The Holy Ghost in Clay Pots

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." (II Corinthians 4:7). One of the greatest mysteries in the Holy Bible is that the Heavenly Father has chosen human vessels of clay in which to manifest the glory of His kingdom. He could have used unfallen angels, cherubims or seraphims, but He chose to redeem the human family that had fallen into sin and to wear their sanctified flesh as His garments of revelation. There are many reasons we could give the Lord for expressing our disapproval of His decision. But, His wisdom is eternal wisdom that sees the end from the beginning. Eternity will certainly justify His choices and we that humbly obey His will, will rejoice as His jewels in the everlasting city of New Jerusalem.

The Bible never hides the truth about human frailties. Some of God’s greatest prophets made mistakes and were always judged with an equal judgment. Moses did not get to enter the Promised Land, because he struck the rock when God had said, "Speak to the rock." The kingdom of Israel was ripped from the House of Saul when his self-will caused him to become arrogant and disobedient. Some of the saddest stories in literature are found in the Bible. Families that could have known greatness, like Eli’s family, were judged and cast aside because the head of that family (Eli) did not restrain his sons.

If we are going to understand how God has chosen to put His eternal Spirit into clay pots and manifest His glorious presence in the process, we must first understand that it is not a cheap process. God does not show up on Sunday morning and choose some worldly preacher to speak eternal truths with authority and power to redeem. Our Heavenly Father makes His choices after carefully dealing with that soul and proving them under stress and chastisement. Before Abraham became the Father of God’s chosen nation, He required of him the readiness of an ultimate sacrifice. God had proven Abraham on several occasions, but now that Abraham had the promised son in his old age, a final test was important. God spoke, "And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." (Genesis 22:2).

God proved David as he tended his father’s flock on the mountainside and later sent Samuel to anoint the lad as his replacement of rebellious Saul. Israel’s history has been spotted with men and women cast aside because the "clay pot" was too fragile to maintain the excellency of God’s anointing. The present day church has somehow concluded that broken clay pots can still contain the glory of God. It has never been true, nor will it ever be true in the future. Yes, He will send the potter to remake the vessel that, in humility, is presented for repentance and cleansing, but He will not use the haughty that continue in self-will.

If God would cast aside a defiled "clay pot" in the First Testament, is it somehow different in the New Testament? No! The New Testament requirements are just as strict or even stricter. Apostle Paul spoke plainly in his letter to the people of Corinth, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and [that] the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which [temple] ye are. Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness." (I Corinthians 3:16-19). What a joke the church has become to the world because we refuse to expect Biblical requirements for those who say they speak for God.

Holy Ghost Baptism – The Fragrance of Calvary
We must understand why the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is so very important today. Our generation has the same basic need as the first church as is recorded in the Book of Acts. The Lord Jesus promised the anointing of the Holy Ghost to His disciples to enable them to do the very same thing in their ministry that He had begun in His ministry. The Holy Scripture made it extremely clear that Jesus was filled with the Holy Ghost without measure. He was divine in all His person, but also human in all His person. As the Son of Man, He received the anointing of the Holy Ghost that the Spirit in Him might affect the Kingdom of God in the world. As the Son of God, He would redeem man from all his sins, but as the Son of Man, He would set the pattern for His church to follow.

Here are His words to His disciples as He began to teach them of the anointing of the Holy Ghost and what it would accomplish in their lives. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever. Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." (John 14:12-17).

It is absolutely clear that Jesus wanted His disciples to be filled or baptized in the Holy Ghost. It is also clear that He did not want them to begin to emphasize the Holy Ghost in some kind of separate way from Himself. The Baptism of the Spirit had one purpose and that was to continue the ministry of Jesus Christ in their lives. The Lord continued this teaching, as told by John, in three chapters of his gospel account. Look at how Jesus emphasized the Holy Spirit as His vicar or representative. "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you." (John 16:13-14).

