Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
B. 9:14-29 SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD STATED AND JUSTIFIED
1. Romans 9:14-18 GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY IN SALVATION
a. 9:14a PAUL STATES THE PROBLEM
Ti oun eROUmen?
What shall we say therefore?
b. 9:14b DON’T JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS ABOUT GOD
me a-diKIa [93] paRA to TheO?
Is there unrighteousness with :God?
c. 9:14c DON’T EVEN CONSIDER UNRIGHTEOUSNESS WITH GOD
me GEnoi-to.
Be it not so.
d. 9:15 GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY
to Mo-uSEI gar LEgei, E-leEso [1653] hon an e-leO,
For he says to :Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
kai oik-teiREso [3627] hon an oikTEIro.
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.
e. 9:16 GOD’S SOVEREIGN RIGHT
Ara oun ou tou THElon-tos [2309],
So then it is :not of him that wills,
ouDE tou TREchon-tos [5143], alLA tou e-leONtos TheOU.
nor of him that runs, but of God that has mercy.
f. 9:17 GOD’S SOVEREIGN PURPOSES IN PHARAOH
LEgei gar he graPHE [1124] to Pha-raO [HOti], Eis auTO TOUto eXEgeiRA [1825] se,
For the scripture says to :Pharaoh [that], For this very thing did I raise you up,
HOpos enDEIxo-mai [1731] en soi ten DUnaMIN [1411] mou,
that I might show in you my :power,
kai HOpos di-ag-geLE [1229] to OnoMA [3686] mou en PAse te ge.
and that my :name be published abroad in all the earth.
g. 9:18 THE PRINCIPLE OF SOVEREIGNTY REITERATED
Ara oun hon THElei [2309] e-leEI [1653], hon de THElei skleRUnei [4645].
So then he has mercy on whom he will, and whom he will he hardens.
2. 9:19-29 GOD’S DEALINGS VINDICATED
a. 9:19a OUR PROBLEM WITH GOD ADDRESSED
E-REIS moi oun, Ti Eti MEMphe-tai [2089]?
You will say then to me, Why blames he still?
b. 9:19b PROBLEM ADDRESSED YET FURTHER
to gar bouLEma-ti [1013] auTOU tis anTHESte-ken [436]?
For who withstands his :purpose?
c. 9:20a PAUL’S CAUTIONARY TO US
o ANthro-pe meNOUNge, su tis ei ho an-ta-po-kriNOme-nos [470] to TheO?
Nay but, O man, who are you that replies against :God?
d. 9:20b AN UNREASONABLE QUESTION
me eREI to PLASma [4110] to PLAsan-ti [4111], Ti me ePOIe-sas [4160] HOUtos?
Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why did you make me thus?
e. 9:21 THE REASONABLE RIGHT OF THE POTTER
e ouk Echei e-xouSIan [1849] ho ke-raMEUS [2763] tou peLOU [4081],
Or has not the potter authority over the clay,
ek tou auTOU phuRAma-tos [5445] poiEsai ho men eis tiMEN [5092] SKEUos [4632],
from the same lump to make one part a vessel unto honor,
ho de eis a-tiMIan [819]?
and another unto dishonor?
f. 9:22-24 GOD’S RIGHT: TO CONTRAST HIS MERCY OVER AGAINST HIS WRATH
ei de THElon, ho TheOS, enDEIxas-thai [1731] ten orGEN [3709],
What if :God, willing to show :wrath,
kai gnoRIsai to du-naTON auTOU, Eneg-ken [5342] en polLE
and to make his :power known, bore with much
ma-kro-thuMIa [3115] SKEUe orGES ka-ter-tisMEna [2675] eis aPOlei-an [684]:
long-suffering vessels of wrath fitted unto destruction:
HIna gnoRIse [1107 ton PLOUton [4149] tes DOxes [1391] auTOU
23 that he might make known the riches of his :glory
ePI SKEUe eLEous, ha pro-eTOIma-sen [4282] eis DOxan,
upon vessels of mercy, which he afore prepared unto glory,
hous kai eKAle-sen, heMAS, ou MOnon ex I-ouDAIon, alLA kai ex ethNON?
24 us, whom he also called, not from Jews only, but also from the nations?
g. 9:25-26 GOD’S FAVOR UPON GENTILES: FORETOLD BY HOSEA
hos kai en to OseE LEgei, KaLEso ton ou laON [2992] mou, laON mou;
As he says also in :Hosea, I will call the one not my people, my people;
kai ten ouk e-ga-peMEnen [25], e-ga-peMEnen,
And the one not beloved, beloved,
kai EStai, en to TOpo [5117] hou erREthe auTOIS,
26 And it shall be, that in the place where it was said to them,
Ou laOS mou huMEIS, Ekei kleTHEson-tai huiOI [5207] TheOU ZONtos [2198].
You are not my people, There shall they be called sons of the living God.
h. 9:27-28 SALVATION FOR A REMNANT OF JEWS: FORETOLD BY ISAIAH
E-SAIas de KRAzei [2896] huPER tou Is-raEL,
And Isaiah cries concerning :Israel,
E-AN he ho a-rithMOS [706] ton huiON Is-raEL hos he AMmos [285] tes thaLASses [2281],
If the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea,
to huPOlim-ma [2640] soTHEse-tai [2982]:
the remnant shall be saved:
LOgon gar sun-teLON [4931] kai sunTEMnon [4932], poiEsei KUri-os ePI tes ges.
28 For the Lord will execute his word upon the earth, finishing and cutting it short.
i. 9:29 IT IS THE LORD WHO RETAINS A REMNANT FOR ISRAEL
kai, kaTHOS proEIre-ken [4280] E-SAIas,
And, as Isaiah has said before,
Ei me KUri-os Sa-baOTH eg-kaTEli-pen [1459] heMIN SPERma [4690],
Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed,
hos SOdo-ma an e-geNEthe-men [1096], kai hos GOmor-ra an ho-moiOthe-men [3666].
We had become as Sodom, and had been made like unto Gomorrah.
NOTE: The above is one of the great sections of the Bible. The apostle Paul by the Holy Spirit enables us to enter into the very mind of God – as it relates to His thinking concerning His wisdom in the salvation of Israel and the Gentiles.
I suppose that this passage in the context of Romans 9-11, is one of the most misunderstood of any section of the Bible. Mankind generally resents God’s right in His Sovereignty to speak concerning this subject. Oswald Chambers is one of God’s clear expositors here. He hits on it sporadically in the selections from his writings that his wife Biddy made in “My Utmost for His Highest” – but his books on God’s Redemption brings it out yet more clearly.
Until we not only see the tremendous significance of “The Finished Work of Christ” at Calvary – but move forward in full understanding and action on the basis of this revelation – we will not yet have fulfilled the heart desire of God in bringing MANY SONS into Glory!
For myself – I suppose it will not be till I get to heaven – and receive my resurrection body at Christ’s Second Coming – that I will fully understand it.
I have gone over this passage and these 3 chapters again and again – even in this Interlinear Greek New Testament format which I am putting together for God and Ivan Panin – and still I feel that I am but a beginner in the understanding I would like to have.
I sing to Jesus every morning of His marvelous salvation. I sing over the Scriptures until I am lifted out of myself by the Spirit – and STILL I feel I fall short of the understanding of these revealed truths.
So let us join together in prayer and believing for one another, that we may be corporately lifted into God’s wisdom and understanding in these matters.