This lesson uses the metaphor of a bowl to represent a person or their heart. The physical characteristics of a bowl are explored – it is a container designed to hold something, its purpose comes from what is inside it, and it is crafted by a potter (representing God).

Spiritually, God is the Potter who wants to mold and shape us (the clay) into noble “bowls” or vessels for His purposes, using His Word (the water) and trials (the fire) to refine us. There are two types of bowls – those filled with God’s truth and those filled with Satan’s lies.

The goal is to become a “noble bowl” that is cleansed and useful for God’s work, like the Apostle Paul who considered his old ways as rubbish compared to knowing Christ. This requires spiritual “fasting” from Satan’s deceptions and filling ourselves with God’s Word continually.

The church is portrayed as a large bowl containing many individual bowls gathered together. In the end, the angels will separate the “good fish” (righteous) into baskets (churches) and cast out the “bad fish” (wicked). By allowing God’s refining process and filling our hearts with His truth, we can become noble vessels prepared for Christ’s return.

 

Study Guide SCJ Bible Study

Secrets of Heaven: Figurative Bowl

I have put the term “container” in parentheses because it is more of an umbrella term. So terms like “article,” “vessel,” “container,” “bowl,” and “cup” – we will see these words used today. They all refer to the same concept. They are all types of containers that can hold something. So keep this general idea of a “container” in mind.

 

Bowl = Person (person’s heart)

Figurative Bowl (Container)

Main Reference:

So what is said here, the seven angels are given Seven bowls   And these bowls are poured out on. And they contain the wrath of God. So we want to understand this prophecy in Revelation, we first need to understand what the bowl is. And why? Works the way it works.

What it truly contains.

So that we can know when these bowls are poured out and what that actually means what the consequences are of that. So, seven angels are given seven bowls of wrap.

Seven bowls of wrath, seven, angels. Seven bowls. Oh, I can’t wait for us to go over this content in detail. When we get to Revelation.

1. Physical Characteristics of Bowl

What is our famous verse for physical characteristics?

God’s invisible qualities are explained and made known by what He has created.

So let’s briefly look at bowls to understand how they apply spiritually:

 

1.  First, bowls are instruments for containing or holding something. They are designed for this purpose.

2. Second, bowls get their name, use, and purpose from what is inside them. For example, you can have an expensive gold bowl filled with trash – it then becomes an expensive trash can. Or you can have an inexpensive clay bowl containing something precious – this makes it valuable because of its contents, not its physical makeup. When you go to a restaurant, you get named bowls based on their contents – a rice bowl, salad bowl, water bottle, etc. The contents define the purpose of the container.

3. Finally, bowls are crafted by potters and artisans who carefully shape them to be useful vessels. Making pottery requires patience and skill to produce something functional. God often references this process in Scripture for a reason.

 

2. Spiritual Meaning of Bowl

God is our Potter and we are the clay (Isaiah 64:8). Just as a potter takes clay and turns it into a bowl, this verse says that God is the Potter and we are the clay – we people. So then, what is God wanting to turn us into? How does He want to form us and create us? The clay is just the starting point, but it should not be the point at which we remain. Because we do not want to be the ones who are from dust, and to dust return spiritually. Let us be the ones who remain the way that God wants to form us. 

So let’s look at the actual process of how bowls are made, because it will really show us how God intends to mold each and every one of us. Many things, as they begin, start as raw materials. For a bowl, the raw material is clay. Clay is essentially dust particles that have been formed together. So clay or dust is clay particles that have separated. This is the starting point for us all – clay or dust. But in order for the clay and dust to be made useful, it must go through a process. That process begins with:

Water. Using water, a skilled potter can turn the clay into many different forms. So what water is God going to use to form us? What water is God going to use to form us? His Word. As Scripture says…

We’ll have a whole lesson on figurative water to come later. It’s a very deep topic. This is just a preview. But this analogy makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it? God takes us and begins to mold us using His Word. And His Word changes us. It guides us, nurtures us, and cleanses us.  

But is the bowl finished at this point? No. It is still soft and squishy. You can easily break it with very little effort. It is not done yet. It now has to be refined. And what is used to refine the bowl, to make it permanent?  

