Chapter 9 verses 14 through 16. God shows mercy on whom He wills. Moving back to the Jews and Gentiles, most of the unbelieving Jews did not think this reversal of spiritual states was fair to the Jews. Paul explains the fairness by once again addressing his Jewish opponent, who complains about God's dealings with the Jews and Gentiles.
Opponent verse 14A." What then shall we say there is injustice with God?" Paul verse 14b, God forbid, 9:15." For he said to Moses," I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." Paul's Jewish opponent accuses God of being unjust for accepting the Gentiles on an equal basis with the Jews. However, Paul emphatically rejects this accusation, for God is never unjust. If God wants to be merciful to the Gentiles, He has every right to do so.
The Jews have no standing to criticize Him for this. God has dealt equitably and mercifully with both the Jews and the Gentiles. By way of rebuke, Paul quotes the words that God spoke to Moses in the wilderness. The Israelites had just terribly sinned by worshipping the golden calf. Yet God did not abandon them for doing so, nor did He slay all of them. Yet He would have been justified in doing either of those things. Instead, God had the Levites slay only 3,000 men.
God had mercy on the rest of the Israelites, and He let them live. Exodus 32:28 through 30. Afterwards, when God was alone with Moses, He declared to Him," I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy." Exodus chapter 33:19. Chrysostom comments," God is saying, it is not for you to know, O Moses, who is deserving of my love toward man. Rather, leave this to me." Nevertheless, it is important that we do not read words into the text that are not there.
God did not say to Moses," I will arbitrarily have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will arbitrarily have compassion on whom I will have compassion." God knew the hearts of all those involved. As Ambrosiaster points out, perhaps God punished those particular 3,000 men because He knew they would not repent of their sin. Furthermore, as Theodoret observes, by punishing only 3,000, God caused the remaining Israelites to repent.
He writes," In the wilderness, the greater part of the people worshipped the image of the calf as a god. Yet not everyone was punished. Rather, some were punished, and others were reformed because of that punishment. Although we often do not know why God treats people differently, we know enough about God's character to know that He has a wise and good reason for everything He does. Ambrosiaster points to the example of Saul and David. God was very merciful to David, but he was much more severe with Saul.
However, the subsequent courses of life of these two men demonstrate that God's judgment was equitable and wise, not arbitrary. For God foreknew their characters, and he realized how they each would respond to His discipline and mercy. Why is Paul bringing up the word spoken to Moses? He is showing that God has the right to show undeserved mercy to the Gentiles if He chooses to do so. After all, He showed undeserved mercy to the Israelites in the wilderness. Yet not all the Israelites received His mercy.
Likewise, not all Gentiles will receive God's mercy, but only those who respond in faith. Paul Romans 9:16. So then it is not of Him who wills, nor of Him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. Paul is still talking about the two people groups, the Jews and the Gentiles. As for the Jews, their being chosen as God's special people had nothing to do with their will or their actions. God chose them as His people out of His mercy.
Furthermore, God had every reason to let the entire Israelite nation perish in the wilderness. Yet once again He showed the mercy. Time and time again throughout their history, God would have been completely justified in destroying the entire nation. Instead, He continually extended mercy to them. So, their history well illustrates the principle Paul states here. What about the Gentiles? The principle is even more obvious in their case. As nations, they never did serve God, even for brief periods.
Instead, they worshipped idols and behaved in the manner that Paul describes in the first chapter of Romans. Bringing the gospel to them was a pure act of mercy on God's part. It had nothing to do with either the will or the running of the Gentiles, applying this principle to individuals. Nevertheless, the Gnostics use this verse and the surrounding ones to argue that individual humans have no control over their own salvation. The Gnostics taught that God predestines who will be saved and who will be condemned.
However, the early Christians rejected such an interpretation, for it contradicts the rest of Scripture. At the same time, Paul may well have had a double application in mind in this passage, although the thrust of his argument is directed toward the spiritual destinies of the Jews and Gentiles, many of these same principles can be applied to individuals. So what does this verse mean when applied to an individual?
To answer that question, Origen points to the following passage in 1 Corinthians:" I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase." 1 Corinthians 3:6 and 7. Growing crops is not the work of the sower alone, nor is it mainly the work of the one who irrigates. Rather, it is primarily the work of God. Without the soil, sun, air, nitrogen, and other things that God provides, no crops could grow.
Yet neither will the crops grow if the farmer does not plant and no one waters. Man plays his part, but God plays the bigger part. Origen concludes:" In the matter of our salvation, that which is done by God is infinitely greater than that which we do." For this reason, it is said," It is not of Him who runs, but of God who shows mercy." Yet, if this statement meant what the heretics Gnostics imagined, then the commandments would be superfluous.
Also, it would be pointless for Paul to blame some for having fallen away and to praise others for having remained upright. Likewise, it would have been in vain for him to enact laws for the churches. In short, if we have no power to obey God's laws, there would be no reason for God to give those laws. Chrysostom comments," When Paul says," It is not of Him who wills, nor of Him who runs, He does not deprive us of free will." Rather, He is saying that not everything is in our own power.
Rather, it requires grace from above. It is certainly necessary for us to will and to run. However, we should not put confidence in our own labors, but in God's love toward man. Paul has expressed this point elsewhere, saying," Yet not I, but the grace which was with me." 1 Corinthians 15:10. In summary, although God plays a major role in our salvation, He requires us to cooperate with His grace. In the initial stage of salvation, we must repent and believe. God does not do our repenting and believing for us.
Nevertheless, Jesus declared," No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws Him." John 6:44. So we cannot even take the first step toward salvation unless the Father draws us. He not only draws us, but if we respond to His invitation, He forgives us, justifies us, and adopts us. In brief, our role in our initial salvation is small, in proportion to God's role. Yet we still play an essential role. We are free to choose or reject God's call and His draw on our lives.
Furthermore, once we are on the vine, Christ requires us to bear fruit, or else His Father will cut us off the vine, John 15:5 and 6. Nevertheless, even here, Christ makes available the needed power. He says," Apart from me, you can do nothing." John 15:5. So after our initial salvation, if we walk with God, He gives us enabling power, protects us from Satan, and resurrects us in the end. Accordingly, even with our final salvation, God plays an infinitely greater role than we play.
Nevertheless, we still play an essential role in our own salvation. God requires us to run the race obediently and with endurance. Matthew 10:22," God does not do our believing and obeying for us." He particularly gives us enabling power when we apply ourselves and put forth our own efforts. That is why Jesus told us," Strive to enter through the narrow gate. For many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able." Luke 13:24.
If we were not meant to exert ourselves, Jesus would not have used the word strive. It is also why Paul declared," I beat my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."