2 Timothy 2:20
A large house contains not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay. Some indeed are for honorable use, but others are for common use.
A large house
The phrase "a large house" can be seen as a metaphor for the church or the Christian community. In the historical context of the early church, the "house" often symbolized the body of believers. The Greek word used here, "oikia," refers to a dwelling or household, suggesting a place of belonging and community. This imagery sets the stage for understanding the diversity and purpose within the body of Christ.

contains not only vessels
The term "vessels" (Greek: "skeuē") refers to implements or containers used for various purposes. In the biblical context, vessels often symbolize people or their roles within the church. This imagery is consistent with other scriptural references where believers are described as vessels for God's use (e.g., Romans 9:21-23). The emphasis here is on the variety and multiplicity of roles within the church.

of gold and silver
Gold and silver are precious metals, often associated with honor, value, and purity. In the ancient world, these materials were used for special purposes and signified wealth and status. Spiritually, they represent believers who are set apart for noble purposes, reflecting the glory and holiness of God. The use of these metals underscores the idea of being refined and valuable in God's service.

but also of wood and clay
Wood and clay, in contrast to gold and silver, are common materials used for everyday purposes. They are less durable and less valuable, symbolizing believers who may not hold prominent positions but are still essential to the functioning of the church. The Greek word for clay, "ostrakinos," suggests fragility and ordinariness, reminding us of the humility and service required in the Christian life.

Some indeed are for honorable use
The phrase "honorable use" (Greek: "timēn") refers to purposes that are noble, esteemed, and worthy. In the context of the church, this implies roles or functions that are publicly recognized and valued. The emphasis is on the dignity and respect associated with serving God in a way that brings honor to His name.

but others are for common use
"Common use" (Greek: "atimian") denotes ordinary, everyday purposes. This does not imply lesser importance but highlights the diversity of roles within the church. Every believer, regardless of their role, contributes to the overall mission of the church. The distinction between honorable and common use serves to remind us that all service to God is valuable, though it may manifest in different forms.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Paul
- The apostle who authored the letter to Timothy, providing guidance and encouragement to his young protégé.

2. Timothy
- A young pastor and close companion of Paul, recipient of the letter, tasked with leading the church in Ephesus.

3. Ephesus
- The city where Timothy was ministering, known for its diverse population and significant Christian community.

4. Vessels
- Metaphorical objects representing people within the church, each with different roles and purposes.

5. Large House
- Symbolic of the church or the body of believers, containing a variety of individuals with different functions.
Teaching Points
Diversity in the Body of Christ
The church is composed of individuals with varying gifts and roles. Each person has a unique purpose, whether for honorable or common use, contributing to the overall function of the body.

Pursuit of Honor
Believers are encouraged to strive for honorable use by living a life of purity and dedication to God's service. This involves personal sanctification and commitment to God's calling.

God's Sovereignty and Human Responsibility
While God assigns roles within the church, individuals are responsible for preparing themselves for service. This involves a balance of divine sovereignty and human effort.

Value in Every Role
Every role within the church, whether seen as honorable or common, is valuable and necessary. Believers should not despise their position but serve faithfully where God has placed them.

Preparation for Service
Just as vessels are prepared for specific uses, believers must prepare themselves through spiritual disciplines, such as prayer, study of the Word, and fellowship, to be ready for God's work.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does understanding the metaphor of vessels in a large house help us appreciate the diversity of roles within the church?

2. In what ways can we prepare ourselves to be vessels for honorable use in our daily lives?

3. How does the concept of God's sovereignty in assigning roles challenge or comfort you in your current position within the church?

4. What practical steps can you take to ensure you are serving faithfully in the role God has given you, whether it seems honorable or common?

5. How can the teachings in 2 Timothy 2:20 inspire us to value and support the different roles and gifts of others in our church community?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Romans 9:21
- Discusses the potter's right to make different kinds of vessels, emphasizing God's sovereignty in assigning roles and purposes.

1 Corinthians 3:12-15
- Talks about building with various materials, highlighting the quality and endurance of one's work in Christ.

2 Timothy 2:21
- Follows up on the metaphor of vessels, encouraging believers to cleanse themselves for honorable use.

1 Peter 4:10-11
- Encourages believers to use their gifts to serve others, reflecting the diversity of roles within the church.

