Scripture Reading: Rev. 4:11; Dan. 4:3, 34-35; Lam. 5:19; Rom. 9:15-16, 18-23; Heb. 4:16
Ⅰ
It is crucial that we see a vision of God's sovereignty—Dan. 4:3, 34-35; Rom. 9:18-23:
A
Sovereignty refers to God's unlimited authority, power, and position—Rev. 4:11; 5:13:
１
As the sovereign One, God is above everything, behind everything, and in everything—1 Kings 22:19.
２
God has the full capacity to carry out what He wants according to the desire of His heart and according to His eternal economy—Dan. 4:34-35; Eph. 1:4-5, 9-11.
B
Romans 9:19-23 refers to God's sovereignty:
１
"For who withstands His will? But rather, O man, who are you who answer back to God? Shall the thing molded say to him who molded it, Why did you make me thus?"—vv. 19b-20:
ａ
We need to realize who we are: we are God's creatures, and He is our Cre-ator—Isa. 42:5.
ｂ
As His creatures, we should not resist His purpose or answer back to Him, the Creator—Rom. 9:20.
２
"Does not the potter have authority over the clay to make out of the same lump one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor?"—v. 21:
ａ
God is the Potter, and we are the clay in His hand; God, the Potter, is sovereign—Jer. 18:1-6.
ｂ
As the Potter, our God has the absolute right over us; regarding us, He has the right to do whatever He desires—Isa. 29:16; 64:8.
ｃ
If God wills, He can make one vessel unto honor and another unto dis-honor—Rom. 9:21.
３
Romans 9:21-23 reveals that God sovereignly created us to be His containers, according to His predestination—2 Cor. 4:7; 2 Tim. 2:20-21; Eph. 1:5, 11:
ａ
It is of God's sovereignty that He, the Potter, makes the riches of His glory known by creating vessels of mercy to contain Himself—Rom. 9:23.
ｂ
Being vessels unto honor is not the result of our choice; it originates with God's sovereignty—v. 21.
ｃ
God's sovereignty is the basis of His selection; His selection depends on His sovereignty—vv. 11, 18; 11:5, 28.
４
"In order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He had before prepared unto glory"—9:23:
ａ
In His sovereignty God has the authority to make the ones He has selec-ted and called vessels of mercy to contain Him in order that His glory might be manifested—vv. 11, 18, 23-24.
ｂ
According to His sovereign authority, He has prepared us unto glory— v. 23:
⑴
We were predestinated by His sovereignty to be His containers.
⑵
This is the climax of our usefulness to God—the goal of God's selec-tion according to His sovereignty—vv. 11, 18.
C
On the one hand, God hardened Pharaoh's heart (Exo. 4:21; 7:3; 9:12; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8); on the other hand, Pharaoh himself hardened his own heart (8:15, 32; 9:34):
１
This indicates that God is sovereign (Rom. 9:14-24) and that man has a free will created by God and is therefore responsible for his actions.
２
God's sovereignty and man's free will correspond and are not contradictory.
３
God first hardened Pharaoh's heart in His sovereignty (Exo. 4:21), and Phar-aoh carried out this hardening through his own free will.
D
"You, O Jehovah, abide forever; / Your throne is from generation to generation"— Lam. 5:19:
１
In verse 19 Jeremiah, changing his position and angle from himself to God, refers to God's eternal being and unchanging government.
２
Jerusalem was overthrown, the temple was burned down, and God's people were carried away, but Jehovah, the Lord of the universe, remains to exercise His administration.
３
God's eternal being and His throne are higher than His lovingkindness, com-passions, and faithfulness; God's lovingkindness and compassion may fluctu-ate, but God's person and government remain unchanging forever—3:22-23; 5:19.
４
In the New Jerusalem, God will be fully unveiled in His person as the eter-nal King and in His government as His eternal, unshakable kingdom, both of which are the unshakable foundation of His dealing with His people— Heb. 12:28; Rev. 22:3.
Ⅱ
"'I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy'…So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy"—Rom. 9:15a, 16:
A
Mercy is the most far reaching of God's attributes, going further than His grace and love—Matt. 9:13:
１
According to our natural condition, we were far removed from God, totally unworthy of His grace; we were eligible only to receive His mercy—Eph. 2:4.
２
Man's disobedience affords God's mercy an opportunity, and God's mercy brings man to salvation—Rom. 11:32.
B
Our concept is that the one who wills will gain what he wills to obtain and that the one who runs will gain what he runs after—9:16:
１
If this were the case, God's selection would be according to our effort and labor.
２
On the contrary, God's selection is of God who shows mercy; we do not need to will or run, for God has mercy on us.
３
If we know God's mercy, we will neither trust in our effort nor be disappointed by our failures; the hope for our wretched condition is in God's mercy—Eph. 2:4.
C
If we would serve God in His New Testament economy, we need to know that it is wholly a matter of God's sovereign mercy—Rom. 9:15-16; Heb. 4:16:
１
If we know God's sovereignty, we will thank Him for His mercy, realizing that we are under His sovereign mercy—Rom. 9:15:
ａ
The expression sovereign mercy means that God's mercy is absolutely a matter of God's sovereignty.
ｂ
Being a vessel of mercy is not the result of our choice; it originates with God's sovereignty—v. 18.
ｃ
God's mercy to us is in His sovereignty; the only thing we can say to ex-plain God's mercy to us is that in His sovereignty, He has chosen to be merciful to us—vv. 15-16, 23.
２
In God's sovereign mercy, our hearts are inclined toward Him; because of His mercy to us, we seek Him day by day—Jer. 29:13; Deut. 4:29; Isa. 55:6.
３
The more we see that everything related to us is a matter of God's mercy, the more we will bear our responsibility before the Lord; however, even our will-ingness to bear responsibility is of God's mercy.
４
Because of God's mercy, we responded to the gospel when others did not re-spond, we received a word about Christ as life when others refused to receive it, and we took the way of the Lord's recovery when others drew back from taking this way.
５
Regarding His recovery, God has mercy on whom He will have mercy.
D
Romans 9 reveals the principle that everything depends on God's mercy— vv. 15-16:
１
The apostle Paul applied this principle to the Israelites, showing us that everything that happened to them was of God's mercy—vv. 16, 23.
２
There must be at least one time when we see God's mercy and definitely touch His mercy—Eph. 2:4; Matt. 9:13:
ａ
Concerning this matter, our eyes need to be opened at least once; there must be at least one time when we see that everything depends on God's mercy.
ｂ
Whether we see this all at once, or we realize it through a process, the minute we touch this matter, we touch not a feeling but a fact; this fact is that everything depends on God's mercy.
E
"Let us therefore come forward with boldness to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace for timely help"—Heb. 4:16.
F
In His sovereignty God the Father has had mercy on us; therefore, we must praise and worship Him for His sovereign mercy:
１
"Father, we enjoy Thy mercy, / Ever fresh and ever new; / Every morning shed upon us, / It refreshes as the dew. / How we taste it! how we taste it! / Giving Thee the praises due"—Hymns, #26, stanza 5.
２
"Father, Thy mercy with Thy love and grace / Did we obtain; / And in Thy mercy, with Thee face to face, / We'll e'er remain; / And for Thy mercy we would worship Thee / Through all our days and through eternity"—Hymns, #25, stanza 3.