Melissa Scott Wescott Christian Center

Pastor Melissa Scott tells us that the same word being used, “the one being potter.” The potter who was in the beginning and I mean that in the sense of God being the boss. When He formed and created; we have a tendency to make this an abstract picture that somehow the clay formed itself. Yo hable espanol. The clay formed itself, right? In Genesis 2 isn’t that what it says? The clay made itself. That’s not what it says. It says, “The one being potter He did this work.” The same thing is being spoken of.

And by the way the pot, the vessel marred in the hand of the potter. It marred itself. It’s not because God pressed too much or did too little or too fast or too quick or… The clay, the vessel marred itself. “What do you mean?” Go back to Genesis, that clay: Adam. That clay: Eve. Marred itself, distrust, disfaith, disobedience. And too many people want to blame God for their circumstance. God, in His purpose, everything is going to take us back to the Book of Ephesians and His purpose. He chose out from among, from others He didn’t choose for Himself, His purpose. And we could go on and fill pages. The Bible’s full of the purpose, God’s purpose. Well I can live with the purpose. I’d like to be more of Him and less of me. I already know that. But do you look at yourself as a vessel of grace? Because until Ephesians 2 again, dead in trespasses and sin. At that point in my life I looked at myself as finished product. Now I look at myself as a vessel that every day, little by little, when it says we’re to crucify the old man. Little by little every day that old nature of me is dying away. Little by little; sometimes very, very little, but little by little being transformed, and this occurrence makes me a vessel of grace. And I find it interesting, as many times as I read this, it didn’t dawn on me that we start with a potter who’s got the wheels. And it says the clay. But he says, the vessel he made of clay. It means while God was doing His work, it transformed itself from a dull, lifeless nothing piece of clay, being transformed into a vessel. And at that point it was marred. It’s very subtle.

and I really like what the Greek does here, because Paul uses flesh twice, sarks twice. One time he uses it and he says, “the lusts, the desires.” And the one time he where it says, “desires” in your King James, it’s saying; let me write it phonetically; it’s saying the thelema. Remember “the will of God” thelema? This is the thelema, the will, which tells you there’s a double happening for everything. The thelema, the will of the flesh; why do you think the Bible says the spirit helps us, but the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak. Where our flesh has a will, it is to cater to me. “Seek pleasure and run from pain.” This is my self-serving thing here. Do for me, be for me, serve me. It’s my will. I am my own ruler in my own territory.

Now I have to tell you something. I was so reluctant to do this because I said so many that have been taught and have heard the teaching will say, “Well I’ve heard this before.” We need to be reminded of it again and the people that are listening for the first time to know this is the condition. Not of some abstract persona out there. Pastor Melissa Scott tells us that this is the condition we’re found in. I don’t care if you were – I love these people who say, “My child was born into the church.” But you child, even though you’re going to raise your child and teach your child and your child will grow up and fill a seat in this building or whatever building we’re in.

That’s not bad. Because it takes good words, choice words, selectively picked to make a poem. But it’s more than that. This word in classical literature was used of a craftsman; and not a handyman, like handy-work, a craftsman, an artisan; something so precise and so down to the last. So when it says we are His workmanship, yes we are – I would go so far as to say this would represent like a masterpiece. Now this word here should say, “having been created.” “Having been created,” ktisthentes meaning something that was previously not what it is.

Pastor Melissa Scott tells us that they give you an example of this word and this is very important because it will color in some of the text. II Corinthians 5:17 the new man in Christ, the new creature in Christ, this is it right here. Something that wasn’t there before, that is now, used exclusively of God’s creation. It could be when God spoke and created something before when there was nothing. Now it is. He spoke and it was. It is. So we are His masterpiece, something that He created that was not before. Lest a lot of people you’re probably like me when you think we’re His workmanship, “All right. I’m special.” Right? Well you are. But it’s God who’s the Specialist and we are His specialty, before I put myself to the front.

He knew when he was addressing these people, this body of believers; he knew he had to first tell them he’s sent, by whom he’s sent. “Let me catalogue all the things the Lord has done for you. Let me narrow it down a little bit. This is my prayer for you. I’m going to narrow it down to three whats. And then I’m going to narrow it down a little bit more to the power that’s in you because that same power raised Christ from the dead. Now…” It’s like “Now concerning the offering.” “Uhh.” Right? “Now you hath He quickened…”

Pastor Melissa Scott tells us that now some of you have been around. You know when you have italics in your Bible it means, “added by the translators.” I have put the Greek on the board. “And” kai humas “you” ontas “being” – I put being as in brackets like that or in quotes – “dead in the” paraptomasin – remember we say that previously, “in the trespasses” – that was good – “and” kai “and in the” hamartias “in the sins of you.” Why, why they put these words added in? Because if you read down in verse 5, it says, “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us” – speaking of God – “with Christ.” Whoever did the translation thought it would flow much better to say, “We’re dead in our condition, but He made us alive.” But, you know what the translators did?

They took the oomph out of it, because this text being read, “And you, being dead.” This by the way “being dead” an adjective, being describing you, me; spiritually dead nekros, “and you being dead in the trespasses and in the sins of you.” “Well let me soften the blow and say, ‘He’s quickened you. He’s made you alive.’” Now that comes later.

“And gave Him to be, gave Him as head over” – literally it should say “over His ekklesia.” It says here the church “gave Him to be head over all the out-called-ones.” Not just two thousand years ago. The same power that raised up Christ from the dead two thousand plus years ago, that same power operating. When it says, “not only in this age, but in the one to come, giving Him authority over everything which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.”

Something tells me if we don’t start working to get people to understand this concept, I cannot do it on my own. And I’m not being helped when you try and sell me some Jesus-junk or a salve to treat me like a child and insult my intelligence. My Lord and Savior that died for me, He sent this Spirit to empower me to become this for His purpose. For His purpose not for mine, that’s why Paul could say, “this is life eternal, not me, I mean I live, yet not I. Christ in me.” that power not Paul, Saul or whomever, but the power of God in us. That comparison. Why do you think brilliant mind Paul who verbally sparred with the greatest philosophers of all time, why do you think he didn’t start with the resurrection? Or better yet, why didn’t he start with Chapter 2 being  Chapter 1? There was no Chapter, but why didn’t he put “you who are dead in trespasses and sin” – why didn’t he start that at the beginning? The mind of Paul, brilliant thinker that he was, he started off by cataloging all, the whole blanket, the whole panoply of what God has done, then he narrows it in a little bit more, and he narrows it in a little bit more until he pinpoints it. This is the place you’re going to. See this big picture here, now keep focusing, it’s a little bit smaller, it’s a little bit smaller. There it is. That power that raised Christ from the dead in you already, giving you the power to be victorious in Christ.

That’s my message.