2 Corinthians 4:7
- Refers to believers as jars of clay, emphasizing the power of God working through human frailty.
Conduct in View of Heresy Appearing in the ChurchR. Finlayson 2 Timothy 2:14-26
A Clean VesselF. B. Meyer, B. A.2 Timothy 2:20-21
Fit for UseG. F. Pentecost.2 Timothy 2:20-21
Fitness for the Lord's ServiceJohn Pilhans.2 Timothy 2:20-21
Holiness and ServiceAndrew Murray.2 Timothy 2:20-21
Holy VesselsJ. Barlow, D. D.2 Timothy 2:20-21
Reasons Why You are not UsedF. B. Meyer.2 Timothy 2:20-21
Sanctifted and Meet for the Master's UseH. R. Reynolds, D. D.2 Timothy 2:20-21
The Beauty of Service2 Timothy 2:20-21
The Christian VesselG. Soltan.2 Timothy 2:20-21
The Church a Kingly HouseJ. Barlow, D. D.2 Timothy 2:20-21
The Church in its Visible Aspect Before the WorldT. Croskery 2 Timothy 2:20, 21
The Great House and the Vessels in ItC. H. Spurgeon.2 Timothy 2:20-21
The Holiness of UseS. A. Tipple.2 Timothy 2:20-21
The House and its VesselsE. H. Plumptre, D. D.2 Timothy 2:20-21
The House of God and Utensils of ItT. Taylor, D. D.2 Timothy 2:20-21
The Master's UseW. M. Statham.2 Timothy 2:20-21
The Service of LoveS. F. Smiley.2 Timothy 2:20-21
The Stimulus of HolinessJ. A. Beet.2 Timothy 2:20-21
Various VesselsS. Rutherford.2 Timothy 2:20-21
What Service Might have Been Done by Greater SanctificationC. H. Spurgeon.2 Timothy 2:20-21
People
David, Hymenaeus, Paul, Philetus, Timothy
Places
Ephesus
Topics
Articles, Clay, Common, Dishonor, Dishonour, Earthen, Earthenware, Gold, Honor, Honour, Honourable, Honoured, Ignoble, Large, Noble, Purposes, Silver, Specially, Vessels, Wood, Wooden
Dictionary of Bible Themes
2 Timothy 2:20

     4315   clay
     4333   gold
     4552   wood
     5445   potters and pottery

2 Timothy 2:20-21

     8271   holiness, purpose
     8422   equipping, spiritual
     8442   good works

2 Timothy 2:20-26

     7759   preachers, qualifications

Library
Twenty-Seventh Day. Holiness and Service.
If a man therefore cleanse himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, meet for the Master's use, prepared unto every good work.'--2 Tim. ii. 21. 'A holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices. A holy nation, that ye may show forth the excellences of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.'--1 Pet. ii. 5, 9. Through the whole of Scripture we have seen that whatever God sanctifies is to be used in the service of His Holiness. His Holiness
Andrew Murray—Holy in Christ

"But Ye are not in the Flesh, but in the Spirit, if So be that the Spirit of God Dwell in You. Now, if any Man
Rom. viii. 9.--"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Application is the very life of the word, at least it is a necessary condition for the living operation of it. The application of the word to the hearts of hearers by preaching, and the application of your hearts again to the word by meditation, these two meeting together, and striking one upon another, will yield fire.
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

In Memoriam.
DR. TALMAGE-THE MAN. BY REV. W. S. SWANSON, D.D. [Dr. Swanson was for twenty years a valued member of the English Presbyterian Mission at Amoy, and subsequently Secretary of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church of England until his death, November 24, 1893] My first meeting with Dr. Talmage took place in the early days of July, 1860, and from that day till the day of his death he was regarded as not only one of the best and most valued friends, but I looked up to him as a father
Rev. John Gerardus Fagg—Forty Years in South China

"Most Gladly Therefore Will I Rather Glory in My Infirmities, that the Power of Christ May Rest Upon Me. " -- 2 Cor. 12:9.
"It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him: if we suffer, we shall also reign with Him." -- 2 Tim 2:11,12. "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." -- 2 Cor. 12:9. Compassed about with songs, my soul was still -- But not for lack of light its bliss to see; Thy heart, my Father, could the temple fill, And its deep silence was a song to Thee. My mind reposed in its captivity, By the clear evidence
Miss A. L. Waring—Hymns and Meditations

