Weekly Bible Study, January 30, 2023, Learning the mystery behind the Potter, the Clay, the Lump and the Vessel. Part 3.

Scripture References, Word & Phrase descriptions: the “Logos Reftagger” scripture links are hover pop-up active, meaning the scripture reference will just pop-up if you hover your cursor over it (don’t click on the link, just hover your cursor over it), when finished reading, hover your cursor off the scripture reference link. If the Reftagger pop-up doesn’t show all the verses, left click on the “More” button in the Reftagger pop-up window and it will take you to the online bible. If RefTagger pop-ups don’t work on your computer, that’s OK, try right clicking the link then open in new tab or window; or if that doesn’t work, you can always use your Bible to look up the verses. Word or Phrase definition links may not have a website that opens.

Preparing yourself for the study of God’s Word

Before we begin, only if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life) John 3:16, John 6:47 as a few examples; it is very important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so the Holy Spirit can teach you as to what your reading or hearing is true or false. To be taught by the Holy Spirit you must be filled with the Holy Spirit which means abiding in Christ. To place yourself in fellowship with God the Holy Spirit [also called abiding in the Christ], take a moment to simply name, cite or acknowledge [confess] your known unconfessed sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father). Why? Because you cannot grow spiritually if you’re not abiding in Christ [in fellowship with Him] when you take in bible truth.

1 John 1:9, says: “If we confess [meaning to simply name, cite or acknowledge to God the Father] our sins [known unconfessed sins], He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [known sins] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [all unknown and forgotten sins];” NKJV [New King James Version]; we call this REBOUND; read the full doctrine as to “why” we need to use 1 John 1:9 to grow spiritually. Left click the following link to learn more and fully understand the doctrine of Rebound; which answers the question, why do I need to keep confessing my sins all the time? REBOUND

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God, the promised Messiah, as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to simply exercise faith alone in Jesus Christ alone eternal life; when you do, you will instantly receive Eternal Life: John 3:16, 5:24, 6:47, 20:30, 31.

John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life." NKJV

Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-15, 16, 17, 18, says: "¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Grace Bible Church Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Doctrinal Statement

The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary: God’s Word is taught Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday

Alphabetical Listing of Terms & Abbreviations used:

STUDY TITLE:

Weekly Bible Study, January 30, 2023, Learning the mystery behind the Potter, the Clay, the Lump and the Vessel. Part 3.

In our study of the Potter, the clay and the vessel, we need to note the potter's wheel as it relates to the plan of God for the human race. Let's begin with a reminder of the Potter's wheel. The potter controls the potter's wheel. This is simply a reminder of Col 1:16-17, For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things have been created by Him and for Him.

Under the concept of the wheel, God’s plan keeps rolling on no matter what. The wheel must turn on an axle and the axle is based upon the justice and the righteousness of God. Because of the angelic conflict, God has designed His plan so that the wheel of the Christian life must turn or spin on the axle of the individual's choice.

It’s important to note what the wheel represents and how it used in the Bible. We have noted in Jer 18:3, that Jeremiah uses the analogy of the wheel as a type that represents the workings of God as He molds and shapes either a person or a nation into the kind of vessel He desires.

Then I went down to the potter's house, and there he was, making something on the wheel. But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make. (Jer 18:3-4)

Here, the wheel represents the training He gives, and sometimes the discipline necessary in order that He may obtain the results He desires to have. In Eze 1:15 Wheels always represent progress, motion, purpose, accomplishment.

Now as I looked at the living beings, behold, there was one wheel on the earth beside the living beings, for {each of} the four of them. The appearance of the wheels and their workmanship {was} like sparkling beryl, and all four of them had the same form, their appearance and workmanship {being} as if one wheel were within another. Whenever they moved, they moved in any of their four directions, without turning as they moved. (Eze 1:15-17)

In this Scripture the wheels represent the power of God in action. The wheel within a wheel in Eze 1:16-18, their appearance and workmanship {being} as if one wheel were within another. This represents the inner motions, purposes and desires of our Lord within Himself. As for their rims they were lofty and awesome, and the rims of all four of them were full of eyes round about.

The rims of these wheels reach unto Heaven to inform us that the purposes and works of GOD are higher than ours, too high for our comprehension. The eyes on the wheels represent the omniscience of the Spirit of God, who knows full well what He is doing, and understands all the purposes of GOD. When it comes to His wheels, you must decide which axle you will use - the one that God has provided or will you invent your own which is some form of self-righteousness. Therefore, in perfect righteousness the justice of God provided man with a free will, so that man is a free agent in determining his own destiny. And he must take the responsibility for his own decisions. Therefore, man cannot blame the mistakes and errors of his own decisions on perfect and incorruptible God.

In Psa 9:17, the psalmist says, The wicked will return to Sheol [grave, abode of death] , {Even} all the nations who forget God. I say that because the reason why Jer 18:4 says, But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; is because Israel as a nation had forgotten God. Jer 2:32, "Can a virgin forget her ornaments, Or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me Days without number. Like the church at Ephesus, in Rev 2:4, “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”

A voice is heard on the bare heights, The weeping {and} the supplications of the sons of Israel; Because they have perverted their way, They have forgotten the Lord their God. “Return, O faithless sons, I will heal your faithlessness. Behold, we come to Thee; For Thou art the Lord our God.” (Jer 3:21-22)

Notice how they became unworthy vessels, “This is your lot, the portion measured to you From Me,” declares the Lord, “Because you have forgotten Me And trusted in falsehood or lies and false doctrine. So I Myself have also stripped your skirts off over your face, That your shame may be seen.” (Jer 13:25-26)

“For My people have forgotten Me, They burn incense to worthless gods And they have stumbled from their ways, From the ancient paths, To walk in bypaths, Not on a highway,” (Jer 18:15)

Notice how many times the indictment was because they had forgotten God. Judah, in the days of Jeremiah, was a nation which had forgotten God. All through the scope of this prophecy, across the forty years or more that Jeremiah ministered to this nation, we are watching a nation being turned into the grave. There was chaos spreading throughout the land. There was corruption widespread in government, morality was constantly declining and evil was infecting the people. The life of the nation, like ours, was gradually becoming more and more hellish -- exactly in accordance with the prediction of the psalmist. Today, as you know, America is a nation which is rapidly forgetting God. We are described in 2Ti 3:1-5.

