All Christians are called to strive for humility. Due to its delicate nature, maintaining humility is a great challenge. Claiming to be humble can be a form of pride. Likewise, putting yourself down can lead to self-pity.
As Rick Warren writes, “True humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less.” We strive for selflessness, not self-pity.
Christians use another, perhaps more worrying, phrase to mean humility: “merely a vessel.” We may hear Christians say things like, “It was all God; I am merely a vessel,” or “The church is merely a vessel for God’s glory.” Sometimes, we hear people applying this to important biblical figures: “Mary was merely a vessel, so she is not that important,” or “We attribute too much to Paul. He was just a vessel.”
It’s a common phrase, and it sounds very religious. But is it accurate? Are Christians just merely vessels in the eyes of God, or are they something more?
What Does Merely a Vessel Mean?
Christians agree that we are vessels for God’s glory. God uses us ordinary people for greater purposes. Amy Klesser of Boundless describes being a vessel as “someone completely open to God’s will no matter the cost. . . someone who is willing to be used 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 people who need to be reached.”
We will explore later how this image of being a vessel for God appears in the Bible. First, we must remember the other half of this phrase: what does it mean to be “merely” a vessel?
While no specific definition is set down in print, we see teachers using it the same way. For example, Ryan Shaw of the Global Mobilization Institute states, “The source of . . . spiritual power is not us as disciples, but the result 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 heart” 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 man. . . The man speaks the words and promises of Jesus . . . The man is merely a vessel, empty and worthless except for the words given him by the Gospel.”
So, “merely a vessel” implies that we are only a channel through which God chooses to speak. But is this accurate according to the Bible? Or is it overlooking key details about who we are in Christ?
Does the Bible Say Christians are Vessels?
According to BibleStudyTools.com, the word “vessel” in 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 focus on “weapons,” (1 Sam. 21:8). However, we see a more personal use of the word “vessel” or instrument in New Testament passages:
- “Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every 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 you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body [“possess his vessel” in the KJV] in a way that is holy and honorable. . .” (1 Thess. 4:1-4)
So, it is biblical to say that we are vessels of Christ. We are used for God’s glory to preach the Gospel.
But it is one thing to see that we are vessels. How about “mere vessels”?
Does the Bible Say that Christians are Merely Vessels?
The Cambridge Dictionary describes “mere” as “to emphasize something that is [small] or unimportant.” Furthermore, Merriam-Webster defines it as “being nothing more than” and “being nothing less than.”
Here, we run into a problem. “Merely a vessel” implies that we are unimportant. Regardless of our denomination or tradition, we can agree as Christians that we are not unimportant in God's eyes. We are not cogs in a machine with one lifeless purpose. If we are not unimportant, then what are we to God?
We need to look no further than what God proclaims in Genesis 1:27: “So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
Even after the fall, God goes out of his way to return humanity to him, from the second chance 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 are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10)
- “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. . .” (1 Jn. 3:1)
- “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” (Ps. 139:13-14)
- “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” (Jn. 15:15)
- “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. (Rom. 8:16-17).
Now that we understand who we are in Christ, why do Christians call themselves merely vessels?
Is Calling Ourselves Mere Vessels False Humility?
While it is true that God uses Christians to speak the Gospel, we also remember that we do it as image-bearers. We are given a unique ability to communicate with God, including our individual gifts, talents, and callings. We are all part of the body with unique functions and differences (1 Cor. 12). When we call ourselves mere vessels, we unintentionally water down the talents, gifts, and abilities God has given us.
Yes, we must remember that we all fall short of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23), that apart from Christ, we can do nothing (John 15:5), and that we cannot earn our way through our own merit (Eph. 2:8-10). But this does not make our gifts and talents any less important because we are 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 do not define us, we are called to be faithful to what we have been given until the end. 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 someone to respond, “Wow, I guess it must have been easy, then.” People may be offended, but why? If they were merely vessels, they had no part in the process.
It is understandable and even admirable to avoid idolatry and strive for humility. However, treating ourselves as unimportant, replaceable, or expendable is not a pathway to humility. It leads to low self-esteem.
Does Calling Ourselves Mere Vessels Keep Us From Growing?
Saying that we are merely vessels for Christ presents a subtler problem. If we are merely channels, like inanimate pipes through which God shoots power like water through a hose, then we have no conscious part in the work. This means we cannot think about 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 be careful about who receives church positions, asking whether people’s behavior shows they are growing in their gifts and Christlike behavior (1 Tim. 3, Jm. 3).
We know that we want to serve God. We also know that we are fallible human beings, which means we will make mistakes. We may receive what sounds like a word from God and forget to submit to others to see if it fits Scripture (). We may discover we have a gift and use it without learning how to use it well.
If we are “merely vessels,” we will struggle to admit mistakes and grow from them. To do that, we need an awareness of our strengths and weaknesses, how much we have grown and how much we must keep growing. 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're flawed and have weaknesses, but also recognising what your talents and strengths are. In contrast, having low self-esteem is only viewing yourself as having flaws and weaknesses, and rarely acknowledging your own strengths.”
True humility, recognizing we are all glorious creations, helps us be aware of our gifts. It allows us to grow and use our gifts better because it means we can admit not only when we did something good but also when we made mistakes. Nothing threatens us.
In contrast, low self-esteem keeps us from seeing when God has used us for something great and how we can keep growing in him.
How can Christians Be More Than a Vessel While Remaining Humble?
John R.W. Stott reportedly said, “Pride is your greatest enemy, humility is your greatest friend.” Standing next to pride as a great enemy is low self-esteem or self-pity. Humility is a delicate balance of not being prideful and now being self-neglecting in our gifts, talents, and accomplishments. So, how can Christians become humble here?
C.S. Lewis addresses this idea through satire in his book The Screwtape Letters. In the fourteenth chapter, the demon Screwtape advises a junior demon on how to tempt someone away from true humility. True humility is a “self-forgetfulness” where humans know their skills but don’t have to think about them all the time because they have a larger perspective:
“[God] wants him, in the end, 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 run, to be able to recognize all creatures (even himself) as glorious and excellent things.”
It is not idolatrous for Christians to recognize their gifts and talents, let alone how God uses them. We should be thankful, honored, and proud of the work God has given us. Therefore, we should not downplay our gifts and accomplishments. Rather, we should glorify God by continuing to grow in what he has gifted us, taking pleasure in knowing he chose us specifically for his good work.
Furthermore, we should be honored and proud that we have come a long way in our studies, skill sets, and more since we started. Some work that God gives us takes years to master. Through God, we strive to be our best in what He has given us despite our faults and shortcomings.
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