One
Lump? or Two?
(Sermon Preached January 19, 1997 at Trinity Covenant
Church)
Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor? What if God, willing to show 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 wrath fitted to destruction: even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? –Romans 9:21-24
My text is
Romans 9:21-24, but our discussion will also include material from the larger
context of Chapter 9 of Romans, plus material from other parts of the Bible. I
want to explore several things today: First of all, I want to see what this
lump is; then I want to see who the potter is; then what the vessel unto
dishonor is; and then what the vessel unto honor is.
I. The lump:
Fallen Mankind
The lump is not
mankind as it came from the hand of God, but mankind as it is fallen in Adam.
The whole discussion of God's sovereignty here in Romans 9 has to do with
sinful man. Paul is discussing his passion that Israel be saved. His passion
rises so high as to say, “I could wish myself accursed from Christ for my
brethren.” “I could wish.” He recognizes that such a wish would be ungodly, for
it would be wishing against the will of God. He knows every individual in
Israel will not be saved and presents the historical precedents and doctrinal
reasons for knowing that. But he is comforted in the sovereignty of God: and
submits to the truth that not all Israel will be saved.
Historical
illustrations
Notwithstanding
God's promise to Abraham, not all Israel is Israel. Not even all of Abraham's
seed (natural) were counted for children. Abraham was called from Ur of the
Chaldees and separated from the rest of the world, and God promised to make a
great nation of him and bless the world in him. But not all of Abraham's
children were elect. The Jews of Paul's day knew this, and gloried in being
Abraham's seed, and gloried in their distinction from the rest of the world,
and from the other children of Abraham. They knew that Isaac was the promised
son, and gloried in their descent from Isaac.
But Paul refined
the argument, and takes it further than would be comfortable to the Jews. God's
blessing upon Israel had nothing to do with foreseen goodness or merit in
Israel, but was because of His own sovereign will. God's will not only resulted
in the distinction that Israel enjoyed, but it also would result in the
distinction and election of individuals within Israel itself, so that not all
Israelites would be saved. Not only that, but God, through His own sovereign
will, would elect individuals throughout the world unto salvation, and harden
others in their sins. All for His own purpose.
Paul's reason
for his statement, “Not all Israel is Israel” is this:
1. Not all of Isaac's children were blessed.
Before the
children were born, before they had done any good or evil (taking away foreseen
faith), it was said, “the elder would serve the younger.” This was done for the
purpose of letting us know that God's choice is according to the secrets of His
own will, not because of any foreseen faith or good. (verse 11). It is possible
to argue that this is not true, but it is not possible to argue that Paul did
not say this. He said what he said.
First Objection
Lest we imagine
that this is not Paul's argument, he answers the most common argument raised
even today against free election and sovereignty, “It isn't fair for God to do
this.” “Is there unrighteousness with God?” Instead of Paul apologizing
and saying he was misunderstood, that he really didn't mean to teach
unconditional election, he brings forth the doctrine that God taught Moses: “I
will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I
will have compassion.” And Paul interprets this doctrine to mean, “It is not
man's will, but God who shows mercy.” (vs. 16) Once again, it is possible to
disagree with Paul, but it is impossible for a thinking person to say that Paul
is not saying what he said.
2. Pharaoh
As a further
illustration, Paul brings forth Pharaoh. God raised him up for the purpose of
showing His power. God hardened Pharaoh and made a champio n of him, so that he
would be a “worthy opponent” upon which God would show His power in the land of
Egypt. God stiffened Pharaoh (for who can stand against God?) to resist the words
of Moses and bring occasion for the signs and wonders that God did by Moses'
hand in Egypt, so that God's name might be declared throughout the earth. (vs.
17) This also illustrates that God gives mercy as He pleases, and hardens whom
He will.
This illustrates
that the differentiation that God made in Israel according to His own will,
applies to the whole world, not just between Jacob and Esau. For this calling
to eternal life by the free mercy of God is applied not only to Israel, but
also to the Gentiles (vs. 24,25). This does not negate God's promise to Abraham
or make the word of God of none effect, because not all Israel is Israel;
neither are all of Abraham's or Isaac's children blessed. (vs. 6,7)
Second Objection
That this is
Paul's argument appears from the second objection, which is raised against this
truth even today. If God raises up the wicked and uses them for His glory, why
does He judge the wicked? It is impossible to resist the will of God, man is
just a robot, and why does God judge the world. (vs. 19) Once again, Paul does
not plead that he is misunderstood, but drives the stake in even further. “Who
are you to argue against God? Can't He do as He pleases?” (vs. 20,21).
