recalled the 18th chapter of Jeremiah. He saw more clearly than ever before why the great Potter must work upon our souls. The discipline of chastening and the trials of God are necessary to eliminate pride and self-will. This is the only way the Master can form us into beautiful vessels capable of holding the treasures of His grace.
As we begin today to search scripture for a morsel of nourishment by which we can grow, I would guide us to that 18th chapter of the book of Jeremiah. In it we discover or maybe we revisit, some amazing truths about God, that when understood, move us toward a deeper and more intimate relationship with Him. We read in chapter 18:1-11
The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: "Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause you to hear My words." Then I went down to the potter's house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.
Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: "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! "The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, "if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. "And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, "if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.
"Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, 'Thus says the Lord: "Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good." ' "
Driving down Green River Rd. in Evansville this week, I saw on a church marque the phrase, "God moves only when people move first." At first reading there seems to be no harm in such a phrase as this. The traditional reasoning of most individuals is very similar. Sitting in Sunday school a few weeks back an individual in the discussion said in all seriousness, "Well I do believe scripture says, 'God helps those who help themselves.'" My response was immediate as I declared, "Oh, you do?" You see, it is widely understood, in error, that the individual is the final authority in his or her life. He makes the final judgment concerning the course of his days. She ultimately determines the outcome of her goings and comings. And I am under no delusion that this way of thinking has not crept into the church. The church marque I mentioned is evidence enough that at least some think this way.
And yet, scripture does not teach us that the individual is self-governing. On the contrary, Jeremiah 18 itself reveals a much different understanding of the individual's authority over the course of his or her life.
If you will recall, in verses 1-5 we found Jeremiah visiting the potter's house where he witnessed the creation of a vessel. During the course of his work, the potter noticed that the vessel he was working on had become damaged. Somehow this piece of clay, which was intended to become one sort of vessel, had become incapable of serving that purpose. It had developed a weakness which would hinder it from attending to its duties. And so the potter reshaped the clay into another vessel, as it seemed good to him. Now, I want you to place that phrase, "as it seemed good to him" at the front of your thinking. Let it become the lens through which you see the work of the master potter, God.
Having placed this image in the mind of Jeremiah, God then gives him the message which He must deliver to the people of Judah. "Then the word of the Lord came to me saying: '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!'" "As the clay is in the potter's hand." How was the clay in the potter's hand? It was moldable and shapeable, But what is more striking to our application here is that it was powerless. The clay does not determine to the potter what it will become, the potter determines to the clay how it will serve. And so likewise, we are in the hands of God like the clay is in the hands of the potter: powerless to determine the course and outcome of our days. Ultimately God determines what will become of us. He determines how we will serve and what our end will be.
To many this way of thinking seems offensive. A British monk named Pelagius in AD 400 went to Rome to debate against these very thoughts with Augustine of Hippo. His teaching was later condemned, at the Council of Carthage in AD 418, as heresy. Yet, it still lives in some forms today in modern thinking, even in the church. He argued that the teaching of God's sovereignty, which incidentally is what we've been talking about here, is an affront to human dignity. It destroys any hope for the individual to take pride in himself and his ability to shape his actions according to laws of nature. Pelagius wanted every individual to believe that God would indeed help him if he first helped himself, by living a good life. I dare say, this is all very familiar to us, for many of us deep inside believe it. We embrace it. But not because it is true. Rather, we embrace this thinking because of pride. We want to be responsible for our greatness. We want to mold and shape our own lives. But I must tell you scripture informs us that we don't. Human dignity is not found in what the individual can accomplish on his or her own. To the contrary, Dignity is discovered in the working of God through the individual to God's glory.
You will recall, we are in God's hand, like the clay in the potter's hand. And as the potter forms the clay as it seems good to him, God is forming us as it is seems good to him. He has a purpose for us. He informed the captives in Babylon, "I know the thoughts that I think toward you, . . . thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." God's plan for our lives is to give us "a future and hope." And as God decrees so it will be for He shapes us, not we ourselves.
Macbeth said, "Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing." When I tell people about God's sovereignty they sometimes comment on how fatalistic such a view of life is. I can't help but think that without such a view of life we would all have to agree with Macbeth. For if I write the play of my life and not God, then it surely would be "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing." And then God's sovereignty seems less fatalistic and more hopeful, for we know that God is good and in Him is no evil.
In verses 5 and 6 of our passage, we have noted that God first established His authority over us. He has established the fact that He is ultimately sovereign in our lives. Scripture tells many things about this sovereignty. Most importantly is the direction this sovereignty takes us. As I stated earlier, it is God's purpose, according to Jeremiah 29:11 to give us a future and a hope. There are many avenues through which He works to bring about this purpose, and His purpose takes many shapes and sizes, but ultimately, I believe, that God desires for us what is, at length, best for us.
Now I would like to spend just a few brief moments relating to you what that sovereignty looks like.
First of all, God's purpose, or decree, covers all things. In Ephesians 1:11 we are told that God "works all things according to the counsel of His will." There is nothing which occurs in life which threatens the authority and purpose of God. Rather, everything which occurs does so in tandem and even as a result of God's perfect decree.
