“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:”
The full verse · Romans 9:22 · KJV
What , to his , to , the of :
Asked by
Paul: the apostle writing to the church at Rome, giving a further answer to the objection of 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), whom Paul is still answering
The Scene
Having asked whether the potter has power over the clay (Romans 9:21), Paul now begins a long question that runs through Romans 9:24.
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionThe objector had complained that God finds fault with people who cannot resist His will (Romans 9:19). Paul answers with a "what if": what if God, who has every right to show His wrath, has instead held back with great patience? Barnes reads it as "If God does what the apostle supposes, what then? Is it not right?" Barnes calls this the second point in Paul's answer. The question asks the objector to look at what God has actually done before accusing Him of being unfair.
The Response
What Scripture recordsThe sentence has no answer of its own; it continues into Romans 9:23-24 and ends in a question mark there. God endured the vessels of wrath "that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy" (Romans 9:23), who are "us, whom he hath called" (Romans 9:24). The implied answer is that no one can fault God for patience toward those who deserve wrath and mercy toward those He calls.
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsPaul has just quoted God's word to Pharaoh, "that I might shew my power in thee" (Romans 9:17, from Exodus 9:16), and Gill notes God endured with longsuffering both "the old world, before he destroyed it" and Pharaoh. "Longsuffering" is makrothumia, patience or forbearance. "Fitted" (katartizo) is a perfect participle in Greek, and the verse does not say who fitted these vessels for destruction. Barnes describes them as people "who, from long continuance in iniquity, deserve to experience wrath." Gill says they are fitted "by themselves, by their own wickedness, hardness of heart, and impenitence."
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThis question shows God's patience. He is willing to show His wrath against sin and His power, and yet He "endured with much longsuffering" those who deserved destruction (Romans 9:22). Matthew Henry writes, "God will make it appear that he hates sin." Yet the delay is mercy. Barnes says God "spares them amid all their provocations, to give them opportunity of repentance."
Notice the difference in the wording of Romans 9:22-23. The vessels of mercy are those God "had afore prepared unto glory." The vessels of wrath are simply "fitted to destruction." Matthew Henry draws out the contrast: "Sinners fit themselves for hell, but it is God who prepares saints for heaven." Earlier in Romans, Paul says this same longsuffering is meant to lead people to repentance (Romans 2:4).
Look Closer
What does Romans 9:22 say God did with the vessels of wrath?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Father, Your patience has held back what sin deserves; how have I taken Your longsuffering for granted?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- Why do you think people often see God's patience as weakness or indifference rather than mercy?
- Tell about a time when someone's patience with you gave you room to change.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
God's patience is real, and it is not the same as approval. Paul says God is "willing to shew his wrath," and still He waits with "much longsuffering" (Romans 9:22). If God has given you time, that time is a gift of mercy.
This does not mean you can guess who is a vessel of wrath. Paul never names any of his readers that way, and in the next chapter he prays for Israel to be saved (Romans 10:1). Let God's patience with others shape your own patience and prayer for them.
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?”
“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?”
“Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?”
“Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?”