3. The Potter
and the Clay
This figure
first appears in Genesis 2:7. God formed man in His own image as a potter forms
a pot, as the Hebrew indicates. But God made only one vessel in Gen. 2:7, for
it could not be that God would create anything just for wrath and damnation.
No, God made Adam (mankind) for fellowship and glory. Eve was formed of that
same lump, of Adam's own substance. There was but one lump, as man came from
the hand of God; a lump good, holy, and perfect. God formed that lump into the
image of God and loved him, showering him with blessings and excellencies.
The Origin of
Sin
But the lump
became corrupt and wicked, because when Adam sinned his first sin, his nature
became corrupt, and all those who came from Adam and Eve partake of his nature,
a common human nature that is contaminated and corrupted with sin. Sin passed
upon all men. (Rom. 5)
This is the
mass, the lump spoken of by Paul in Romans 9. It is a corrupt mass that God
now, as the moral governor of the world, forms into two types of vessels: one
to mercy (implying that it was formed from a corrupt mass), and one to wrath
(implying that it is a mass corrupt and deserving of judgment).
The ungodly are
called vessels of wrath, because their nature is corrupt (Eph. 2:1ff) and
worthy of the wrath and judgment of God. The godly are called vessels of mercy,
because they also are formed from a corrupt nature, worthy of the wrath and
judgment of God.
II. Who is the
potter? vs. 21
This is God, the
governor of the world. Solemn words are these: hath not the potter power over
the clay? Will your sinfulness pull God from the throne, and permit you to seat
yourself there? Of course not. When the potter takes the lump of clay into his
hands, it is his will alone that decides the form. “Power” means authority or
right. This word is used in Matt. 21:23. After Jesus entered triumphantly into
Jerusalem, the chief priests and elders asked, “By what authority do you do
these things?” “What right do you have?” What right does the potter have over
the clay? This figure is used in Isaiah 64:6-8 where the godly in Israel are filled
with sorrow and freely acknowledge God's right over their souls. They mourn and
confess their sins, and acknowledge that their troubles have come from the hand
of God.
On the other
hand, Isaiah 29:13-16 sets forth the obstinacy and stubbornness of the
unrepentant. God would exercise His sovereign power over the presumptuous clay
which says, “He made me not.” God would show that their works were but clay,
and would make the wisdom of their wise men to perish, and the understanding of
their prudent men to be hidden. God is God, and nothing that man does of either
good or evil can change that. “He works all things after the counsel of His own
will.” (Ephesians 1)
III. The vessels
of wrath
The vessels of
wrath are those that come forth from the corrupt and polluted mass of mankind.
They are the wicked that go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.
The mass of
mankind born of Adam is corrupt, and God is under no moral requirement to do
anything but damn them. Our condition is described in Romans 1 and Romans 3.
Everything we do is an affront to God. He is angry with us every day. But that
does not mean that He does not work in the lives of the ungodly. He does work,
with fearful results.
God's purpose
for the Ungodly
God has a
purpose to glorify Himself in the damnation of the wicked. He is not the cause
of their wickedness, for the lump is corrupt because of Adam's sin. But God has
a purpose even in the wicked, a good purpose: He will show forth His power and
might.
So he endures
them. (verse 22) He is longsuffering. He does not bring judgment upon them
immediately. He lets their corruption flourish and bring forth fruit, so that
all moral and rational creatures might see that the tree is corrupt and worthy
of judgment.
The wicked are
shaped to God's own end just as Pharaoh was. God did no t make the lump
corrupt, that comes from Adam; but God did not just abandon the lump; No, He is
God. He forms that lump into a vessel of dishonor, for God has a use even for
the ungodly. Just as the fire hardens the clay, so God hardened Pharaoh in his
wickedness, the wickedness of the lump, and Pharaoh in his wickedness did what
God wanted him to do. But Pharaoh did not consciously give God glory, and that
is the reason for God's judgment upon him.
God did the same
with Pilate and Herod in the days of Chr ist. God shaped them to the end He had
for them. He did not make them wicked; but He shaped their corrupt and foul
nature to do what He intended to be done: Acts 4:27-29.
Spoiled Clay:
Jeremiah 18:3-6.
The clay was
spoiled in the hand of the Potter. But God can still do what He wants with it.
