The Potter And The Clay
“Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?”
Romans 9:21
So often we hear verse 21 of Romans 9 quoted when discussing the doctrine of predestination. In fact, if all we look at is this one verse, the doctrine of predestination appears straight forward. Let’s do a little more research and see where else we find references to the potter and the clay. In doing so, we will search the Old Testament as well as the new and explore the context that the inspired word reveals.
Lets see what the scripture reveals!
Relevant Verses
A first reference to the potter and the clay occurs in Isaiah.
4For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.5Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.6But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.7And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.8But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.9Be not wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.
My Notes:
MATTHEW HENRY’S COMMENTARY – CHAPTER 64
This chapter goes on with that pathetic pleading prayer which the church offered up to God in the latter part of the foregoing chapter. They had argued from their covenant-relation to God and his interest and concern in them; now here, I. They pray that God would appear in some remarkable and surprising manner for them against his and their enemies, Isa. 64:1, 2. II. They plead what God had formerly done, and was always ready to do, for his people, Isa. 64:3-5. III. They confess themselves to be sinful and unworthy of God’s favour, and that they had deserved the judgments they were now under, Isa. 64:6, 7. IV. They refer themselves to the mercy of God as a Father, and submit themselves to his sovereignty, Isa. 64:8. V. They represent the very deplorable condition they were in, and earnestly pray for the pardon of sin and the turning away of God’s anger, Isa. 64:9-12. And this was not only intended for the use of the captive Jews, but may serve for direction to the church in other times of distress, what to ask of God and how to plead with him. Are God’s people at any time in affliction, in great affliction? Let them pray, let them thus pray.
The second occurrence in the bible of the potter and the clay story is found in Jeremiah.
1The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,2Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.3Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.4And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.5Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,6O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.7At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;8If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.9And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;10If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.
My Notes:
MATTHEW HENRY’S COMMENTARY – CHAPTER 18
In this chapter we have, I. A general declaration of God’s ways in dealing with nations and kingdoms, that he can easily do what he will with them, as easily as the potter can with the clay (Jer. 18:1-6), but that he certainly will do what is just and fair with them. If he threaten their ruin, yet upon their repentance he will return in mercy to them, and, when he is coming towards them in mercy, nothing but their sin will stop the progress of his favours, Jer. 18:7-10. II. A particular demonstration of the folly of the men of Judah and Jerusalem in departing from their God to idols, and so bringing ruin upon themselves notwithstanding the fair warnings given them and God’s kind intentions towards them, Jer. 18:11-17. III. The prophet’s complaint to God of the base ingratitude and unreasonable malice of his enemies, persecutors, and slanderers, and his prayers against them, Jer. 18:18-23.
A third and perhaps the most recognized reference to the potter and the clay is found in Romans.
21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
22What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
23And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
24Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
25As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
26And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.
27Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:
28For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.
29And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.
30What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.
31But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.
32Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;
33As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
My Notes
1. In verse 21, Paul speaks of two vessels. One a vessel of honor and the other a vessel of dishonor (KJV). The greek interlinear as well as the Amplified version describes the vessels as one being a vessel for a special occasion and the other a vessel for common use.
2. In verse 22 and 23, Paul makes us aware of God’s nature in that he is patient and long-suffering with the vessels fit for destruction and in doing so He demonstrates the extreme extent with which He extends mercy to those headed toward destruction in order to provide saving grace. Much like we saw in Jeremiah, when God says He will hold back His wrath if the people will repent of their evil ways.
3. In verse 24, Paul now associates these vessels to the Jews as well as the Gentiles. Those responding to the call in faith are now recognized as the children of the living God.
4. In verse 25 and 26, Paul quotes Hosea where God says He will declare those that were not his people “His People, beloved, His children.
5. In verse 30, Paul lets us know that those God now calls His children, obtained the righteousness which is produced by FAITH.
MATTHEW HENRY’S COMMENTARY – CHAPTER 9
The apostle, having plainly asserted and largely proved that justification and salvation are to had by faith only, and not by the works of the law, by Christ and not by Moses, comes in this and the following chapters to anticipate an objection which might be made against this. If this be so, then what becomes of the Jews, of them all as a complex body, especially those of them that do not embrace Christ, nor believe the gospel? By this rule they must needs come short of happiness; and then what becomes of the promise made to the fathers, which entailed salvation upon the Jews? Isa. not that promise nullified and made of none effect? Which is not a thing to be imagined concerning any word of God. That doctrine therefore, might they say, is not to be embraced, from which flows such a consequence as this. That the consequence of the rejection of the unbelieving Jews follows from Paul’s doctrine he grants, but endeavours to soften and mollify, Rom. 9:1-15. But that from this it follows that the word of God takes no effect he denies (Rom. 9:6), and proves the denial in the rest of the chapter, which serves likewise to illustrate the great doctrine of predestination, which he had spoken of (Rom. 8:28) as the first wheel which in the business of salvation sets all the other wheels a-going.
Consider this passage from Matthew
And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
4And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
5Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
6And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
8But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
9Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Observations:
1. In this passage, Jesus gives us the example of a sower working in a field to point our attention to Him.
2. The sower scatters seed just as Jesus supplies the word to all his creation.
3. The ground receives the seed just as man receives the word.
4. The goal of the sower is to grow a crop worthy of the harvest.
5. Jesus has a goal too, to harvest souls worthy of eternal life through faith NOT our work.
6. However, we are the ground. Some ground is called wayside, some stoney ground, some overtaken by thorns and weeds, some called good ground. What type is the soil of your heart? That will have a direct effect on the sowers work in the field.
Conclusion
The issue here is to determine if it is a characteristic of God to control the destination of a man or is it the character of the man that determines his final destiny?
Some will hold to a belief that the story of the potter and the clay does demonstrate the sovereignty of God as it relates predestination as described by John Calvin.
Yet others will hold to a belief that the story of the potter and the clay demonstrates God’s sovereignty as it relates to the Mercy and Grace of a loving God who would have all men to be saved.
Consider Paul’s understanding of God’s use of the potter and the clay in the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah. Jeremiah is shown that the potter is only able to form a vessel as well as the clay will permit. When unable to create the vessel of honor, he remakes the clay into a vessel of his liking based on the quality of the clay. God now applies this demonstration to his people , Israel. Now look at his use of the potter and the clay in Romans.