In Earth

In Mathew 6:10, when Jesus was teaching what has become known as the Lord’s Prayer (sometimes referred to as the ‘Our Father’), Jesus uses the phrase, ”Thy will be done, in earth, as it is Heaven.” As a child, I always found that phraseology odd. Of course, George Carlin pointed out once that we sometimes use the words “on” and “in” interchangeably, even when we really shouldn’t. His example was: “Are you ready to ride on the plane?” “No, I’m going to ride in the plane. Let Evil Knievel ride on the plane.”

Still, more recently it was pointed out to me that we are, essentially, earth. In Genesis we are told that God created Adam from the dust of the earth, and then created Eve from Adam’s rib (the world’s first clone?). Presumably, all of us are descended from them. I say presumably because the Bible never specifically says that Adam and Eve were the only people that God created, it just never specifically says that He created others—but, if He did, I would think that He would have formed them from the dust of the earth, also.

Now, in Corinthians, we are told that we hold this treasure in earthen vessels. This also confused me when I was younger. One person tried to put my mind at ease by saying that it was simply trying to make the point that the ‘treasure’ is worth so much more than its container, and said that it was like trying to carry gold dust in a paper bag. I can relate to that, because I knew a guy several years ago who was sort of an undercover security guard. His job was to carry large sums of money from point A to point B, but his employers figured that an armored car was not only expensive, but draws attention to the fact that large sums of money were being transported. So, what they had him do was wear jeans and a T-shirt, and carry money in brown paper bags. He had to make several trips each day (carrying several thousand dollars each trip), but, the entire time he worked that job, no-one ever caught on to what he was doing. I think that the analogy runs deeper than that, though; it’s referring to the fact that our flesh is essentially an earthen vessel, which, in this life, is used to contain our souls. The treasure spoken of earlier is a reference to the Spirit of God. It stands to reason, since our flesh and blood bodies, which were formed from the earth, cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; only our spirits can.

Of course, Isaiah 64:8 also talks about the fact that we are clay, and that God is the potter. He fashions us as He wishes—at least, as much as we will let Him. He hasn’t taken away our free will, but He will help me bend my will to His, if I ask Him to, and if I will let Him do it.

So, in Matthew 6:10, Jesus is actually telling us is that we should be praying to God that He would help us to perform His will in our own bodies, as we would do His will in Heaven after we leave our physical bodies behind. That can be a tough thing to do, because the flesh doesn’t want what the Spirit wants. That’s a struggle that we will fight every day that we draw breath.

Earthen Vessels

Yesterday I blogged about the worth of a human being, today I would like to go into an interesting statement in 2 Corinthians 4:7: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.“ I think some people have trouble with the idea of earthen vessels. What does that mean, exactly? Some years ago I heard someone compare the earthen vessels in this passage to paper bags. Imagine carrying a significant amount of gold dust in a paper bag, through a thunderstorm. Any thinking person would do everything they could to keep the bag dry, because if the bag gets really wet, it will fall apart, and the gold dust will wash away. Besides that, the gold is heavy, and paper just isn’t that strong to start with. It’s an interesting analogy, and I think that it is a valuable, but I also think that it misses the point.
Most of the newer translations use the term ‘jars of clay,’ or something similar, to indicate that the vessel is a little more substantial than a paper bag, but, at the same time, it implies that the clay has been fired in a kiln, which it may or may not have been in this instance. If you stop and think, a clay vessel that has not been fired isn’t really that much more substantial than a paper bag. If the clay has been fired, it is considerably more substantial. Apostle Peter makes reference to our faith being tried by fire, so how substantial you are as a vessel (as a Christian) depends upon how much your faith has been tried, how much you (as a Christian) have endured.
Isaiah also makes reference to us as clay, in Isaiah 64:8 and also in Isaiah 19:16 but the latter describes us in terms of clay pots trying to become greater than the potter. We will never be greater than our creator. Some would try to say that we are not created beings, relegating the potter to a character in some ancient mythology, and yet, here we are.
Jeremiah also talks about the potter and the clay, in Jeremiah 18:4. I have heard some protest that it talks about the potter purposely marring the clay, but, really, it doesn’t. Jeremiah says that the clay was marred in the potter’s hand, not marred by the potter’s hand, and in any case, if you keep reading, the potter fixed the problem. He had to take the clay back to lump form, and rebuild whatever it was he was making (the passage uses the term vessel, so, pot? vase? some kind of container).
Apostle Paul also wrote to the Romans about forming vessels out of clay in Romans 9:21. In this passage, Paul talks about the potter, from one lump of clay, forming one vessel of honor, and another of dishonor. Some have said that this proves that God creates evil. I don’t think that is what Paul is saying. I think that he’s just saying that the potter has control over the finished product—if he wants to make a decorative pot, that can’t really hold anything, that’s his prerogative. It’s not up to us even to decide whether the pot is honorable or dishonorable; it’s up to the potter to decide if the pot suits his purpose.
Luke talks about the stone falling on people, and grinding them to powder. It occurs to me that, if a clay pot, after it has been fired, gets broken or damaged, the only thing the potter can do with it is to grind it to powder, and mix it in with fresh clay, and start over again. This would not be the same vessel, of course, it would be something entirely new. He might choose not to use the powder in the new product at all; again, that’s his prerogative.
Of course, the ultimate reference as far as us being earthen, is in Genesis 2:7, where God formed Adam from the dust of the earth. But the excellency that is in us is the Spirit of God. This is more valuable than anything on this earth. We are valuable only because we are containers, or more correctly conduits, for the Spirit of God. Our value comes from what we have to offer, which is not us. We’re just bits of dirt and water that God has chosen to use for His glory.