As vessels of mercy unto honor and glory, we were chosen by God according to His sovereign mercy (Rom. 9:11-16). The expression “sovereign mercy” means that God’s mercy is absolutely according to His sovereignty. Being a vessel of mercy is not the result of our choice; it originates with God’s sovereignty. It is of God’s sovereignty that He created us vessels of mercy to contain Himself. His sovereignty is the basis of His selection.
In Romans 9:15 Paul quotes the Lord’s words, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy.” Because of God’s mercy we responded to the gospel when others did not respond, 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. Concerning the gospel, the ministry of life, and the church life, God, in His sovereignty, has had mercy on us. Therefore, we must praise Him for His sovereign mercy.
In society selection is related to birth, upbringing, education, and success. Divine selection is absolutely different. God chose us even before we were born, in fact, before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). Human selection depends on what people are in themselves. Those who are good, promising, or successful are likely to be selected. God’s selection, on the contrary, does not depend on what we are; it depends entirely on God’s sovereignty and His desire. This is illustrated by the case of Jacob and Esau. Before they were born, God told Rebecca, “The greater shall serve the less” (Rom. 9:12). God’s choice was made before the children were born, before they had done anything good or bad. This was that the “purpose of God according to selection might remain, not of works, but of Him who calls” (v. 11). If we were to ask God why He chose Jacob and not Esau, He might reply, “I am sovereign, and I have the full authority to do whatever I desire.”
Another illustration of God’s sovereign mercy found in Romans 9 is that of the potter and the clay. Paul says, “O man, who are you that replies against God? Shall the thing formed say to him who formed it, Why did you make me thus? Or has not the potter authority over the clay, out of the same lump to make one vessel to honor and another to dishonor?” (vv. 20-21). God is the potter, and we are the clay. As the potter God has authority over the clay. If He wills, He can make one vessel to honor and another to dishonor. This does not depend on our choice-it depends on His sovereignty.
In 9:23 and 24 Paul goes on to ask, “And what if He should make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He had before prepared unto glory, even us, whom He has also called, not only from among the Jews, but also from among the nations?” All depends on God’s authority. God has the authority to make us, whom He has selected and called, vessels of mercy to contain Him so that the riches of His glory may be made known, manifested. According to His sovereign authority, He before prepared us unto glory. We were predestinated by His sovereignty to be His containers, vessels of mercy unto honor and glory to express Him. This is altogether a matter of God’s sovereign mercy.
We have pointed out that in 9:16 Paul tells us that “it is not of the one who wills, nor of the one who runs, but of God, the One who shows mercy.” 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. If this were the case, then God’s selection of us as vessels of mercy would be according to our effort and labor. But it is not so. God’s selection is of God who shows mercy. We do not need to will or to run, for God sovereignly has had mercy on us.
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