The Biblical Holy Ghost baptism will completely flood the believer’s life with the presence and knowledge of Jesus Christ alone. The true Holy Ghost will not ever speak of Himself. The Holy Ghost comes to be the "vicar" of Jesus Christ. He is our intimate link with the Father and the Son and He receives from them and communicates it to us. Every word of truth that flows from the Holy Ghost is truth as manifested in the person of truth, Jesus Christ. The Holy Ghost is called the Spirit of Truth, but He is never called Truth. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6).

Jesus Christ is the fragrance that is manifested by the divine action of the Holy Ghost. When the Lord gave Moses the formula for the art of the apothecary and the oil of anointing, there were five elements to be included. Four of them were principle spices, while one element was olive oil. The four principle spices were all types of the Son of God and only one type was an expression or type of the Spirit. The olive oil was that expression of the Spirit and the purpose of the oil was to combine and manifest the united fragrances of the spices. That presents a perfect picture of the Holy Ghost baptism. He comes from the Father to manifest all the fragrance and beauty of the person of Jesus Christ. The oil is obscure, as the fragrances of Jesus are manifest. (Read Exodus 30:22-33.) This kind of true Pentecost will still turn the world upside down.

Clay Pots Without the Anointing
Our church world is full of beautiful "clay pots" that are all decorated with the world and full of worldly wisdom. Worldly "clay pots" will create a church full of the same, while the revelations and miracles of God go unexperienced. Most of the church world is presently on opposing sides, the false anointing of a contrived "Pentecost" on one side and the cessationates, who deny any supernatural activity at all on the other side. The Charismatic world has created a "New Wave" of religious activity that is almost "Holy Spirit only" in emphasis. They speak almost entirely of the "power of the Holy Ghost" and seek that power with abandonment. The very words, "power of the Holy Ghost" is unbiblical. Apostle Paul said that the gospel is the power of God. (Romans 1:16). The Holy Ghost will anoint that "power of the Gospel," but He will not allow you to call Him the power.

The cessationates, those who believe all miracles have ceased, represent at least half of the Christian church world. These dear people are often extremely sincere, beautiful, and worldly "clay pots," but almost totally void of any anointing for the kingdom. They are very capable of showing what is wrong with the false anointing, but they have no anointing themselves. Many in the Classical Pentecostal Movement, of which I am a part, are ready to condemn the false anointing and the cessationate, but are nothing but empty "clay pots" themselves.

The church at Corinth received a tremendous epistle from Paul to show them the wonderful anointing that must accompany the Gospel to give it wings of authority. The gospel is the fragrance of Christ’s death and victory, but the oil of anointing is intended to manifest that fragrance so the world can be affected. Listen carefully to these powerful words. "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away. How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?" (II Corinthians 3:5-8).

We are nothing but clay pots, making the "bump, bump" sounds of clay until the excellency of God’s presence is upon us for anointing. The Holy Ghost can take that vessel that has the truth in its care and manifest a glory that transforms the hardest sinner and breaks the most stubborn will. This truth is magnified by the words of Jesus to His disciples. They had the world’s greatest teacher for three years, but He told them not to leave Jerusalem until they were endued with anointing from on high. "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts 1:8).

Notice that He said, "ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you." Many have transposed this to say, "when the Holy Ghost is come." No, He said, "after" because it was the glorious result of this anointing, combined with the "power of the Gospel," that set them ablaze for the Lord Jesus. Peter settled this a few days later when the crowd rushed to "hold Him" in esteem because of the lame man’s healing. Peter corrected them quickly, saying, "And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all." (Acts 3:16). The power was not in the experience of Pentecost, but in the "Gospel of Jesus Christ" that this anointing made alive.

There is no life-changing effect in the Gospel until the unction of the Holy Ghost is combined with the Word of God. "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (Ephesians 6:17). The Holy Ghost is inherently as supernatural in His person as are all the members of the Triune Godhead, but He does not act in His own power, but in the power of the Truth, as revealed in the Words of the Gospel. It is Jesus that the Holy Ghost has come to glorify and manifest in the church. Our vessel is His "clay pot" or dwelling place. The Lord Jesus will be revealed when there is a vessel, set apart in purity of grace, available and yielded to His manifestation.

