Romans 9:21Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

When it is said, "He bowed down, he lay like a lion" (Num 24:9), we take only the notion of what is invincible and fearsome, not the beastly aspect or anything else proper to a lion. Again, when it is said, "I will attack them like a bear robbed of her cubs" (Hos 13:8), we take the notion of vengeance. When it is said, "God is a consuming fire" (Deut 4:24), we take the notion of destructive punishment. So also here one must understand the words clay, potter, and vessel.

When the Apostle adds and says, "Does not the potter have authority over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable?" do not think that Paul said this in the sense of creation, or to prove the necessity of the will. He said it to express authority and diversity in arrangements. If we do not understand his words in this sense, many absurd consequences will follow.

For if the discussion here concerns the will, then God will appear to be the maker of both good and evil, while man will not be at all guilty in either. Then it will appear that Paul, who everywhere crowns free will, contradicts himself. Therefore the Apostle wishes here to disclose nothing else than to persuade the hearer to obey God in all fullness, and in nothing to demand an account from Him.

As the potter, he reasons, makes from one and the same lump whatever he wishes, and no one contradicts him, so do not ask God and do not inquire curiously why, among men of one and the same race, He punishes some and rewards others. Rather, reverence Him and imitate the clay. As it is obedient to the hands of the potter, so you must submit to the will of the Ruler of the universe.

He does nothing without purpose or at random, even though you yourself do not comprehend the mystery of Wisdom. You allow the potter to prepare different wares from one and the same lump, and you do not blame him for it. Yet from God you demand an account concerning punishments and honors. You do not leave it to Him to know who is worthy and who is unworthy. Since the composition itself has one and the same substance, you suppose that the will is also one and the same in all. What groundlessness.

It does not depend on the potter that, from one and the same lump, one thing goes to honorable use and another to low use. It depends on the arrangement of those who use the object. So also here the matter depends on free will.

Moreover, as I said above, the example must be taken in this one respect: man must not contradict God, but must entrust everything to His incomprehensible wisdom. The example must be broader than the subject for which it is brought forward, so that it may act more strongly upon the hearers. If it were not broader and did not contain more within itself, it could not touch and stir the objector as it should.

First a vessel for low use is produced, then another for honorable use. So also in man, as I have said, first comes the evil from which we must begin, and in which we must not remain.

Then comes the good toward which we strive, and in which, once we have attained it, we must remain.

Yet not every bad man will become good, just as no one will be good who has not been bad. The sooner a man changes for the better, the more quickly he is rightly called what he has become.

Considering that our nature sinned in paradise, we now form a generation of mortals by that same providence of God. Yet it is not heavenly, but earthly, that is, not according to the spirit, but according to the flesh.

We have all become one mass of clay, that is, a mass of sin.

If this clay were so insignificant that it deserved neither anything good nor anything bad, one might rightly think it unjust to use it for vessels of low use.

But when condemnation spread to the whole clay through the free will of the first man, no doubt remained.

If vessels for honorable use are made from it, this is no longer a matter of justice, which does not act without grace, but of God’s mercy.

When vessels are made for low use, this belongs to God’s judgment, but not to injustice, which cannot exist in God.

It might seem unjust that vessels of wrath are made for destruction, if all the clay had not been condemned in Adam.

That men become vessels of wrath by birth belongs to the punishment they deserve. That by rebirth they become vessels of mercy belongs to undeserved grace.

Likewise, can anyone complain when the all-knowing and just God manifests some men as "vessels of wrath prepared for destruction," such as the rejected Jews?

Over others He manifests the riches of His glory, as over "vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory" (Rom 9:22-23). The Apostle adds that this means us, the chosen.

He says of us, "whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles," in accordance with the prophecies of Hosea and Isaiah (Rom 9:24-29).

The Apostle later expresses this directly in verse 22. He says that the Hebrews, by their own quality, deserved only to be wholly destroyed, like defiled vessels. Yet God spared them according to His mercy and for the higher purposes of the divine economy.

In that economy the Gentiles also were to receive a consoling share. They proved to be vessels just as fit for the higher purpose as those Jews who were directly prepared for the great honor of being chosen, namely, believers in Christ.

The Apostle's main thought here is the same as in the earlier examples, especially the last one. Everything lies within the power of God. No one can resist it, nor even answer back to it.

The creature must submit in silence and reverence to his Creator and Provider. According to Saint John Chrysostom, the Apostle's aim here is simply to persuade the hearer to submit to God in all things.

He must demand from Him no account in anything. "As the potter makes what he wishes from one and the same lump, and no one contradicts him, so do not question God or pry into Him.

Do not ask why, among men of one and the same people, He punishes some and rewards others. Rather, revere Him and imitate the clay. As it submits to the potter's hands, so submit to the decree of the Ruler of the universe.

