Yet the firm foundation of God standeth, having this seal: The Lord knoweth them that are His.
And, Let every one that nameth the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness.
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some unto honor, and some unto dishonor.
If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, meet for the Master’s use, prepared unto every good work.
But flee youthful lusts, and follow after righteousness, faith, love, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
Dear Lord, we do thank Thee for loving us so much. Thou dost love us to the end, to the uttermost. We thank Thee for giving Thy Word to us, to strengthen us, to comfort us, and to guide and lead us.
So, Lord, we just commit Thy Word back to Thyself. We trust Thy Holy Spirit to make it living and working in our lives. O Lord, do open our ears, that we may hear; open our understanding, that we may know; touch our spirit, that we may follow Thee. And to Thee be all the glory. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.
About two weeks ago, the Lord turned my heart to that portion that we have just read. I meditated on it, and as I meditated, I was greatly encouraged, strengthened, and comforted.
So this morning, I would like to share what the Lord has spoken to me. And I do hope, brothers and sisters, that your heart will be open and your spirit will be quickened before the Lord, and that you will meditate on the Word of God together with me.
You know, our problem is that we may read the Word of God, but we do not meditate on His Word. And if this is so, we only touch the letter of the Word. The Bible says, “The letter killeth.” We need to touch the Spirit of the Word, because that quickeneth.
Unless we learn to meditate—that is, to dig deep into the Word of God—we will not be able to really touch the Spirit of the Word and be quickened by it. So my prayer before the Lord is, brothers and sisters, I am not here just speaking, and you are not here just hearing.
Oftentimes, we hear and hear, and do not hear. The reason is that we do not take the Word to our heart and meditate upon it. So I hope, by the grace of God, this will not be the case here.
The Apostle Paul wrote this second letter to Timothy. This was his last letter before his martyrdom. He was in a very difficult situation.
Outside, there was fearful persecution from the greatest empire in the world at that time, the Roman Empire. The emperor Nero burned the city of Rome, and he put the blame on the Christians. To be a Christian was a crime, sentenced to death.
The persecution was so fierce that Paul was rearrested after his first imprisonment in Rome for two years. He was brought back to Rome and put in a dungeon, waiting to die.
Because of this outward condition, God’s people drew back. Paul mentioned in this letter that all Asia forsook him. He spent so much time in Asia, and yet they all left him. They dared not stand with him.
During his first defense in Rome, nobody stood by him to be his witness. He was left alone. People were afraid.
And not only that, within the church false teaching was rampant. People even taught that the resurrection was already past, and destroyed the faith of many people.
You know, when he wrote 1 Timothy, he had just been released from his first Roman imprisonment. In that letter, in 1 Timothy 3:15, he said the church is God’s house, the assembly of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
But when he wrote the second letter to Timothy, it was only a few years apart. Things had so degenerated and changed that he could not call the church God’s house, the assembly of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. Instead, he said it is a great house.
Outwardly, it may look great, but inwardly, it was a mixture.
That reminds me of the Old Testament temple. At the time of our Lord Jesus, when our Lord began His ministry, He went into the temple to cleanse it. He said, “This is My Father’s house, and you make it a house of merchandise.” You are making profit for yourselves.
Towards the end of His ministry, He cleansed the temple a second time. He said, “This is a house of prayer for all nations, and you make it a den of robbers.”
Brothers and sisters, when you read 2 Timothy, you get the same impression. The house of God, the Father’s house, a house of prayer for all nations, has now become a house of merchandise, a den of robbers, a great house.
People love themselves: lovers of self, lovers of money, lovers of pleasure, no longer lovers of God and lovers of that which is good, having the appearance of piety without its power. Dangerous days.
And, dear brothers and sisters, in a very, very real sense, our condition is no different—maybe worse—than at the time of the Apostle Paul.
We who are living under such conditions, what should we do? How should we respond? Is there any way that the Lord has shown us? “This is the way; walk ye in it.”
As I meditated upon this, I thanked the Lord because He has given us His Word. He shows us how to behave ourselves under such conditions. And this is my burden: I want to share it with you, dear brothers and sisters.
