God is often described as a Potter in the Bible, and we are His clay. This post will discover ten Bible verses that speak about this image of us as clay in the Father’s hand. Let’s discover the meaning of God as the potter in the Bible.
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How many times is the word potter in the Bible? Twenty times.
Genesis 2:7 is the first Bible verse that describes this theme of God as a master potter. God breathes new life into Adam as He creates him. Here, it says God’s people were made from the soil, clay, or dust of the Earth. Adam was a man of the dust of the ground and God was the potter who formed him with care.
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“Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”
This same theme is also brought up in the Book of Job to point out the sovereignty of God. Job humbly acknowledges that he is nothing but a simple lump of clay in God’s right hand. Human beings are God’s creations. Understanding God as Creator is essential in understanding Him as Potter…
Made from clay: Job 10:9
“Remember that you have made me like clay; and will you return me to the dust?”
This same idea comes up in the Book of the prophet Isaiah. He says that a vessel of whatever sort does not deny its Maker. Yet the children of God, His own creation, question Him and even despise Him because they make their own plans.
God the Maker: Isaiah 29:16
“Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, “He did not make me”; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?”
The theme of God as the Maker is also highlighted in the Psalms. Look, for example, at Psalm 100 where people are described in relation to God. He is the Potter who made us and formed us into what we were meant to be. It’s the very first step of faith formation to learn about our identity in God. A.W. Tozer said: “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us”.
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“Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”
One of the most beautiful examples of this imagery in God’s Word can be found in the book of Jeremiah. God’s message to the people is that they need to turn from their evil ways and remember that they are vessels of mercy. In His great love, the Heavenly Father created people. He made them for special purposes – for the riches of His glory. This time, God reminded the family of Israel why He made them by sending this message with the prophet Jeremiah:
The Potter’s House: Jeremiah 18:1-6
“The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Then the word of the Lord came to me:“O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done?” declares the Lord. “Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.”
The hard lesson of God as Potter comes up again and again in the Bible. The potter’s wheel is a tool that turns around quickly while the hands of the potter gently fold around a lump of clay. Through a series of careful movements, at the right time, a clay pot is formed out of the clay. Another prophet, named Isaiah, also shared the same message.
God as the Potter: Isaiah 64:8
“But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.”
In this verse, Isaiah captures the complicated concept of God as Potter in the Bible perfectly. ‘It’s simple’, Isaiah says. ‘We are the clay, He is our potter’. So, if we accept this Biblical truth that God formed us by His hands, what does that say about our relationship with God? If we view God as a potter in the Bible, what does that make us?
The clay surrenders and yields to the Potter: Isaiah 45:9
““Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’?”
This verse in Isaiah puts us in the right place. If God is the potter and we are the clay, that sheds light on the kind of say we have in the matter. Modern believers often fall on one of two sides: We are either too fearful of God that it is purely religion and we do not know God or discover how we are known by Him, or we are too comfortable with God that it is a ‘personal relationship’ and we forget that He is God and we are human. On what side of the spectrum do you think you fall?
Modern (Western) civilizations are said to have an anthropocentric worldview. This is a perspective where we see ourselves (and humankind) as the center of the universe. We don’t say this, but we live this way. Isaiah is challenging this kind of thinking when he speaks to God’s people in this verse. He is essentially saying ‘You are the clay!’ ‘Know your place!’
But to the person who falls on the other side of the spectrum, Isaiah is saying ‘God does not come with smashing fists! He has the tender and patient touch of a potter. The potter uses water to shape you. He does not force you into shape, he gently molds you.’ Yes, He is the potter and you are the clay, but He is the potter, not the slavemaster or the evil boss!
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Jumping into the New Testament, there are a few references to pottery here too.
The Potter’s power: Romans 9:21
“Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?”
This verse shows how the potter has total control over a vessel of clay. You are a piece of pottery in God’s hands and He can make something beautiful out of you! The apostle Paul describes God’s ultimate power in the slow process of pottery making.
His workmanship: Ephesians 2:10
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
This verse highlights that there is a divine plan for the potter’s clay jar. A potter knows what the lump of clay will become, even if the clay does not have any shape yet. The good work described in this verse is to glorify God by following His commands and loving Him and other people. Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth also brings up the idea of God as the potter in the Bible:
Fragile humanity: 2 Corinthians 4:7
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”
The hand of the potter is an image that stretches throughout the whole Bible story. Here, it is evident that clay is a fragile substance. It is not like pieces of silver that cannot bend or break. Yet, Jesus Christ chose to give the Holy Spirit to abide in us.
Meaning of God as Potter in the Bible
God has been described as the Potter since the Garden of Eden. He is our Creator, our Maker, and the One who carefully works us into something beautiful. We are like clay in His hands and He is forming us into something.
Jesus Christ works living water (John 7:38) into our cracked places and forms us into a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). He gives us the Holy Spirit and makes us His Temple. We are the place where He chooses to dwell.
It is a wonderful thing to be the clay because it means we lay down the idea that things must go our own way (Proverbs 16:3). Being the clay means surrendering to God’s ways. The clay does not tell the potter what to make it into; it just leans back against his hands and patiently waits in joyful anticipation.
As long as the clay stays close to the potter, it can be formed into something amazing. He can create something beautiful out of a broken piece of clay. God plants gardens in what was a burial place (Ezekiel 37). He brings beauty from ashes & He can do the impossible!
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A prayer of surrender: God, the Potter
God, the Potter, would you help me see that I am clay?
I know I can rely on You and that I’m safest in Your hands.
There is nothing that I want to hold back from You anymore.
You are the best thing that ever could have happened to me!
In You, I’ve found hope and the possibility for my life to mean something.
God, the Potter, I need You to show me what You see when You look at me.
Show me the places where I have gone astray, but also…
Do you see potential where I see cracks?
Or do you see a possibility where I see misshapen wonky bits?
Do you see what I can become where I only see what I’ve been?
As the wheel of time turns under me, I know that I can lean back against You.
You will work it out if I trust in Your timing,
You can turn me into something beautiful for Your glory.
Oh, Potter in the Bible, teach me to trust You more.
Eljoh Hartzer is combining theology and art to nurture faith journeys across generations. She is a Masters-level Practical Theologian with the University of Stellenbosch. She is also a writer and editor in the niche of Christianity and children's content and she illustrates children's books. Eljoh resides in the Swartland area in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
You can follow Eljoh on LinkedIn or Instagram.
