14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! 15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” 16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” 18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens. 19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” 20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? 22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, 24 even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? 25 As He says also in Hosea: “I will call them My people, who were not My people, And her beloved, who was not beloved.” 26 “And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.” 27 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, The remnant will be saved. 28 For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, Because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth.” 29 And as Isaiah said before: “Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, We would have become like Sodom, And we would have been made like Gomorrah.”
Commentary
Vs. 14-16 The Apostle Paul now answers any objections to what he has already stated about God's election of individuals to be His own. Thus he begins by saying: 14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! 15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” 16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
There is then no unrighteousness with God when He elects individuals to be His own. For God is Sovereign, and that means if He elects some to salvation while He rejects others, than God is perfectly just in His doing so, because He is God. Just as He said to Moses in revealing His Person to him; “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” (Exodus 33:19). Thus salvation is not something someone wills for themselves, nor is salvation something one earns for themselves (i.e. "him who runs") salvation is, and always will be, of God who shows mercy. Thus every child of God is chosen by the Sovereign Will of God (John 1:13; 6:37; 17:2).
Vs. 17-18 17 For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” 18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.
The Apostle Paul now cites Pharaoh as a Biblical example of God's Sovereignty reaching even into the realms of a pagan ruler (who at the time was the most powerful ruler on earth). But who only became as much so that God could show His Power in him. That is when God hardened Pharaoh's heart and brought His plagues on Pharaoh and Egyptians, it was so that God's Power would be revealed to one and to all in him, that God's Name would be declared in all the earth. Thus whatever deity that was being ascribed to the Egyptian Pharaoh's, or power that was being ascribed to him or their "gods" at that time, it was completely crushed by the Divine Power and Revelation of Almighty God through him. "Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens." vs. 18
Vs. 19-21 19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” 20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
Here the Apostle Paul steps into the shoes of an unbeliever who reasons since no can resist God's Will, why does He then still find fault with them. In essence it is their assaulting the Sovereignty and Character of God by indirectly blaming Him for ones own unbelief and or wilful disobedience. Yet God's election of anyone does not make void ones own free-will to choose to believe and obey Him or not too. Everybody has a choice to believe and obey God or not too. Therefore if God finds fault with any of us, the fault is with us, not God (consider Job 42:1-6 and his repentance before Him). Therefore no one can justly reply against God, for that is only the creature in their pride exalting themselves above God the Creator and His Infinite Wisdom, Knowledge, and Understanding of all things, whose prerogative alone it is to make (and or remake) each one of us according to His own will and desires, whether for honor or dishonor (vs 19-20). Therefore to break this down for us, the Apostle Paul now uses the analogy of the potter and his clay to set this principle forth, saying, "Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?" vs. 21
And so vessel here is a metaphor for our person. Thus God takes us as lumps of clay, yet unformed, and forms us into either vessels for honor or dishonor according to His own Sovereign Will (consider Isaiah 43:7). There is then no apology given for this, since we are all individually accountable to God for what we do, not for how we are made (Psalm 58:3; Isaiah 48:8; 2 Peter 2:9).
Vs. 22-23 22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory,
The Apostle Paul now seeks to answer the question to reveal how God's wrath and His power is manifested through those who by their own willfulness and unbelief have become the objects of it (consider John 3:35-36; Rom. 1:18-19; 2:4-8; Col. 3:5-6; Rev. 6:16-17; 11:18). It harkens back to what God Himself said about Pharaoh and God's raising him up to demonstrate His power in him, and thus helps us to understand God's dealings with us all in the light of His election of us for His mercy, while He defers His wrath for a season from those who run head strong against Him. Now that God defers His wrath from the vessels of wrath is only because of His longsuffering Nature through which He does not need to immediately execute His just wrath on them (though He does exercise a form of judgment against them in this life, when He turns them over to their sins (see Rom 1:18-32) which then makes them fully qualified or prepared for His wrath. Thus the Apostle Paul says that through God's longsuffering they are prepared for destruction (vs. 22). Not that God makes anyone to be destroyed, rather people by their own rebellion, disobedience and ultimately by their hardening themselves towards God and His Will become prepared by God for the day of doom (Prov 16:4; 2 Peter 3:9). And so just as God prepares unbelieving and unrepentant people for His wrath (John 3:36), so He also prepares those who believe in His Son the Lord Jesus Christ for His mercy (Rom 5:9). Thus on the one hand of God there is the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction (gr. ἀπώλεια, Str 684), while in the other there is the vessels of mercy, which He prepared before hand for glory, through which He is making known the riches of His glory, to one and to all (vs. 23).
Vs. 24-26 24 even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? 25 As He says also in Hosea: “I will call them My people, who were not My people, And her beloved, who was not beloved.” 26 “And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.”
