When you were in school, did you ever work with ceramic clay in art class? Maybe the teacher gave you a lump of clay, and let you make anything you dared to out of it. If you were like me, maybe you rolled your clay into a long snake. You might have used a wooden spoon or other tools to mold your clay. Perhaps you tried to make a cup with a handle. Or if your class had a pottery wheel, maybe you tried to make a vase.

We are the clay

We are very much like the ceramic clay children use in art class. In fact, God compares us to clay with Himself as the master potter. “But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand” (Isaiah 64:8).

One thing you might remember from using clay in art class is that the more you worked the clay, the drier it became, and the more difficult it was to shape. Something needed to be added for you to continue to mold the clay. So, you used another item the teacher placed in front of you—a small cup of water. By dropping small amounts of water on the clay and rubbing it in, you were able to make the clay supple and pliable again.

Spiritual water

Like the clay, we also need “water” for God to mold us. Without the water, symbolizing the Holy Spirit (John 7:38-39), we cannot be molded into the shape God desires us to become.

Exactly how does God mold us? God molds us in the same way that we mold clay—He uses water. Isaiah 44:3 reads, “For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.”

As spiritual descendants of Abraham, the gift of God’s Spirit is given to each of us upon repentance and baptism (Acts 2:38). The Holy Spirit is God’s power that enables us to live His way (Micah 3:8; Jeremiah 32:17). It gives us spiritual strength and understanding (John 14:26). God’s Spirit works in our mind as the tool that helps to mold our thoughts and attitudes to become like Him.

One of the most important things a potter can do when working with clay is to get used to the texture and feel of the clay. There is a very practical reason for this. Because there are many different types and qualities of clay, and each type of clay is suitable for a particular task, it is only through actually working with the clay that the potter can know the clay’s quality and ability.

God does the same with us. He knows our strengths and growth areas as we allow Him to work in our lives. Similarly, our place within the Body of Christ is by His design and purpose (Romans 12:4-8).

Remember that clay must remain wet throughout the working process. We must be constantly drawing upon God’s Spirit in our lives for us to be pliable in God’s molding process.

Let’s now take a look at four ways God uses the Holy Spirit to mold us.

C—changes and cleanses

The Holy Spirit changes our thinking and helps to cleanse us. The apostle Paul tells us to “put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24).

Quite simply, as Barnes’ Notes states, “Every thing that proceeded from sin; every habit, and custom, and mode of speech and of conduct that was the result of depravity, is to be laid aside. The special characteristics of an unconverted man you are to put off, and are to assume those which are the proper fruits of a renewed heart.”

This is a tall order. That is why God gives us His Holy Spirit in our minds to help us. As the “Master Potter,” God knows what we can become. We are to “depart from iniquity” and labor until “Christ is formed” in us (Galatians 4:19; 2 Timothy 2:15, 19).

L—lives

The Holy Spirit lets Christ live in us. Paul tells us, “You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you” (Romans 8:9-10). God places a portion of His Holy Spirit within our minds at baptism making us His begotten children. This means that in essence Christ lives in us. We then have a tremendous responsibility to grow spiritually by trying to live our lives as Jesus Christ Himself would (Galatians 2:20; Colossians 1:27-29).

Paul makes this very clear when he says, “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:12-13). Eventually we can begin to behave like God because of His Spirit dwelling within us.

A—allows understanding

The Holy Spirit allows us to understand spiritual things. Paul said, “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10). This understanding is a wonderful gift from God (verse 12). “The Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (verse 13).

Unless we have the Spirit, our minds consider God’s truth foolishness. It is only through God’s Spirit that we can understand spiritual things, because God’s laws are spiritual laws (Isaiah 11:1-2; John 6:63).

Y—yields fruits

The Holy Spirit helps us yield fruits of righteousness. Any righteousness we produce is because “it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). God wants us to be like Him, and He will make us “complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight” (Hebrews 13:21).

Paul outlines the fruits of the Spirit for us in Galatians 5:22-23. But for us to produce these fruits, we must draw upon and use the Holy Spirit every day. Only with the help of God’s Spirit within us can we bear fruit (John 15:1-8).

The wonderful advantage of clay is that you can wipe out any mistakes and start again. However, in order to do so, the clay must always be kept moist. It is the same way with our minds. For God to mold us, we must be connected with Him by stirring up the Holy Spirit within us. In this way God can continually work with us and forgive us when we make mistakes and repent.

Apart from God’s Holy Spirit, we are simply what the acronym spells—CLAY. But with the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit, combined with our willingness to yield, God can mold us into His children, having perfect, righteous character.

“But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work” (2 Timothy 2:20-21).

God takes dust of the ground, adds water and creates vessels of honor to be servants in His coming Kingdom.

Recommended reading

Read more about why we need the Holy Spirit and about the miracle of transformation it works in us in the booklet The Road to Eternal Life. Download or request a free copy today.