The Bible says, “Yet the firm foundation of God standeth.” I love that word yet, because it tells us that, in spite of all these circumstances, in spite of all the changes around us, in spite of all the declension and departure from truth—in spite of all these things—yet the firm foundation of God standeth.
You know, to me it is almost like Ephesians 2. You remember how we were dead in sins and transgressions, sons of disobedience, destined for death, with no hope. But the Bible says, “But God, being rich in mercy and love.”
So, dear brothers and sisters, when we see everything around us changing, the firm foundation of God stands. Our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He changeth not.
Everything can be shaken. His throne remains firm. Whatever He has purposed, He will accomplish. Not because of the outward situation does He change His purpose. He will have what He desires.
When everything is changing and decaying, God is our firm foundation.
But I think that “the firm foundation of God standeth” here has a specific application. If you read the context, you will find that this firm foundation of God refers to the foundation of the church.
You remember, in Matthew 16:18, our Lord Jesus said:
Upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
What is the foundation of the church? The Lord Himself. He is the Rock. The foundation of the church is not Peter. Peter is just a little stone to be built on that foundation.
Our Lord Jesus Himself is the Rock, the foundation God has laid for the church. And thank God, that foundation never shakes. It is firm. It always stands. It stands against all the assaults of hell. The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
It does not change a bit. Not because of all those assaults does it alter, change, or lower the standard. No. Why? Because the foundation of the church is none other than Jesus Christ Himself.
Paul, in 1 Corinthians 3, tells us:
For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
So, dear brothers and sisters, we thank the Lord that He is the foundation of the church. Everything may shake. Everything may change. But He changeth not. He is the same yesterday, today, and to the ages to come.
You remember Hebrews 1. The heaven and the earth will change; they will be rolled up. But the Bible says that He remains the same. He never changes.
Hebrews 13 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, yea and forever.” In 2 Corinthians 1, in Him is the Yea, and in Him is the Amen.
So, dear brothers and sisters, I thank the Lord. We thank the Lord because the church is not built on Peter. The church is not built on Paul. The church is not built on anybody else. The church is built on Jesus Christ. He is the foundation.
And this firm foundation stands in spite of all the changes around us. Brothers and sisters, this is our comfort. This is our confidence. Without this, we will falter, we will fall, we will change, we will compromise, we will go with the crowd, and we will be affected by everything outside, swayed by every wind of doctrine.
But thank God, He changeth not. I feel comforted. I thank God for that.
And brothers and sisters, when everything is changing, whom should we look to? He is the only One whom we can look to.
Look off unto Jesus. Do not fix your eyes upon yourself. If you fix your eyes upon yourself, it weakens you.
Do not fix your eyes upon brothers and sisters. If you fix your eyes on brothers and sisters, you will be offended; you will stumble. But do not blame them, because if you had your eyes on the Lord, you should not stumble.
Do not look at anything—any teaching, any system, any wind of doctrine—that will blow you off course.
Brothers and sisters, the only One you can look to and fix your eyes upon, and not shift from Him, is the Lord Jesus. Look at the Lord Jesus. If you look at the Lord Jesus, you will not be offended. You will not stumble.
Whatever your environment may be, whatever your circumstances may be, whatever changes are around you, if you fix your eyes upon the Lord, you are firm. You are able to stand. Otherwise, you will fall.
To put it another way, where is our way out? What is the way that God has shown us when we are under such conditions?
Follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. That is the only way. Follow the Lamb. If we follow the Lamb and are willing to go wherever He goes, we are safe.
You remember in Old Testament times, during the time of Eli, the ark of God was captured by the Philistines. But the ark was able to protect itself, so the ark was sent back to Israel.
But remember, the ark left the tabernacle and never returned to it. When you see the ark and the tabernacle separated, where do you go?
The ark represents the presence of God. The tabernacle, with its great altar, represents God’s work. But when the ark and the tabernacle are separated, where will you go?
Solomon loved God. He went to the great altar at Gibeon to sacrifice, forgetting that the ark was just next to him in Zion. But after the Lord appeared to him, you know what he did? He went to the ark.
