THE POTTER'S HOUSE - JER. 18:1-6

The potter's house is a phrase which God used to represent His people, the place of Spiritual craftsmanship of His new creation works in the human soul. Historically, the potter's house was the clay field where potters exercised their crafts. Prophet Jeremiah was sent to the potter's house, not to preach a sermon or to prepare a sermon, rather to receive it readily prepared for him by God.

Ministers of God are to make a good use of their converts with the business and affairs of this life. They must learn thereby to speak more plainly and familiarly to the people about the things of God, and to expand scripture to them.

God has both an incontestable authority and an irresistible ability to form and fashion kingdoms and nations as it pleases him to serve His own purpose- Jer. 18:6. He has a clearer title to dominion over us than the potter has over the clay. The potter only gives the clay its form, whereas we have both the matter and the form from God. This intimates that God has incontestable sovereignty over us. One turn of the hand, one turn of the wheel, quite alters the shape of the clay, makes its vessel, unmake it, so are our time in God's hands- Job. 12:23; Ps. 107:33-38; Ps 100; Job 34:29. If the potter's vessel be marred for one use, it shall serve for another. Those that will not be monuments of mercy, shall be monuments of justice. God formed us out of the clay- Job 33:6 and we are still as clay in His hands- Isa. 64:8.

In exercise of His authority and ability, God works by fixed rule of equity and goodness. He dispenses favor in a way that sovereignty, but never punishes by arbitrary power. In a way of judgment, we may be sure that it is for our sins. Repentance will stop the progress of the judgments- Jer. 18:7-8.

We are being called to the potter's house, this time, not as observers of the potter and his works on the wheel, but as the very clay in the potter's hands. This is where the Lord is taking us to, if we are truly willing to be made His chosen vessels of the honor in this end-time. The potter's house is God's spiritual factory for remolding our damaged souls in righteousness and true holiness.

The original base of our souls is the presence and glory of God. This glory departed from the soul through sin and the fall that followed it. From then, the soul of an has borne the inscription of the departed glory. Our Lord Jesus Christ has come to restore the departed glory back to our souls as in the beginning. God has come again as the potter to restore and to recreate the damaged soul of the fallen man. The potter's house is speaking of an entirely new process though which God is putting off the old man and putting on the new man in the souls of man- Eph. 4:20-23.

 The ministry of the New Testament is all about the new creation for a more excelling glory. It is all about the ministry of glory and righteousness to restore the sin-damaged soul of man to its original base in Christ. Our souls must go through this ordained spiritual process of new creation so that it can be reshaped to bear the image and resemblance of the creator. This process is initiated at the new birth, and is completed through constant transformation, which culminates in the manifestation of the glory of the invisible God in us.

In the Eastern part of the world, treasures are often hidden in the earthen vessels to protect them from damp. Here, ''treasure'' refers to the power of the Holy Spirit that works through the light of the gospel in our bodies. The treasure, which is borne on the earthen vessel of our body, is the resurrection. The purpose is to crucify the deeds of the flesh, so that the life of Christ's resurrection may be become evident in it- Gal. 2:20; Phil.3:7-16.

The body is under a sentence of death for Christ's sake and His cause. It is always made to bear the marks of the battle already fought for Christ- Gal. 6;17. Those who carry the divine treasures of the power of His resurrection are made to live a dying life that others may live. Their readiness to die for Christ make others want to live for Him. For the sake of winning souls to the glory of God, we suffer all these things without fainting. The outward man is slowly dying through trials and sufferings, but the inward man is being renewed and remolded daily- Jm. 2:26; Heb. 4:12; 1 Thess. 5:23; Rev. 6:9; 2 Cor. 5:8.

The Christian sufferings and trials in this present world system are referred to as '' light affliction'' when compared to the exceeding and eternal weight of glory that awaits us. In the potter's house, the method and instrument for remolding the soul of man is the cross. The cross is the pathway of life through death. We must be ready to allow God take us through this spiritual process, so that we can be qualified to bear the everlasting treasure of His glory in our mortal bodies. Our souls are reshaped to become the new wineskin for the new wine of the resurrected life and power of Christ through the spirit.

The word ''clay'' is often used to represent something that is weak, fragile and easily broken. Our human body is referred to as a house of clay to portray it as something that is weak and fragile- Job 4:19; Gen. 2:7; 3:19. As the clay can easily be crushed because it is weak and fragile, so is the human body. The Excellency of human body is the soul that resides in it. The soul is the life and strength of the body as the engine is the life and strength of a vehicle. The divine treasure in human body is said to be in earthen vessel, the Excellency of it belongs to God, not the human body- 2 Cor. 4:7.

The potter's hand is a symbol of incontestable sovereignty of the potter over the clay. It represents the authority and ability of the potter to exercise dominion over the clay. It is a symbol of action-Ps. 90:17; Job 9:30; 1 Tim. 2:8; Isa. 1:15, moral condition- Deut. 21:6-7; Ps. 26:6; Matt. 27:24, support- Ps. 73:23; Isa. 41:13; power and strength- Ex. 15:6; Ps. 17:7, protection- Ps. 16:8; 109:31;110:5, familiarity and superiority- 2 Kgs. 5:18; 7:17, liberality- Deut. 15:8; Ps. 104:28. As a clay in the hands of the God, we must be willing to allow Him break and grind us into vessels of His choice.

The same natural process a potter takes to shape the clay is the same that God takes to remold us and this process bestows all that are required and suited to life and godliness, true and full knowledge of Christ Jesus, His glory and excellent virtue, His precious and exceeding great promises, the escape from the moral decay in this present world, to become sharers of His divine nature in us.

Human soul has suffered the same destruction spiritually and morally. First, the destruction took place through the fall of man in the garden of Eden; and secondly, the human soul has continued to suffer destruction through the continual bombardment of Satan and his host of evil. This satanic bombardment comes through sin and spiritual death- Gen. 2:15-17; Ezek. 18:4; Gen. 3:1-7.

When vessels are marred, it was thrown not thrown away. The clay was crushed together and returned to the wheel, and work began all over again. This continued until the clay took the shape the potter intended. This is what God declares, He has power to do with our souls. The marred vessel of our human soul will be returned and reshaped as we return to the base. God is the base and His glory is the covering garment of our soul. Those who respond to Him through the saving faith in Christ will be regenerated and restored to His image and likeness, which was lost through the fall.