A Vessel of God

Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done – by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. Romans 15:17-18

One of life’s great mysteries is that God chooses to use human beings as instruments of His work. Though He has given man the earth to care for and watch over, it seems it would be so much easier and expedient if He would just do what needs to be done! In reality, He has done all that needs to be done in His Son, but it now needs to be lived out and brought to bear on this fallen world. That is where we as men and as His new creation come into view.

Paul had no difficulty understanding that He was only a vessel of God. The value is not in the vessel, but in the treasure the vessel holds. We are earthen vessels, Paul wrote, who contain a great treasure. The treasure is the life of God, the power of the risen Christ. Because Paul understood this so well, he would never consider boasting in what he had accomplished. He knew that it was God who was working in him and through him.

In a day when men are not content to serve in secret, when people clamor and strive for “ministry”, we must return to the words and heart of Paul. He said, “I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God.” His glory was always in the Son of God; in His life, in His salvation, and in His grace. He desired nothing of worldly fame. He wanted only to be faithful to the Lord.

He also knew that it was the Lord he served first. He served many churches, many people, in countless ways, but ultimately it was the Lord alone Paul served. The power of his servant’s heart was that he had encountered the cross and the finality of its dealings with the self-life. The self-life must end so that Christ may be revealed. Paul understood that and had embraced it many years before.

Ultimately the only thing that can change a man’s heart is the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was this message Paul preached and demonstrated, the Holy Spirit testifying to the truth of his message with signs and miracles.

There is a great dichotomy in the work of God. The source of the life is God’s alone, but the vessel is human clay. He is the treasure, we are the clay pot. But we are allowed the privilege of containing this treasure and of sharing that which is of infinite value with a lost and dying world. As did Paul, we too glory in Christ Jesus in our service to God.

R. Martinez