But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; and avoid such men as these. (2Ti 3:1-5)

Today, we too are watching the phenomenon of a nation which has forgotten God being turned into hell or a grave--with corruption spreading in the land, the moral fiber of our people losing its consistency, the government increasingly unable to govern properly. The institutions of American life being shaken by frequent panics and torn with dissension--all this exactly in line with the prediction of the Scriptures.

The message of Jeremiah is that of a growing revelation of the heart of the God who turns a nation into hell. We hear the judgments of God in this book, but what the prophet is being taught as he goes along is to know the heart of the God of judgment. What a different picture that is! The great message of this book to us is to see what lies behind that which appears to be the ruthlessness of God in dealing with a people, and learning, from chapter to chapter, what kind of God is behind the judgment.

In Chapter 17, Jeremiah was taught two great truths: Jer 17:9, The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?

Jer 18:12, “But they will say, ‘It's hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’”

Jeremiah was also shown a glorious throne set on high from the beginning. A glorious throne on high from the beginning Is the place of our sanctuary. O Lord, the hope of Israel, All who forsake Thee will be put to shame. Those who turn away on earth will be written down, Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, even the Lord. Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; Save me and I will be saved, For Thou art my praise. (Jer 17:12-14)

This is the story behind Jer 18.

The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, “Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I shall announce My words to you.” Then I went down to the potter's house, and there he was, making something on the wheel. But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make. Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter {does}?” declares the Lord.” “Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.” (Jer 18:1-6)

When the person or the people, turn to God, healing begins to come back into that life.

Jeremiah was sent down to the potter's house, and there he saw three simple things but they conveyed to him a fantastic lesson. The art of making a pot has not changed through the centuries. The wheel is now turned by an electric motor, but that is about the only difference. The clay is the same as it has always been. The potter is the same, with his capable hands, guided by his intelligence, working to mold and shape the clay into the vessel he has in mind. Today, there are the same ingredients--the potter, the clay, and the wheel.

What did Jeremiah see in this lesson? First, there was clay. Jeremiah knew, as he watched the potter shaping and molding the clay; that he was looking at a picture of himself, and of every man, and of every nation. We are the clay. So Jeremiah saw the clay being shaped and molded into a vessel. Then some imperfection in the clay spoiled it in the potter's hand, and the potter crumbled it up, and began a new process of shaping it into a vessel that pleased him.

Then I went down to the potter's house, and there he was, making something on the wheel. But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make. (Jer 18:3-4)

Jeremiah saw the wheel turning constantly, bringing the clay against the potter’s hand. That wheel stands for the turning circumstances of our life, under the control of the Potter, for it is the potter’s foot that guides the wheel. The lesson is clear. As our life is being shaped and molded by the Great Potter, it is the circumstances of our life, the wheels of circumstance, which bring us again and again under the potter’s hand. The wheels of divine authority and the circumstances of our life under the pressure of the molding fingers of the Potter, shapes the vessel according to his will.

Then, Jeremiah saw the potter, he knew God was the Great Potter, with absolute right over the clay to make it what he wanted it to be. So Jeremiah, watching, learned that an individual or a nation is clay in the Great Potter's hands. He has a sovereign right to make it what He wants it to be. He has the skill and design to work with the clay and to bring it to pass.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Eph 2:10)

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who has begun in you an absolute good work will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. (Phil 1:6)

For it is God [the Holy Spirit] who is at work in you, both to will [give you motivation] and to work [He gives you the ability to execute] above and beyond His good pleasure. (Php 2:13)

Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. (1Th 5:24)

“For He performs what is appointed for me, And many such decrees are with Him.” (Job 23:14)

Job even realized that the Potter was at work even when it seemed like he wasn't, we call that the silence of God. In Job 23, we have Job's last reply to his friend Eliphaz who has come right out in lambasted Job.

Then Job replied, “Even today my complaint is rebellion and His hand is upon me heavy despite my groaning. Oh that I knew where I might find Him, That I might come to His seat! I would present my case before Him And fill my mouth with arguments. I would learn the words which He would answer, And perceive what He would say to me. Would He contend with me by the greatness of His power? No, surely He would pay attention to me. There the upright would reason with Him and I would be delivered forever from my Judge. Behold, I go forward but He is not there and backward, but I cannot perceive Him;” (Job 23:1-8)

Why? Because God is silent, this is the silence of God!

“When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him; He turns on the right, I cannot see Him. But He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot has held fast to His path; I have kept His way and not turned aside. (Job 23:9-11)

Again, Job is saying to his friends, I am innocent and your accusations are totally wrong!

“I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth [doctrine] more than my necessary food.” (Job 23:12)

That's Job's testimony! This means that Job has the doctrine to deal with what he's going through. We know that because he already passed part 1 of evidence testing and suffering for blessing. He said Job 1:21, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Then he told his nagging wife in Job 2:10, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”

Job has the doctrine, but right now the doctrine is locked up because of interference from his three friends who are being used by Satan to do so! How? They counseled him!

Nothing is more confusing to a person who has doctrine then a lot of counseling from their so-called friends. Since Job is under evidence testing, Satan as the defense attorney has the right of cross examination, and if he desires to use some self-righteous believers to try and get to a mature believer, he has the right to do so. It’s the potter’s right to do so and to allow this. Job regards this as divine neglect and it's merely the period of cross-examination. Neither Job nor his three friends understand how close Job is to that great principle of maximum glorification of God. And he will pass part three of evidence testing and suffering for blessing in spite of the confusion and the maligning of the three critics, his so-called friends. Job needs to realize that the silence of God demands that he utilizes the inventory of his own doctrine resident in his own soul...that’s when believers become great. Do you realize that we live in the dispensation of the silence of God. We live in the dispensation called the Church-age. God does not speak to anyone in this dispensation. Since the Canon of scripture was closed not one person has ever truly heard the voice of God. God now only speaks through His word! What Job had as his testing is the very basis for making the royal family of God strong...it is the doctrine resident in your soul! That is the greatest power in the world today. So that in Job 23:13-17, Job expresses the fact that he doesn’t understand the silence of God.

