https://youtu.be/ZTy5G2nxe8Q
In our study of Romans last time we completed our expanded translation Rom 9:17; ""For the scripture says to Pharaoh (Exodus 9:16), I have caused you to continue in history in order that I might demonstrate my power by means of you, and in order that my name (identity) might be proclaimed throughout the entire earth (everywhere)."
This verse explains Psa 76:10; and shows that God uses everything for his purposes and for the blessing of His people. Rom 8:28; which is why we should always be confident in God no matter what is happening. Phil 4:6; John 15:7;
Rom 9:18; begins Paul's theological conclusion to the matter. The verse begins with the combination of two inferential particles, the first of which is "ara" (so), and the second is "oun"(then). These two particles create a very strong conclusion that is based on all that we have seen about the hardness of Pharaoh's heart. It is translated "so then" or " then therefore."
Reversing the order in the Greek next is the present active indicative of the verb "eleeo"(have mercy). It is in the perfective present tense that refers to a fact that has come to be in the past and is now emphasized as a present reality so it describes the continuation of existing results.
With it is the accusative singular direct object from the relative pronoun "hos" (on whom) the phrase is translated "so then he shows mercy on whom." Then we have the present active indicative of the verb "thelo" (to will or to desire, to want, or to intend).
This is in the static present tense that describes doctrine that is taken for granted as a fact. The active voice: God produces the action. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of an absolute dogmatic statement of doctrine that can be immediately applied.
We see from this that God is not arbitrary. He functions in complete accord with his perfect integrity and His grace policy. Mankind, however, continues to be a free agent in history and is responsible for his own free and independent thoughts, motives decisions and actions.
God in grace has found a way to take the non-meritorious positive volition of man that God's omniscience knew in eternity before time and relate that positive volition to the function of God's grace.
God desires to compound grace upon grace by showing mercy to those who appropriate greater grace blessing through non-meritorious perception and accumulation of doctrine in the soul. In other words, every printout of God's Word of Truth that you know and understand becomes an advantage.
That advantage is established on the basis of the fact that you have previously learned that God's Word was the most important thing in life, and so you persisted in learning it on a daily basis.
This eventually creates capacity for maturity adjustment to God's justice. Once you have attained spiritual maturity from doctrinal capacity God is free to start pouring direct blessings to you and to prepare you for the historical disaster that occurs in every generation.
There is grace blessing directly from God's justice to those who are qualified under God's grace policy.
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were qualified under grace and the printout is election, justification, foreordination, and adoption. That is how God shows mercy on whom He will.
In other words, He knew everything about them in eternity past and knowing all of this He is has mercy on whom he wills. Their faith in Jesus Christ and/or regeneration was fed into the decree in eternity past by the omniscience of God, resulting in foreordination.
Foreordination is really synonymous with the decree itself as it is being programmed in eternity past. The actual printout occurs in time as it is lived out by the believer as election, justification, and adoption.
The racial Jew has a great spiritual heritage but that great heritage has no meaning unless he receives God's judicial righteousness and is adopted as an heir of God as an adult son through faith in Jesus Christ, the God of Israel the Shekinah glory.
To be a biological son of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is nothing until a Jew becomes a spiritual Son of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Gal 3:26; Israel has an eternal future but the individual biological Jew must be adopted spiritually as an adult son by faith in Christ Jesus to participate in that eternal future.
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob believed in Jehovah Elohim, and therefore God wills to have mercy on them. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob advanced to spiritual maturity, therefore God desired to show them mercy by the imputation of greater grace blessing from God's justice.
Next is the conjunctive particle "de" (and). Sometimes it is translated as "now" or "and," and sometimes it is adversative so it is translated "but." But occasionally the conjunctive particle "de" is intensive as it is here so it can be translated, then, or "in fact."
That is followed by the accusative singular from the relative pronoun "hos" (on whom) with the present active indicative of "thelo" (he wishes or desires) in the static present tense refers to a doctrine that is taken for granted as a fact.
That is, the omniscience of God feeding the facts of history into God's decree that results in a printout of condemnation and wrath from negative volition.
The active voice: God's integrity produces the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative for a dogmatic statement of doctrinal reality.
