THE POWER OF THE POTTER

Romans 9:21-24 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor? What if God, willing to show His wrath, and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory, even us, whom He hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

From the largest, brightest, furthermost star in the heavens, to the minutest particle of matter that makes up the earth, God is the Creator of the entire universe, as the limited mind of mankind has knowledge of it. All plant life and every creature that has ever, or will ever, inhabit the earth, is God's creation. Through Adam and Eve, all mankind confess now, or will confess in the hereafter, that God as their Creator. There is one universal Creator of all. He is our God, and we are his creation - His people. After His design, and from His molds we came, shaped and fitted to fill the role He set forth from the beginning of time. Notice the verse that leads us into the lesson text. It asks these questions of all mankind. Who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? If we are God's creation, we have no right to question our lot in life. The lesson text makes this vividly clear.

What a wonderful illustration God uses to teach His omnipotence - the potter and the clay. By inspiration, the prophet, Isaiah, wrote, O Lord, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand (Isaiah 64:8). The potter molds and shapes the clay into a form to his liking. The clay does not say to the potter, make me into this form or into that shape. Rather, the potter creates, from the mass of clay, the form and shape he desires. God illustrated His power over the sinful Jewish nation (His creation) by allowing their persecution under Babylonian captivity. This persecution served to remold Israel from a rebellious nation - a marred, useless vessel - back into a profitable vessel. Israel was once again to be a vessel that served God's purpose, fashioned to His liking.

Using the example of God, as the potter, and Israel as the clay, this lesson was taught to the Israelites through His prophet, Jeremiah. The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear My words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And 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. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, O 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 (Jer. 18:1-6).

God is the potter; mankind is His creation, whom He formed from the molding clay of the earth. Verse 21, of the lesson text, says that God exercises His authority, as the potter, to create, from the same lump of clay, vessels unto honor and vessels unto dishonor. This does not mean that God creates both good and evil vessels (people) from birth. All come from His creative molds as good vessels. However, God reserves the right to create some vessels that serve more useful purposes, and others that are used in a more common, ordinary service. For instance, God created the Jewish nation to serve a very special purpose - that of serving as the lineage of His Son, Jesus Christ, through whom He brought the hope of eternal salvation into the world. Do the Gentiles have a right to criticize God for showing His favoritism toward the Jewish nation for this purpose? Indeed not! However, after the physical birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus into heaven, the mission of the Jewish nation was completed. This being accomplished, there was no further distinction between Jews and the Gentiles in the eyes of God.

Likewise, God creates, both men and women, having varying talents and abilities. Should those that have little vocal talent criticize God for not making them to be great singers? Can we blame God, our Creator, that we are not scientists, physicians, or great orators? Can God be blamed for the fact that our parents were not of great wealth; that our skin color is not to our liking; that we were born into a third-world country instead of a nation like the United States of America? Thank God that we are not all identical - all possessing the same talents and abilities. Thank God for our individual characteristics. Thank God that we are required to only use the talents given each of us to their fullest extent - that we are not required to achieve tasks beyond our capabilities. Thank God, our Potter, that, with the same clay, made us all unique vessels. Finally, and most importantly, thank God that He loves every vessel He created with equal affection; that, through obedience to His will, we all can have the hope of eternal salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. Thank you, dear God, that no one except ourselves has the ability to determine our eternal destiny, and that only through His grace.

It is true, however, that the world is divided into two classes of people, who are not equal in the eyes of our Potter, our Creator, and our God. The world is made up of vessels that either give honor to their Maker, or dishonor - the world is made up of both saints and sinners, each having chosen their path of life. Our lesson text refers to them either as vessels of mercy, or vessels of wrath. It is also true, that within these two classes of people, God shows partiality. The first, those that give honor to their Maker, those referred to as saints, those that are vessels of mercy, that by their own choosing, are prepared unto glory, having a hope of eternal salvation in heaven. Within the second class are those that dishonor their Maker, are sinners, and are vessels of wrath. The path that these have chosen makes them fitted for destruction, and leads to an eternal life of punishment, separated forever from God, their Creator.

The lesson text tells us of God's longsuffering for the Jewish nation. As sinful and as disobedient as the Jewish people were in Old Testament times, God demonstrated His forbearance. As much as they deserved annihilation for their total disregard of God's will, His longsuffering allowed their continued existence. Why? It was because they were chosen, that, through their seed, the Messiah was to be brought into the world. This was God's plan from the beginning of time, to make salvation available to all mankind though His Son, Christ Jesus, even us, whom He hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles.

To His entire creation, to all His earthly vessels, without any bias or partiality, our Potter, who is our Creator and our God, extends this same forbearance - offering all mankind sufficient time to repent and obey His will. The apostle Peter assures us of this when he wrote, But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:8-9).

The last verse of the lesson text tells us that God's calling is not to Jews or Gentiles as separate nations, but, rather, to each individual found within either of these national classifications. His call is for all mankind, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, or any other human distinction, to become faithful followers of His Son, Jesus Christ, that is, to become, practice, and remain Christians. All people are born into the world as pure vessels of our Potter - our God. Each of us must steer our vessel on the right course. In doing so the path we steer in life, will determine the epithet that our vessel will bear. All will become either vessels of honor and mercy, fitted for His kingdom in heaven, or vessels of dishonor and wrath, fitted for the kingdom of Satan.

Our Potter will look upon His vessels of honor and mercy with pride and satisfaction. However, vessels of dishonor and wrath are vile in His sight. For such dishonorable vessels, God offers hope in his plan of salvation through His longsuffering. Through His Son, Jesus Christ, God offers the vilest of sinners forgiveness of all their transgressions. By accepting Jesus as their Savior and being baptized into His body, each sinner gives back to the Potter their vessel of unrighteousness. The Potter will break it and remold it into a vessel of honor and mercy, fit for His kingdom in heaven. Give yourself completely to the will of God and observe the power of the Potter!