Brothers and sisters, follow the ark, not the tabernacle; follow the ark, not the great altar, but the presence of the Lord Himself.
Thank God. Yet the firm foundation of God stands. This is our standing. This is the way that the Lord, in His Word, shows us.
Then it follows: “Having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His.”
Having this seal. We know that a seal in the Bible has significant meaning. Whoever puts his seal over anything shows that that thing belongs to that person.
Thank God, you remember Ephesians 1. We have all been sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise. God has claimed us as His inheritance, and the seal of the Holy Spirit is a guarantee, a down payment. We who have the indwelling Holy Spirit are God’s down payment, saying, “You are Mine, and I am going to make you wholly Mine.”
Thank God, we are all sealed by the Holy Spirit. But the seal here is different.
After God says, “The firm foundation of God standeth”—that is on God’s part—then it follows: “Having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His.”
What does it mean? Of course, all who believe in the Lord Jesus are His. But this is not the meaning here. This meaning is connected with “the firm foundation of God standeth.”
In other words, whoever stands on the firm foundation of God, whoever follows the Lamb wherever He goes, God puts His seal on that person and says, “You are Mine.”
God knows who are His. We are His, and yet sometimes we are not His in a practical sense. We do not know the human heart. Nobody can tell you that you have this seal. Only God knows the heart.
That is the reason why Paul said, “I judge not mine own self before the time,” because God is the only One who judges me. He knows your heart. He knows whether you really stand on the Lord Jesus and nothing else.
He knows if you stand on something else. If that something else is shaken, you too are shaken. He knows who follows the Lamb whithersoever He goeth—not following the Lamb wherever you please, but wherever He goes.
If He goes to Calvary, to the cross, you go too. He knows.
Thank God, in spite of everything visible, God has His hidden ones here and there. He puts His seal upon them and says, “You are Mine.”
How I love to have that seal upon me. It is not enough just to be a believer. We must be His exclusively, wholly, absolutely.
He never fails us. How can we fail Him?
And then it is followed by: “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
It seemed strange to me when I first read it. Everyone who names the name of the Lord—of course we do. All who are saved, all who believe in the Lord Jesus, name the name of the Lord.
And are we not supposed to be those who have already been delivered from iniquity? He has borne our sins, carried away our iniquity, and cleansed us from all our sins and transgressions. Why is it that here you find, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity”?
I asked the Lord about it. I said, “What is it?”
The firm foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knoweth them that are His.” Then follows an open calling. All who name the name of the Lord, including every believer, are called by God to depart from iniquity.
What is iniquity? Iniquity in Scripture means lawlessness. In the New Testament, sometimes it means unrighteousness.
We who name the name of the Lord surely have already departed from lawlessness, from unrighteousness. Of course we have. But have we?
Probably iniquity here has a deeper meaning. Lawlessness has a broader meaning; unrighteousness has a stricter meaning. So I began to meditate on it and search the Scriptures.
Matthew 7 came to me. The Lord said:
Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father who is in heaven.
Many shall come to the Lord and say, “Lord, we have preached in Thy name. We have even cast out demons. We have even done great works of wonder in Thy name.”
And the Lord said:
I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.
Meditate on it. What does it mean? What is lawlessness? We are doing God’s work. We are preaching. We are casting out demons. We are doing great works of wonder. But the Lord does not recognize it. The Lord does not approve it. He is not grateful for it. Instead, He says, “You are workers of iniquity, of lawlessness.” Why?
Because they are doing that in His name, but not in Him—still in their flesh, in their own way.
Lawlessness is against the law of God. Whether it is natural or written, God has His law, God has His principle, and God has His way. If we do not seek the mind of the Lord and do things for God, the Lord says, “You are workers of lawlessness, of iniquity.” Serious.
Then I began to think of Luke 16. There is a steward, and the Lord said he is an unrighteous steward. Why? Because he is using his master’s property to profit himself. Unrighteous.
Therefore, the call is there, brothers and sisters. It is a call to all who name the name of the Lord. We are called to depart from iniquity. Have we answered that call?
The seal comes from God. He seals us. But departing from iniquity is our responsibility. That is what we need to do.
