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In our study of Romans last time we got to Rom 9:22; where we read through the Nestle Aland Greek and the NASB versions. In the Greek we see that the verse does not start with the word "what" at the beginning of the sentence.
It begins with the conditional particle "ei" (if) with the indicative mood verb that introduces the protasis of a first class condition that is a supposition from the viewpoint of being true (if and it's true).
Next is the adversative conjunctive particle "de" (but) that is used as a transitional particle but in the English it is translated before the word "if" so we have as "but if."
Then comes the present active participle "thelo" (want or will) by bringing in this verb at this time we are agreeing with Paul that the subject has a right to use His volition.
The subject is "Theos" (God) in the nominative case with the definite article" ho" to making it monadic so it uniquely refers to God the Father as "the God" who has been referenced previously in the passage before.
Paul is using sarcasm to imply that "You are telling me you are free to do what you want to do from your own free volition but God doesn't have the right to use His own free volition?"
The verb "thelo" (want or will) is in the historical present tense that describes a past event with the clarity of a present occurrence. The active voice: God produces the action of the verb of wishing or wanting something.
Next we have what God is wishing or wanting to do that is expressed with the aorist middle infinitive of "endeiknumi" (to demonstrate). The culminative aorist tense views the event in its entirety but regards it from the perspective of existing results.
This is a reference to God demonstrating His power through the plagues in Egypt and the existing result was worldwide evangelism in Egypt, Ethiopia and Canaan.
The middle voice is an indirect middle that emphasizes God as the agent who produces the action of evangelism. It differs from the active voice in that with the middle voice the subject and the object work together to produce the action.
With this we have the direct object of the verb, the accusative singular from "orge" (anger or wrath).
This is an anthropopathism for God's judgment on mankind so it is simply a way to express in human frame of reference the action of God's justice. The anthropopathism is used to describe God's perfect righteousness and justice's response to Pharaoh's evil.
God's righteousness rejects evil so God's justice condemns evil. The anthropopathism represents judgment from God's justice. We also have the accusative singular of the definite article "ho" that in this case is used as a personal pronoun, so we translate it "His wrath" to describe God's justice in action.
With the connective conjunction "kai," (and) with the aorist active infinitive of the verb "gnorizo" (to make known, to reveal, or to declare). This is a culminative aorist tense that views the event in its entirety from the viewpoint of the existing result of evangelism. The active voice tells us that God produces the action of the verb.
Then we have an accusative singular direct object from "dynatos" (power). So we have "and to make his power known." So our translation so far is "But the God wanting to demonstrate his wrath and to reveal his power."
The aorist active indicative from the verb "phero" (endured) it means to endure the carrying of a heavy load, by pressing or pushing it, for a long time. This is a constantive aorist tense so it refers to an action that is extended over a period of time.
In this case Paul is using it to refer to the entire length of time that it took for the ten plagues in Egypt to happen. The constantive aorist tense gathers are all gathered up into one entirety describing the events of Exodus chapters 6-12.
The constantive aorist gathers up into one entirety God's patience and endurance with Pharaoh during this time. The active voice explains that God produces the action of the verb as a prolonged demonstration of His grace.
In other words, God kept pushing by saying "Let my people go." The indicative mood is declarative the reality of God's patience because of the fact that God did not immediately kill Pharaoh and march the people out of Egypt over his decaying dead body.
This verb goes with the conditional particle "ei' (if) with the indicative mood verb that sets up the protasis of a first class condition (if and it's true).
In support of this a prepositional phrase we have "en" (with) plus the instrumental of manner that expresses God's policy that is how God did this the adjective "pollus" (much) "makeothumia" (patience or forbearance). A good translation is "much or great patience."
We see here that God on the basis of His perfect policy of grace gave Pharaoh every chance to change his mind. God demonstrated His justice and revealed His omnipotence by patiently enduring Pharaoh's obstinate negative volition.
God is omnipotent and all-powerful so He is able to do anything that He wants to whenever He wants to within the range of His perfect integrity. However, Pharaoh used his power to make a wrong but God used His power to right Pharaoh's wrong.
Next we have our word "skeuos" (vessels) that describes the containers that were used to store things in the ancient world. The noun here is without a definite article so the absence of the definite article makes it anarthrous so it describes the high value and therefore the high price that God paid for all unbelievers.
God paid the greatest price, the death of his uniquely born Son Jesus Christ, (John 3:16;) for all unbelievers. This is followed by the descriptive genitive singular from the noun "orge) (wrath) that we understand as an anthropopathism that is used to describe God's judgment and condemnation in terms of human language of accommodation.
This judgment and condemnation is described in John 3:18. It is the vessel of wrath that from his own free will makes a decision to reject Jesus Christ so he sets himself up for destruction by his own free will that becomes their reality in the printout of God's decree.
In Eternity past God knew about every person who would reject Jesus Christ as savior and as a result become a vessel of wrath. "Wrath" and "destruction" describes the printout of God's decree from the situation of the unbeliever.
God does not prepare the vessel of wrath but the vessel of wrath prepares himself through his own negative free will choices. He is a free agent, he has the opportunity of saying yes or no, and in self-determination he rejects Jesus Christ as savior.
