The Noble and The Ignoble

Introduction

Many of our houses are equipped with pots and pans and plates. we might not have gold and silver one, but we do have some which are our favourite which we want to take them out to serve when we have special guests. there could have some vessels which we no longer use them due to some reasons.

my experience in using the wooden HC cups brought back from Israel. The water is bitter. Eventually, i use a simple glass cup

there are all kinds of people to make the church. Our text reveals the kind of person God uses. You may think that God uses people who have impressive abilities and gifts. While spiritual gifts play a part, they are not the main feature in being used by God. Or you may think that God uses a person who has been to seminary and has a lot of training. While seminary has its place, I know of many men who graduated from seminary, but they’re not even in the stadium, let alone in the game! Or you may think that God uses a person who has a great knowledge of the Bible. While, as we saw last week, being careful students of the Bible is very important, it is not the main thing. You may be a renowned Bible scholar, and yet be detrimental to the cause of Jesus Christ.

We can all be used by God; however, the extent is up to us.

The simple message of our text is that God uses cleansed people, who are defined by two characteristics: be useful to the master, be ready for any good work.

Which are you? Outwardly noble but inwardly ignoble, or inwardly noble? What make us a noble or an honour vessel for God’s use?

noble in terms of our heart, rather than our gifts or talents.

inward nobility

all are different. gold, silver, wood and clay. (v20). However, it is not their outward appearance that make them noble or ignoble. The concern here is not the types of vessels, but between the honorable and dishonourable.

The verse here says “some are for special and some are for common purpose”. Two ways to understand. First, gold and silver vessels are esteemed as honorable because they are used for honorable functions. Similarly, wood and earthenware vessels are regarded as dishonorable because they are used for garbage or excrement and are sometimes thrown out with their contents. The implication is that there may indeed be vessels like the false teachers in the professing Christian community, but their activity indicates that they are dishonorable.

Second, some among the gold and silver are honourable, while some are not. and similarly, some among the wood and clay are honourable while some are not. Regardless of which explanation it is, there underlying message is that it is possible to change from being ignoble to being noble.

Paul talk about “in the large house”. He is actually referring to the church. and the focus is upon the cleanliness of each vessel.

people who hold to the truth and to godliness and are therefore useful and destined for honour in contrast to those who hold to error and ungodly conduct and therefore are useless and destined for judgement

it does not by itself tells us that the gold and silver are for special purpose while the wood and clay are for common purpose. that is human’s idea . the actual interpretation should be that “some has chosen to be for honour purpose, and some has chosen to be for common purpose.” the common purpose here can also means

all can be made special. it does not matter who we are.

Be Consecrated - by cleansing ourselves from the latter. do not mixed with those who are living like an ignoble articles. nor terering to the people but the way they live and teach. a vessel which is used for so-called dishonourable uses (like storing garbage) can be thoroughly cleaned and would then be fit for a honourable purpose (such as cooking or even serving a meal). At this point the question of what the vessel is made of seems to have disappeared from sight, and equally questions of the suitability of the vessel for one purpose or another (in terms of its size and shape) are irrelevant.

It is evident at once that some kind of self-purification is the indispensable condition of usefulness to Christ, but exactly what is it? The words ‘from what is ignoble’ are the rsv interpretation of apo toutōn ‘from these’ (plural), and ‘these’ must refer back to the ‘vessels for ignoble use’ of the previous verse. In what sense, then, are we to purify ourselves from these? It cannot mean that we are to cut adrift from all nominal church members whom we suspect of being spurious, and secede from the visible church, for Jesus indicated in his parable that the weeds had been sown among the wheat and could not be successfully separated from them until the harvest. Besides, we have already seen that it is teachers rather than members who are indicated by the two sorts of vessels. This fact and the context suggest, therefore, that we are to hold ourselves aloof from the kind of false teachers who, like Hymenaeus and Philetus, both deny some fundamental of the gospel and (according to 1 Tim. 1:19, 20) have also violated their conscience and lapsed into some form of unrighteousness.

Here, Paul is concerning about ungodly relationship with the unfaithful ones or the false teachers in the church. Our relationships affect how much God can use us. If our relationships are primarily with “professing believers” who compromise with the world, love sin, and/or are caught in false doctrine, it will hinder our usefulness. I heard it said that where we will be in the next ten years is largely affected by the people we associate with and the books we read. Certainly, this aligns with Scripture. Proverbs 13:20 says he who “The one who associates with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.” First Corinthians 15:33 says, “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals.’” Partnering with those who live compromised lives always negatively affects us. It affects our character and usefulness to God.

