BUT IN A GREAT HOUSE ~ Joseph Addai Kusi

But in a great house, there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour and some to dishonour…… (2Tim. 2:20)

And Moses verily was faithful in all his house as a servant, but Christ as a son over his own house, whose house we are…….. (Heb. 3:5-6)

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that they may be meat in my house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing, that there be not room enough to receive it…….. (Mal. 3:10)

The Lord invites us to His table to receive wisdom, that we may more acceptably order our service to His pleasing. In Paul’s second epistle to Timothy, we hear the saying…. “In a great house, there are many vessels”. He shows that there are diversities of vessels; some of gold and silver, some earthen and some of wood. The master of the household finds use for the vessels that are sanctified and prepared for use. We must rightly discern the way of truth in this admonitio But in a great house, there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour and some to dishonour…… (2Tim. 2:20)

And Moses verily was faithful in all his house as a servant, but Christ as a son over his own house, whose house we are…….. (Heb. 3:5-6)

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse,  n; it appears to be a simple statement, but if we can wait for the Spirit’s teaching, we will find if that this matter is most dear to the Lord’s heart. He is the husbandman, the Lord of the household and we are the servants or stewards who are charged with the domestic administration. In the Greco-Roman culture1, a great house was a large household in the countryside that usually belonged to a nobleman, statesman or a wealthy man, and had many rooms, servants, working tools and vessels. These servants worked under a chief steward who was responsible for the daily work, the servants and rendering account to the lord of the house. He superintended the field slaves as well as the household servants, and was responsible for their upkeep and discipline. If the householder, who was master of the house hosted important visitors in his country estate house (great house), the head steward was required to bring the cleanest and most beautiful vessels for the use, convenience and pleasure of the master. It goes without saying that only the finest and most well-kept vessels would make it to the householder’s banqueting table. Every servant was expected to conduct themselves in an orderly and proper fashion and keep their vessels neat at all times.

This picture of a great house conveys a sense of domestic economy, stewardship, distribution and ownership. With this background, we can delve into the discussion on great houses. We know that the Father is the husbandman over God’s husbandry, but he has given all judgment to the Son, therefore the son is the chief householder over the house of God who must present us blameless unto the Father. (John 15:1-5, Heb 3:6, Heb.10:19-21) The Lord has called us to be stewards and faithful ministers who must bring profit to their master. These matters answer to the stewardship in the kingdom of heaven and being commended of the Lord, that we may receive the full reward of our eternal inheritance. (2Cor 5:9, 2 Tim. 4:6-8) As in all matters in the Scripture, the Lord shows it in shadows of the first testament and then, in the light of the truth in Christ…..Then said he, unto them…Therefore every scribe that is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old. (Matt. 13:52) Here, the master of the household has things, new and old in his treasure which he must show to us but we are not ignorant that the old is brought out because of the new; (Lev. 26:10) As laboureres in God’s vine field, we must reckon with that which pertains to both the new and the old concerning a great house. The shadow belongs to the body and not otherwise (Col. 2:16-17)……And Moses verily was faithful as a servant, in all his house, but Christ as son over his own house, whose house we are…. (Heb. 3:5-6) The Holy Ghost by this signifies things, new and old which we must understand if we seek the wisdom of God concerning spiritual houses.

The service of God under the old covenant by Aaron and his sons pertained to the tabernacle of Moses; carnal ordinances, diverse washings, due orders of ministry, ceremonial observances etc. All these must be understood as being in Moses’ house, for it was to him that the Lord gave the instructions and pattern of heavenly things for the tabernacle of testimony, all the vessels of the ministry and the ordinances of divine service. The Levitical priesthood headed by Aaron and his sons were ministers in the house of Moses, he being the householder and steward of the house. Moses is here described as a faithful servant in all his house, therefore he must give honour to the master of the house. As the householder of that great house, He ordered Aaron and his sons and the Levites after their ministering and their priestly ordinances. All the intricacies of offerings and priesthood from Exodus to Deuteronomy are the manners of that great house. If Moses was faithful as a servant, then the house belonged to another, and not to him….But Christ being come a High Priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is to say not of this building…. (Heb 9:11) It is evident that Christ came as the master of that building and the body that those shadows represented.

