The Sovereignty of God (Romans 9)
"I am speaking the truth in Christ--I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit-- 2that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. 4They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.
6But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." 8This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. 9For this is what the promise said: "About this time next year I will return and Sarah shall have a son." 10And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11though 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 his call-- 12she was told, "The older will serve the younger." 13As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."
14What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! 15For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 16So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17For 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." 18So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
19You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?" 20But 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?" 21Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honored use and another for dishonorable use? 22What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory-- 24even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25As indeed he says in Hosea, "Those who were not my people I will call 'my people,' and her who was not beloved I will call 'beloved.'" 26"And in the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' there they will be called 'sons of the living God.'"
27And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, 28for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay." 29And as Isaiah predicted, "If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah."
Israel's Unbelief 30What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. 32Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33as it is written, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame."
In this passage of Scripture, Paul talks about the sovereignty of God. We will see that God is sovereign in five ways. But first, what does sovereignty mean when it relates to God?
Definition: Wayne Grudem defines God’s sovereignty as his “exercise of power over his creation.” Furthermore, this relates to God’s providence in that he “is continually involved with all created things in such a way that (1) he keeps them existing and maintaining the properties with which he created them; (2) cooperates with created things in every action, directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as they do; and (3) directs them to fulfill his purposes.” (Grudem)
1. God’s plans are sovereign (v.1-5) – Why did Paul have great sorrow in his heart for the Jews? The Jews had all the privileges that one needed from God. God chose them to be His people. He gave them the covenants, the law, worship, and promises of a Messiah. And most importantly, from their race, comes Christ, God in the flesh. For some reason, God chose Israel to carry out his plan and God’s plans are sovereign.
2. God’s choices are sovereign (v.6-13) – Not all who are Jews are real “Jews.” What does this mean? God selected certain Jews to fulfill his promise. Also, not all Jews had faith in God’s promise of Christ. God chose Isaac and not Ishmael, and God chose Jacob and Esau? Why? We don’t know but we do know that God has a purpose for everything and his choices for everything are sovereign.
3. God’s will is sovereign (v.14-18) – Are these things fair? Basically, Paul states that God can do whatever He chooses. He told Moses that He will have mercy on whoever He decides to have mercy on. God rose pharaoh up for the explicit reason of using him to glorify God. God’s will for whatever He desires, according to His character, is sovereign.
4. God’s power is sovereign (v.19-29) – Can people who were not given mercy by God complain against him? No. The created thing has no right to complain against the creator. Why would Paul refer to humans as a lump of clay which cannot make any decisions? Paul may have been referring to the hardness of Israel and how they are like lumps of clay and that God had blinded them on purpose, much like an inanimate object of clay cannot see. God has prepared the Jews for destruction in order to make the riches of his glory known through the Gentiles. Paul was using these terms, as William Barclay states, “out of anguish of heart” for his people, the Jews. With a heavy heart Paul surmises that God has used the Jews to bring God glory through their rejection of Him. God’s power is sovereign.
5. God’s grace is sovereign (v.30-33) – The Jews searched for righteousness by thinking it was something to be earned, or attained on one’s own merits. However, the Gentiles know that righteousness is something given to us from God, Himself. There is nothing that we can do to attain it. The Jews have stumbled over this fact: that one comes to righteousness through faith in Christ Jesus. God’s grace is sovereign.
6But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." 8This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. 9For this is what the promise said: "About this time next year I will return and Sarah shall have a son." 10And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11though 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 his call-- 12she was told, "The older will serve the younger." 13As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."
14What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! 15For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 16So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17For 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." 18So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
19You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?" 20But 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?" 21Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honored use and another for dishonorable use? 22What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory-- 24even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25As indeed he says in Hosea, "Those who were not my people I will call 'my people,' and her who was not beloved I will call 'beloved.'" 26"And in the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' there they will be called 'sons of the living God.'"
27And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, 28for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay." 29And as Isaiah predicted, "If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah."
Israel's Unbelief 30What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. 32Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33as it is written, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame."
In this passage of Scripture, Paul talks about the sovereignty of God. We will see that God is sovereign in five ways. But first, what does sovereignty mean when it relates to God?
Definition: Wayne Grudem defines God’s sovereignty as his “exercise of power over his creation.” Furthermore, this relates to God’s providence in that he “is continually involved with all created things in such a way that (1) he keeps them existing and maintaining the properties with which he created them; (2) cooperates with created things in every action, directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as they do; and (3) directs them to fulfill his purposes.” (Grudem)
1. God’s plans are sovereign (v.1-5) – Why did Paul have great sorrow in his heart for the Jews? The Jews had all the privileges that one needed from God. God chose them to be His people. He gave them the covenants, the law, worship, and promises of a Messiah. And most importantly, from their race, comes Christ, God in the flesh. For some reason, God chose Israel to carry out his plan and God’s plans are sovereign.
2. God’s choices are sovereign (v.6-13) – Not all who are Jews are real “Jews.” What does this mean? God selected certain Jews to fulfill his promise. Also, not all Jews had faith in God’s promise of Christ. God chose Isaac and not Ishmael, and God chose Jacob and Esau? Why? We don’t know but we do know that God has a purpose for everything and his choices for everything are sovereign.
3. God’s will is sovereign (v.14-18) – Are these things fair? Basically, Paul states that God can do whatever He chooses. He told Moses that He will have mercy on whoever He decides to have mercy on. God rose pharaoh up for the explicit reason of using him to glorify God. God’s will for whatever He desires, according to His character, is sovereign.
4. God’s power is sovereign (v.19-29) – Can people who were not given mercy by God complain against him? No. The created thing has no right to complain against the creator. Why would Paul refer to humans as a lump of clay which cannot make any decisions? Paul may have been referring to the hardness of Israel and how they are like lumps of clay and that God had blinded them on purpose, much like an inanimate object of clay cannot see. God has prepared the Jews for destruction in order to make the riches of his glory known through the Gentiles. Paul was using these terms, as William Barclay states, “out of anguish of heart” for his people, the Jews. With a heavy heart Paul surmises that God has used the Jews to bring God glory through their rejection of Him. God’s power is sovereign.
5. God’s grace is sovereign (v.30-33) – The Jews searched for righteousness by thinking it was something to be earned, or attained on one’s own merits. However, the Gentiles know that righteousness is something given to us from God, Himself. There is nothing that we can do to attain it. The Jews have stumbled over this fact: that one comes to righteousness through faith in Christ Jesus. God’s grace is sovereign.
posted by Charlie Wallace at
11:46 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home