We see from this that God uses man's uncoereced free will as the predicate for the information in the decree that prints out His will or purpose. His will is for human free will, positive or negative.
God knew in eternity before He created time everything that every person was going to do. He knew all about Pharaoh and the scar tissue that would be developed from his negative free will.
Remember that initially Pharaoh is described as hardening his own heart; Exod 7:13,22; 8:15,32; 9:34,35. He had maximum scar tissue in his soul by the time the sixth plague was over.
At that time God would normally have removed him from physical life under the sin unto death because he was so insane and he was dangerous to the survival everyone who was involved with him but God did not remove him he let his negative volition play out.
So in plagues 7,8,9,10 we read that God hardened his heart by letting him continue to live to use his free will to keep on saying no to God.
Next we have the present active indicative of the verb "sklerynei" (to harden, or to calcify). The perfective present tense describes a fact that has come to be in the past but is emphasized as a present situation.
When this occurs he lets people live with their own negative volition in time, go to Hades after they die physically without believing in Jesus Christ, and ultimately be transferred to the eternal lake of fire at the end of biological human history.
Pharaoh faced the issue from his own free will with full information and he kept saying no. In fact, no one had more information to say yes than Pharaoh, but he always said no.
God was not willing that Pharaoh should perish. 2 Pet 3:9; The decision was Pharaoh's, not God's. Pharaoh could have been saved because Jesus Christ died for him on the cross when he died for everyone else.
The scar tissue of the soul or the hardness of Pharaoh's heart actually originated with his own negative volition. Pharaoh had said no repeatedly. Then the Lord gave him the opportunity of saying no beyond the world's record.
This is described as God hardening Pharaoh's heart in Exodus 9:12; 10:1,20,27; 11:10; 14:8. God hardened Pharaoh's heart by keeping him alive to have more opportunity to say no in the face of more and more facts and God sustained his life so that he could completely divorce himself from reality.
And when we read in other passages that "Israel in part was blinded" we must understand that it is actually nothing more than self deception from scar tissue of the soul. Scar tissue means that you still have freedom but because of the scar tissue you believe a lie because you are completely disassociated from truth.
God hardened Pharaoh's heart by giving him more opportunity to say no in the face of more and more information that should have changed his mind.
God preserved Pharaoh alive with his great power and authority to say no to an infinitely greater power and authority, the Lord Jesus Christ. Pharaoh's continued negative volition from the scar tissue of his soul resulted in worldwide evangelism; it also resulted in more scar tissue than anyone else in history has developed.
Expanded Translation Rom 9:18; "Consequently therefore, He shows mercy on whom He desires, in fact (but) whom He desires he hardens."
We see here that understanding history from God's viewpoint is predicated on understanding God's immutable attributes. We must always understand that God never tampers free human volition in fact God demands that human volition be free.
Certain attributes are relevant to the hardening of Pharaoh's heart and/or scar tissue of his soul. Those attributes include omniscience, foreordination related to omniscience, foreknowledge as the facts are printed out from God's decree.
God's omniscience knew in eternity past that Pharaoh would not only say no six times but would persist in negative volition as the scar tissue of his soul or the blindness of his heart developed. God's omniscience knew what Pharaoh' free will would choose throughout his entire life and God did not coerce or tamper with his free volition.
That means that God's sovereignty made a decision to provide maximum opportunity for Pharaoh to experience God's omnipotence in action and in spite of that to continue to refuse from his free will and arrogance.
Scar tissue of the soul always causes human arrogance to increase. We see that principle in Rom 1:20-22;
God had the eternal and infinite power to perform those miracles that He knew would only increase the intensity of Pharaoh's obstinance.
Pharaoh's negative volition combined with his scar tissue persisted in his refusal to free Israel so the demonstration of God's omnipotence was magnified to a greater extent and the greater the demonstration of God's omnipotence the greater the evangelism.
The greater manifestation of God's omnipotence resulted on both local and worldwide evangelism at the time of Israel's Exodus from Egypt.
God's integrity or holiness includes His perfect righteousness and absolute justice. In judging Pharaoh God was fair because He was functioning in complete accord with His own perfect righteousness under His grace policy.