Second, God's decree existed before time. 2 Timothy 1:9 states that God's purpose and grace "was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began." God was not surprised when Adam fell. He was not surprised when you and I first sinned, nor was He unprepared for our lost nature to lead us so far from Him. Rather, as 1 Peter chapter one declares, we were redeemed "with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, . . .." No, God was not surprised, it was according to His plan set in His wisdom. Before He began to create, He made a provision for our salvation, securing us in Christ, before the fall ever took place.
Third, God's decree is good and wise. Romans 11:33-36 declares, "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgements and His ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor? Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to Him? For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things to whom be glory forever. Amen." In the knowledge of God's holiness is found the faith to trust in God's decree, knowing that although it makes little sense to us sometimes, it is good.
Fourth, God's decree pleases Him. In Ephesians 1:5 we learn that God's decree includes His having adopted us "as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will." It should be reassuring that God plans that which brings Him pleasure, for we know that what brings God pleasure is that which is good. He is offended by evil and made joyful by goodness and so it only stands to reason that His sovereign will would be good, if it does so please Him.
And finally, God's decree glorifies Him. As we continue in Ephesians, we read that His working "according to the pleasure of His will," is also "to the praise of the glory of His grace." Verse 12 tells us that our salvation "should be to the praise of His glory."
Now, lets move back and look more closely at verse 4. Jeremiah wrote that "the vessel" the potter "made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as is seemed best to the potter." We've learned from this that God's will is sovereign and good. But one question rises from this verse. Does God's will change? Can He purpose an individual to be one thing and then, because of some circumstance, change His mind and determine that he become something else?
The answer to that question is found in James 1:17 where we are told that there is no variation or shadow of turning with God. And in Malachi 3:6 God declares "I am the Lord, I do not change; . . .." God's will does not change and He cannot be moved by human intervention to change His decree. Theologians call this attribute of God "immutability." Louis Berkhoff defines this as "that perfection of God by which He is devoid of all change, not only in His Being, but also in His perfections, and in His purposes and promises."
Now before you go and get upset with me and turn your ears off, remember what Dudley Malone said "I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me." There are some things that we need to discuss before the thought of God being unmovable strikes you down cold.
Our scripture does not teach us that God is not moved by the affairs of men. It does not teach us that He is unaware of our prayers and deaf to our petitions. He is not the type of God who ignores our response to Him and therefore continues in His determinations. Verses 7-10 prove this.
Look with me there. God says, "The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it." Quite obviously, God does in some way take different courses of action according to our actions.
And now I know that many are saying, "that doesn't make any sense. Five minutes ago you said, 'The clay does not determine to the potter what it will become, the potter determines to the clay how it will serve.' Yet, now it seems that you are telling us that, 'the potter responds to the clay and forms it according to the clay's qualities. If the clay is good, then the potter makes a good vessel. And if it is bad, then the potter makes a bad vessel.'" And while I understand your confusion, I assure you that I am not confused. You see, there is a distinction to be made here. When we talk about relenting in verses 8 and 10, we are not talking about God changing His purpose. On the contrary, what we are talking about is God changing how he accomplishes His purpose. I believe that God is teaching us here that while we cannot change what His purpose is, we can influence how He goes about accomplishing His purpose in our life.
You will remember that I said, "God's purpose, according to Jeremiah 29:11, is to give us a future and a hope." And that, "There are many avenues through which He works to bring about this purpose, and His purpose takes many shapes and sizes. . .." If it is God's desire, or predetermined will, to bring about for us a future and a hope, then we might well ask, "how will He do this?" That, my friends, is where our response to His commands come into play.
As we are told in verses 7-8, if we are in sin and repent of our sinning, then God will bless us. Under the covenant of the law, God recorded in Ezekiel 18:21 that "if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die." Under the old covenant death, was the punishment for rebellion against God, and life was the reward for repenting of sin and turning toward God. Likewise today, if you and I will continually repent of our sins, turning toward God, we will experience blessings.
So that you're not confused, these blessings are not rewards for obedience in the same manner that life was under the old covenant. Remember, God has a purpose for us. The purpose is not in question here. What is in question is how God brings us into the fullness of that purpose.
Parents positively reinforce good behavior in their children by praising them and providing special gifts for them, thereby encouraging them to continue in their good behavior. They don't do this in order to teach children that mom and dad will only love them if they do good. They do this because the children in doing well grow into maturity. That is exactly why God blesses us when we continue in obedience to Him. He is reminding us that obedience is a positive way of living, and thereby, He is encouraging us to grow to maturity. And as we grow, our future is molded and our hope is sustained.
Yet, the good parent is not found giving praise to the disobedient child. Rather, discipline is administered to the rebellious child, again, so that the child grows to maturity. And so in verses 9 and 10 God teaches us that in order to give the rebellious child a future and a hope, He must first discipline that child. Hebrews 12:5-10 gives us good instruction on this account. Paul writes, "My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness."
I cannot express it better myself. Let it suffice to say that we have learned that God has a sovereign purpose for us, which will not change, and He will accomplish it one way or the other. How He does so, we can have part in influencing.
That is why He said in verse 11, "Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, "Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and doings good."
To you who are living in obedience to God, may I say that God is well pleased with you. But to those of us who struggle with sin let it be known, "Thus says the Lord: Look, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, can I not do with you as this potter?" Let us not tempt God. Let us not provoke His anger. Let us recognize His authority. Let us concede our guilt. And what is more, let us turn from our evil way, and make our ways and our doing good.
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