All Christians are called to strive for humility. Due to its delicate nature, maintaining humility is an ideal challenge. Claiming to be humble generally is a type of pride. Likewise, putting yourself down can result in self-pity.
As Rick Warren writes, “True humility isn’t considering less of yourself but considering of yourself less.” We strive for selflessness, not self-pity.
Christians use one other, perhaps more worrying, phrase to mean humility: “merely a vessel.” We may hear Christians say things like, “It was all God; I’m merely a vessel,” or “The church is merely a vessel for God’s glory.” Sometimes, we hear people applying this to necessary biblical figures: “Mary was merely a vessel, so she isn’t that necessary,” or “We attribute an excessive amount of to Paul. He was only a vessel.”
It’s a standard phrase, and it sounds very religious. But is it accurate? Are Christians just merely vessels within the eyes of God, or are they something more?
What Does Merely a Vessel Mean?
Christians agree that we’re vessels for God’s glory. God uses us unusual people for greater purposes. Amy Klesser of Boundless describes being a vessel as “someone completely open to God’s will irrespective of the associated fee. . . someone who’s willing to be utilized by God for whatever purpose He has in mind.”
To go even further, Mike Schmidtz of The Bible in a Year describes being a vessel as “lending yourself to Jesus. It’s actually him who teaches, and we’re just simply at his disposal . . . We’re in some ways a vessel through which God can reach individuals who have to be reached.”
We will explore later how this image of being a vessel for God appears within the Bible. First, we must remember the opposite half of this phrase: what does it mean to be “merely” a vessel?
While no specific definition is about down in print, we see teachers using it the identical way. For example, Ryan Shaw of the Global Mobilization Institute states, “The source of . . . spiritual power isn’t us as disciples, but the results of cultivating a living fellowship with the Person of the Holy Spirit. A ‘witness’ is merely a vessel through whose communication the Holy Spirit can “cut to the guts” of all ethnic groups.”
Similarly, Norm Fisher of Steadfast Lutherans argues that Sunday worship services achieve their effect based on the Word and the spirit, not the pastor: “The thing that makes the worship service work has nothing to do with the person. . . The man speaks the words and guarantees of Jesus . . . The man is merely a vessel, empty and worthless apart from the words given him by the Gospel.”
So, “merely a vessel” implies that we’re only a channel through which God chooses to talk. But is that this accurate in line with the Bible? Or is it overlooking key details about who we’re in Christ?
Does the Bible Say Christians are Vessels?
According to BibleStudyTools.com, the word “vessel” within the Bible has many meanings. Some relate to a physical vessel of the human body and cleanliness (Num. 19:15; Lev. 11:32-34), while others deal with “weapons,” (1 Sam. 21:8). However, we see a more personal use of the word “vessel” or instrument in New Testament passages:
- “Now in an ideal house there should not only vessels of gold and silver but in addition of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what’s dishonorable, he will probably be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the home, ready for each good work.” (2 Tim. 2:20-21)
- “This man is my chosen instrument [vessel in the KJV] to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.” (Acts 9:15)
- “It is God’s will that try to be sanctified: that you must avoid sexual immorality; that every of you must learn to regulate your personal body [“possess his vessel” in the KJV] in a way that’s holy and honorable. . .” (1 Thess. 4:1-4)
So, it’s biblical to say that we’re vessels of Christ. We are used for God’s glory to evangelise the Gospel.
But it’s one thing to see that we’re vessels. How about “mere vessels”?
Does the Bible Say that Christians are Merely Vessels?
The Cambridge Dictionary describes “mere” as “to emphasise something that’s [small] or unimportant.” Furthermore, Merriam-Webster defines it as “being nothing greater than” and “being nothing lower than.”
Here, we run right into a problem. “Merely a vessel” implies that we’re unimportant. Regardless of our denomination or tradition, we will agree as Christians that we should not unimportant in God’s eyes. We should not cogs in a machine with one lifeless purpose. If we should not unimportant, then what are we to God?
We must look no further than what God proclaims in Genesis 1:27: “So, God created man in his own image, within the image of God he created him; female and male he created them.”
Even after the autumn, God goes out of his technique to return humanity to him, from the second probability under Noah (Gen. 6-8) to Christ’s death and resurrection (Jn. 3:16-20).
Let us see how God views humanity in other parts of Scripture.
- “For we’re his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should always walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10)
- “See what sort of love the Father has given to us, that we should always be called children of God; and so we’re. . .” (1 Jn. 3:1)
- “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I’m fearfully and splendidly made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it thoroughly.” (Ps. 139:13-14)
- “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant doesn’t know what his master is doing; but I even have called you friends, for all that I even have heard from my Father I even have made known to you.” (Jn. 15:15)
- “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we’re children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we can also be glorified with him. (Rom. 8:16-17).
Now that we understand who we’re in Christ, why do Christians call themselves merely vessels?