Beware of hardening your heart against the Lord: He may make something of you
that will bring joy to the universe when you are thrown down into the flames of
hell. He did not make you wicked; but He will shape your wickedness to His own ends,
and to His own praise. You cannot blame God for the wickedness of mankind, for
God made Adam good and perfect. Adam's sin was his own, and your sin is your
own because you are made from the same lump. When you talk of justice and
fairness, you must know that all are worthy to be damned, because we do not
give God glory. (Rom. 3:23)
IV. The vessels
of honor and mercy.
Here we see the
wonders of grace and mercy. From that same lump from which the vessels of wrath
are taken, God does something that only God can do.
He takes of that
same lump--that corrupt and polluted mass--and makes a new creation. (2Cor.
5:17) This is more wonderful than what He did in the beginning when He first
formed man. There He used the dust of the earth, a neutral substance, and made
man, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.
But here, He
takes a wicked mass; a corrupt mass; a polluted mass. “God commended his love
toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8)
“Not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us.” God
chose Abraham when he worshipped other gods in Ur. Isaac was the son of the
promise, but Abraham received him as it were from the dead. Jacob was chosen
while yet in his mother's womb, before he had done either good or evil. But God
has said it better than I could ever say it: Ephesians 2:8-10: “For by grace
are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
not of works lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should
walk in them.”
Philippians
1:3-5: “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, Always in every prayer of
mine for you all making request with joy, For your fellowship in the gospel
from the first day until now; Being confident of this very thing, that he which
hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Christ....”
Philippians
2:12,13. “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my
presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling, for it is God that worketh in you both to will and to
do of his good pleasure.”
2Thess. 2:13-14:
“But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the
Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: whereunto he called you
by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ....”
Application
Charles Hodge
makes four applications of this wonderful teaching of the Bible.
1.
Profound humility. When we understand that we have no
righteousness of our own, no goodness of our own, no power of our own even to
make a good choice, then our salvation brings a profound sense of humility.
This is the meaning of Isaiah 64:6-8 quoted above. “Thou art the potter, we are
the clay.” We are what you have formed us to be. We are thine, and thou art our
father. Self-will; boasting of strength, glorying in wisdom and knowledge: these
are the works of the flesh and belong to the corrupt lump derived from Adam. It
is the poor in spirit who inherit the kingdom of God. It is Jesus Christ who is
made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. (I
Cor. 1:30, 31) We are to glory only in the Lord.
2.
Liveliest gratitude: A grumpy Christian is a oxymoron.
The joy of salvation is a joy unspeakable. The corrupt lump can never know this
joy, but only finds disillusionment, bitterness, and despair, because these are
the end of the works of man.
3.
Confidence and peace: Paul tells us that God's grace
triumphs over all. (Rom. 5) If Christ died for us when we were without
strength, when we were ungodly, when we were the enemies of God--if He did all
that when we were of that corrupt lump--how much more will He do for us now
that we have been made His friends, and have received the atonement? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Shall infirmities? Wicked people? the devil? What are they before the Potter,
for they too are shaped according to His will. “Thus saith thy Lord the
LORD, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken
out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury;
thou shalt no more drink it again: but I will put it into the hand of them that
afflict thee....” (Is. 51:22,23.) “Behold,
I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth
forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. No
weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall
rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the
servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.” (Is.
54:16,17)
4.
Diligence in all duties: to make our calling and
election sure. Works of faith are the only evidence that we can give that we
are elect to eternal life. Men cannot see our faith, and we can be easily
deceived, just as the scribes and pharisees were. We have been called to good
works and to faithful labor in the kingdom of God, not to ease and laziness. God
working in us does not lead to ease and laziness. It is God who works in us
both to will and to do of His good pleasure. By His Spirit, our spirits are
quickened to life (Eph. 2). This is what gives horsepower to true Christianity:
the knowledge that all our sins are washed away by the blood of Christ, and
that our labor is not in vain in the Lord. The labor is a labor of love and
gratitude, not of slavishness and fear. It is a blessed labor, not a labor to
gain a blessing.
May God bless
you. Will you acknowledge the Potter to be your God? Will you yield to Him?
Jesus died to take away sins, and if you believe, you will know the power of
God for your blessing and comfort.
Write:
Pastor C. W.
Powell
Trinity Covenant
Church (RCUS)
6050 Del Paz
Drive
Colorado
Springs, CO 80918
719-590-1477
