The Potter and the Clay

Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth He yet find fault? For who hath resisted His will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

What if God, willing to shew His wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory, Even us, whom He hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

— Romans 9:19–24

God is the sovereign of the universe. God is all powerful. He is righteous and He is merciful.

The arguments against God come in many ways from men who say, “Why would a good God allow evil? Why does a powerful God allow evil? And, if God is in control, then it is really His fault that bad things happen in this world.”

Thus says the one who is ignorant of the truth of Scripture.

While God is willing to show His wrath against all evil and wickedness, many are appalled that He does not immediately bring down the hammer upon the wicked. They do often forget though that they would be on the receiving end of that wrath, and that His seeming slowness to show His wrath is in truth His merciful kindness toward them.

God has shown His wrath in the past upon His enemies and has foretold His coming wrath to the world that rejected His Son in the Holy Scriptures. He has shown of the coming wrath in the prophetic writings, most notably in the Book of the Revelation. He has that wrath in such a way so that the Greek word “apocalypse”, which is translated “Revelation”, in these days does not mean an “unveiling” or a “revealing”, i.e., a revelation, but it means in common usage a time of horrible disaster and the “end of the world”.

But as God has said of Himself, He is slow to wrath, and He has shown us His longsuffering for which we see and are thankful.

What if God, willing to shew His wrath, and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction.

Read that carefully. God endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath. In the next clause, we have this: And that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy. Who are the vessels of His mercy? Why, they are those who He was longsuffering with and should have received His wrath! The vessels of mercy and the vessels of wrath are the same people. They are the vessels of mercy because they are the vessels deserving His wrath, but He is longsuffering and merciful to them, so now they are the vessels of His mercy.

Now in the context of Romans 9, what is the Apostle Paul speaking about?

He is talking about Israel! He is referring to Israel’s fall due to unbelief and how God is dealing with them and the rest of mankind while Israel is in unbelief. Israel had the “first-born” position with God and was in the place of great privilege as His Covenant people (See Romans 9:1–5). After this, we see that God chose the path through Isaac, and then Jacob, not because of any inherent good in them and in their posterity but because He chose that way out of His sovereignty.

The apostle has not changed the subject to speak about choosing some to be saved and some to be lost when he brings up the potter and the clay. He is speaking concerning Israel, just as Jeremiah was speaking about Israel when he first prophesied about the potter and the clay:

Jeremiah 18:1–10 — “The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

“Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.”

The Lord’s point in both places is the same, whether speaking through the Prophet Jeremiah or through the Apostle Paul. The Lord says that it is up to Him — it is His sovereign prerogative — to deal with the vessel that He created. God’s will was to be merciful to Israel, and it is His will that if they will be disobedient and rebellious He will show mercy on the Gentiles without them. The prophets speak concerning Israel bringing the Gentiles to God by their light. See, for instance, Isaiah chapters 49 and 60. Israel in rebellion rejected God’s Christ, not only in His ministry among them on earth, but also in resurrection and by the witness of the Holy Spirit through the twelve apostles and their delegates as recorded in the book of Acts. The Apostle Paul also was sent by Christ to bear His name to the children of Israel (Acts 9:15). In all cases, the record shows that at home in Jerusalem, or dispersed abroad among the Gentiles, the Israelites as a whole (notwithstanding the “remnant according to the election of grace”) rejected God’s Christ. It is also recorded in the book of Acts that they have therefore been given over to a spirit of blindness. See Acts 28:24–28, 13:44–47 (13:6–11), 18:5–6; Romans 11:25.

While God would not allow unbelieving Israel to stand in the way of the Gentiles receiving the Lord and turning to Him in faith, He has also not left Israel outside of the bounds of His mercy. Individual Israelites then and to this day have the opportunity to trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior and the One who is truly God’s Messiah. We will see that in detail later in Romans chapter 10, but for a preview:

Romans 10:1, 9, 12–13 — “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. … That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. … For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Israel in unbelief is at the same level as the Gentiles in unbelief. On equal ground as sinners before God and in need of His mercy. God shows to Jews and Gentiles alike, condemned under sin, His grace through the cross of Jesus Christ. There is no difference, for all have sinned, but now all can come to Him through the cross — not on the basis of any covenants, but by the cross — and be justified by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

This includes you. Have you come to God through Jesus Christ by the way of the cross of Calvary in belief of His gospel? The gospel has been published to the ends of the earth and God has commanded all men everywhere to believe it and be saved. The gospel message is that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and that He rose again as the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:1–4. Will you be obedient to God and believe it or dwell in rebellion trying to establish your own righteousness, or even shaking your fist at God while saying “I will live my way”. God has one gospel to the entire world today and that is the Gospel of His Grace. You can either receive it and believe it, or you can fight it and refuse, but you have no say over the consequences.

2 Thessalonians 1:7–10 — “…when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power; When He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.”

Much has been said in the present day about being on the “right side of history”, often when really standing for things that will place you squarely not only on the “wrong side” of history, but more importantly on the “wrong side” of the Lord Jesus Christ. What side will you be on in the day in which HE is revealed?