The Potter’s Sovereignty over the Clay

The emphasis on God’s sovereign and absolute control of everything is a defining mark of Reformed theology. The Westminster Confession of Faith, one of the standard Reformed statements of doctrine, says that “God, from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass” (3.1). “Whatsoever” encompasses all things, for our Creator works out everything according to the counsel of His will (Eph. 1:11). Moreover, God ordains things not because He looks into the future, sees that they will happen, and then decides to put them in His plan; rather, He knows what will happen because He has decreed for it to happen (WCF 3.2; see Isa. 46:10).

God’s sovereign decree also includes election unto eternal life and reprobation. For instance, Paul uses the example of Jacob and Esau to demonstrate that salvation and damnation are ultimately a consequence of God’s eternal decree (Rom. 9:13). God does not save people because they are inherently better than others, and He does not pass over some individuals for salvation because they are worse than others. We learn this from today’s passage.

Romans 9:1–24 addresses the issue of divine grace and God’s sovereignty in showing mercy. After making clear that God’s choice of some to salvation is His sovereign prerogative and that He does not elect people based on anything good in them, Paul deals with an objection that arises only if he is actually teaching unconditional election: How is God just if He chooses to save only some and does not save others, if He chooses to harden some and show mercy to others (vv. 1–19)? Paul gives a twofold answer. First, creatures simply have no right to accuse their Creator of being unjust or unwise (v. 20). Second, God has every right to act in this way to make known the glory of His justice and mercy (vv. 21–24). Just as a potter has the right to do what he will with his clay, so the Lord has the right to do what He will with His creatures.

Importantly, the text says that God is working with the same lump of clay when He exercises His sovereignty. He is electing in light of the fall of humanity into sin. He’s not taking neutral clay and making some good vessels and some bad vessels; rather, He’s taking clay that has ruined itself and actively making some good vessels from it while allowing the rest of the clay to remain forever in its bad state.