“But He is unique and who can turn Him? And what His soul desires, that He does. For He performs what is appointed for me, And many such decrees are with Him. Therefore, I would be dismayed at His presence; When I consider, I am terrified of Him. It is God who has made my heart faint, And the Almighty who has dismayed me, But I am not silenced by the darkness, Nor deep gloom which covers me. (Job 23:13-17)

Job fails to recognize that the silence of God is the greatest compliment to the doctrine resident in the soul! The silence of God is actually a compliment to the mature believer.

God speaks through His word and the highest compliment ever given to the royal family is the silence of God as the believer uses the greatest power in the world, Bible doctrine. This is when you can make personal application and throw away the crutches and stop depending on this person and that person for counseling. When you have the doctrine in your own soul, you will stop depending on what other's think! Sooner or later, if it hasn't happened already, you are going to have to face the test of the silence of God.

When that test comes remember that it is a compliment...you have learned the doctrine it's just a matter of it's proper application. Always remember Heb 11:6, And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Faith is that which is needed during the silence of God.

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life: Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Internet Church Service – January 29, 2023; The Angelic Conflict - Part 4 - Point 3. - When and How the Angelic Conflict Began; HD Audio ONLY; with hover pop-up scripture references in Notes.

Please join us as we fellowship in the Word of God, listen to Christian Music, Pray in Christ’s Name, and Praise the Lord Our God in our Hearts and Minds.

ALL ARE WELCOME

from - Romans 8:38-39

Hymn #1

Hymn #2

Preparing yourself for the study of God’s Word

Before we begin, only if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life) John 3:16, John 6:47 as a few examples; it is very important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so the Holy Spirit can teach you as to what your reading or hearing is true or false. To be taught by the Holy Spirit you must be filled with the Holy Spirit which means abiding in Christ. To place yourself in fellowship with God the Holy Spirit [also called abiding in the Christ], take a moment to simply name, cite or acknowledge [confess] your known unconfessed sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father). Why? Because you cannot grow spiritually if you’re not abiding in Christ [in fellowship with Him] when you take in bible truth.

1 John 1:9, says: “If we confess [meaning to simply name, cite or acknowledge to God the Father] our sins [known unconfessed sins], He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [known sins] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [all unknown and forgotten sins];” NKJV (New King James Version); we call this REBOUND; read the full doctrine as to “why” we need to use 1 John 1:9 to grow spiritually. Left click the following link to learn more and fully understand the doctrine of Rebound; which answers the question, why do I need to keep confessing my sins all the time? REBOUND

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins to God; the issue for you is to believe by faith alone in Jesus, The Christ alone for eternal life [salvation] and you will be saved [receive Eternal Life] the very micro second you believe in Him:

John 6:47 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” NKJV

Notice again what John 6:47 says, “he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” It doesn’t say, “will have”; it says, “has.” Therefore, the very moment you believe Jesus Christ’s promise of everlasting life, you have it (it’s really just that simple), and it can never be lost or taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness [Num 21:4-9], even so must the Son of Man be lifted up [the cross], that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for learning God’s Word, if there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Our Pastor-Teacher is:

Robert McLaughlin - Grace Bible Church and Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Terms used by RMBM

Doctrinal Statement

This ministry is non-denominational and is dedicated to teaching the Word of God from the original languages and making it available at no charge throughout the world.

OPTIONAL: On-line Bible – NASB95

Sermon

NOTES

Unlike the bible study, these notes are not just for reading without watching the video. These notes are more designed to follow along during the sermon and to bring up the “hover pop-up scripture references;” if just hover doesn’t work, do a “control-left-click,” if that doesn’t work then look them up in your Bible when the Pastor asks everyone to turn to that passage in their bibles.

Internet Church Service – January 29, 2023; The Angelic Conflict - Part 4 - Point 3. - When and How the Angelic Conflict Began; HD Audio ONLY; with hover pop-up scripture references in Notes.

The angelic conflict began before the creation of the human race, Gen 1:1-2, Jer 4:23-26.

Of all of the creatures to come from the hand of God, Satan was the most beautiful, the wisest, the most personable creature ever created.

Eze 28:13 - Satan did not appear there as a minister of God but as an apostate and venomous serpent eager for the ruin of the new creation.

Nahash [serpent] = “the shining one.” 2Co 11:14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

These precious stones are displayed three times in the Bible:

(a) In the high priest’s breastplate as a manifestation of divine grace.

(b) In the New Jerusalem, which reflects the glory of God.

(c) As the covering of this great angel, which signalizes the highest of all creation.

The workmanship of your settings and sockets = he was given a built-in Royal crown of praise to praise to his Creator. He did not need an instrument to glorify his Creator; he was an instrument of praise.

Eze 28:13 On the day that you were created They were prepared.

Satan’s priestly dignity - he was the Anointed Cherub that covers by God’s appointment. “Anointed” = the Messiah’s angel.

The holy mountain of God is the place of His presence in visible glory, where His High Priest would stand before Him to minister, Exo 4:27, Psa 2:6.

The cherubim were related to the throne of God as protectors and defenders of His holiness. This great angel was created above all angels to be a protector and defender of the throne of God.

Christians under the thinking of Satan are called sons [teknons / students] of the devil, 1Jo 3:10.

1Co 11:19 For there must also be factions among you, in order that those who are approved may have become evident among you.

1Ti 3:6 “And not a new convert, lest he become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.”

“The abundance of your trade” refers to his genius plans.

Rekullah (slander) = to go about in order to traffic something against someone, to slander, to try and destroy someone’s reputation through gossip and slander.

Weekly Bible Study, January 23, 2023, Learning the mystery behind the Potter, the Clay, the Lump and the Vessel. Part 2.