Again, this is not referring to relationships with unbelievers—though it has applications for such relationships. We are called to witness to the world and be salt and light to them, but we must never be in yoking relationships that pull us away from God. These yoking relationships include intimate friendships, dating, marriage, business partnerships, and even the types of entertainment we watch, listen to, and read (cf. 2 Cor 6:14). As mentioned, Paul is referring to vessels in the house of God—the church. We must avoid intimate relationships with professing believers who live compromised lives.

Paul says we should pursue godly character “in company with others who call on the Lord from a pure heart” (v. 22). “The term pure comes from the same root word as ‘cleanses’ in verse 21 and takes us back to where Paul’s line of thought began—to the truth that a clean vessel is a useful one.”8 Those with pure hearts aren’t perfect, but they faithfully pursue a right relationship with God.

Certainly, we see this reality throughout Scripture: Moses had Joshua; David had Jonathan and Nathan; Elijah had Elisha; Hezekiah had Isaiah; Daniel had Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; Christ had the twelve disciples and within them he had Peter, James, and John; Paul had Barnabas and Timothy. In order to be greatly used by God, we must surround ourselves with godly people. Again, Proverbs 13:20 says, “The one who associates with the wise grows wise.” Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so a person sharpens his friend.”

We can’t become godly on our own; we need to be surrounded by brothers and sisters who are fighting to be pure as well. They pray for us, hold us accountable, encourage us, and even help train us. Elisha received an impartation from Elijah. Timothy received a gift through the laying on of Paul’s hands (2 Tim 1:6). Similarly, walking with godly brothers and sisters, especially those more mature than us, will help us grow and further equip us for service.

Sadly, many Christians can’t be greatly used by God because they are isolationists; they walk on their own and fail on their own, with no one to help them get up. We must partner with others by getting involved in small groups, ministries, and mentoring and accountability relationships. If we are going to be used greatly by God, we must pursue relationships with godly people.

Application Question: How should we pursue relationships with godly people? What steps should we take? How have you grown spiritually and in usefulness through relationships with other mature believers?

Are any relationships keeping you back from being greatly used by God?

Application Question: Why is it so important to separate from dishonorable vessels? What makes this separation so hard to do? What should the process of separation look like (cf. Matt 18:15-17, 2 Cor 5:9-13)?

Ways to achieve inward nobility

To avoid youthful desire. flee from evil desires of youth - lusts/sensual desires . It is in the present tense, meaning that we must ‘continually flee’ so that we won’t get caught in these sins. Actively run away and not to have any relationship with. youth - spiritual immaturity. the youthful desire - self assertion, self indulgence, selfish ambition, headstrong obstinacy, arrogance, argumative, lusts and wayward impulses.

They include that impatience, which has never learned to make haste slowly and has still to discover that too much haste can do far more harm than good; that self-assertion, which is intolerant in its opinions and arrogant in its expression of them, and which has not yet learned to see the good in points of view other than its own; that love of debate, which tends to argue long and act little, and which will talk the night away and be left with nothing but a litter of unsolved problems; and that love of novelty, which tends to condemn a thing simply because it is old and to desire a thing simply because it is new, underrating the value of experience. One thing is to be noted—the faults of youth are the faults of idealism. It is simply the freshness and intensity of the vision which makes youth run into these mistakes

To be a general example of good character.

Fleeing and pursuing are opposites. It is not enough just to flee from sin. Also, you must pursue godly character qualities. The word “pursue” can also be translated “to run after” or even “to persecute.” When one persecutes another, it means that he keeps attacking that person. In the same way, no matter how many times we fall, we must keep getting up and pursuing godly character. It means to go after it with a vengeance. Run hard after these four aspects of godliness

Pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace - join those who pursue such virtue before God. pure heart. Pursue - chase or hunting, which is a very opposite to the previous fllight (flee). This is to portray Christians’ pursui of the will of God. we “press on” again ana gain toward the goal. We are to pursue moral righterousness with the same assiduity with which the Jews pursued legal righteousness.

