Romans 9:19-23

Vessels Prepared by the Potter

Introduction:

The chapter divisions commonly used today were developed by Stephen Langton, an Archbishop of Canterbury. Langton put the modern chapter divisions into place in around A.D. 1227. The Wycliffe English Bible of 1382 was the first Bible to use this chapter pattern. Since the Wycliffe Bible, nearly all Bible translations have followed Langton’s chapter divisions.

The Hebrew Old Testament was divided into verses by a Jewish rabbi by the name of Nathan in A.D. 1448. Robert Estienne, who was also known as Stephanus, was the first to divide the New Testament into standard numbered verses, in 1555. Stephanus essentially used Nathan’s verse divisions for the Old Testament. Since that time, beginning with the Geneva Bible, the chapter and verse divisions employed by Stephanus have been accepted into nearly all the Bible versions.

Why is this important? We have to realize that Paul’s argumentation is not divorced here in Romans 9 from the rest of the letter. It is a continual thought process, a continued theological explanation of the Golden Chain of Redemption. God predestined. God called. God justified. God glorified. In those categories, Paul explains how they unfold over redemptive history. Dr. James White makes an incredible statement which I am paraphrasing, but what should alarm us from Romans 9 so far is not Esau I hated, is not “it depends not on human will” is not “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you” is not “he hardens whomever he will”. What should cause alarm to us, what should set us back in our seats, what should drop us to our knees is “Jacob I loved” and “I will mercy whom I will mercy, I will compassion, whom I compassion.” Knowing the state of man and hearing that God would love anyone, give them mercy, and show them compassion is incredible. That alone deserves all of our devotion and worship to God when we know his holiness.

As pastor John MacArthur recognizes, “If God were to exercise only His justice, no person would ever be saved. It is therefore hardly unjust if, according to His sovereign grace, He chooses to elect some sinners for salvation” (p. 37). Man’s perspective is twisted and distorted apart from the newness of mind and heart given by the Holy Spirit. And so with that, we will look first at “Man’s Presumption.”

Man’s Presumption (9:19-20)

the Potter’s Prerogative (9:21-22)

the Potter’s Purpose (9:23)

[1] Man’s Presumption (9:19-20)

Romans 9:19–20“You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?”” 19 Ἐρεῖς μοι οὖν, Τί [οὖν] ἔτι μέμφεται; τῷ γὰρ βουλήματι αὐτοῦ τίς ἀνθέστηκεν; 20 ὦ ἄνθρωπε, μενοῦνγε σὺ τίς εἶ ὁ ἀνταποκρινόμενος τῷ θεῷ; μὴ ἐρεῖ τὸ πλάσμα τῷ πλάσαντι, Τί με ἐποίησας οὕτως;

Even still, Paul is anticipating more objections to the foundational teaching that he has presented thus far. Paul acknowledges, “You will say to me then” as the next necessary issues at hand. What is the issue Paul is dealing with? Resisting the will of God. In turn, Paul asks the next set of hypothetical questions, Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will? Literally, the emphasis is on the will of God. To translate this passage literally from the Greek, it is Paul saying “For His will … who could resists?” The focus is upon man’s objection against the God who created them. It is as if the rebuke in terms of rhetoric is saying “It’s God’s Will, it isn’t my fault I’m doing these things, it is God’s will for me to sin, it is God who is at fault! Who can resist His will?” It speaks volumes to man’s condition as one who is ready to blame shift God.

Is this not also what we see in the Garden of Eden? Genesis 3:11–13“He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”” Is this not the state of man to turn the issue away from the holiness and absoluteness of God and to blame Him for all things? Man has done this all throughout the thousands of years we have been gifted the privilege to live on this earth. I will blame God for the way things are.

It is important to note that it is not the doctrine of the Bible, that God makes men wicked, and then punishes them for their wickedness. Rather, the Scriptures only assert what we see and know to be true which is that God permits men, in the exercise of their own free agency, to sin, and then punishes them for their sins, and in proportion to their guilt. He acts towards them as perfectly righteous judge, so that no one can justly complain of his dealings. Therefore, the strictness in the administration of justice is perfectly consistent with the sovereignty of God in determining those whom he will save and whom he will permit to suffer the just recompense for their deeds (adapted from C. H. Hodge, on Romans p. 318). This is the precise language of the WCF. 3.1 says, “GOD from all eternity did, by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass: yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established.” Man is completely responsible for sin, God is not.

