Angelic Conflict part 84: Angelology 102; Basic facts – 2Ti 2:1-26; Rom 9:21; Mat 21:29; 10:33; Isa 29:16; Psa 90:12.

Title: Angelic Conflict part 84: Angelology 102; Basic facts - 2TI 2:1-26; ROM 9:21; MAT 21:29; 10:33; ISA 29:16; PSA 90:12.

 

2TI 2:19 Nevertheless [despite the false teachers], the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Let everyone who names the name of the Lord abstain from wickedness."

 

The foundation is Christ and from Him come position and potential. The Church, built upon this foundation is made up of honorable and dishonorable vessels resultant from free will.

 

The seal upon the foundation is that the Lord knows who are His. This is the seal of position. Yet, there is another seal of experience - “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord abstain from wickedness.”

 

 “wickedness” - avdiki,a[adikia; negative “a” with “dikia” = righteousness] = unrighteousness, whatever isn’t right, or to do wrong.

 

It is usually translated to do wrong.

 

The foundation is composed of your union with Christ and your equal privilege and equal opportunity to execute God’s plan for your life, which amounts to potential.

 

That’s the foundation (position and potential) and now for the house:

2TI 2:20 Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels [household utensils], but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor.

 

 “honor” - valued or valuable or costly. Literally price paid. Dishonor - not valuable.

 

So we’ve got the precious silverware and the box of plastic forks.

 

God uses all His creatures to His glory, even the false teacher because man can do nothing against the truth only for the truth, yet the diligent pastor and diligent members of the congregation become valuable to Him or honorable.

 

ROM 9:19 You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?"

 

ROM 9:20 On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, "Why did you make me like this," will it?

 

ROM 9:21 Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use, and another for common use?

 

ROM 9:22 What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction [Pharaoh in context who hardened his own heart in the first 5 plagues; we could also include all fallen angels and unbelievers]?

 

God’s omniscience knew who would make the choice to reject God’s provision and yet He created them anyway in order to make His glory known to those who chose to accept God’s provision.

 

ROM 9:23 And He did so in order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory,

 

ROM 9:24 even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.

 

Even the negative believer will be glorified for all of eternity in a resurrection body, though He will not experience God’s glory in his lifetime and will forfeit rewards for time and eternity.

 

2TI 2:20 Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels [household utensils], but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor.

We’re going to anchor ourselves to this next verse and jump around the Bible a bit.

 

2TI 2:21 Therefore, if a man cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.

 

God uses the good silverware, the fine china, the expensive crystal, and He doesn’t keep it in a cabinet for only some occasions.

 

Think of those hard working cherubim who only go in the direction that is commanded by God. However, no believer will only go in the will of God, and in this way we are different from them. But in another way we are different from them is that we are redeemed and atoned for, God is propitiated concerning us, and we are reconciled, and justified. We stand upon our position in Christ. The cherubim were beneath the throne. Every church age believer sits on the throne.

 

Cleanse yourself is from the same root word in 1JO 1:9 in the recovery process and also in:

 

JOH 15:2

"Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit.

 

 “cleanse yourself” - removal or purge of that which is of no use, or of no value, which in context is not isolated sin per se, but entanglement, lip service, apathy, wrangling about words, empty chatter, false doctrines.

 

These pertain to systems of thinking or deep rooted wheel tracks in which a lifestyle is lived that are antithetical to those who belong to the Lord. This lifestyle or system of thinking is not useful to the Master and so the vessel is of no use to Him. One of our Lord’s parables explains this simply and very well.  

 

MAT 21:28 "But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, 'Son, go work today in the vineyard.'

 

MAT 21:29 "And he answered and said, 'I will, sir'; and he did not go.

 

This is lip service - the athlete who does not compete according to the rules.

 

ISA 29:13 Then the Lord said, "Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,

 

ISA 29:14 Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; And the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, And the discernment of their discerning men shall be concealed."

 

ISA 29:15 Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the Lord, And whose deeds are done in a dark place, And they say, "Who sees us?" or "Who knows us?"

 

ISA 29:16 You turn things around! Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, That what is made should say to its maker, "He did not make me";Or what is formed say to him who formed it, "He has no understanding"?

 

MAT 21:30 "And he came to the second and said the same thing. But he answered and said, 'I will not'; yet he afterward regretted it and went [he recovered from wrong thinking].

 

He judged himself, acknowledged wrong thinking, stopped, and changed his thinking to honor his father.

 

MAT 21:31 "Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The latter." Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you that the tax-gatherers and harlots will get into the kingdom of God before you.

 

MAT 21:32 "For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax-gatherers and harlots did believe him; and you, seeing this [he changed the hearts of the people to ready them for the Messiah], did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.

 

In other words, they saw John as a kook running around in the wilderness eating locusts and honey and dressed in animal skins, but then thousands came to be baptized by him in which he preached repentance from legalism and to prepare for the coming Messiah for the kingdom of God is at hand. The water baptism taught them that they came into the world dirty and that the Christ would make them clean. Many believed and were changed and gained hope again in the God of Israel to keep His promise to Abraham and after they saw this they did not regret their first impression.

 

You see, it’s not about getting it right all the time, nobody does, it’s about the humility needed of a student to learn and to acknowledge when he is wrong and have the humility to change his mind as he grows and learns without condemnation about the past mistakes because Christ covered all of those as well as the ones coming in the future.

 

Look at it again:

2TI 2:21 Therefore, if a man cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.

 

 “sanctified” = separated from worldly doctrines, religion, apathy, argumentation, i.e. all opposition to God - uncontaminated by vessels of dishonor.

 

This doesn’t mean separation from others necessarily but separation from the thinking of God’s opposing creatures both men and angels. And if this thinking is within yourself, upon understanding of its flaws, to separate from it in yourself through the recovery process.

 

By choosing the plan of God above the systems and false doctrines of the world and above the strong desires of our own flesh we, by means of grace, for we are sinners who will need to constantly recover from sin, evil, and human good, we will be vessels that are useful to the Master, fully prepared for every good work.

 

In reality the recovery process is a separation from sin, evil, and human good and unto God’s truth. If you still desire sin more than truth then don’t quit on doctrine, rather let God continue to reason with you.

 

If we immediately go back to it and do so consistently then we’re like the Israelites in the OT who were offering animal sacrifice without a change of heart and the process became ritual without reality. If this is true about you then don’t quit listening to doctrine for God wants to reason with you so that you may see the value of separating from the things that are opposed to Him. He didn’t quit on Israel.

 

ISA 1:18 "Come now, and let us reason together,"

Says the Lord,

"Though your sins are as scarlet,

They will be as white as snow;

Though they are red like crimson,

They will be like wool.

 

The reasoning is about the cross; the person and work of Christ, which if understood would humble any person and causes in him a desire for more truth concerning the plan of God.

 

ISA 1:19 "If you consent [to positional truth] and obey [press on in more truth],

You will eat the best of the land;

 

ISA 1:20 "But if you refuse and rebel,

You will be devoured by the sword."

Truly, the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

 

It really and simply boils down to your system of priorities. In your own conscience what is most important and what do you personally consider to be good or bad.