In other passages this righteousness or ‘holiness’ (Heb. 12:14) is broken up into its constituent parts and supplemented with other virtues. Thus, we are to go in hot pursuit of ‘righteousness, faith, love and peace’ (here) or ‘righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness’ (1 Tim. 6:11), or simply ‘love’ (1 Cor. 14:1), and specially that love for strangers called ‘hospitality’ (Rom. 12:13) and the ‘good’ of others which love always seeks (1 Thes. 5:15), or simply ‘peace’, that all-inclusive grace, together with ‘what makes for peace and mutual upbuilding’ (Heb. 12:14a; 1 Pet. 3:11 quoting Ps. 34:15; Rom. 14:19). In all these verses the same verb diōkō ‘pursue’ is used.

pursue righteousness - set right actions as a goal for living. life is full of adverse influences that might lead us astray. Righteousness refers to right behavior in conformity with God’s Word. It includes various deeds that both honor God and others like giving, sharing the gospel, ministering to the hurting, teaching God’s Word, etc. It also includes right thinking which ultimately leads to right action. If we are going to be used by God, we must pursue righteousness.

pursue faith - our trust in the Lord. Faith is related to your concept of God. Is He mighty? Does He hear the prayers of His people and act on their behalf? Do you trust Him to do far more than you are able to do in your strength? Faith refers both to being faithful and to trusting God. We must become people who are dependable—our yes must mean yes, and our no must mean no. Those who are faithful with little can be trusted with much. God will give them more responsibility. However, we must also constantly pursue greater faith in God. Hebrews 11:6 says without faith it is impossible to please God. We must believe his Word and trust his promises to both please him and accomplish his works. Steve Cole recounts a challenging story about a professor from Princeton who taught Donald Barnhouse. He shares,

Many years ago, there was a learned Hebrew professor at Princeton Seminary named Robert Dick Wilson. He could read, as I remember, more than 30 Semitic languages! One time about twelve years after Donald Grey Barnhouse had graduated, he went back to the seminary to preach to the students. Dr. Wilson sat down near the front. After the message, he went forward and shook Barnhouse’s hand. He said, “When my boys come back, I come to see if they are big-godders or little-godders, and then I know what their ministry will be.”

Barnhouse asked him to explain and he replied, “Well, some men have a little god and they are always in trouble with him. He can’t do any miracles. He can’t take care of the inspiration and transmission of the Scripture to us. He doesn’t intervene on behalf of His people. They have a little god and I call them little-godders. Then there are those who have a great God. He speaks and it is done. He commands and it stands fast. He knows how to show Himself strong on behalf of them that fear Him.” He went on to tell Barnhouse that he could see that he had a great God and that God would bless his ministry (Donald Grey Barnhouse, Let Me Illustrate [Revell, 1967], pp. 132-133).7

What about you? Are you a big-godder or a little-godder? We must pursue faith in order to be used by God.

pursue love - That requires getting your focus off of yourself and onto others, so that you can treat them as you would want to be treated. It means giving your time to listen to someone who is hurting. It means befriending someone who is lonely. Sometimes it means having the courage to talk to a brother (or sister) who is in sin with the aim of restoring him to the Lord. It means being patient, kind, considerate, and not easily provoked (see the complete list, 1 Cor. 13:4-7). Pursuing love means investing constant effort to love others. Love is the Greek word “agape”—referring to God’s love. This is not a love hindered by the limits of our emotions. It is a decisive love—an act of the will. This is how we can love those who are unlovable and those who hurt us. It is a love based on our choice to obey God. We should daily pursue loving God and loving others more. This includes practicing loving actions like listening, serving, and caring for others.

pursue peace - The world’s way of dealing with misunderstandings or conflict is to nurse hurt feelings, to spread gossip, and to stand up for your rights. God’s way is to go directly to the one who offended and seek to be reconciled. Jesus said that this is so important that even if you are worshiping, leave your worship and first be reconciled to your brother (or sister; Matt. 5:23-24). Recognizing that it is difficult, Paul said (Rom. 12:18), “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.”

As much as depends on us, we must seek to live at peace with others (Rom 12:18). This means humbling ourselves, confessing our failures, and forgiving. Unforgiveness is a tremendous stronghold that hinders our ability to be used by God. Christ says if we don’t forgive others, God cannot forgive us (Matt 6:15) and also that if we don’t forgive from the heart, God will hand us over to torturers—referring to God’s discipline (Matt 18:21-35, cf. 1 Cor 5:5).