Scripture References, Word & Phrase descriptions: the “Logos Reftagger” scripture links are hover pop-up active, meaning the scripture reference will just pop-up if you hover your cursor over it (don’t click on the link, just hover your cursor over it), when finished reading, hover your cursor off the scripture reference link. If the Reftagger pop-up doesn’t show all the verses, left click on the “More” button in the Reftagger pop-up window and it will take you to the online bible. If RefTagger pop-ups don’t work on your computer, that’s OK, try right clicking the link then open in new tab or window; or if that doesn’t work, you can always use your Bible to look up the verses. Word or Phrase definition links may not have a website that opens.

Preparing yourself for the study of God’s Word

Before we begin, only if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life) John 3:16, John 6:47 as a few examples; it is very important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so the Holy Spirit can teach you as to what your reading or hearing is true or false. To be taught by the Holy Spirit you must be filled with the Holy Spirit which means abiding in Christ. To place yourself in fellowship with God the Holy Spirit [also called abiding in the Christ], take a moment to simply name, cite or acknowledge [confess] your known unconfessed sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father). Why? Because you cannot grow spiritually if you’re not abiding in Christ [in fellowship with Him] when you take in bible truth.

1 John 1:9, says: “If we confess [meaning to simply name, cite or acknowledge to God the Father] our sins [known unconfessed sins], He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [known sins] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [all unknown and forgotten sins];” NKJV [New King James Version]; we call this REBOUND; read the full doctrine as to “why” we need to use 1 John 1:9 to grow spiritually. Left click the following link to learn more and fully understand the doctrine of Rebound; which answers the question, why do I need to keep confessing my sins all the time? REBOUND

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God, the promised Messiah, as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to simply exercise faith alone in Jesus Christ alone eternal life; when you do, you will instantly receive Eternal Life: John 3:16, 5:24, 6:47, 20:30, 31.

John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life." NKJV

Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-15, 16, 17, 18, says: "¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Grace Bible Church Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Doctrinal Statement

The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary: God’s Word is taught Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday

Alphabetical Listing of Terms & Abbreviations used:

STUDY TITLE:

Weekly Bible Study, January 23, 2023, Learning the mystery behind the Potter, the Clay, the Lump and the Vessel. Part 2.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?” And the woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.'” And the serpent said to the woman, “You surely shall not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of Thee in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” And the man said, “The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Gen 3:1-13)

We have noted that the serpent played a role in Eve eating the fruit and Eve played a role in Adam eating the fruit but ultimately, they each made the choice. They didn't have to give in. They were perfect. They had all the power necessary to resist temptation. They were given incentive to stay away. Spiritual death, or to be cut off or separated from God, should have been a good incentive to stay away from something. Besides, they had access to everything else. They just had to stay away from one tree. Adam and the woman had a choice-obey God or disobey God, and they chose to disobey Him. Don't play the blame game with God. We can see from their blaming that in essence they were blaming God for what happened.

Adam was saying in effect, don't blame me; you're the one who put this woman here. If You hadn't done that, I wouldn't be in this mess right now. The woman said in verse 13, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” You can almost picture the woman saying, don't blame me; if you hadn't allowed this nasty serpent to be here, I wouldn't be in this mess right now. And, although it doesn't report them doing this, you can almost see Adam and the woman blaming God for their sin because, after all, He was the One who put the tree there in the first place.

Don't blame us. If you hadn't put that stupid tree right in the middle of the garden like that, we wouldn't be in this mess. They have valid arguments before God right? Remove the tree, no problems. Remove the serpent, no problems. Remove the woman, no problems. However; remove the choice, there's no free will. Remove the free will, there's no glorification of God in the Angelic Conflict, and then SATAN WINS!

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. (James 1:13-16)

So, it's not God's fault, or others fault, or even Satan's fault. Rather it's our evil desire that allows us to be dragged away and enticed. It's our fault, we are to blame. So when we act, or fail to act according to God's will and it doesn't work out, it's God's fault. The reality, however, is we're to blame if we don't seek God's direction or accept God's timing. Often times we're quick to blame God when things go wrong and slow to thank him when things go right.

Man’s irresponsibility and depravity is never more dramatically portrayed than when he seeks to blame God for his own thoughts, his own decisions, and his own actions. No one can say to God, Why have you made me this way? because mankind has his own free will. Man is a free agent, he has self-determination. Mankind, under the influence of Satanic thinking, is always trying to conform God to his human thinking rather than accepting God in terms of divine revelation. Man is always trying to bend God to his own thinking and then saying, “This is God’s will.”

To blaspheme and malign the perfect wisdom and justice of God is the irrational act of a desperate person. Irrational because of after having made hundreds of free will decisions, culminating in judgment, and fallen under the principle of the law of responsibility...they still blame God. God is blamed and maligned for thus shifting the responsibility from their erroneous decisions and blaming it on the sovereignty of God.

So the entire verse says, 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 dishonorable use.

Paul is saying that if God wants to make a vessel of honor and a vessel of dishonor from the same lump of clay, doesn't He have the right to do so? The answer is yes. But that is not the real issue in this passage, the real issue is the issue of the free will of man responding to what is right before God. For the clay does not refer to man as a vessel but in reality, the clay refers to the soul of man, referring to his volition, freewill, and self-determination. The potter refers to God who has, not the right but the divine authority, which mankind's volition, freewill, and self-determination, can respond to or reject. Therefore, we have the following:

Rom 9:20, On the contrary, who are you [the free will of man as the clay and therefore a part of man's soul which functions under the OSN or NN] O man [the entire soul of man], who answers back to God? [the Potter as the divine authority] The thing [man's free will] molded [the free will's response to divine authority] will not say to the molder [the divine authority of God], “Why did you [the authority of God] make me [free will of man] like this,” will it?

Then in Rom 9:21, Or does not the potter [God as the sovereign One] have a right [divine authority] over the clay [the free will of man] to make from the same lump [the entire soul of man] one vessel [man's entire being - body-soul- and for the believer - HS] for honorable use, and another [man's entire being] for dishonorable use?

God has the authority but that isn't the real issue. The real issue is: Does mankind recognize God's authority and make decisions compatible with that divine authority? That is the issue.