He does not act without purpose or at random, even if you do not comprehend the mysteries of wisdom. Yet it does not depend on the potter alone that, from the same lump, one thing is made for honorable use and another for low use.

Rather, it depends on the voluntary use made by those who use the object. So here too the matter depends on free choice. As Pharaoh became a vessel of wrath through his own lawlessness, so those who were saved became vessels of mercy through their own piety.

If the greater part belongs to God, we nevertheless contribute something small from ourselves. Though one must both will and strive, one must rely not on one's own struggles, but on God's love for mankind.

So the Apostle says elsewhere concerning himself: 'Not I, but the grace which was with me' (1 Cor 15:10). Why, then, are some vessels of wrath and others vessels of mercy? By their own choice.

Yet God, in His boundless goodness, shows mercy to both. He had mercy not only on those who were saved, but also on Pharaoh as far as was possible. Both those who were saved and Pharaoh enjoyed the same longsuffering.

If Pharaoh was not saved, this was wholly by his own will."

So also here the words clay, potter, and vessel must be understood. When the Apostle adds and says, 'Or does not the potter have authority over the clay,' and so forth, do not conclude from this that he is depicting the causes of creation or the necessity of determination. On the contrary, he is expressing authority and diversity in arrangements. If his words are not received in this sense, many absurd consequences will follow. If the discussion here concerns determination, then it will follow that God is the Creator of both good and evil, and man will be entirely innocent in both. It will also appear that Paul, who everywhere crowns free choice, contradicts himself. Therefore the Apostle seeks here no other goal than to persuade the hearer to submit to God in everything and demand no account from Him in anything. As the potter, he reasons, makes whatever he wishes from one and the same lump, and no one contradicts him, so do not ask and inquire of God why, among men who are of one and the same race, He punishes some and rewards others. Rather, reverence Him and imitate the clay. As it is obedient to the hands of the potter, so you must obey the decree of the Ruler of the universe. He does not act without intention, nor at random, though you do not comprehend the mysteries of wisdom. You allow the potter to make different wares from one and the same lump, and you do not blame him for this. Yet you demand from God an account of the distribution of punishments and honors. You do not allow Him to know who is worthy and who is unworthy. But because the same substance exists in the same composition, you suppose that the products are also the same. What lack of foundation. It does not depend on the potter that, from the same lump, one thing turns out for honorable use and another for low use. On the contrary, it depends on the voluntary use of those who use the object. So also here the matter depends on free choice. Moreover, as I have said, the example must be taken in this one respect: man is obliged not to contradict God, but to entrust everything to His unsearchable wisdom. The example must be broader than the subject for whose explanation it is brought forward, so that it may act more strongly on the hearers. If it were not broader and did not contain many concepts, it could not touch and shame the objector as much as necessary" (Chrysostom).

Chrysostom, as is evident, directed all his attention to turning aside the thought that first forces itself upon the mind when reading these words of the Apostle. That thought is this: if everything is from God, then there is no freedom and we are not guilty. He refutes it abstractly, without setting it in relation to the course of the discourse, since the words themselves are of that kind. He says that, by this example, the Apostle teaches us only perfect and silent submission to divine arrangements.

As for the divine arrangements themselves, it is commonly known that they are made in complete agreement both with God's righteousness, mercy, and wisdom, and with the worthiness or unworthiness of men, or their use of free choice. Our shortsightedness does not allow us to see either the one or the other as we should. Yet both are certainly present in all God's works. Therefore it is unreasonable to object, be troubled, and draw absurd conclusions of this sort: "Why does He still find fault?"

When such perplexities arise, the most reasonable thing is to awaken faith in divine righteousness and benevolent care. Then one should submit humbly and silently to God's arrangements. One should drive away every thought that anything unrighteous or unmerciful proceeds from God, and rest completely in surrender to Him.

Blessed Theodoret also directs his discourse to the same point, that is, to the rejection of the thought that freedom of will is abolished by these words, but he takes another path. As proof of freedom he uses the very act of objection. If, he says, you object, then you are free. If you were not free, you would not object, but would submit silently, like clay to the potter.

He says: "If you were not free and did not choose by your own will what you should do, but by necessity followed God's will like a slave, then you would be silent, like inanimate creatures, loving what is accomplished according to God's divine economy. But since you have been honored with reason, you both say and do what seems good to you. You do not love what happens, but search out the causes of God's economies. Look at the clay with the potter. Since it has no rational discernment, it does not contradict the one who works it. If it is appointed for the fashioning of a vessel, even a dishonorable one, it accepts in silence what is done with it. But you resist and contradict. Therefore you are not bound by natural necessity. You do not transgress the law against your will, but you voluntarily love wickedness and, by your own will, take upon yourself the labors of virtue. Therefore the sentence of the God of all is right and just. He lawfully punishes sinners, since they voluntarily dare to do evil. There is also justice in His love for mankind, because God takes the occasion from us when He shows mercy." Oecumenius expresses a similar thought.