Fire is used next. It is the fire that will refine the clay, burning out the impurities, and hardening it into a useful, solid material. This process is deeply uncomfortable. But it is necessary. So then, what is the fire that God uses to refine us and purify us to solidify us?

It is through trials and tribulations that God refines us, as described in His Word. We also learn from Scripture how to overcome those trials and tribulations. God uses His Word to inform us about how to prevail during difficult times.

Fire can serve two purposes. It can either refine or destroy. Fire heats, cooks, prepares, and refines, or it judges and ruins. We should strive to be refined by God’s fire, which is His Word. As mentioned, God allows us to endure trials so that we can mature and be strengthened. However, we only mature through absorbing the Word, which anchors us firmly in place.

When anchored by the Word, we are no longer malleable, easily swayed by whatever comes our way. Unrefined clay squishes instantly when pressed. In contrast, clay that has undergone the refining process holds its shape. Likewise, when anchored in the Word, Satan’s attacks bounce off us. Let us become firm and useful through the refining process.

Finally, the bowl is ready to serve its purpose after refinement. This explains why God uses the metaphor of a bowl to describe us. He intends for us to become noble bolws. With this context established, let us examine what Scripture says about Christians becoming noble bowls. We will begin by turning to the book of Romans.

This passage emphasizes God’s authority as the Potter. It asks, does the Potter have the right to make different types of pottery out of the same lump of clay for different purposes? There are two purposes mentioned – noble use and common use. 

Common use refers to everyday dishes like dinner plates, forks and spoons. Noble use refers to fine china used only on special occasions, consecrated for those times. From God’s perspective, which type of pottery would we rather be – common that can be discarded or noble that is set aside?

The text also mentions vessels prepared for destruction to showcase God’s wrath and power, contrasted with vessels of mercy prepared for glory, to display the riches of His glory. Let us strive to be those prepared for glory rather than destruction.

God calls both Jews and Gentiles. He makes us into figurative bowls or vessels. However, some vessels are chosen for holy purposes while others are for common use. What does it mean to be called and chosen by God for special purposes? Let’s examine the example of a man in Acts who underwent a major transition to understand more.

In summary, this passage teaches that <strong>God molds us for different purposes – common or noble. Our goal is to allow Him to shape us into noble vessels for holy use, not common vessels that face destruction. The next section details an example of someone transformed from common to noble.

The Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument. He is a chosen vessel who will carry my name and word to the Gentiles.” Jesus was speaking about Saul, who would become Paul after his conversion.

Paul was not some normal person. He had a very rich history. He was once a Pharisee – and not just any Pharisee. Paul was the Pharisee’s Pharisee, one who carried out the law to the greatest degree, one who was very zealous.

In fact, Paul was so zealous that he oversaw the persecution and destruction of many Christian churches and people. The people in Acts 7 who laid their clothes at the feet of the recently stoned Stephen laid them at Paul’s feet while he was still Saul the Pharisee.

So what use was Paul at that point before Acts 9? What kind of use was Saul before his conversion – noble or something else? He was definitely being used for unnoble purposes. But then Saul encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus and everything changed.

Let’s talk about something very important here – what does it mean to be chosen? Remember how God looks at people? Does He look at our physical appearance, body, height, gender, birthplace, age? No. What does God really care about? What is He looking for? God cares about one’s heart. He looks for specific characteristics in a person and wonders, can I use this person to accomplish my mission?

So God and Jesus looked at Saul, one who was very zealous, and thought that if he was on their side he could do a lot of good. After his revelation and conversion, when Paul realized all the things he had done – when he realized who he used to be and who he now needed to be – he dropped everything and changed. Everything he once found valuable he tossed away.

“My position as a high-ranking teacher of the law and Pharisee no longer matters. The fact that I am a Jewish man from Rome, a Roman citizen, a man’s man – that doesn’t matter anymore either. I’m now going to travel the world spreading the gospel, and I will go through horrible things, but that doesn’t matter.”

Let’s be like Paul. Let’s see how he describes this change in Philippians 3:8.

Paul stated, “If anyone were to say, ‘I am a great person with admirable characteristics – I am highly respected and of high rank according to worldly standards’ – I could have coasted through life on Easy Street. But in comparison to the all-powerful Christ and the knowledge of Him, all of that is worthless rubbish.”