Rom 9:22; Next is " katartizo" (prepared), that is a perfect passive participle. This is very significant in because in the perfect tense it describes man's free will as having the potential to be the basis for eternal blessing or eternal condemnation.
Man's own free will self-determination is the basis for either blessing or cursing from God. The Greek word '"katartiao" is used at least four ways in the scriptures. It is used in a mechanical sense in Greek tragedy for tuning up the machine that lowered the deities onto the stage in 1Cor 1:10; where in the NASB it is translated "complete."
It also was a military term for completely equipping an army, as in 2Cor 13:11; or a naval term for supplying a fleet going into action, as in 1Thes 3:10; where it is also translated "complete" in the NASB.
It was used as a fishing term for mending broken nets in 1Pet 5:10; where it is translated "perfect" and it was used in Gal 6:1; where it translated "restore."
The word emphasizes the fact there that the free volition of mankind determines the kind of vessel that a person will become. The lump of clay in verse 21 is neutral. God does not cause the vessel to be a vessel of wrath; the negative free will of the soul of the unbeliever prepares the vessel as a vessel of wrath.
The rejection of salvation is the rejection of God's love and grace. To reject God's Word of Truth is also the rejection of God's love and grace. Here in the perfect tense we have a dramatic perfect so we will translate it, "having been prepared" or "having been equipped."
The dramatic perfect tense describes the completed action of the verb. That in this case is negative volition at God-consciousness and negative volition at gospel hearing that determines the existing situation.
The status quo is an unbeliever, and this dramatic perfect tense emphasizes the results of the action, that from one's own free will a person has rejected Jesus Christ and remained in the status as an unbeliever.
The passive voice, the unbeliever becomes the vessel of wrath that receives the action of the verb because of his own negative volition. He also prepares himself for his own self-destruction from his very own free negative volition. God has nothing to do with it.
It is his very own decisions are is what prepares or equips him for destruction. The participle describes the reality. With this is a prepositional phrase "eis apoleia " (for destruction) that occurs at the last judgment.
Expanded Translation Rom 9:22; "But, if as is the case, God willing to demonstrate his indignation, and to reveal his omnipotence, has endured with great patience vessels of wrath (unbelievers) having been equipped for destruction (at the last judgment."
Man's free will or self-determination can be used as preparation for eternal blessing or eternal judgment. Free will and self-determination are thoughts that will be coordinated with decision and action. When you have thought coordinated with decision and action you have equipment for eternal blessing or eternal judgment.
When man expresses positive volition through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ his non-meritorious expression of free will equips him as a vessel of mercy. He is prepared for the glory of God. He has done that through his own non-meritorious volition related to his own free volition.
However, when man expresses negative volition, as did the Pharaoh of Egypt his free will prepares him for destruction, and the destruction described in this verse is the great white throne judgment.
Man will adjust to God's justice by believing in Jesus Christ or he will fail to adjust to God's justice and reject Jesus Christ. God's justice will always adjust to the situation.
The principle also works the opposite way. When a person rejects Jesus Christ as his personal savior then there is maladjustment to God's justice that is followed by God's justice providing what is necessary and compatible with His situation. That means discipline from God in time followed by eternal judgment from God in the lake of fire.
When mankind from his own free will chooses the work of Jesus Christ on the cross for salvation he becomes a vessel of mercy. God has mercy on his soul and immediately provides the believer with the 40 assets that God imputes at salvation that are required for a relationship with God.
From then on, depending on his attitude toward God's Word of Truth, mercy intensifies and increases until a person can have the greatest possible happiness during his life in the devil's world.
The issue is always absolute truth. God is absolute truth, Jesus is absolute truth and God's Word is absolute truth.
When mankind from his own free will chooses his own truth, his own works and his own self-righteousness he has become a vessel of wrath equipped and prepared for the last judgment.
That means that it is only man's rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ that results in his destruction in the lake of fire. God in His patience is longsuffering and His forbearance permits the unbeliever to live, so God can demonstrate His power, and always to provide another chance for him to change his mind.
God's power was demonstrated in the plagues so that many in Egypt and throughout the world were evangelized through the negative volition of Pharaoh who became the vessel of wrath by his own free negative volition.
In spite of their opposition to believers as God's vessels of mercy God by his mercy keeps unbelievers alive in spite of themselves and uses them to fulfill His plan. We see from this that God's plan does not depend on mankind; it only depends upon God.
Ishmael, Esau and Pharaoh were all vessels of wrath. God endured with great patience these vessels so that each one revealed God's power and His dynamics by His advancing of His plan through, over and around them.
In other words, the principle: Nothing can stop the advance of God's plan. The vessels of wrath or unbelievers have been prepared for destruction through their own free negative volition, first at God-consciousness. Then from there it branches out in many ways starting with gospel hearing, and in the case Pharaoh his confrontation with the truth of God's Word from Moses.
Therefore it is the function of his own free will that equips or prepares a vessel of wrath for the last judgment. Pharaoh was a vessel of wrath prepared for destruction by means of his own free consistent persistent negative volition. Even though he had repeated demonstrations of God's power that completely overwhelmed him he still said no.