The Potter and the Clay: The Heart of Idolatry.

Idol.

It’s a dirty word.

Webster defines an idol as “a representation or symbol of an object of worship; a false god.”

God created man to worship Him and Him alone. An idol is anything that is not God that we have elevated to the place that should only be reserved for Him.

Idolatry is a very messy thing. It’s a slippery slope that we all have happily sledded down.

We must recognize the idols in out lives and put them to death. This is something we cannot do on our own, and so we MUST come before God’s throne and beg His help. Our recognition of the our false gods is huge. It is the key to us eliminating our idol worship. When we realize that we have elevated creation above the Creator, we have no choice but to fall to our knees and beg forgiveness. When Adam and Eve sinned in Genesis 3, God cursed them and their offspring (us).

“To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband,
and he shall rule over you.” And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you;
 in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
 for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.”

– Genesis 3:16-19

Sin caused a separation from God. In Eden, man shared harmony and unity with God. Sin was not an issue, thus idolatry was unheard of. Because of sin we are still separated from God and more often than not, give into our passions and desires and the things of this world over the God who created us and created them. Doesn’t this seem backwards? We lie to ourselves all the time, telling ourselves that we know what is best. The part that gets me is the fact that when I lie to myself and tell myself to trust an aspect of creation over God, I know what I am doing is wrong. The Holy Spirit convicts me and I still think I know better.

Who am I to know better than God?

If you are seriously thinking about that question, then a reality check is definitely in order.

“But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.”

- Isaiah 64:8

Does clay question why the potter crafted it into a bowl? Does it wish it were a mug? Why, then, do we constantly think we know better than God and question Him? A bowl doesn’t worship a mug so why do we?

God is holy and righteous. He is the only God. We were crafted by Him and for His purposes. Idolatry is silly, yet very serious. We must never make light of it.

The clay knows its’ relationship to the potter.

We need to know our relationship to our Creator.

My Personal Creed on the Doctrine of God.

I believe:

There is one God (Deut 4:35,39; Isa 45:5; James 2:19) manifest in three persons (Gen 1:26; Isa 6:8; Matt 3:16-17, 28:19): the Father (Luke 15:11-32; Rom 8:15; James 1:17), the Son (Isa 9:6; John 5:18; Rom 8:17), and the Spirit (Matt 3:16-17; John 15:26; Rom 8:16; Eph 4:4-6). All three persons are equally divine (John 10:30; Acts 5:3-4) yet have distinct roles (Matt 3:8-12; John 3:15-17, 6:38-40; Acts 2:1-36).

God has always existed (Gen 1:1; Ex 3:13-16; John 8:56-58; Heb 11:6). He did not create Himself nor was He created by anything else. He is sovereign over everything (Ex 4:21; Deut 10:22; Ps 47:1-4; Matt 6:30; Acts 17:26; James 4:13-15). He is the creator of all things (Gen 1:1-2:25; Psalm 104:24; Jer 27:5; Neh 9:6; Acts 14:15) and therefore is unique from everything He created. God created everything so that He would receive glory, honor, and praise (Isa 43:7; Neh 9:6; Rev 4:1-11).

God is love (Ps 98:3; 2 Chr 6:14; Hos 11:1; John 3:16-17; Rom 8:39; 1 John 3:1). Everything He does comes out of His love for His creation (Gen 1:31, 2:18, 6:1-9:19; Ps 139:17-20; John 1:1-18).

God does not exist within the confines of His creation. He is completely independent in His sufficiency (Deut 10:14; Ps 50:12-13, 121:4; 1 Cor 10:24) yet still relates to people in a personal way (Judg 2:18; 2 Sam 24:16; Ps 34:15; Luke 7:11-16). He is continually and constantly present in all of creation (Ps 139:7-12; Jer 23:23-24; Matt 18:20). He is all knowing (Num 24:16; Ps 147:4-5; 2 Pet 3:18). Has an interpersonal knowledge of His creation (Ps 139:1; Luke 12:7). God is completely powerful (Gen 1:1-2:25, 11:6-8; Matt 19:26; Acts 1:6-7). He is unchangeable (Ps 102:25-27; Mal 3:6).

God continually reveals himself through His creation (Ps 19:1-2; Rom 1:19-20; Col 1:15). God created all people with an inner knowledge of Himself. Many people deny this inner sense of God and in doing so suppress the truth (Rom 1:18, 3:3-4). God is truth (Isa 65:16; Eph 4:20-21).

Through God’s word and His creation we may and do understand limited aspects of who He is (Phil 3:10; 1 John 4:7-8), but we will never fully understand Him (Job 26:14; Ps 145:3, 147:5; Isa 55:8-9; Rom 11:33-34). Furthermore, we will never be able to fully comprehend any single attribute of Him. Every attribute of God is always completely true of Him (Mal 3:6). His being and His attributes are inseparable (Ex 34:5-7).

God is jealous for His honor and glory (Ex 20:5, 34:14; Ezekiel 20:44; Zech 14:9; Hebrews 1:1-14). He is glorified by the expression of His character in His people (Num 25:10-15).

God did not create anything that is evil (Gen 6:5). By His holy nature (Isa 6:3; 1 Peter 1:15-16) He must stand opposed to all that is evil (Gen 6:6; Ex 34:5-7; Job 34:10).