Now, let us reckon with the new: The apostle Paul speaks of Christ as a son over his own house as opposed to Moses, who was a servant. Jesus was faithful as a servant and humbled himself unto death to purchase the church of God with his own blood……. (Phil. 2:5-8, Acts 20:28) Jesus was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel as the last householder to show them the salvation of the Lord and confirm all the promises made unto the fathers2. They rejected and crucified him; he humbled himself as a servant though he was a Son and suffered more than even servants should suffer in order to please the Father. (Matt 21:33-40) For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more glory than the house. (Heb. 3:3) We know that Christ came as a High priest of greater things to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle than that of Moses. We cannot say that the shadow is of greater value than the figure from which it comes. The builder of the house is more honoured than the house, just as Moses was more honoured than Aaron and his sons. We cannot forget also that the tabernacle was a type of Christ and the church of God. Therefore, it is conclusive that though a servant, Moses was found faithful and honoured above an earthly house but Christ has been exalted over a heavenly building which is the church; Jesus has been made the headstone over God’s building (Zech. 4:7,1Pet. 2:7)

Now let us consider this matter more clearly; Moses was faithful in all his house as a servant. Whose house is this; Moses’? No, for he is a servant. Then he says…But Christ as a son over his own house…It is very clear that because Christ was obedient as a servant though he was a Son, he has been made the head over his own house. Of Moses, he says….in all his house, but of the Lord, he says…over his own house. We seek to establish these things firmly as a foundation in order to understand the matter of a great house. In the old covenant, no service or ministry could be done to God outside Moses’ house; one could not build a tabernacle and put on a priestly garment and begin offering sacrifices of his own free will. In Exodus and Leviticus, all Israel was instructed in the orders of Moses’ house. This then is our first conclusion; Moses’ house was a great house with many vessels of ministry, some of gold, silver, and some of wood. All the due orders and sanctities of the ministry were given to Moses as the householder. They were taught about burnt offerings and trespass offerings and the law of the offerings in Moses’ house. (Lev. 1-7) In the New testament ministry, the household of God which is the church is the great house and the apostles laid the foundation stone of this building. (Eph. 2:19-21, 1Cor. 3:9-10, 1Pet. 2:6-10) Now let us pay attention to this…..Then verily, the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service and a worldly sanctuary…. (Heb. 9:1) He uses the world “also” meaning the present new testament ministry has orders of divine service just as it was in Moses’ house, albeit in shadows. The Lord’s body as a living entity expressed as the corporate life in the church and the communion of the churches of Christ, even of all who have the testimony of Jesus and of Christ form the great house in which are many vessels. There is one great house which is the church and there is no service or ministering or worship that is accepted by God other than that which comes from the members of the body and the communion of the churches of Christ. No new age religion or Christian Science has any part in God’s great house…… Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that they may be meat in my house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing, that there be not room enough to receive it…….. (Mal. 3:10) In this, the Lord spoke of the children of Israel bringing the firstfruits of their corn, wine and oil into his storehouse. One would say this is a matter of agricultural harvest only, but he concludes that this will bring meat into His house. If the tithes are brought into the storehouse, the house of God will be filled with meat. Storehouses are great houses that have many rooms and vessels to store the increase of the fruit and grain harvests of the Lord. (2Chr.32:28) In the church today, there are God’s storehouses – spiritual houses whose pattern was given to a man to raise a great house after a due order of ministry; these storehouses are great houses of God. They are not merely churches (a gathering of saints with a pastor) – they are prophetic powerhouses with diverse ministries and a clear order of ministry according to an architectural pattern. We can look to the storehouse God has built by the hand of Dr. David Yonggi-Cho. Anyone who visits this great house sees immediately that it is not just a church; it is a storehouse where literally hundreds of thousands of destinies, families and ministries have been birthed and secured3. Very few men are commissioned to build storehouses or great houses; it requires preparing many people for diverse aspects of ministry. Paul, as a wise master builder laid the foundation of the church and revealed that as an apostle, he was to perfect the saints for the work of the ministry. (Eph. 4:11-12) Storehouses usually have a reach that goes beyond national, racial and cultural borders – they do not represent a religious organization, but a living organism that is a vehicle for fulfilling divine mandate. When the Lord showed us the reality of storehouses in the Salem Confederation, we immediately identified a few others which are also prophetic epicenters of this reality. We recognized David Oyedepo’s Living Faith Tabernacle Worldwide in Nigeria and Sunday Adelaja’s Embassy of the Kingdom of God for all Nations in Ukraine as real storehouses of God. There are few others who can be named across the globe. In God’s due order, very few are called to build great houses but most are called to be perfected, raised and to serve in these great houses of God. The examples I have mentioned above are noteworthy apostolic builders who by God have founded great houses of many vessels. Pastor Sunday Adelaja’s storehouse alone has over 200 active, living and functional ministries bringing salvation and life to the nation of Ukraine4 – undeniably a great house with a great householder. If we find ourselves as stewards in a great house, we should order ourselves humbly and be perfected for the work of the ministry. Christians who serve in great houses fulfill their ministries better than those who do not and instead, choose their own way. If you are a vessel in a storehouse of great honour, you share in the honour of that great house. The builder of the house is counted worthy of more glory than the house… (Heb. 3:3) That means the house has honour, but the builder is counted worthy of more…..For every house is builded by some man, but he that built all things is God….(Heb.3:4) God continues to build his great houses by the hand of one man5 and calls many others to serve in that house. When we are so called, we should count it a great privilege that we can be faithful helpers to a man of God. Whether we are gold, silver or wood, we can be vessels unto honour, bringing joy to the householder and fit for the master’s use.