Before Paul says a word about gold, he has already reached for the language of the assayer. This is the hinge of the whole passage, and it is easy to miss.
Approved and disapproved
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God” (v.15).
The word is δόκιμος (dokimos). It does not mean “liked”, or “popular”, or even “sincere”. It is a technical word from the world of metals and coinage: metal that has been put through the fire, assayed, and proved genuine. Approved means tested-and-passed.
Its opposite is ἀδόκιμος (adokimos) — failed the test, rejected as counterfeit. Paul uses it of himself as a fear (“lest… I myself should become disqualified”, 1 Corinthians 9:27), of false teachers (2 Timothy 3:8), and of those who profess to know God but deny Him by their works (Titus 1:16).
Now hear Jeremiah, who uses exactly this metallurgy for a people who went through the fire and did not come out pure:
Jeremiah 6:29–30 — “The bellows blow fiercely, the lead is consumed by the fire; the smelter refines in vain, for the wicked are not drawn off. People will call them rejected silver, because the Lord has rejected them.”
Rejected silver. Disapproved metal. The refiner lit the furnace, the bellows roared, and nothing came out. This is what an adokimos worker is.
So when Paul writes approved in verse 15 and vessels of gold and silver in verse 20, he is not changing the subject. He is finishing a thought. The metallurgy was in the passage five verses before the metals were.
Honour and dishonour
“Some for honour and some for dishonour” (v.20).
τιμή (timē) is worth, weight, value, price — the honour paid to something precious. ἀτιμία (atimia) is its negation: without worth, without weight, held cheaply. Note that Paul does not say some vessels are useful and some useless. Both kinds of vessel are used. A slop bucket is used. The question is what it is used for, and whether it is held in honour.
The word study at a glance
Table 2. The two words the passage turns on, and four that carry them.
| Greek | English (NKJV) | Sense | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| δόκιμος — dokimos | “approved” | Tested by fire and proved genuine; the assayer's verdict on metal | v.15 “approved to God” |
| ἀδόκιμος — adokimos | “disqualified” | Failed the assay; rejected as counterfeit or base | 1 Cor 9:27; 2 Tim 3:8; Titus 1:16; cf. Jer 6:30 |
| ὀρθοτομέω — orthotomeō | “rightly dividing” | To cut straight; to drive a road straight, or cut a stone true | v.15 “rightly dividing the word of truth” |
| γάγγραινα — gangraina | “cancer” | Gangrene: dead tissue that spreads and consumes the living | v.17 “will spread like cancer” |
| σκεῦος — skeuos | “vessel” | A vessel, container, or instrument — something made to be used | v.20, 21 |
| τιμή — timē | “honor” | Honour, weight, worth — the value paid to something precious | v.20 “some for honor” |
| ἀτιμία — atimia | “dishonor” | Without worth, without weight; held cheaply | v.20 “some for dishonor” |