Paul’s rebuke is strong. It echoes others aspects of the Old Testament as well. He says, “Who are you, O man, to answer back to God?” Once again our modern language looses the emphasis of the statement. The “you” in Greek is placed in the first position of the sentence. It is as if Paul is saying “You … yes, you! Who are you, O man, O mere creature, O created thing.” Why on earth would a creaturely being think for one instant they have the write to question God’s will as if they knew how to do things better?

Paul uses an interesting word in reference to answer back. It only occurs one other time in the New Testament. The passage is found in Luke 14:1-6. In Luke 14:1-6, Jesus is being watched carefully by the Pharisees on the Sabbath day. After asking the Pharisees if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath, they remained silent on the matter. So Jesus healed him and concluded in Luke 14:5 “And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?”” What was their response? Luke 14:6 “And they could not reply ἀνταποκρινόμενος to these things.” Like mankind in Romans 9, the Pharisees had nothing to answer back to in light of the Son of God. Man is incapable of providing an accurate rebuttal to God. Who do you think you are mere mortal creature to answer back to the eternal, living God?

Still man answers back, or at least tries to. Again the language is a bit lost, but initially, the literal question asked in Greek is simply “Why me?” Again literally, “Why me you have made like this?” Is this not the stereotypical complaint of man in general? Why me, why me, why me? Man begins to sound like Eore from Whinney the Pooh, Oh woe is me, nothing ever goes my way, why am I like this, why me? It is selfish of man to focus upon themselves. So man laments that they could not resist God’s will so as to blame him yet at the same time they complain that it is God’s fault they were made like this. If we can blame God, then we do not become the problem.

Similarly, Paul is combining a couple of passages from the prophet Isaiah in response to this objection. In Isaiah 29:16, which we will emphasize again later, “You turn things upside down! 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”?” And also 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’?” In these passages, the Lord’s words are to the people of Israel, signifying the point of contention between the will of man, and their culpability in sinning. Israel laments that they are forced into exile. Therefore, certainly God should be at fault.

Yet even Job recognized the impossibility of questioning the character of the Creator. Job 9:12 “Behold, he snatches away; who can turn him back? Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’” And also Job 42:1–6“Then Job answered the Lord and said: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.””

[2] the Potter’s Prerogative (9:21-22)

Romans 9:21–22“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? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,”

If we were to remove the interrogatives, that is the questions asked, we would actually find the theological statements that undergird the question. For example, “The potter has right over the clay” and “God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power” and “[God] has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction.” Yet Paul again uses these as a tactic to illicit thought and response.

There is an assertion made in the potter’s right over the clay. Again it echoes back into the Old Testament. Once again, Isaiah 29:16 “You turn things upside down! 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”?” and 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’?” And even Jeremiah 18:1–12“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. If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that …”

God has the rights and we have the wrongs. God can do as he sees fit with the clay. The lump of clay in the passage is not a reference to humanity in general. Just as the lump of clay is already existing in the presence of the Potter so also humanity being created by God, in his image, is not standing before God as a lump of clay. The lump of clay is dealing with fallen humanity. Hodge puts it thusly, “we are dealing here with God as moral Governor, not as Creator” (taken from MJL, Rom 9, 200). On what grounds or basis is this being made? Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—” We have all sinned in Adam and the sin of Adam is in us entirey. We are born in sin and deserve condemnation as the result. We also deserve it because it is our deliberate choice. When you sin, no one is holding you at gun point forcing you to sin; you do it because you want to.

Again, did Paul not bring this problem up in Romans 7? Romans 7:15–20“For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.”

And this is immensely practical when we think about it. What is the natural disposition of clay in general? Is clay active in and of itself? No. Does clay transform itself into various uses, vessels, or pottery? No. When you go home today, take some clay, or Play-Doh, and let it sit at your table. Watch it carefully. Is it crafting itself into honorable vessels? No the clay itself will act according to its nature. It will remain immovable and will slowly begin to harden by itself lest a potter is active in working it and manipulating it.

This is exactly the point Paul is making in this text. The Potter has the right over the clay. The clay cannot shape and mold the Potter but the Potter can and does shape and mold the clay. The clay has no right to beg or ask of the Potter to make it into something useful, it does not care about that. Similarly, the sinner does not want to be shaped and molded into a useful vessel. The sinner wants to remain a useless lump of clay until it hardens into a useless brittle lump. But the other lump of clay is chosen by the Potter. The Potter works and fashions it into something magnificent. The Potter works and fashions this clay into the image of His own Son.

