Whatever is honorable must be something of good quality, standard and value. Learning how to be a vessel unto honor is to understand your value and significance in life and in God.
But then what does a vessel unto honor means?
A vessel unto honor is a vial or container used to hold content for holy and honorable use. Not all vessels are for honorable use. For instance, you cannot use a baby’s potty to serve any dish. However, the potty is a vessel, but not for such use.
Similarly, not all believers are of this honorable use before God. This is a better truth. Although God loves us all and calls us His children, He does not trust us all equally to commit certain things to our hands. There are levels of commitment you need that God would trust some great and honorable things into your hands.
The Bible says:
“But in a great house there are only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel unto honor, sanctified and useful for the master, prepared for every good work.”
2 Timothy 2:20-21
Awesome!
In Apostle Paul’s letter to Timothy, you will find out that he mentioned two kinds of vessels; honor and dishonor. You need to resolve in your heart not to be a vessel of dishonor. You too can become a vessel unto honor from henceforth if you set yourself apart for the master’s use.
But how can you achieve this? What are the things you need to do to be this kind of vessel? Are vessels of honor pre-determined by God? In this article, I will like to share how you can become a vessel unto honor, sanctified and set apart for God’s use.
- Accept the finished work of Christ
- Purge yourself from dead works
- Intimacy with God
- Do the work of God as a vessel unto honor
Accept the finished work of Christ
To accept the finished work of Christ is another way to describe being born again. This is the very first thing you must do to become a vessel unto honor. You need to believe in your heart that Jesus died and resurrected for your sake. After you have believed what Christ did on the cross for your sake, then you confess it.
Professing what you believe makes your faith in God effective. This alone sets you apart and gives you the qualification to be called a child of God. Once you are God’s child, you can become a mighty weapon of use in His hands.
Purge yourself from dead works
“Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully.”
Psalm 24:3-4
The Psalmist described in Psalms 24:1-4, a man who is fit to stand in God’s presence. Remember, God is holy and his eyes cannot behold iniquity. So, becoming a vessel unto honor before God requires purity.
You need to clean yourself up from every dead works. The dead works are lustful desires; the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. Everything against God’s commandments are dead works and nothing honorable has a relationship with dirt and death. The Bible says:
“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outburst of wraths, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like…”
Galatians 5:19-21
The process of doing away with all these works of the flesh is called purging. When you do this, it qualifies you to become useful to God. May you be an honorable vessel in the hands of your maker.
Intimacy with God
How can you become a useful vessel without being available? How can God use you when you are far from Him? You see, it is not enough to be cleansed and holy. To become a vessel unto honor, you must be available and ready to attend to God’s work.
The Bible says;
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
James 4:8
You need to draw closer to God to be used by Him. There are three means of drawing close to God, but none can replace the other. These are prayers, Bible study and fasting. You cannot pray effectively without the knowledge of God’s word. That is why you need a Bible study. Also, fasting will help you subject your body under the Spirit’s authority so that you will not walk in the flesh.
Drawing close to God will equip you with the knowledge of your calling and how you ought to do the work of the master as a vessel unto honor.
Do the work of God as a vessel unto honor
After your sanctification and the knowledge of God, the next thing is to do is to start working for God. How do you know God’s work? God’s work is everything that brings pleasure to God and makes him happy is his work.
These are not different from the things that Jesus did when he was on earth. Some of them include; giving alms, preaching the gospel and helping those who are in need. One easy way to do the work of God is to join a volunteer group in your church to render service to the Lord.
As you do these things, let your heart be connected to the Lord. Paul also says in his epistle that all things be done genuinely as unto the Lord. You do not need to be forced to work for God. It should be a sacrifice or, best put, a service that you render with your life.
God is interested in using every believer for his work. He desires that every one of his children will become vessels unto honor and walk worthy of the calling wherewith they have been called. An unclean vessel is not fit for his work, so is the person who is not sanctified.
Commit yourself to doing these four things and you will become a vessel unto honor.
