The Potter’s House

The Potter’s House

Text: Jeremiah 18:1–11
Theme: The importance of the potter’s house (the church house)

Thought of Introduction

God sent Jeremiah to observe a potter at work so that he might learn a spiritual lesson about God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility.
In the illustration:

  • God is the Potter

  • Israel is the Clay

  • Jeremiah is the Preacher

  • The Potter’s House represents the church house — the place where God’s Word, Work, and Way are revealed.

In the church, three things should always take place:
The Word is spoken, the Work is done, and the Way is shown.

I. Words Are Spoken and Heard

“Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.” — Jeremiah 18:2

A. The Word Must Be Spoken and Heard

In the local church, the words of God should be spoken (preached/taught) by the pastor and heard by the congregation.

Romans 10:17 – “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

B. The Words Should Be:

  1. God’s Words – John 8:47

  2. Right Words – Job 6:25

  3. Acceptable Words – Ecclesiastes 12:10

  4. Truthful Words – Ecclesiastes 12:10

  5. Instructional Words – Jeremiah 35:13

  6. Faithful Words – Titus 1:9

C. Illustration

Just as clay must stay under the hand of the potter and on the wheel to be shaped, believers must stay under the mighty hand of God and on the wheel of God’s Word to be sanctified.
The moment the clay resists the pressure, it loses form; the moment the believer resists the Word, he loses direction.

“The Word of God is the anvil that has worn out many hammers.” — Charles Spurgeon

II. Work Is Done

“Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.” — Jeremiah 18:3

A. God’s Work Is Done in the Heart

That’s where business with God takes place.

  1. Philippians 2:13 – “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

  2. Ezekiel 11:19–20

    • Conviction – The clay feels the shaping hand.

    • Belief – The clay yields to the pressure.

    • Confession / Repentance – The clay is remade into something that seems good to the potter.

B. Illustration

A potter doesn’t discard the clay that resists him — he crushes it and begins again.
The remaking process is not cruelty; it is love through chastisement — God’s hand reshaping a marred vessel into a new one.

“God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength.” — Vance Havner

III. The Way Is Shown

“Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.” — Jeremiah 18:11

A. Jesus Is the Way

John 14:6 – “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

  1. The Way to Walk – Jeremiah 42:3; 2 Chronicles 6:16; Psalm 119:1; Proverbs 2:20

  2. The Way to Avoid – Proverbs 4:13–15

  3. The Way of Truth – Psalm 119:30; 2 Peter 2:2

B. The Potter’s House Shows Direction and Correction

  1. A church that does not show the way to walk, the way to avoid, and the way of truth to abide has failed in its mission.

  2. “The church is not a showcase for saints, but a workshop for servants.” — F.B. Meyer

IV. The Will of the Clay

A. Resistance to the Potter

Instead of repentance, Israel resisted the Word of the Lord. Their vessel remained marred (v. 4).
The same responses are often seen in church today:

  1. “I’ve given up!” – Discouragement resists faith.

  2. “I’m going somewhere else!” – Discontent resists correction.

  3. “I’ve got a better idea!” – Disobedience resists submission.

B. The Result of Refusal

When man refuses the potter’s hands, the vessel remains broken.

“I will shew them the back, and not the face.” — Jeremiah 18:17
Those who reject His favor (front side) will face His fury (back side).

Conclusion

The Potter’s house is a place of Word, Work, and Way.
God still desires to shape, smooth, and strengthen His people through the local church.

The question today is not whether God is still forming vessels,
but whether we are still willing to be shaped.

“When I cannot trace His hand, I can trust His heart.” — Charles H. Spurgeon

Jeffrey smith