But still, I thought the meaning was not clear. I waited upon the Lord and meditated on it. Then I began to see the application.
Actually, what we have mentioned in the past are all principles. Now you see the application. The application is: “But in a great house.” You see the connection? You see the relationship? The whole thing is related to the church.
But in a great house there are vessels unto honor and vessels unto dishonor. There are vessels of gold and silver; there are vessels of wood and earth. And the Bible says, “If therefore one shall have purified himself from these.”
Now, this word, purify himself, occurs in the New Testament only twice. One occurrence is in 1 Corinthians 5, I think verse 7. You remember, there was a brother who had committed a grievous sin, even a sin that the world did not see, and he remained unrepentant.
And even the whole church did not deal with the situation, as if it were nothing. The Apostle Paul said, “Purge out the old leaven.” That is the first time that word is used.
Here, “purify himself” is the same word as “purge.” It is the second time. Now remember, on the first occasion it has nothing to do with the world; it has everything to do with the church. Purge out the old leaven from the church. Why? Because the church is a pure unleavened loaf unto the Lord.
And yet leaven had come in. If you allow that leaven to continue, it will affect the whole lump. So the Bible says, “Purge out the old leaven.”
Dear brothers and sisters, this man had sinned and was unrepentant. But we know that after he was dealt with, in 2 Corinthians probably that was the man who had repented, and Paul said, “Forgive.”
That is the first occasion. It is within the church. And now the second occasion, in 2 Timothy 2: “Purify yourself from these.”
Who are these? What are these? Not the world. In the great house, there are vessels unto honor and vessels unto dishonor.
Brothers and sisters, we are all vessels. We are not the end of our life, the purpose of our life. We are a means to an end. We are vessels. We are to serve God’s purpose. That is what we are. We ought to do God’s will.
But there are two kinds of vessels in a great house, because the purity has gone. There are vessels unto honor. In the church of God, every vessel is supposed to be unto honor. But now, in a great house, there are vessels unto dishonor.
Vessels unto honor—why? Because they are gold and silver vessels. Vessels unto dishonor—because they are wooden and earthen.
Gold represents the nature of God. Silver represents the redemption of Christ. In other words, these vessels are made of the nature of God; they are the result of the redemption of Christ.
Wood represents the nature of man. Earth represents the work of man. In other words, even though they are the Lord’s and they are vessels for the Lord, yet they live by their own flesh. They live by their own nature instead of the new life of Christ in them. They remain carnal.
And, brothers and sisters, the result is that one is unto honor and one is unto dishonor.
Now I began to ask, “Lord, what do You mean by honor? What do You mean by dishonor?” Does it mean that, being gold and silver vessels, they are honorable? Or does it mean that if they are wooden and earthen, they are dishonorable?
I found that honor or dishonor is connected to the Lord—whether this will honor the Lord or whether it will dishonor the Lord. Not your own honor, but His honor.
If we are earthen and wooden vessels, we dishonor the Lord. Why? Because we do not do His will. We are not serviceable to the Master. We are not sanctified.
But if we are gold and silver vessels, we honor the Lord—suitable for the Master’s use. But, dear brothers and sisters, naturally speaking, we are all wooden and earthen vessels. That is what we were.
It is the grace of God that delivers us from ourselves. The old man was crucified with Christ. All flesh, with its passions and lusts, has been crucified together with Christ.
We are willing to deny ourselves, take up the cross, and follow Him. We dare not have confidence in ourselves. We allow Him, we allow His grace, to work in us and to transform us.
Brothers and sisters, that is what is meant here by departing from iniquity. That is what is meant here by purifying yourself from these. It simply means you will not be content just to live by your own life or to do things for God in your own strength.
You are willing to deny yourself. You do not want to be a vessel unto dishonor. You purify yourself.
The word here is “purify yourself.” You have to take the initiative. You have to have the will to do that. By the grace of God, you see it. For His sake, for His honor, you want to do it.
Brothers and sisters, this is the way of the cross. It is a must.
This is what is meant by purifying yourself from these. It is not to separate yourself physically from other brothers and sisters. No. It is an inward separation.
Other people may; you cannot. You are bound to the Lord.