Are you pursuing peace or holding grudges? If we are going to be greatly used by God, we must pursue godly character.

Application Question: Which godly character trait is the most difficult one for you to develop and why?

the foundation of all above pursues is to have a pure heart.

Christian teachers and leaders are to aim at righteousness, which means giving both to other people and to God their due; at faith, which means loyalty and reliability which both come from trust in God; at love, which is the utter determination never to seek anything but the highest good of our neighbours, no matter what they do to us, and which has put away forever all bitterness and all desire for vengeance; and at peace, which is the right relationship of loving fellowship with God and with one another. And all these things are to be sought in the company of those who call upon the Lord. Christians must never seek to live apart and aloof from others. They must find their strength and their joy in the Christian fellowship. As John Wesley said: ‘A man must have friends or make friends; for no one ever went to heaven alone.’

we are to run away from spiritual danger and to run after spiritual good, flee from the one in order to escape it and to pursue the other in order to attain it.

This double duty of Christians—negative and positive—is the consistent, reiterated teaching of Scripture. Thus, we are to deny ourselves and to follow Christ. We are to put off what belongs to our old life and to put on what belongs to our new life. We are to put to death our earthly members and to set our minds on heavenly things. We are to crucify the flesh and to walk in the Spirit. It is the ruthless rejection of the one in combination with the relentless pursuit of the other which Scripture enjoins upon us as the secret of holiness. Only so can we hope to be fit for the Master’s use. If the promise is to be inherited (‘he will be a vessel for noble use’), the condition must be fulfilled (‘if any one purifies himself from what is ignoble’).

To avoid disputes. done have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments - refuse speculations. Paul was referring to the false teacher in the church back then. These are presumably the discussions about the law, myths and genealogies. but i believe the same principle applies to us today. Facing with those who like to argue, we learn to be a kind, patient and effective leader-teacher who can bring people to repentance. the word arguments (zeteseis) means to produce envy, dissension, slander, base suspicions and wrangling. so there the emphasis is rather upon heated controversy. Dont fight every battle, fight the good fight of the faith.

he is not teaching that by our own efforts we can atone for our sins. If you could do anything in and of yourself to deal with your sin problem before God, then the death of Christ was pointless. But you can and must avail yourself of the means of cleansing that God has provided in Christ. That is your responsibility.

If you come into the house dirty after a day of working in the yard, you don’t lick yourself clean like a cat does! Rather, you make use of the soap and water to cleanse yourself. The soap and water are the means of cleansing. But you make use of them by applying them to your body.

God provided the blood of Jesus as the means of cleansing us from all our sins (1 John 1:7, 9). There is a sense in which we are completely clean the moment that we trust in Christ as Savior. But we walk in the world, where we get defiled. When we confess our sins, we apply the blood of Jesus to our dirty lives. To be a vessel for honor, you must walk in the light, confessing all known sin to God. Vessels of dishonor walk in the darkness and do not cleanse themselves from sin.

Cleansing is simple to understand in the time of current pandemic. we always make sure we are clean when we reach home. Before we go out, we make sure that we are protected from being infected.

Conclusion

How many of you would like to use a fork with some food waste left on it by previous customer when you are having a meal at a restaurant? will you continue to use the fork, or request for a replacement?

we might think that this passage is very legalistic. However, it actually shows us the depth of God’s grace in having both noble and ignoble/honourable and dishonourable remain in the large house at the same time.

being a christian community, the honourable ones are to help the dishonourable so that they would become honourable as well. Those dishonourable should work hard to turn away from dishonoured lifestyle to be honoured.

it has nothing to do with the salvation, but how one should live their Christian living as part of the church family. As a vessel, we are to carry Christ’s name before unbelievers and the treasure of the gospel.

Paul is presenting us with a choice: Do you want to be a gold or silver vessel, used for honor, or will you be a cheap clay pot, used for dishonor?

How can we be greatly used by God?

To Be Greatly Used by God, We Must Separate from Ungodly RelationshipsTo Be Greatly Used by God, We Must Flee Evil PassionsTo Be Greatly Used by God, We Must Pursue Godly CharacterTo Be Greatly Used by God, We Must Pursue Godly Relationships