Rom 9:23 In order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He had before prepared unto glory, 2 Tim 2:21 If therefore anyone cleanses himself from these, he will be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, useful to the master, prepared unto every good work
In the beginning when God created man, He made man His vessel. The eternal purpose of God is to enter into man, to mingle Himself with man so that man may be full of Him. The failure of Adam and Eve was that they did not allow God to fulfill this purpose. On the contrary, they were alienated from God. What does it mean to be alienated from God? It means that man does not yield the proper place within himself to God. It means certain things within have occupied a person's being. When Adam and Eve ate of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God's command did not occupy them; rather, they were occupied with how the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was good for food, how it was pleasing to the eyes, and how it enabled man to have wisdom. These usurped the place of God in them. As a result they fell. We should ask ourselves what our condition today is. From the day we were saved until now, how many things, events, and people are still occupying us and depriving God of His rightful place? We need to consider ourselves. Dear brothers and sisters, if God's Spirit opens our eyes a little from within, we will immediately see that many items within our whole being are occupying the place that belongs to God alone. A brother once said that man's heart is like sticky gum; it sticks to anything that comes across its way, whether it is clothing or a table. Sometimes we are stuck to an easy life, and at other times, we are attached to personal ambition. Once we are attached to something, we cannot love God properly anymore. We attach ourselves not only to what we have, but also to what we do not have. We can become attached to our difficulty, imagination, or vainglory. No matter what our heart is attached to, as long as there is one thing usurping God's place in us, we have fallen. Whenever God's place in us is usurped, we become fallen people. A person may have been saved for ten years. During the first five years he may have done well, but during the next five years there was something in his heart usurping the place of God, and he became fallen. Although he continued to come to meetings, pray, and serve God, inwardly he has fallen. Brothers and sisters, God's goal is for man to become His vessel. As long as we are occupied by something other than God, and as long as we do not yield the proper place to God, we are fallen.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Watchman Nee, General Messages, Vol. 37, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, pp. 141-142. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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