Romans 9:22

22. God The Almighty Potter.

Willing That is, will -ing, determining.

Show Not merely to feel, but to reveal in action, and in conspicuous cases, like Pharaoh, to make it memorable in history.

Wrath Of a perfectly just Being the wrath must be perfect justice, exerted in executive action. The Almighty Potter determines to show his wrath consequently upon the vessel’s determining persistently to show his perversity. So in Jeremiah 18:19, the potter’s vessel is broken after its living impersonations had persevered in final hardness.

Power known In penalty like a God.

Endured… longsuffering Both these expressions contradict the dogma that God predestinates the obduracy of the vessel of wrath. The apostle’s theory is not predetermination, but non-prevention of the sin. God endured, not decreed, with much longsuffering, not with a hypocritical “secret will” in its favour. The words endured, and in the next verse prepared, are instances of Paul’s aoristic tenses as explained in our notes on Romans 3:23; Romans 4:12; Romans 8:29.

Vessels of wrath Because persistent vessels of perversity.

Fitted Alike by their own obduracy and God’s forbearance. Mark St. Paul’s caution in saying that God himself prepared the obedient vessel for glory, (Romans 9:23.) He does not say that God prepared the vessel of wrath. As Fletcher of Madeley says, “Our salvation is of God; our damnation is of ourselves.”