The lump of clay is the human volition and human self-determination of the individual. The issue, then, becomes obvious. The justice of God imputes eternal and divine righteousness to positive volition in the lump while imputing condemnation and punishment to the negative volition in the lump. Therefore in this context a vessel of honor is the Jew who has believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, while the vessel of dishonor is the Jew who has rejected the Lord Jesus Christ and has done so from his own free will.

Therefore, the justice of God can only condemn the one who has rejected. The issue is not what we do; the issue is what Christ has done on the Cross. Therefore, believing in the Lord Jesus Christ becomes the issue. The lump, again, is the free will of mankind to believe in Christ or to reject Christ. Man is free to go either way. Therefore the honor is possessing the righteousness of God and eternal life, while dishonor is possessing or depending on one’s own self-righteousness and function in human life. God is free to bless the vessel of honor possessing God’s righteousness, and likewise God is free to judge the vessel of dishonor possessing humaom, On the contrary, who are you [the free will of man as the clay and therefore a part of man's soul which functions under the OSN or NN] O man [the entire soul of man], who answers back to God? [the Potter as the divine authority] The thing [man's free will] molded [the free will's response to divine authority] will not say to the molder [the divine authority of God], “Why did you [the authority of God] make me [free will of man] like this,” will it?

Notice that in grace, God makes all of this impersonal. In His mercy and His grace, He makes it impersonal so that we would not fall under the slavery and bondage of that great culprit called guilt. So, He makes it objective rather than subjective. The thing [man's free will] molded [the free will's response to divine authority] will not say to the molder [the divine authority of God], “Why did you [the authority of God] make me [the free will of man] like this,” will it? This is objective rather than subjective. This is the same way the Lord teaches us from the Old Testament.

For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness. Now these things happened as examples for us, that we should not crave evil things, as they also craved. And do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play.” Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty three thousand fell in one day. Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents. Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. (1Co 10-1-11)

For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Rom 15:4)

Let's make sure we have all of this.

Rom 9:20-21, On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? You [Free will] O man [entire being] back to God? [Potter as the divine authority]. The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? The thing [man's free will] will not say to the molder [the divine authority of God], “Why did you [the authority of God] make me [the free will of man] like this,” will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, the Potter [God] have a right over the clay [the free will of man] to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use, and another for common use? to make from the same lump [the entire soul of man] one vessel [man] for honorable use [man's entire being], and another [man's entire being] for dishonorable use?

Let's begin with the Potter's wheel. The wheel is the plan of God for the human race and it runs upon the axle of imputed righteousness of God.

O Lord, Thou art my God; I will exalt Thee, I will give thanks to Thy name; For Thou hast worked wonders, Plans {formed} long ago, with perfect faithfulness. (Isa 25:1)

“Remember this, and be assured; Recall it to mind, you transgressors. Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; {I am} God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, 'My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure'; Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man of My purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned {it, surely} I will do it.” (Isa 46:8-11)

This means that nothing in the plan of God runs on human righteousness or human ability or human works. In other words, no believer is ever commanded to reinvent the wheel. The wheel is God’s plan or God's decree which has existed from eternity past. God’s plan keeps rolling no matter what. The wheel must turn on an axle and the axle is based upon the justice and the righteousness of God. And, because of the angelic conflict, God has designed His plan so that the wheel of the Christian life must turn or spin on the axle of the individual's choice.

It's important to note what the wheel represents and how it used in the Bible. For example, Jer 18:3 uses the analogy of the wheel as a type that represents the workings of God wherein He molds and shapes either a person or a nation into the kind of vessel He desires.

The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, “Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I shall announce My words to you.” Then I went down to the potter's house, and there he was, making something on the wheel. But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make. Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter {does}?” declares the Lord. “Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy {it;} if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it. Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to build up or to plant {it;} if it does evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will think better of the good with which I had promised to bless it.” (Jer 18:1-10)

Here, the wheel represents the training He gives, and sometimes the whipping necessary in order that He may obtain the result He wishes to have. In Eze 1:15 wheels always represent progress, motion, purpose, accomplishment.

Now as I looked at the living beings, behold, there was one wheel on the earth beside the living beings, for {each of} the four of them. The appearance of the wheels and their workmanship {was} like sparkling beryl, and all four of them had the same form, their appearance and workmanship {being} as if one wheel were within another. Whenever they moved, they moved in any of their four directions, without turning as they moved. As for their rims they were lofty and awesome, and the rims of all four of them were full of eyes round about. (Eze 1:15-17)

In this Scripture the wheels represent the power of God in action. The rims of these wheels reach unto Heaven to inform us that the purposes and works of GOD are higher than ours, too high for our comprehension. The eyes on the wheels represent the omniscience of the Spirit of God, who knows full well what He is doing, and understands all the purposes of GOD.

When it comes to His wheels, you must decide which axle you will use - the one that God has provided, which is +R; or invent your own which is some form of self-righteousness. If you choose self-righteousness you reinvent the wheel, you dictate to God the course of action. So much then for the perfect plan of God which excludes the ability of man, the personality of man, the morality of man, the works of man, the ideas of man, the schemes of man.

Therefore, in perfect righteousness the justice of God provided man with a free will, so that man is a free agent in determining his own destiny. And he must take the responsibility for his own decisions. Therefore man cannot blame the mistakes and errors of his own decisions on perfect and incorruptible God.

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life: Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Internet Church Service – January 22, 2023; The Angelic Conflict - Part 3 - Point 3. - When and How the Angelic Conflict Began; HD Audio ONLY; with hover pop-up scripture references in Notes.

Please join us as we fellowship in the Word of God, listen to Christian Music, Pray in Christ’s Name, and Praise the Lord Our God in our Hearts and Minds.

ALL ARE WELCOME

from - Romans 8:38-39

Hymn #1

Hymn #2

Preparing yourself for the study of God’s Word

Before we begin, only if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life) John 3:16, John 6:47 as a few examples; it is very important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so the Holy Spirit can teach you as to what your reading or hearing is true or false. To be taught by the Holy Spirit you must be filled with the Holy Spirit which means abiding in Christ. To place yourself in fellowship with God the Holy Spirit [also called abiding in the Christ], take a moment to simply name, cite or acknowledge [confess] your known unconfessed sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father). Why? Because you cannot grow spiritually if you’re not abiding in Christ [in fellowship with Him] when you take in bible truth.