As one who became God’s vessel – like an empty bowl – Paul tossed aside all that worthless rubbish from his old life. He no longer needed any of it. His goal was to empty himself of the things he now realized held little value, so that he could be filled with the truth.

Are we also emptying our bowls at this time of things we have come to question the worth of? Because comprehending Christ’s greatness is what really matters. This is why Jesus said in Matthew 5, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” But the one who is full and self-satisfied will receive nothing. Let us have eager receptiveness to take in a lot.

The gospel that I teach to you, I did not receive from any man. My old ways came from human teachings, not divine revelation. The gospel I now preach to you came as a revelation from Jesus Christ himself, not from any man. I poured out the old teachings, considering them rubbish, so that I could be filled with and deliver this new revelation from above. Let’s all seek to be filled in the same way.

Let’s examine how that happens by discussing the two types of bowls.

3. Two types of Bowls

There are two types of people. One that is going to be filled with God’s word. Or one that is going to be filled with Satan’s lies.

A person’s value is not based on outward appearances or possessions. Their value comes from what is inside them – what they contain. So one can be dressed up fancy, wearing expensive clothes and jewels, yet only contain their own thoughts and Satan’s lies. Ultimately, from God’s perspective, that person is not very useful or holy. However, someone could have nothing in this world, but be filled with God’s word and be extremely valuable to Him. Let us strive to be like God’s bowl.

Today we need to self-reflect – how much of God’s word am I filled with? How much is within me? Am I able to understand everything I read in God’s word? When someone asks me a question about the Bible, can I comfortably answer with scripture? For example, “Great question! Let’s go to this passage where God already answered…”

A bowl can be 20% full, 50% full, 100% full or overflowing. What should we be? We should be overflowing so that there is so much within us that it spills out and fills others too. As the saying goes “out of the good stored up in his heart, a man speaks.”

 

Let us fulfill others, but first understand more about bowls that go empty versus bowls used to fill others.

In this passage, Moab represents a group of Israelite people who have gone astray and accepted Gentile gods. From God’s perspective, they are being destroyed. What is said here about the Moabites?

Their wine is called “dregs” or “lees.” Dregs refer to the last, useless bit left in a container after the contents have been used up, like coffee grounds after brewing or a used tea bag. God is saying these people have nothing of value left within them. So He will send men to pour out and smash whatever is left in them, making them completely empty.

This is a prophecy that there will be men who empty and smash those “jars” or people groups that have become worthless dregs. If it is a prophecy, that means it must have a future fulfillment involving people who were once noble but became like useless vessels filled with worthless things. They will be judged. So when did this happen? How was this prophecy fulfilled?

Who is speaking here in Matthew 23?

Jesus. Jesus is speaking here. And what did Jesus do? He said “woe to you”—woe means curse. Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You clean the outside of the cup and dish, a container vessel instrument. But inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

So Jesus and the 12 disciples judge the Pharisees and teachers of the law with the word. They smashed them, fulfilling the prophecy.

And I like the way verse 26 says, “Blind Pharisees! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside will also be clean.” The inside has always and will always matter more. That’s why Jesus said, “Foolish people, it is not what goes into your mouth that makes you unclean. It is what comes out that makes you unclean.” The inside is what matters. 

So, how are our insides looking? Are our insides clean? Can we present our insides to God and have Him be pleased with what He sees? Or do we have some work to do? We have some cleaning to do. We can do it. Let’s be those who are clean.

4. How to become a Noble Bowl?

Second Timothy, Talks about something very important. It mentions in a large house. There are many articles, articles, another term for vessel or container.

In a large house, there are many vessels articles. Of gold and silver Noble. Good materials. But are also a wood and clay for noble purposes and ignoble purposes. If a man cleanses himself, If a man cleanses himself from the ladder meaning ignoble purposes. Cleanse oneself. Is how we can become a noble bowl.

So then, what does it mean to cleanse oneself from the latter? What is required to do this? To cleanse oneself from the ladder. What does one need?

By the word Once faith is built by the word and through the word, one can be cleaned.

Jesus talks about this so beautifully and I love the way Jesus puts it here. You are already clean. Because of the words, I have spoken. To you.

So, as Jesus was speaking to the disciples, His words were washing. His words were cleaning them. His words were making them, holy So if we want the same for us, this is what we need to do. Remember when we looked at Flesh and blood a few lessons ago, Jesus’s words same thing being cleansed by the blood of Jesus is the same.