And if you do that, you will become a vessel unto honor. It is grace. Nobody can boast of it.
So the Bible says, “He shall be a vessel unto honor.” It is up to you. God’s grace is there. The redemption of Christ is there. The power of the Holy Spirit is there.
Now it is up to you. Are you content to be a vessel unto dishonor, earthen and wooden? Or do you have that holy dissatisfaction: “No, I must be a vessel unto honor God”? It is up to you.
What do you mean by a vessel unto honor? It is explained here.
“Sanctified.” Sanctified simply means separated from everything, devoted purely unto God. That is sanctification.
Sanctification is the work of God. It is the work of the Holy Spirit. Sanctification is also our responsibility.
So when you are purifying yourself from these earthen vessels inwardly, in your spirit, you are sanctified. And being sanctified, that is not the goal.
“Serviceable to the Master.” That is what the vessel is for: serviceable to the Master. Not to yourself, not to anybody else—to the Master.
How are you serviceable to the Master? Prepared for every good work.
In the Bible, good work always means one thing: God’s will. That is good work. Anything that is good in human eyes, but not in God’s will, is lawlessness. Remember this.
And when you so purify yourself from these, sanctified, serviceable to the Master, prepared for every good work—whatever the Lord’s will is, you are available. God can use you.
Dear brothers and sisters, and then finally, an exhortation.
“Flee youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart.”
We are all exhorted to flee from youthful lusts. What are these youthful lusts? What are the lusts that are especially open to young people? I do not say that the older ones are completely delivered from them.
But what are these youthful lusts? You go to 1 John 2, and there it says, “Young men, you are strong in the Lord. You have overcome, because the Word of God is in you.”
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vainglory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
If you love the world, the love of the Father is not in you. The world and all these things are passing away.
Dear brothers and sisters, the Bible says, “Flee from youthful lusts.” Do not be so foolish as to think you are strong enough to court it, that you can go into it and not be tempted by it. No one can do that.
The Bible says, “Flee.” Flee from youthful lusts as you flee from a serpent.
How we need to be delivered from the world. Older brothers and sisters, we are not exempted. We need to take this word to heart: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Do not go after these things of the world. They all change. They all pass away. They do not last. But we live for eternity, not for today.
Flee from youthful lusts. That is negative. Then there is a positive: seek, pursue. We need to pursue.
Brothers and sisters, we cannot afford to be complacent, especially as we are living in the last days. How can we just lie back and say, “There is still time. The Lord is not coming yet”? Who knows? He may come today.
He may come at a time when we are not ready. O brothers and sisters, wake up. We are so laid back. We are so occupied with the things of this world. We have our own interests first, and God’s things next or last. God forbid.
This is the time that we should give our lives, be diligent, seek things eternal, and lay hold on eternal life.
Pursuing is with effort. You have to apply yourself, force yourself, stretch yourself, just like Paul says: stretching out towards the goal, the high calling. Are we doing that?
Pursue. What do we pursue? Righteousness, faith, love, peace—not as virtues, but as the character of Christ. Pursue Christ. Win Christ. Gain Christ. May that be our passion.
We cannot go alone. We need our brothers and sisters. So pursue with those who call upon the name of the Lord out of a pure heart.
The Lord is looking for purity. No mixed motive. Purely for Him, nothing for ourselves.
Thank God, He has His hidden ones everywhere. You can find them. Pursue with them.
May we be those who call upon the Lord with a pure heart. This is the day of impurity, a day of mixture, a day of compromise. But the Lord’s calling, the Lord’s desire, is purity—purely for Him.
So, dear brothers and sisters, when I meditated on this portion, I was greatly helped. I repented before the Lord. I looked for His mercy.
And I want, dear brothers and sisters, that we seek the Lord exclusively, purely. He is the only One who is dependable, who never changes. You can trust Him for your eternity.
Let us pray.
Dear Lord, when You look upon us, will we break Your heart, or will we cheer Your heart? Speak to us. Do not let us go. Do not allow us to drift anymore.
Lord, wake us up, that we may count all things but dross for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Lord, we want to win Thee, to gain Thee, because Thou art…