2 Timothy 2:19- 21 (KJV)
Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.
If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.
From the above scripture, in a great house there are many types of vessels.
The qualification of being a vessel unto honour is stated in verse 21:
If a man therefore purge himself i.e. thoroughly cleanse himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour.
While verse 19 states: let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. *Iniquity here means all unrighteousness, whether with God according to the standard of His holiness and righteousness, or with man, according to the standard of what man knows to be right by his conscience.
We need to cleanse ourselves thoroughly of things that are stopping us of being vessels of honour.
Look again at the scripture; it says if any man purge himself, you are responsible for doing the ?thorough cleaning?, no one will do it for you. The comforting part is : ?if any man?.
This shows that God does not have favourites, anyone can be a vessel unto honour as long as the requirements are meet.
Being diligent to cleanse ourselves thoroughly will cause a person to be:
A vessel of honour
Set apart and useful for the master
Prepared unto every good work.
We need to do the cleansing by whatever God brings across our paths to help us. His Word, His Spirit, Godly people in our life and above all we must be willing to change.
Perhaps you are saying, but God is already using me. Yes,He may but He may only be using you for less than the plan he has for your life. Remember that the scripture says that when we ?thoroughly cleanse? ourselves from these things not ?partially?, we will be prepared unto every good work and not some good work.
God wants us all to be vessels unto honour. Lets glorify Him and do what it takes to get to the place where we can be vessels of honour.
The greater one lives in us and His grace is sufficient to help us.
*Vines expository dictionary of old and new testament words.