The Apostle Paul in declaring this great grace of God in electing us to be the recipients of it is not limiting it to just the believing Jews, but as the Scripture says, this also encompasses every believing Gentile. As evidence of this fact he cites Hosea 2:23 and 1:10 in verses 25-26 respectively. Thus from once unloved, that is not loved by God as one who is in a covenant relationship with Himself, to now beloved, and sharing in all of His covenant promises that we have in Him through Christ, so we have been brought into the New Covenant of God as full and equal partakers of it with the Jews through Christ (see Eph. 2:11-21; Gal. 3:26-29). Thus we have been called by God to be sons of the living God through Christ. (Note: The word translated "son's" here is being used generically for all of God's children whether male or female, old or young etc.).
Vs. 27-29 27 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, The remnant will be saved. 28 For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, Because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth.” 29 And as Isaiah said before: “Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, We would have become like Sodom, And we would have been made like Gomorrah.”
The Apostle Paul now cites from Isaiah 10:22-23 in verses 27-28. It is a profound prophecy of God's remnant who escape their nations apostasy and their dependency on foreign nations and powers for their deliverance, and instead return wholly and completely to the Lord God in truth who then saves them (something that will still see fulfillment in the Great Tribulation Period, i.e. "Jacobs Troubles"). Thus it is a prophecy with then current and ongoing implications for the believing remnant (the true nation of Israel which down through the ages God has faithfully preserved for Himself). As Isaiah said before: “Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, We would have become like Sodom, And we would have been made like Gomorrah.” Vs. 29
Now the seed in verse 29 (citing from Isaiah 1:9) is the remnant of Jews (consider 1 Kings 19:18) whom the Lord chose to preserve, from these the Nation of Israel would carry on as such. And so it is that the Lord preserved the Nation of Israel through both the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities and on through the Greek and Roman empires at which time He brought forth the Christ who know offers salvation one and to all who believe in His Name. And so it is that the nation of Israel as a whole redemption has been put on hold until the fulfillment of the Gentiles has come in and then all Israel will be saved, but that's getting ahead of ourselves. For now what matters most to you is that you have entered into God's Rest (Hebrews 4:10) and taken the Lord Jesus Christ's yoke upon you by faith in His Person (Matt. 11:28-30) and thus ceased from trying to earn salvation for yourselves then please do so now. For that is where the Apostle Paul is heading next, preaching and teaching the way of salvation which is not by ones works, but by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ's Person, crucified for our sins and transgressions and Risen from the dead for our justification before God. Therefore if you have not yet made that personal decision to repent and believe and thus receive the Lord Jesus Christ by faith then by all means do so now. By a simple prayer of faith you can receive the Lord Jesus Christ into your heart and life who then changes you! Therefore simply pray something like this: Dear Lord Jesus I believe that You are the Son of God and that Your were crucified for my sins and that You rose from the dead on the third day so that I can have new and everlasting with You. Therefore I now invite You into my heart and life to be my Lord and Savior, in Jesus' Name, amen.
There is then no unrighteousness with God when He elects individuals to be His own. For God is Sovereign, and that means if He elects some to salvation while He rejects others, than God is perfectly just in His doing so, because He is God. Just as He said to Moses in revealing His Person to him; “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” (Exodus 33:19). Thus salvation is not something someone wills for themselves, nor is salvation something one earns for themselves (i.e. "him who runs") salvation is, and always will be, of God who shows mercy. Thus every child of God is chosen by the Sovereign Will of God (John 1:13; 6:37; 17:2).
Vs. 17-18 17 For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” 18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.
The Apostle Paul now cites Pharaoh as a Biblical example of God's Sovereignty reaching even into the realms of a pagan ruler (who at the time was the most powerful ruler on earth). But who only became as much so that God could show His Power in him. That is when God hardened Pharaoh's heart and brought His plagues on Pharaoh and Egyptians, it was so that God's Power would be revealed to one and to all in him, that God's Name would be declared in all the earth. Thus whatever deity that was being ascribed to the Egyptian Pharaoh's, or power that was being ascribed to him or their "gods" at that time, it was completely crushed by the Divine Power and Revelation of Almighty God through him. "Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens." vs. 18
Vs. 19-21 19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” 20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
Here the Apostle Paul steps into the shoes of an unbeliever who reasons since no can resist God's Will, why does He then still find fault with them. In essence it is their assaulting the Sovereignty and Character of God by indirectly blaming Him for ones own unbelief and or wilful disobedience. Yet God's election of anyone does not make void ones own free-will to choose to believe and obey Him or not too. Everybody has a choice to believe and obey God or not too. Therefore if God finds fault with any of us, the fault is with us, not God (consider Job 42:1-6 and his repentance before Him). Therefore no one can justly reply against God, for that is only the creature in their pride exalting themselves above God the Creator and His Infinite Wisdom, Knowledge, and Understanding of all things, whose prerogative alone it is to make (and or remake) each one of us according to His own will and desires, whether for honor or dishonor (vs 19-20). Therefore to break this down for us, the Apostle Paul now uses the analogy of the potter and his clay to set this principle forth, saying, "Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?" vs. 21
And so vessel here is a metaphor for our person. Thus God takes us as lumps of clay, yet unformed, and forms us into either vessels for honor or dishonor according to His own Sovereign Will (consider Isaiah 43:7). There is then no apology given for this, since we are all individually accountable to God for what we do, not for how we are made (Psalm 58:3; Isaiah 48:8; 2 Peter 2:9).