The Potter’s right to the clay extends into its usefulness. One is used for honorable uses, the other for dishonorable. One is shaped and molded to sit amidst the King’s great hall for all to see. The other is shaped and molded to be used for dishonorable purposes. This echoes back into Jacob and Esau in Romans 9:11–13“though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”” One was predestined for honorable use who was by nature a dishonorable lump of clay. The other was shaped into dishonorable use according to its own nature.

This passage is focused upon individual salvation. Again Paul is going back and building upon his previous arguments from the previous verses. Like Pharaoh in Romans 9:17 “For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”” Honor and dishonor is intertwined with salvation and judgment. 2 Timothy 2:19–21“But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”

Does this verse not also highlight the patience of the Lord? Previously we were told in Romans 2:4 “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” God’s patience and forbearance was to lead the sinner to repentance. Just as God was patient with us in the mercy and compassion he demonstrated to us through Christ Jesus. The vessels prepared for destruction are prepared in the sense that by their life and conduct they have determined their own destiny. We are not automatons. We are not robots. God is not forcing them in any way to act disobediently. Rather, they act according to their nature. They themselves are storing up wrath for that day of judgment.

How does this comfort and aid the Christian in this life? Is this just some fancy theological jargon and philosophical terms we throw together to make ourselves seem smart? Or is it more? Brothers and sisters, it is so much more. The reality of the present time is that we are suffering. The reality of the present time is that God is enduring with much patience these vessels of wrath. This is why Paul argues in the end of Romans 8 that there is nothing that is able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus! This provides us with immeasurable comfort knowing the wicked will be destroyed while we are struggling with adversity and persecution.

Psalm 37:1–2, 10-11.“Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.” Psalm 37:10–11“In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.”

Psalm 73:18–20“Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.”

Man presumes he has the right to salvation but the Potter’s prerogative is to do all things according to the counsel of his own will. And finally we come to the Potter’s Purpose.

[3] the Potter’s Purpose (9:23)

Romans 9:23 “in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—”

There is always a purpose behind what God does. What is his purpose? His own glory! He reveals and makes known his glory by setting apart for himself a particular people who he will save and conform to the image of His own Son. How does he make this known to us? He makes it known in suffering.

Again! Paul reminds us in the previous section that we are the recipients of his glory even amidst suffering. Romans 8:31–39“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus …”

And even in 2 Corinthians 4:16–18“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” This is not only just theological but so incredibly practical as well. You are the special object of God’s own love. Before you were conceived, before you could have done anything good or bad, while you were still subject to the curse of the Law as those who are “in Adam” you were set apart. As one commentator reminds us, “Those who are saved are saved only by the mercy of God; those who are lost are lost only because of their refusal to repent” (EBC, Longman & Garland, 154).

Prepared beforehand is used only one other time in the New Testament. And it follows a shortened version of the Book of Romans. It follows God’s foreordained plan. It follows man’s inability and God’s gift of faith and grace. Ephesians 2:8–10“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” You are the workmanship of the Potter. He has molded and fashioned you from a dead lump of useless clay into a most glorious vessel resembling the Saviour who bought you!

The truth at the end of the day is that God chooses some for salvation and others he chooses not to reveal his saving plan. Others he passes over, leaving them to act in accordance with their own will and their own desires. Yet, it should make us as Christians even more thankful that He has chosen us, who, in ourselves, were not and are not more worthy of salvation than those who are still lost, who are still dead in their sins and trespasses, who are still in Adam. This is difficult, brothers and sisters. It is a challenge. For those of you who hold to the inerrant and infallible Word of God there will always be a tension in recognizing that God is sovereign and man is responsible. Peter recognizes this of Paul anyway in 2 Peter 3:16 “as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.”

MacArthur says, “We can only believe what Scripture teaches, accepting in our hearts what we cannot explain with our minds” (41). We do this more than you realize. We cannot fully rationalize it, as it is part of the divine mind just as much as we cannot fully rationalize the incarnation or the Trinity. You are called to walk by faith, knowing that God is doing things according to his will. We can take confidence just as the saints in heaven as we will be with God face to face, saying Revelation 15:3–4“And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.””