Romans 9:14-18, God's Sovereign Revelation (part 2)

The Explanation (v. 15–18)

God is most glorified in the freedom of unconditional election (v. 17–18)

God’s sovereignty in the acceptance/rejection of His revelation (v. 18)

Beyond the relationships in the passage stated so far, I would also argue for parallels between the two inferences Paul draws in verses 16 and 18. If the two quotations are in such close relation to each other (as they should be since they are two sub-points under the same main point of God being righteous), it would seem that the two inferences are also worthy of comparison (since it would be difficult for Paul to make two similar points and then draw drastically different conclusions from them).

We have already presented an analysis of the inference in verse 16. The major conclusions that are important here are that the phrases ‘the one who runs’ (or the efforts/works of a person, τρέχοντος) and ‘the one who wills’ (or the desires of a person, θέλοντος) are used to demonstrate the completeness of the human experience as lacking in its ability to merit the favor of God. This is a verse on the complete inability of humanity to earn God’s mercy.

The inference in verse 18 seems to be functioning in a similar fashion. The phrases “God gives mercy to whom He desires” and “God hardens whom He desires” are really two sides of the same coin.[1] There are those who receive God’s mercy and those who don’t, there is no middle ground. Mercy and hardening then seem to represent the complete actions of God in His free sovereignty. Verse 16 covered the complete inability of humanity in salvation and verse 18 covers the complete ability of God in salvation.

Hardening is the not the primary focus but rather it serves as a necessity for the flow of the argument emphasizing God’s sovereignty. The point is not to be interpreted as God creating some evil disposition within Pharaoh, but rather God using that evil disposition to serve His purposes (Lloyd-Jones, 175). “The thought of divine hardening comes in as a corollary, not the main thought” (Dunn, 554).

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[1] The two halves of verse 18 are grammatically identical as well ὃν θέλει ἐλεεῖ… (δε)... ὃν θέλει σκληρύνει