Vs. 22-23 22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory,
The Apostle Paul now seeks to answer the question to reveal how God's wrath and His power is manifested through those who by their own willfulness and unbelief have become the objects of it (consider John 3:35-36; Rom. 1:18-19; 2:4-8; Col. 3:5-6; Rev. 6:16-17; 11:18). It harkens back to what God Himself said about Pharaoh and God's raising him up to demonstrate His power in him, and thus helps us to understand God's dealings with us all in the light of His election of us for His mercy, while He defers His wrath for a season from those who run head strong against Him. Now that God defers His wrath from the vessels of wrath is only because of His longsuffering Nature through which He does not need to immediately execute His just wrath on them (though He does exercise a form of judgment against them in this life, when He turns them over to their sins (see Rom 1:18-32) which then makes them fully qualified or prepared for His wrath. Thus the Apostle Paul says that through God's longsuffering they are prepared for destruction (vs. 22). Not that God makes anyone to be destroyed, rather people by their own rebellion, disobedience and ultimately by their hardening themselves towards God and His Will become prepared by God for the day of doom (Prov 16:4; 2 Peter 3:9). And so just as God prepares unbelieving and unrepentant people for His wrath (John 3:36), so He also prepares those who believe in His Son the Lord Jesus Christ for His mercy (Rom 5:9). Thus on the one hand of God there is the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction (gr. ἀπώλεια, Str 684), while in the other there is the vessels of mercy, which He prepared before hand for glory, through which He is making known the riches of His glory, to one and to all (vs. 23).
Vs. 24-26 24 even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? 25 As He says also in Hosea: “I will call them My people, who were not My people, And her beloved, who was not beloved.” 26 “And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.”
The Apostle Paul in declaring this great grace of God in electing us to be the recipients of it is not limiting it to just the believing Jews, but as the Scripture says, this also encompasses every believing Gentile. As evidence of this fact he cites Hosea 2:23 and 1:10 in verses 25-26 respectively. Thus from once unloved, that is not loved by God as one who is in a covenant relationship with Himself, to now beloved, and sharing in all of His covenant promises that we have in Him through Christ, so we have been brought into the New Covenant of God as full and equal partakers of it with the Jews through Christ (see Eph. 2:11-21; Gal. 3:26-29). Thus we have been called by God to be sons of the living God through Christ. (Note: The word translated "son's" here is being used generically for all of God's children whether male or female, old or young etc.).
Vs. 27-29 27 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, The remnant will be saved. 28 For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, Because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth.” 29 And as Isaiah said before: “Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, We would have become like Sodom, And we would have been made like Gomorrah.”
The Apostle Paul now cites from Isaiah 10:22-23 in verses 27-28. It is a profound prophecy of God's remnant who escape their nations apostasy and their dependency on foreign nations and powers for their deliverance, and instead return wholly and completely to the Lord God in truth who then saves them (something that will still see fulfillment in the Great Tribulation Period, i.e. "Jacobs Troubles"). Thus it is a prophecy with then current and ongoing implications for the believing remnant (the true nation of Israel which down through the ages God has faithfully preserved for Himself). As Isaiah said before: “Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, We would have become like Sodom, And we would have been made like Gomorrah.” Vs. 29
Now the seed in verse 29 (citing from Isaiah 1:9) is the remnant of Jews (consider 1 Kings 19:18) whom the Lord chose to preserve, from these the Nation of Israel would carry on as such. And so it is that the Lord preserved the Nation of Israel through both the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities and on through the Greek and Roman empires at which time He brought forth the Christ who know offers salvation one and to all who believe in His Name. And so it is that the nation of Israel as a whole redemption has been put on hold until the fulfillment of the Gentiles has come in and then all Israel will be saved, but that's getting ahead of ourselves. For now what matters most to you is that you have entered into God's Rest (Hebrews 4:10) and taken the Lord Jesus Christ's yoke upon you by faith in His Person (Matt. 11:28-30) and thus ceased from trying to earn salvation for yourselves then please do so now. For that is where the Apostle Paul is heading next, preaching and teaching the way of salvation which is not by ones works, but by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ's Person, crucified for our sins and transgressions and Risen from the dead for our justification before God. Therefore if you have not yet made that personal decision to repent and believe and thus receive the Lord Jesus Christ by faith then by all means do so now. By a simple prayer of faith you can receive the Lord Jesus Christ into your heart and life who then changes you! Therefore simply pray something like this: Dear Lord Jesus I believe that You are the Son of God and that Your were crucified for my sins and that You rose from the dead on the third day so that I can have new and everlasting with You. Therefore I now invite You into my heart and life to be my Lord and Savior, in Jesus' Name, amen.
Scripture Quotation
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.
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