1 John 1:9, says: “If we confess [meaning to simply name, cite or acknowledge to God the Father] our sins [known unconfessed sins], He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [known sins] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [all unknown and forgotten sins];” NKJV (New King James Version); we call this REBOUND; read the full doctrine as to “why” we need to use 1 John 1:9 to grow spiritually. Left click the following link to learn more and fully understand the doctrine of Rebound; which answers the question, why do I need to keep confessing my sins all the time? REBOUND

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins to God; the issue for you is to believe by faith alone in Jesus, The Christ alone for eternal life [salvation] and you will be saved [receive Eternal Life] the very micro second you believe in Him:

John 6:47 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” NKJV

Notice again what John 6:47 says, “he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” It doesn’t say, “will have”; it says, “has.” Therefore, the very moment you believe Jesus Christ’s promise of everlasting life, you have it (it’s really just that simple), and it can never be lost or taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness [Num 21:4-9], even so must the Son of Man be lifted up [the cross], that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for learning God’s Word, if there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Our Pastor-Teacher is:

Robert McLaughlin - Grace Bible Church and Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Terms used by RMBM

Doctrinal Statement

This ministry is non-denominational and is dedicated to teaching the Word of God from the original languages and making it available at no charge throughout the world.

OPTIONAL: On-line Bible – NASB95

Sermon

NOTES

Unlike the bible study, these notes are not just for reading without watching the video. These notes are more designed to follow along during the sermon and to bring up the “hover pop-up scripture references;” if just hover doesn’t work, do a “control-left-click,” if that doesn’t work then look them up in your Bible when the Pastor asks everyone to turn to that passage in their bibles.

Internet Church Service – January 22, 2023; The Angelic Conflict - Part 3 - Point 3. - When and How the Angelic Conflict Began; HD Audio ONLY; with hover pop-up scripture references in Notes.

The revelation concerning the angelic conflict begins with the period between the creation of the heavens and the earth, Gen 1:1; and the desolating judgments which ended that period, when earth became waste and empty, Gen 1:2.

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

God has no beginning, He is eternal! The angels were already around before God created the heavens and the earth.

Job 38:4-5 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, who set its measurements, since you know? Or who stretched the line on it?”

Job 38:6-7 “On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars [angels] sang together, And all the sons of God [angels] shouted for joy?”

Job 38:7 - all the angels shouted for joy because they were undivided at that time.

Gen 1:1 - the universe, the heavens and the earth, was originally created as the domain of the angels.

It was between Gen 1:1 and Gen 1:2 that Lucifer rebelled against God and enticed one third of the angels to follow him.

Rev 12:4 And his tail swept away a third of the stars [angels] of heaven,

Along with sin and evil, Satan’s rebellion brought chaos upon the earth.

As part of God’s judgment against the rebellious angels, the planet was enshrouded in darkness. The raging waters of the deep froze into an ice pack, and before the earth could be inhabited again, restoration would be necessary.

Gen 1:2 And the earth became [not was] formless and void [tohuw waabohuw],

Isa 24:1 Behold, the Lord lays the earth waste, devastates it, distorts its surface, and scatters its inhabitants.

Jer 4:23 I looked on the earth, and behold, it was formless and void [tohuw waabohuw]; And to the heavens, and they had no light.

Jer 4:24-25 I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, And all the hills moved to and fro. I looked, and behold, there was no man, And all the birds of the heavens had fled.

Jer 4:26 I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a wilderness, And all its cities were pulled down Before the Lord, before His fierce anger.

Gen 1:2b “and the Spirit of God began to move over the surface of the waters.” This was actually the beginning of God granting Satan’s appeal!

Man was created to be a witness for the justice, righteousness, and love of God, during the angelic conflict.

Man’s occupancy on the earth started long after the creation of the earth.

Man’s occupancy on planet earth didn’t last too long before Adam and the woman fell, and then Satan became the ruler of the world again!

Satan always considers this one of his greatest victories.

Satan is the highest of all angels, and ruler of all fallen angels, Mat 8:28, 9:34, 12:26; Luk 11:18-19.

He is the most beautiful creature to come from the hand of God. He is superior in genius, beauty, personality, and persuasiveness, and is invisible.

He is an organizational genius with a great organization of demons, Eph 6:10-12.

He is the enemy of Bible doctrine. He is the enemy of the Church (Royal Family). He is the enemy of Israel. He is the enemy of Christ.

The king of Tyre was possessed by Satan, just like the serpent in the garden and Judas Iscariot who betrayed our Lord.

“You had the seal of perfection” Of all of the creatures to come from the hand of God, Satan was the most beautiful, the wisest, and the most personable.

He has the greatest mind that any creature has ever had. Only one mind is more intelligent than his - “the mind of Christ,” 1Co 2:16, Phi 2:5.

God offers us the mind of Christ which is much greater than the greatest mind of all time, Satan’s, and the average believer says “NO thank you!”

Rev 12:9 “And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”

He deceives the whole world! Rev 13:14 - he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform.

Rev 18:23 - he deceives the world by using a very popular church in Rome.

Rev 19:20 - he deceives those who had received the mark of the beast.

Rev 20:3 and threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.

If there’s anything that destroys genius, smartness, talent, beauty, or anything else that can be considered worthwhile, it is arrogance.

There is the thought of arrogance, then the decision of arrogance, and then the action of arrogance.

The original sin among angelic creatures is like the original sin among human creatures; it occurred as a decision in perfect environment!

There are three things that you can do without as far as happiness in life is concerned! 1. To be a genius mentally.

2. Physical beauty in some form. 3. Perfect or improved environment.

Degeneracy in any nation, in any society, is merely a manifestation of the fact that people are unhappy.

Happiness comes from truth. Happiness is a state of mind.

He was created an adult with perfect beauty, with the greatest genius of any creature God ever made, and with perfect environment.

Satan was created with perfect beauty and brains, and authority as the Messiah’s personal angel, the guardian of the Messiah - yet his desire was for more POWER.

Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries

All Rights Reserved

Robert R. McLaughlin 2001

Hymn #3

The following link is to a good-news message describing how one can receive eternal life: Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about of their eternal future.

Weekly Bible Study, January 16, 2023, Learning the mystery behind the Potter, the Clay, the Lump and the Vessel.

Scripture References, Word & Phrase descriptions: the “Logos Reftagger” scripture links are hover pop-up active, meaning the scripture reference will just pop-up if you hover your cursor over it (don’t click on the link, just hover your cursor over it), when finished reading, hover your cursor off the scripture reference link. If the Reftagger pop-up doesn’t show all the verses, left click on the “More” button in the Reftagger pop-up window and it will take you to the online bible. If RefTagger pop-ups don’t work on your computer, that’s OK, try right clicking the link then open in new tab or window; or if that doesn’t work, you can always use your Bible to look up the verses. Word or Phrase definition links may not have a website that opens.

Preparing yourself for the study of God’s Word

Before we begin, only if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life) John 3:16, John 6:47 as a few examples; it is very important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so the Holy Spirit can teach you as to what your reading or hearing is true or false. To be taught by the Holy Spirit you must be filled with the Holy Spirit which means abiding in Christ. To place yourself in fellowship with God the Holy Spirit [also called abiding in the Christ], take a moment to simply name, cite or acknowledge [confess] your known unconfessed sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father). Why? Because you cannot grow spiritually if you’re not abiding in Christ [in fellowship with Him] when you take in bible truth.

1 John 1:9, says: “If we confess [meaning to simply name, cite or acknowledge to God the Father] our sins [known unconfessed sins], He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [known sins] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [all unknown and forgotten sins];” NKJV [New King James Version]; we call this REBOUND; read the full doctrine as to “why” we need to use 1 John 1:9 to grow spiritually. Left click the following link to learn more and fully understand the doctrine of Rebound; which answers the question, why do I need to keep confessing my sins all the time? REBOUND

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God, the promised Messiah, as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to simply exercise faith alone in Jesus Christ alone eternal life; when you do, you will instantly receive Eternal Life: John 3:16, 5:24, 6:47, 20:30, 31.

John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life." NKJV

Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-15, 16, 17, 18, says: "¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Grace Bible Church Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Doctrinal Statement

The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary: God’s Word is taught Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday

Alphabetical Listing of Terms & Abbreviations used:

STUDY TITLE:

Weekly Bible Study, January 16, 2023, Learning the mystery behind the Potter, the Clay, the Lump and the Vessel.

In the doctrine of unity, we are told in Rev 2:7, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” For the winner believer Free Will of man + Human volition = self-determination and positive volition toward the divine command from the Potter’s wheel of authority.

So, then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.” So, then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will? 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? (Rm 9:16-20)

When God created man He placed in his soul volition, or free will resulting in self-determination, in order to resolve the angelic conflict. In Gn 1:26 we read, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man [the human race] in Our image.’”

The Hebrew word for image is the noun tselem meaning a resemblance; a representation, a likeness, one’s real but invisible essence. It points to something that is real but invisible and this speaks of God. God, though real, is invisible to us. As members of the human race we all have a soul, but that soul is invisible. No one has ever seen a soul.

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Gn 1:26-27)

God has real essence but His essence is invisible just as your soul is invisible. People see your face, your body, or portions of your body but they cannot see your soul. Your soul shines through in your personality but the soul itself is invisible. Do you realize what is visible to people is the least important part of you? This does not mean to neglect fine grooming. But it is a very important point.

What the human eye sees of self and others is the least important aspect of the person. As 1Sa 16:7 says, God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

This essence is composed of five parts:

1. The self-consciousness, this means that man is aware of his own existence, Lk 1:46, And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord,” 2. The mentality, which is what you think. Self-consciousness is no good without mentality. The mentality is the thinking part of man and is composed of the mind and the heart.

3. The emotion, Lk 12:19, And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years {to come;} take your ease, eat, drink {and} be merry.” This is the appreciator of the soul. Emotion responds or reacts to whatever thoughts are in the soul.

4. The conscience. This is the evaluator of the soul. The conscience contains the norms and standards, (Ac 24:16).

5. The soul also contains volition (Lk 12:19), The volition is the ruler of the soul where man’s free will functions toward all decision making.

Man has the ability to be negative or positive to anything in life. This is why man was created to resolve the angelic conflict, to utilize the soul and control the entire nature of man. This all began in Gn 2:16-17, where we read And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.”

The whole issue is the choice and the free will of man continuing through-out the Old and New Testament and through-out human history. For example, the Lord said to Moses in Deut 30:15-16, “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it.”

God is totally, eternally, and infinitely fair. Therefore, in perfect righteousness the justice of God provided man with a free will, so that man is a free agent in determining his own destiny. And he must take the responsibility for his own decisions. Therefore man cannot blame the mistakes and errors of his own decisions on perfect and incorruptible God. Mankind has been trying to do this ever since the fall in the Garden of Eden. The blame game is simply a defense mechanism to keep us from having to deal honestly with our mistakes.

We have noted many times how Adam blamed the woman in the garden: The eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of Thee in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” And the man said, “The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Gn 3:7-13)

The blame game started being played right after the fall of mankind. One thing I fail to mention from time to time is that, You don’t have to lie to play the blame game. Adam and Eve responded truthfully to God. Eve had given Adam the fruit and the serpent had deceived Eve. So, what they said was true and does have some validity to it.

Adam said, in effect, don’t blame me, I didn’t take the fruit from the tree; she gave me some fruit and I ate it. I wouldn’t have eaten it if it hadn’t been for that woman. The woman – Don’t blame me. I was tricked into eating it. I wouldn’t have eaten it if it hadn’t been for that serpent. So how can they be held responsible? Well, as we will see, when we get back to Rom 9, they knew the rules that God, as the Potter, had as the divine authority over the clay (them).

In Gn 2:16-17, the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.”