Let’s be cleansed at this time. We can do it.

So I pray that every time you come before the word, you just feel different. You feel lighter? Like, wow. That was great. You’re like, let’s go take out the world. Right after being cleansed by the word. Okay, now there’s something I want to talk about here in relation to bowl.

5. Large Bowl: Church

Just as a person can be compared to a tree, when many trees are gathered together, they form a larger collective, like a forest. In the same way, a bowl can represent an individual, but there is also a type of large bowl that contains many smaller bowls inside of it.

This large bowl, or the gathering of many people together, is used to represent a church – a unified body that contains many members within it. Jesus told a parable about this concept of the church, comparing it to this image of a large bowl holding many smaller bowls inside.

The key message is that the church consists of many individuals joined together in community, just as a forest consists of many trees together or a large bowl contains many smaller bowls within it. This imagery conveys the interconnected and interdependent nature of the church, with Christ as the unifying center that holds the community together.

The Kingdom of Heaven is like a net that is let down into the lake or the sea and catches all kinds of fish. The fish are then sifted or separated into two groups – good fish that are kept in a basket, which is a type of container where the good fish are gathered, and bad fish that are thrown back into the lake or the sea.

So then, is the lake or sea a good place if the bad fish are put back into it? No. We’ll have a whole lesson on the sea too that is coming up very soon.

The lake or sea is not a good place for fish to be, which is why the fish must be caught from that location in the first place and gathered into a good basket – representing the church.

For the world is not a good place for believers to remain. Just a little teaser – I don’t know if you caught it!

6. Spiritual Fasting

We will briefly cover fasting, and then we will conclude. Just as there is physical yeast, physical food, and physical bowls, the same principle also applies to fasting. There is physical fasting and there is spiritual fasting.

What does spiritual fasting mean?

The physical characteristics of fasting.

Fasting involves abstaining from food – abstaining from physical food. Physical fasting is done for several reasons. It may be done for health reasons or for religious experiences during times of prayer and crying out to God, which is commonly depicted in the Bible. However, there is another type of fasting that is not as widely known or discussed.

Some may think that fasting is inherently spiritual. But let’s examine this in more detail. There are actually two main types of fasting: physical fasting and spiritual fasting. While physical fasting focuses on abstaining from physical food and drink, spiritual fasting goes deeper – it involves abstaining from sinful behaviors and attitudes that interfere with our relationship with God. Though physical fasting has its place, spiritual fasting is less commonly understood yet vitally important for our spiritual growth. As we dive further into biblical teaching on fasting, we will explore the nature and power of spiritual fasting.

God’s true fasting. The fasting that he really acknowledges—please hear me closely—is described in the book of Isaiah. At this time in Isaiah, God is not happy with the people of Israel.

The people of Israel are continuing to do the same ineffective things they’ve always been doing. We understand that God is not happy here. That’s why he says “You continue to do the things you’ve always been doing, but I do not acknowledge them anymore.”

What does God truly acknowledge and desire, according to verse six? Isn’t it the kind of fasting God has chosen—to loosen the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? God’s true fasting is to be set free, set free from something that once held you in captivity.  

This still may not make complete sense yet. What is God and Jesus referring to here through the coming of His Son? Let’s continue examining…

Then you will know the truth. And the truth will set you free.

But if someone comes to know Jesus’s words of truth, what must they stop receiving from that point on? Once they encounter the truth of Jesus, what should they stop willingly accepting?

They need to begin fasting from Satan’s lies, Satan’s words. You no longer need those things. You now have the word that has set you free. So what must one fast from? One must fast from Satan’s lies, Satan’s food.  

I no longer need these things. But when someone identifies something as Satan’s food, they should stop receiving it no more. I will now abstain. I will only partake of the truth. That’s spiritual fasting. It does not replace physical fasting that is done for prayerful reasons or times of solace with God.

What I’m talking about here is no longer eating Satan’s food, by being set free from it by first knowing where it is and saying, “Oh, that’s Satan’s food, I no longer need that. Thank you very much.” “Oh, that’s Satan’s food back there. Thank you very much. I’ll be fasting from that.”

Like that, we understand. Okay, let’s fast from Satan’s food.

Memorization

Let’s Us Discern