In God’s Sovereignty He Created us as Vessels of Mercy to Contain Him for His Glory

This week in our special fellowship concerning the world situation and the Lord’s move we come to God’s sovereignty, the divine history within the human history, and the world situation and God’s move to spread His recovery.

We need to see God’s sovereignty; all the events of the world history have been sovereignly arranged by God to carry out His economy. Everything we see that occurs in this world, whether big or small events, world events or local events, and even the events in our personal life, all have been sovereignly arranged by God.

God arranges all things for Him to accomplish His purpose; for this purpose He made an economy, and throughout the ages He arranges the world history and events to carry out His economy. He predetermined the boundaries of the nations and He arranged the rise and fall of the kingdoms so that He may carry out His purpose.

As God’s chosen ones, we need to see the world history from God’s point of view, realizing that God’s move among man is wrapped up in the world history, and God sovereignly arranges everything for Him to carry out His economy.

Whether we speak of God becoming man, His death and resurrection, the spread of the gospel, the raising up of the church life, or the preparation of the bride, all these require a proper arrangement, a proper environment.

We need to be brought up to the heaven by turning to our spirit, and we will see a throne set up in heaven, and on the throne One sitting; this One is sovereign, and He arranges the world situation in a sovereign way.

When we see God’s sovereignty, we will be one with Him to participate in His move for the carrying out of His economy. We need to be made aware of the Lord’s move, and we will be more burdened with what the Lord is doing today in this ultimate world situation.

It is Crucial to see a Vision and have a Proper Understanding of God’s Sovereignty

We need to have a special visitation from God; we need to have the heavens opened and pray to the Lord that we would see a vision of God’s sovereignty. God is sovereign; He not only has glory, honor, and majesty, but He also has sovereignty.

For God to be sovereign means that He has unlimited authority and power. His authority and power are unlimited, and we cannot measure them. It is crucial for us to see a vision of God’s sovereignty and have a clear view and a proper understanding of God’s sovereignty (Rev. 4:2; 5:1; Dan. 4:1-3, 34-35; Rom. 9:19-23).

On our side, we need to be the Lord’s loving seekers, standing on the position of having an intimate and personal fellowship with God so that we may be concerned not only for our things or outward things but be quiet in our heart and focus or heart on the Lord.

We need to silently listen to the Lord in His word, so that He may have a way to open the heavens to us. We need to be those on earth who are like the Lord Jesus, matching His heart, so that we may see God’s sovereignty.

We need to be in our mingled spirit, in a trance, outside of our self, refusing to see things from our human perspective and human point of view – but seeing things from God’s point of view. We need to have an ear to hear what God is speaking, and we will see a vision of God’s sovereignty.

Our seeing of God’s sovereignty is a matter of degree. In the book of Daniel we see how king Nebuchadnezzar had a dream with a great human image, and Daniel gave him the interpretation; the king then recognized God’s sovereignty, but he still went on in the next chapter to build a great image, and then later did many things that showed that he didn’t acknowledge God’s sovereignty.

What is the degree of our knowing of God’s sovereignty? We may know His kingdom, His power, and even His life, but we need to be brought to a point that we are fully humbled, realizing that the heavens rule, and the rise and fall of kings are a result of the heavens ruling.

We need to have a clear view and proper understanding of God’s sovereignty. He has absolute and unlimited right, authority, power, and position over all things, people, and situations (Rev. 4:11; 5:13).

All the things and people and creatures were created because of His will, and He is the One sitting on the throne: He’s in control, He has the absolute right and authority.

As the sovereign One, God is above everything, behind everything, and in everything. Men can think that they control things, and those with human authority may say that they decide things, but it is God who decides, He raises people and lowers others, and He is in control.

We were dead in sins and offenses, but even before time began, God chose us in Christ, predestinating us unto sonship (Eph. 1:4-5); He already had a plan, an economy, an arrangement, for His Son to be expressed in man sons.

But then Satan came, corrupted man…and the Lord Jesus came as God becoming man so that God would have a way to head up all things in Christ (v. 10). We were in a universal heap of collapse, separated and divided, but through regeneration we were saved from rebellion and collapse and we are being headed up in Christ.

God has the full capacity: He is the head, He has the headship and authority, and He can carry out what He wants according to the desire of His heart and according to His eternal economy, so that He may gain many brothers and that God may gain His glory. This is what He is doing in His economy.