The victory of the Lamb
"If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him."--2 Tim. ii. 12. J. Heerman, 1647. tr., Emma Frances Bevan, 1899 I go from grief and sighing, the valley and the clod, To join the chosen people in the palaces of God-- There sounds no cry of battle amidst the shadowing palms, But the mighty song of victory, and glorious golden psalms. The army of the conquerors, a palm in every hand, In robes of state and splendour, in rest eternal stand; Those marriage robes of glory, the righteousness of God-- He
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen and Others (Second Series)

Of This, Then, Ye have Now Received, have Meditated...
2. Of this, then, ye have now received, have meditated, and having meditated have held, that ye should say, "I believe in God the Father Almighty." God is Almighty, and yet, though Almighty, He cannot die, cannot be deceived, cannot lie; and, as the Apostle says, "cannot deny Himself." [1765] How many things that He cannot do, and yet is Almighty! yea therefore is Almighty, because He cannot do these things. For if He could die, He were not Almighty; if to lie, if to be deceived, if to do unjustly,
St. Augustine—On the Creeds

Introductory Note to the Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus
[a.d. 130.] The anonymous author of this Epistle gives himself the title (Mathetes) "a disciple [263] of the Apostles," and I venture to adopt it as his name. It is about all we know of him, and it serves a useful end. I place his letter here, as a sequel to the Clementine Epistle, for several reasons, which I think scholars will approve: (1) It is full of the Pauline spirit, and exhales the same pure and primitive fragrance which is characteristic of Clement. (2) No theory as to its date very much
Mathetes—The Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus

Epistle xxxv. To Leontius, Ex-Consul.
To Leontius, Ex-Consul. Gregory to Leontius, &c. Since in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some indeed to honour but some to dishonour (2 Tim. ii. 20), who can be ignorant that in the bosom of the Universal Church some as vessels of dishonour are deputed to the lowest uses, but others, as vessels of honour, are fitted for clean uses. And yet it commonly comes to pass that the citizens of Babylon serve in task-work for Jerusalem, while
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners Or, a Brief Relation of the Exceeding Mercy of God in Christ, to his Poor Servant, John Bunyan
In this my relation of the merciful working of God upon my soul, it will not be amiss, if in the first place, I do in a few words give you a hint of my pedigree, and manner of bringing up; that thereby the goodness and bounty of God towards me, may be the more advanced and magnified before the sons of men. 2. For my descent then, it was, as is well known by many, of a low and inconsiderable generation; my father's house being of that rank that is meanest, and most despised of all the families in
John Bunyan—Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners

The vine and the Branches
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much
J. W. Byers—Sanctification

To the High and Mighty Prince Charles, Prince of Wales.
Tolle malos, extolle pios, cognosce teipsum: Sacra tene, paci consule, disce pati. Christ Jesus, the Prince of princes, bless your Highness with length of days, and an increase of all graces, which may make you truly prosperous in this life, and eternally happy in that which is to come. Jonathan shot three arrows to drive David further off from Saul's fury; and this is the third epistle which I have written, to draw your Highness nearer to God's favour, by directing your heart to begin, like Josiah,
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Concerning the Sacrament of Baptism
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to the riches of His mercy has at least preserved this one sacrament in His Church uninjured and uncontaminated by the devices of men, and has made it free to all nations and to men of every class. He has not suffered it to be overwhelmed with the foul and impious monstrosities of avarice and superstition; doubtless having this purpose, that He would have little children, incapable of avarice and superstition, to be initiated into
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation

That, Namely, Befalleth them which in Undisciplined Younger Widows...
26. That, namely, befalleth them which in undisciplined younger widows, the same Apostle saith must be avoided: "And withal they learn to be idle; and not only idle, but also busy bodies and full of words, speaking what they ought not." [2562] This very thing said he concerning evil women, which we also in evil men do mourn and bewail, who against him, the very man in whose Epistles we read these things, do, being idle and full of words, speak what they ought not. And if there be any among them who
St. Augustine—Of the Work of Monks.

