“Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?”
The full verse · Romans 9:20 · KJV
Nay , , that repliest ? the thing to him that it, hast thou ?
Asked by
Paul: the apostle writing to the church at Rome, answering the objection he has just voiced (Romans 9:19)
Asked to
Objector: the imagined opponent who asked, "Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?" (Romans 9:19), addressed here as "O man"
The Scene
The objector has just asked why God still finds fault if no one can resist His will (Romans 9:19), and Paul replies.
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionPaul's first question rebukes the attitude behind the objection. The objector has put God in the dock; Paul reminds him who is the creature and who is the Creator. Barnes says, "Paul here strongly reproves the impiety and wickedness of arraigning God," that is, of putting God on trial. Gill hears Paul saying, "Thou art man, and not God; a creature, and not the Creator," and calls answering back to God "the highest instance of arrogance and impudence." The second question uses a picture: would a pot ask its maker, "Why hast thou made me thus?" The absurdity of the picture answers the objection's spirit.
The Response
What Scripture recordsThe questions answer themselves: a creature has no standing to put its Maker on trial. Paul presses the point with another question: "Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?" (Romans 9:21). Barnes notes that Paul answers in two ways: first by asserting God's right as sovereign (Romans 9:20-21), then by showing God's justice and mercy in His dealings (Romans 9:22-24).
Historical Context
The world behind the words"Repliest against" translates antapokrinomai, which Thayer defines as to contradict in reply, to answer by contradicting. It appears only twice in the New Testament: here and in Luke 14:6, where the lawyers and Pharisees "could not answer him again." Barnes notes that the potter image comes from Isaiah 29:16 and Isaiah 45:9 and says, "It was especially proper to adduce this to a Jew," because the objector would know his own Scriptures. Isaiah 45:9 reads, "Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker!... Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou?"
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThis question reveals God as Maker, and it puts people in their right place before Him. The issue is not that questions are forbidden. Paul himself asks many in Romans. The issue is "replying against" God: answering Him as an opponent who sits in judgment over Him.
The prophets used the same picture (Isaiah 29:16; 45:9). Matthew Henry draws the lesson: "It becomes us to submit to him, not to reply against him." Yet the passage does not end with power alone. Paul goes on to God's "longsuffering" and "the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy" (Romans 9:22-23). The Potter is sovereign, and He is also patient and merciful.
Look Closer
What is Paul rebuking in this question?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord, You are my Maker; where have I been answering back to You instead of bringing my questions to You in trust?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- What is the difference between asking God an honest question and "replying against" Him? How can you tell which you are doing?
- Share a time when accepting that God is God brought you peace rather than resentment.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
You can bring God your questions. Scripture is full of them. But this verse warns against a certain kind of question: one that puts God on trial and demands that He explain Himself to us as if we were His judge.
When something about your life or God's ways troubles you, remember who made you. That does not silence your questions; it changes their tone, from accusation to trust.
This does not mean God is a cold craftsman. The same passage speaks of His "much longsuffering" and "the riches of his glory" shown to vessels of mercy (Romans 9:22-23). The hands that shape you are patient hands.
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources
Keep questioning
“Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?”
“Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?”
“What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:”
“Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?”