The Artistry Of The Potter• He is a craftsman in every sense of the word

• Compare his output to that of mass production

• He has total control of the process• He has dreams & visions re: the clay• He never takes his eyes of his work• The clay totally yields to his will

God Is The Potter• He truly is all powerful & authoritative• He has dreams & aspirations for His creation• He never takes His eyes off His work

• He is able to work with such “pathetic lumps” of clay Eph 2:1

• He is able to fashion us by His mighty power far beyond we could ever imagine Eph 3:20

God Is The Potter• He has indeed formed us like clay

• We are made from the ground Gen 2:7• All of mankind has been “fashioned” by God

Job 10:8-9 cp. 4:19• He knows His work in every intricate detail

Psa 139:13-16

God Is The Potter• He has formed us not just to exist, but to

exist for a purpose• We are to conform to Christ Rom 8:29• We are to proclaim His “excellencies” because

He has chosen, called us 1 Pet 2:9-10• We are to live holy & blameless lives Eph 1:4

God Is The Potter• He has formed us not just to exist, but to

exist for a purpose• We are to walk in the works He ordained in

Christ long ago Eph 2:10• At last, He longs for us to be clothed with

immortality and be brought home to Him 2 Cor 5:1-10

God Is The Potter• He will never give up His dream for the clay

• We may think at times it is over• He, however, may not be through with us in our

situations• He never grows weary while at the “Potter’s

wheel” cp. Phil 1:6• Even when He must punish sin cp. Rom 8:18-21

Man Is The Clay• In so many ways, we are like the clay

• Obviously, made of clay cp. 2 Cor 4:7• The clay didn’t ask to be made into a pitcher• We don’t ask to be born or to have certain

characteristics (gender, hair color, etc.) cp. Rom 9:20b-21

Man Is The Clay• Yet, in other ways, we are not like the clay

• The clay has no individual will… we do• We can resist the intentions & dreams of our

Potter…thwarting His aspirations for us• O.T. Israel exemplifies this attitude

Psa 78:40-41

Man Is The Clay• How disappointed this Potter must be when

we resist His attempts to fashion us• He is “grieved” when we do not fulfill His

dreams for us cp. Gen 6:6• His plans for us are so selfless• What benefit does He get out of us yielding to

His dreams? Do we “feed His ego?”

Man Is The Clay• How pained this Potter must be when we

disapprove of His plans for us• We think we know more than the Potter knows

cp. Isa 29:13-16• We think we know His will…what is best…

better than He does cp. Rom 9:19-24

Man Is The Clay• How pained this Potter must be when we

disapprove of His plans for us• We must remember that He alone possesses

the right to judge what He alone has made cp. Jer 18:1-12

Man Is The Clay• All should yield to the Potter Isa 64:8

• Whether or not we are believers• Reject the theory that we came from the “ooze”

(Evolution – purely accidental existence… no responsibilities or purpose)

• Embrace the Potter’s will & dreams for you!!

Concluding Observations…• The potter takes a lifeless, formless lump of

clay and through his knowledge, talent, and vision fashions it into a beautiful work of art

• No one saw the outcome in the clay except the one who had dreams and plans for it

Concluding Observations…• God is able, through His omniscience and

omnipotence, to fashion us into something far greater than we could ever produce within ourselves

• Paul knew this 1 Cor 15:9-10 1 Tim 1:12-17• May we come to understand it, too