Lord, open the heavens to us and grant us a clear sky to see God’s sovereignty. May we have a clear view and proper understanding of God’s sovereignty, realizing that God is on the throne, and He has absolute and unlimited right, authority, power, and position. Praise the Lord, God is on the throne, He is control, and He is sovereign! In His sovereignty, God is above, behind, and in everything, and He has the full capacity to carry out what He wants according to the desire of His heart and according to His eternal economy!

God is Sovereign: He Created us as His Vessels of Mercy to Contain Him for His Glory

Even though the words God’s sovereignty are not used in Rom. 9:19-23, the principle is seen clearly in this portion. God is the Potter, and we are the clay; He is our Creator, and we are His creatures. As God’s creatures, we should not resist His purpose, challenge Him, or answer Him back, for He is the Creator.

How can a pot of clay answer back to the potter, questioning him concerning the shape and size he made it in? God has individually handcrafted and handmade us as our Creator, and He made us in the way, shape, and size that He wanted us to be.

He as the Potter has full authority over us as the clay, and if He wills, he can make one vessel to honor and another to dishonor. This doesn’t depend on our choice: it depends on God’s sovereignty.

According to His predestination, God has sovereignly created us to be His vessels, His containers (see 2 Tim. 2:20-21). Being a vessel unto honor is not a result of our choice – it originates with God’s sovereignty. It is of God’s sovereignty that He makes His glory known by creating us as vessels of mercy to contain Him.

On the other hand, what if God, wishing to demonstrate His wrath and make His power known, would endure with much long-suffering vessels of wrath fitted for destruction?

On the one hand we are vessels of mercy unto glory, but on the other, God tolerates some vessels unto dishonor until He will destroy them – this is God’s sovereignty. God wants to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy – which is us! – which He had before prepared unto glory (Rom. 9:23-24).

God is sovereign; He has the absolute authority and position to make the ones He has selected and called – not only from among the Jews but also from among the Gentiles – vessels of mercy to contain Him in order that His glory may be manifested! Hallelujah!

According to God’s sovereign authority, He has prepared us unto glory: we were predestinated by God’s sovereignty to be His containers, being filled with God to express His glory!

God is behind everything and everyone, and He has the full capacity to carry out what He wants according to the desire of His heart and according to His eternal economy.

What is the desire of God’s heart related to us, His people? God’s desire is to work Himself into us, making us and Him one so that God would be built into man and man would be built into God to become the Body of Christ, a divine-human constitution that expresses God in humanity.

The processed and consummated Triune God is building Himself in Christ into our intrinsic being so that Hem ay gain a constitution that is both divine and human – this is the kingdom of God, the organism of the Triune God, and the organic Body of Christ. Wow, Hallelujah!

Thank You Lord for sovereignly creating us to be Your vessels to contain You for Your glory. Thank You for choosing to make known the riches of Your glory upon us, vessels of mercy, which You have before prepared unto glory! Lord, keep us open to You under Your sovereignty so that You may have a free way to work Yourself into us and be built up together into the divine-human constitution, the Body of Christ, that expresses You in your glory! We just want to be filled with You as our rich content to express You corporately as the organism of the Triune God, the Body of Christ!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by brother James L. for this week, and portions from, The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 11 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Special Fellowship concerning the World Situation and the Lord’s Move, msg. 2 (week 2), God’s Sovereignty, the Divine History within the Human History, and the World Situation and God’s Move to Spread His Recovery.
• Hymns on this topic:
  # Lord, Thou art a potter skilled / And a glorious builder too, / Molding for Thy vessel great, / Building with Thy house in view. / I am both a man of clay / And a new-made living stone, / That Thy vessel I may be / And the temple Thou wouldst own. (Hymns #839)
  # How could God from all His dealings spare us, / After He spared not His only Son? / Could the Potter’s hand upon the vessel / Ever leave the shaping work undone? / For the center of God’s heart’s desire / Is that many brethren we will be / Unto Christ, His precious First-begotten, / And to Him, conformed we’ll fully be. (Hymns #1210)
  # Have Thine own way, Lord, / Have Thine own way; / Thou art the Potter, / I am the clay. / Mould me and make me / After Thy will, / While I am waiting, / Yielded and still. (Hymns #449)