The Apostle Has Made Known to us Certain Three Unions...
23. The Apostle has made known to us certain three unions, Christ and the Church, husband and wife, spirit and flesh. Of these the former consult for the good of the latter, the latter wait upon the former. All the things are good, when, in them, certain set over by way of pre-eminence, certain made subject in a becoming manner, observe the beauty of order. Husband and wife receive command and pattern how they ought to be one with another. The command is, "Let wives be subject unto their own husbands,
St. Augustine—On Continence

It Behoves those who Preside Over the Churches, Every Day but Especially on Lord's Days...
It behoves those who preside over the churches, every day but especially on Lord's days, to teach all the clergy and people words of piety and of right religion, gathering out of holy Scripture meditations and determinations of the truth, and not going beyond the limits now fixed, nor varying from the tradition of the God-bearing fathers. And if any controversy in regard to Scripture shall have been raised, let them not interpret it otherwise than as the lights and doctors of the church in their
Philip Schaff—The Seven Ecumenical Councils

Under the Shepherd's Care.
A NEW YEAR'S ADDRESS. "For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls."--1 Peter ii. 25. "Ye were as sheep going astray." This is evidently addressed to believers. We were like sheep, blindly, willfully following an unwise leader. Not only were we following ourselves, but we in our turn have led others astray. This is true of all of us: "All we like sheep have gone astray;" all equally foolish, "we have turned every one to his own way." Our first
J. Hudson Taylor—A Ribband of Blue

Glorious Predestination
Note, also, that Paul in this chapter has been treating of the sufferings of this present time; and though by faith he speaks of them as very inconsiderable compared with the glory to be revealed, yet we know that they were not inconsiderable in his case. He was a man of many trials; he went from one tribulation to another for Christ's sake; he swam through many seas of affliction to serve the church. I do not wonder, therefore, that in his epistles he often discourses upon the doctrines of foreknowledge,
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 18: 1872

The Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Prodigal Son.
LUKE xv. The three parables of this chapter, like the seven in Matt. xiii., constitute a connected series. As soon as we begin to look into their contents and relations, it becomes obvious that they have been arranged according to a logical scheme, and that the group so framed is not fragmentary but complete. We cannot indeed fully comprehend the reciprocal relations of all until we shall have examined in detail the actual contents of each; and yet, on the other hand, a preliminary survey of the
William Arnot—The Parables of Our Lord

That the Ruler Relax not his Care for the Things that are Within in his Occupation among the Things that are Without, nor Neglect to Provide
The ruler should not relax his care for the things that are within in his occupation among the things that are without, nor neglect to provide for the things that are without in his solicitude for the things that are within; lest either, given up to the things that are without, he fall away from his inmost concerns, or, occupied only with the things that are within bestow not on his neighbours outside himself what he owes them. For it is often the case that some, as if forgetting that they have
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

God's Faithfulness
'Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him.'--DEUT. vii. 9. 'Faithful,' like most Hebrew words, has a picture in it. It means something that can be (1) leant on, or (2) builded on. This leads to a double signification--(1) trustworthy, and that because (2) rigidly observant of obligations. So the word applies to a steward, a friend, or a witness. Its most wonderful and sublime application is to God. It presents to
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Curiosity a Temptation to Sin.
"Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away."--Proverbs iv. 14, 15. The chief cause of the wickedness which is every where seen in the world, and in which, alas! each of us has more or less his share, is our curiosity to have some fellowship with darkness, some experience of sin, to know what the pleasures of sin are like. I believe it is even thought unmanly by many persons (though they may not like to say
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

Answer to Mr. W's Fifth Objection.
5. The consideration that none of these raised persons did or could, after the return to their bodies, tell any tales of their separate existence; otherwise the Evangelists had not been silent in this main point, &c. p. 32. None of these persons, Mr. W. says, told any tales of their separate existence. So I suppose with him. As for the two first: How should they? being only, as Mr. W. says, an insignificant boy and girl, of twelve years of age, or thereabouts. Or if they did, the Evangelists were
Nathaniel Lardner—A Vindication of Three of Our Blessed Saviour's Miracles

"And the Life. " How Christ is the Life.
This, as the former, being spoken indefinitely, may be universally taken, as relating both to such as are yet in the state of nature, and to such as are in the state of grace, and so may be considered in reference to both, and ground three points of truth, both in reference to the one, and in reference to the other; to wit, 1. That our case is such as we stand in need of his help, as being the Life. 2. That no other way but by him, can we get that supply of life, which we stand in need of, for he
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

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