They knew that they were not to eat from the tree about which the Lord commanded them, in Gn 3:17. They had a choice. Since they knew the rule, and rule is in the singular because there was just one negative mandate, which was, “Don’t eat from it!” The Lord never said what Satan deceived the woman into believing which was that God had said “You shall not eat from any tree of the garden.” In fact, the Lord said quite to the contrary in Gn 2:16, where the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;”

In Gn 3:1, Satan simply added to the Scriptures which is forbidden in Pr 30:6, Do not add to His words Lest He reprove you, and you be proved a liar. And then, apparently, like many ravishing and stunning woman, she was more than likely captivated with her own beauty, looking around at the Garden, enjoying the trees and the animals of the field, looking at the birds of the sky, all flying by. Perhaps she was even admiring that little snake, who in Gn 3:1, the CET (Contemporary English Translation) says, The snake was sneakier than any of the other wild animals that the Lord God had made.

But most of all she was probably checking out her man, the finest, strongest, most handsome man in the world, looking forward to some wild night in the garden and fulfilling one of her favorite blessings, sex (Gn 2:24). But whatever it was, she was deceived and distracted by it for we read in Gn 3:2-3, her lack of concentration when she said, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it [and then this time she added to the word of God] or touch it, lest you die.’” God never said, Don’t touch it. – She did! She willfully added to the word of God because she did not concentrate on it when it was taught. And the consequence for breaking that divine command from the Potter’s wheel of authority was that they were given fair warning and therefore, left without excuse.

The serpent played a role in Eve eating the fruit and Eve played a role in Adam eating the fruit but ultimately, the choice was each of theirs. They didn’t have to give in. They were perfect. They had all the power necessary to resist temptation. They were given incentive to stay away. Spiritual death, or to be cut off or separated from God, should have been a good incentive to stay away from something. Besides, they had access to everything else. They just had to stay away from one tree. Adam and the woman had a choice-obey God or disobey God, and they chose to disobey Him. Don’t play the blame game with God. We can see from their blaming that in essence they were blaming God for what happened. Adam was basically saying, Don’t blame me; you’re the one who put this woman here. If you hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t be in this mess right now.

You can just picture the woman saying, don’t blame me; if you hadn’t allowed this nasty serpent to be here, I wouldn’t be in this mess right now. And, although it doesn’t report them doing this, you see Adam and Eve blaming God for their sin because, after all, He was the one who put the tree there in the first place. If You hadn’t put that stupid tree right in the middle of the garden like that, we wouldn’t be in this mess.

They have valid arguments before God right? Remove the tree, no problems. Remove the serpent, no problems. Remove the woman, no problems. However; remove the choice and there’s no free will. Remove the free will, there’s no glorification of God in the Angelic Conflict. AND SATAN WINS!

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. (Jm 1:13-16)

It’s not God’s fault, or other’s fault, or even Satan’s fault. It’s our own evil desire that allows us to be dragged away and enticed. It’s our fault, we are to blame. So when we fail to act according to God’s will and it doesn’t work out, it’s God’s fault. The reality, however, is we’re to blame if we don’t seek God’s direction or accept God’s timing. Often times we’re quick to blame God when things go wrong and slow to thank him when things go right. Man’s irresponsibility and depravity is never more dramatically portrayed than when he seeks to blame God for his own thoughts, his own decisions, and his own actions. No one can say to God, Why have you made me this way? Because mankind has his own free will. Man is a free agent, he has self-determination. Mankind under the influence of Satanic thinking is always trying to conform God to his human thinking rather than accepting God in terms of divine revelation. Man is always trying to bend God to his own thinking and then saying, “This is God’s will.”

The quotation from Isaiah 29:16, which Isaiah applied to the nation, Paul applies to the individual Jew and Gentile.

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”? (Is 29:16)

To blaspheme and malign the perfect wisdom and justice of God is the irrational act of a desperate person. Irrational because of after having made hundreds of free will decisions, culminating in judgment, and fallen under the principle of the law of responsibility…they still blame God. God is blamed and maligned for thus shifting the responsibility from their erroneous decisions and blaming it on the sovereignty of God.

So, the entire verse in Rm 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 dishonorable use.

Paul is saying that if God wants to make a vessel of honor and a vessel of dishonor from the same lump of clay, doesn’t He have the right to do so? Yes, but that is not the real issue in this passage. The real issue is the issue of the free will of man responding to what is right before God. The clay does not refer to man as a vessel but in reality, the clay refers to the soul of man, referring to his volition, freewill, and self-determination. The potter refers to God who has, not the right but the divine authority, which mankind’s volition, freewill, and self-determination, can respond to or reject.

Therefore, we have the following: On the contrary, who are you [the free will of man as the clay and therefore a part of man’s soul which functions under the OSN or NN] O man [the entire soul of man], who answers back to God? [the Potter as the divine authority] The thing [man’s free will] molded [the free will’s response to divine authority] will not say to the molder [the divine authority of God], “Why did you [the authority of God] make me [free will of man] like this,” will it? (Rm 9:20)

Or does not the potter [God as the sovereign One] have a right [divine authority] over the clay [the free will of man] to make from the same lump [the entire soul of man] one vessel [man’s entire being – body-soul- and for the believer – HS] for honorable use, and another [man’s entire being] for dishonorable use?

(Rm 9:21)

God has the authority but that isn’t the REAL issue. The real issue is does mankind recognize God’s authority and make decisions compatible with that divine authority? That is the issue. The lump of clay is the human volition and human self-determination of the individual. The issue, then, becomes obvious.

The justice of God imputes eternal and divine righteousness to positive volition in the lump while imputing condemnation and punishment to the negative volition in the lump. Therefore, in this context a vessel of honor is the Jew who has believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, while the vessel of dishonor is the Jew who has rejected the Lord Jesus Christ and has done so from his own free will. Therefore, the justice of God can only condemn the one who has rejected.

The issue is not what we do; the issue is what Christ has done on the Cross. Therefore, believing in the Lord Jesus Christ becomes the issue. The lump, again, is the free will of mankind to believe in Christ or to reject Christ. Man is free to go either way. Therefore, the honor is possessing the righteousness of God and eternal life, while dishonor is possessing or depending on one’s own self-righteousness and function in human life. God is free to bless the vessel of honor possessing God’s righteousness, and likewise God is free to judge the vessel of dishonor possessing human self-righteousness.

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life: Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.