The Manifestation of His Gifts
It is so beautiful to read the inspirations of truth that were used to teach us about the "Gifts of the Holy Spirit." The Apostle Paul made it clear that we do not receive the "gifts", but rather the "manifestation" of the gifts. The gifts are resident in the Holy Spirit; they are His expressions of supernatural abilities that He manifests in the "clay pots" where He has been invited to reside. The expressions of those gifts in us are called manifestations. They are His gifts, but they are only manifest when a vessel is available for Him to use. Every expression of these gifts is administered by the will of the Holy Ghost as He receives them from the Father and the Son. He does not ever give His gifts over to the control of individual persons. He is a guest in our temple and we must willingly welcome every expression of His anointing in our life. The Apostle Paul expressed it like this, "And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets." (I Corinthians 14:32).

These gifts are supernatural in that they manifest the power and wisdom of the Gospel message with ability and authority that is infinitely superior to human ability. When a "word of wisdom" is spoken, those who hear those words will hear truth that inspires and strengthens their souls for the Lord Jesus. The same is true of all nine individual gifts. Listen as the "Spirit of Truth" teaches us about this anointing from the Lord of the Church. "But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will." (I Corinthians 12:11).

You will notice in verses four, five, and six that the Godhead of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are intimately connected in this beautiful ministry of the Spirit. This is a picture of the Holy Ghost, acting as the Spirit of the Father and the Spirit of the Son. These gifts are manifest to give power and authority to the truth in the Gospel that our Father may be exalted in His Son. Every activity of the Holy Ghost will be a supernatural expression of the Word of God. To even suggest that the Father, the Son, or the Holy Ghost will ever act outside the perimeter of the infallible Word is absolute heresy. He is the "Spirit of the Truth" and His sword is nothing but the "Word of God."

The church world has never needed this authority greater than today. Nothing in Scripture suggests that these supernatural manifestations have ceased. The problem with much of our church world is that these gifts have been so utterly distorted and abused that most church people are fearful to invite these expressions of the Spirit. That will vanish when truth is clearly understood. Wild emotions have replaced the beautiful manifestation of His authority in the church. It is up to Bible believers to recover the high ground and then to invite our God to sovereignly visit us in His House again. The Feast of Pentecost did not end fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus Christ; it only started on that date.

The Holy Ghost is God’s Restrainer in our world, but He will be removed to the Throne Room when the Rapture of the Bride is accomplished. The book of Acts and I Corinthians, chapter twelve and chapter fourteen, are just as relevant for today as they have ever been. Do not say too much about a false anointing until you have the true anointing. Remember that there was a manifestation of demonic spirits by the witch doctor of Egypt when Moses was being used to manifest God’s power. Moses did not need to cease his activity and the work of God’s supernatural power. The true anointing immediately defeated the false activity of evil spirits. That is a clear picture of the real anointing defeating Satan’s lying wonders. "Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. And he hardened Pharaoh’s heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said." (Exodus 7:11-13).

Clay Pots Full of the Holy Ghost
We have this treasure in "earthen vessels." This statement is so incredible that my heart explodes with the joy of such a possibility. God is utterly depending on us for His kingdom’s success. His Spirit does not float around in the air or act independent of the human family. We have been created as His agents and family on this earth. Whatever He does to make our world a place of His glory He does in us. Apostle Paul said, "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s." (I Corinthians 6:19-20).

The Lord Jesus redeems us from the enemy of our soul and immediately begins a sanctifying process to make us His dwelling place. There is no neutral ground in the believer’s life. We are either His or we are not His. The Christian life is death to our flesh so that His life might become the treasure of abundant living. Here is the picture of what must happen to the flesh life. "Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh." (II Corinthians 4:10-11).

Are you Ready to Surrender All?
What a life awaits the totally surrendered believer! The flesh dies hard. Sin has made "you" and "me" the center of ourselves. The Lord Jesus comes to change all of that and to make "Him" the center of all. It is not a matter of me trying to duplicate Him; it is a matter of Him duplicating Himself in me. When my "clay pot" is empty of me and yielded up to Him, He will come to reign at the center of my heart and mind. Treasures of His excellent beauty will begin to manifest for both His joy and my joy, but always for His glory.