Is Calling Ourselves Mere Vessels False Humility?
While it’s true that God uses Christians to talk the Gospel, we also do not forget that we do it as image-bearers. We are given a singular ability to speak with God, including our individual gifts, talents, and callings. We are all a part of the body with unique functions and differences (1 Cor. 12). When we call ourselves mere vessels, we unintentionally water down the skills, gifts, and talents God has given us.
Yes, we must do not forget that all of us fall wanting God’s glory (Rom. 3:23), that other than Christ, we will do nothing (John 15:5), and that we cannot earn our way through our own merit (Eph. 2:8-10). But this doesn’t make our gifts and abilities any less necessary because we’re called to good works to do good work well (Eph. 2:10; Matt. 5:16; 2 Cor. 9:8; Heb. 10:24-25; Jm. 2:14-26).
While our works and accomplishments don’t define us, we’re called to be faithful to what we’ve got been given until the top. That includes how we view ourselves.
For example, imagine if a ministry surpasses its fundraising or evangelism goal and the CEO says, “It was all God, we were just mere vessels,” only for somebody to reply, “Wow, I suppose it should have been easy, then.” People could also be offended, but why? If they were merely vessels, that they had no part in the method.
It is comprehensible and even admirable to avoid idolatry and strive for humility. However, treating ourselves as unimportant, replaceable, or expendable isn’t a pathway to humility. It results in low self-esteem.
Does Calling Ourselves Mere Vessels Keep Us From Growing?
Saying that we’re merely vessels for Christ presents a subtler problem. If we’re merely channels, like inanimate pipes through which God shoots power like water through a hose, then we’ve got no conscious part within the work. This means we cannot take into consideration how we serve God.
While the Bible emphasizes that our gifts and power come from God, passages like 1 Timothy 4:14 discuss growing in our gifts. It even encourages us to watch out about who receives church positions, asking whether people’s behavior shows they’re growing of their gifts and Christlike behavior (1 Tim. 3, Jm. 3).
We know that we would like to serve God. We also know that we’re fallible human beings, which implies we’ll make mistakes. We may receive what appears like a word from God and forget to undergo others to see if it matches Scripture (). We may discover we’ve got a present and use it without learning how you can use it well.
If we’re “merely vessels,” we’ll struggle to confess mistakes and grow from them. To try this, we’d like an awareness of our strengths and weaknesses, how much we’ve got grown and the way much we must continue to grow. This is fundamentally different from seeing ourselves as “mere vessels,” mindless robots carrying out God’s will. We only find this self-awareness from humility.
As Leslie Tait says, “Being humble is recognising that you simply’re flawed and have weaknesses, but in addition recognising what your talents and strengths are. In contrast, having low self-esteem is just viewing yourself as having flaws and weaknesses, and barely acknowledging your personal strengths.”
True humility, recognizing we’re all glorious creations, helps us pay attention to our gifts. It allows us to grow and use our gifts higher since it means we will admit not only after we did something good but in addition after we made mistakes. Nothing threatens us.
In contrast, low self-esteem keeps us from seeing when God has used us for something great and the way we will continue to grow in him.
How can Christians Be More Than a Vessel While Remaining Humble?
John R.W. Stott reportedly said, “Pride is your biggest enemy, humility is your biggest friend.” Standing next to pride as an ideal enemy is low self-esteem or self-pity. Humility is a fragile balance of not being prideful and now being self-neglecting in our gifts, talents, and accomplishments. So, how can Christians grow to be humble here?
C.S. Lewis addresses this concept through satire in his book The Screwtape Letters. In the fourteenth chapter, the demon Screwtape advises a junior demon on how you can tempt someone away from true humility. True humility is a “self-forgetfulness” where humans know their skills but don’t need to take into consideration them on a regular basis because they’ve a bigger perspective:
“[God] wants him, ultimately, to be so free from any bias in his own favor that he can rejoice in his own talents as frankly and gratefully as in his neighbor’s talents — or in a sunrise, an elephant, or a waterfall. He wants each man, in the long term, to give you the option to acknowledge all creatures (even himself) as glorious and excellent things.”
It isn’t idolatrous for Christians to acknowledge their gifts and abilities, let alone how God uses them. We must be thankful, honored, and pleased with the work God has given us. Therefore, we should always not downplay our gifts and accomplishments. Rather, we should always glorify God by continuing to grow in what he has gifted us, taking pleasure in knowing he selected us specifically for his good work.
Furthermore, we should always be honored and proud that we’ve got come a good distance in our studies, skill sets, and more since we began. Some work that God gives us takes years to master. Through God, we attempt to be our greatest in what He has given us despite our faults and shortcomings.
Photo Credit:©GettyImages/francescoch
Trey Soto holds an M.A. in Communication Management from the University of Denver and B.A. in Communication Studies from Biola University. He is a author, communications expert, and social media managing wizard. You can see more of his work and phone info on his Wix portfolio.
