Tag: lump

Romans 9:21 – The Master Potter

Posted on by Will

Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?

Truth to Learn

God made us, we did not make Him. He has the right to make us and use us however He sees fit.

 

Behind the Words

“Potter” is translated from the Greek word kerameus, which refers to “someone who shapes clay into useful or artistic objects, that is, a potter.”

“Clay” is from pēlos, which means “wet muddy clay.”

The word translated “lump” is phuroma, which refers to “a mixture of liquid and solid that is kneaded.” The same word is used to describe a mass of clay and a mass of bread dough.

 

Meaning Explained

In explaining the previous verse we noted that what Paul said was, “Now wait a minute! Who are you to argue with God?” Do we have the right to tell God that He made a mistake? Do we have the right to tell the perfect, eternal, sinless, all knowing, all powerful God that He is wrong?

That is arguing from the human point of view. Paul now completes the argument by making it from God’s point of view. He does this by making reference to another Old Testament passage. This one is also quoted from Isaiah:

For all of us have become as an unclean thing, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy rag; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls on Your name, who stirring himself up to take hold of You; for You have made us waste away because of our iniquities. But now, O LORD, You are our Father, we are the clay, and You our potter; and all of us are the work of Your hand. (Isaiah 64:6-8)

In making this argument Paul is clearly showing that God is the one who has made us and not the other way around. Since He made us, He is the potter and we are the clay. This in not just a metaphorical statement. We really are made of clay. Our father Adam was made from the dirt.

And Jehovah God formed the man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)

In today’s verse Paul is declaring that God, as the potter, has the power and the right to make one vessel (man or woman) unto a dishonorable end and another one to an honorable end.

As we have said before, this expresses a big God, little man perspective. Unfortunately, today it is in vogue to believe in a big man, little God perspective, where we are the ones in control and we tell God what we want Him to do. But that’s not the way it really is! We have “turned it upside down.”

 

Application

Many Christians today would rather skip over this and the following verses because they don’t fit with their own image of who God is. Who are we to tell God how to act? God is the one who is in control, and He will do as He pleases. He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy and whom he wants to He will harden. He makes one vessel unto honor, pardoning him or her by His grace, and He makes another vessel unto dishonor, condemning him or her to Hell for his or her sinfulness and impenitent heart.

Who are we to tell God, “That’s not fair!”?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 11:16 – Set-apart by Him

Posted on by Will

Romans 11:16 – Set-apart by Him

For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

Truth to Learn

Like the believing Jews, we are set-apart by God for His use.

Behind the Words

The word “firstfruit” is from the Greek word aparchē, which is made up of apo, meaning “from” and a form of archomai, meaning “to begin.” This word refers to that part of something that is taken from the beginning or the first part.

The word translated “lump” is the Greek word phurama, which is the noun form of the verb phuraō, meaning “to break,” or “to dissolve,” or “to knead.” In this case it refers to a mass of dough that has been kneaded in preparation for baking.

“Holy” is from the word hagios, which means “to be set apart.”

Meaning Explained

Paul has just been telling us that it was because of His rejection of the unbelieving Jews that God turned to the Gentiles. He is now going to show us that although the Jews as a nation were rejected, it was a few believing Jews who were the beginning of the church.

In the Old Testament, the “firstfruit” was the part of the crop that ripened first and was to be offered to God before partaking of the remainder of the crop. It was a way for the Jews to signify that the entire crop came from God. Even though man planted it, God alone caused the seed to germinate, God alone provided the rain and caused the plant to grow, and God alone caused the fruit to form and ripen. This current verse seems to be a reference to Numbers 15:20, 21 which says:

You shall offer up a cake of the first of your ground meal as a heave offering; as a heave offering of the threshing floor, so shall you offer it up. Of the first of your ground meal you shall give to the LORD a heave offering throughout your generations.

I believe that Paul’s reference in the current verse is to the fact that it was a few Jews who were the first to believe in Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah. And it was first to the Jews that the glorious message of His resurrection was announced. These Jewish believers were holy. That is, they were “set apart,” set apart from the world of unbelievers and set-apart to God for His use and for His glorification.

If these first few Jews were set-apart by God, so also will the remainder of the church be set-apart. Likewise, Paul refers to the root of an olive tree as being holy which causes the remainder of the tree, the branches, to be holy (set-apart). Paul will now use this metaphor of the olive tree to show us why we are totally dependent on God for His blessing and favor.

Application

Remember what Paul has been teaching us, that we are not the ones responsible for our salvation and the blessings that come from it. God, as we are told in Hebrews 12:2, “is the author and finisher of our faith.” He is the one who caused us to believe; hence, we are not the authors of our faith, He is. We do not cause the plants to grow and produce seed, God does. We are totally dependent on God for all of life and especially for spiritual (eternal) life. This should not make us proud; instead, it should humble us in the presence of Almighty God who chose us.

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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Romans 9:21 – The Master Potter

Posted on by Will

Romans 9:21 – The Master Potter

Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?

Truth to Learn

God made us, we did not make Him. He has the right to make us and use us however He sees fit.

Behind the Words

“Potter” is translated from the Greek word kerameus, which refers to “someone who shapes clay into useful or artistic objects, a potter.”

“Clay” is from pēlos, which means “wet muddy clay.”

The word translated “lump” is phuroma, which refers to “a mixture of liquid and solid that is kneaded.” The same word is used to describe a mass of clay and a mass of bread dough.

Meaning Explained

In explaining the previous verse we noted that what Paul said was, “Now wait a minute! Who are you to argue with God?” Do we have the right to tell God that He made a mistake? Do we have the right to tell the perfect, eternal, sinless, all knowing, all powerful God that He is wrong?

That is arguing from the human point of view. Paul now completes the argument by making it from God’s point of view. He does this by making reference to another Old Testament passage. This one is also quoted from Isaiah:

For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls on Your name, who arouses himself to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us and have delivered us into the power of our iniquities. But now, O LORD, You are our Father, we are the clay, and You our potter; and all of us are the work of Your hand. (Isaiah 64:6-8)

In making this argument Paul is clearly showing that God is the one who has made us and not the other way around. Since He made us, He is the potter and we are the clay. This in not just a metaphorical statement. We really are made of clay. Our father Adam was made from the dirt.

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)

In today’s verse Paul is declaring that God, as the potter, has the power and the right to make one vessel (man or woman) unto a dishonorable end and another one to an honorable end.

As we have said before, this expresses a big God, little man perspective. Unfortunately, today it is in vogue to believe in a big man, little God perspective, where we are the ones in control and we tell God what we want Him to do. But that’s not the way it really is! We have “turned it upside down.”

Application

God is the one who is in control, and He will do as He pleases. He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy and whom he wants to He will harden. He makes one vessel unto honor, pardoning him or her by His grace, and He makes another vessel unto dishonor, condemning him or her to Hell for his or her sinfulness and impenitent heart.

Who are we to tell God, “That’s not fair!”?

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

If this message or this link was forwarded to you by a friend and you wish to receive future verses directly to your inbox, send an e-mail to: