Tuesday

Related Verses
Rom. 9:15-16, 23
15 For to Moses He says, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.”
16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
23 In order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He had before prepared unto glory,

Eph. 2:3-6
3 Among whom we also all conducted ourselves once in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest;
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in offenses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)
6 And raised us up together with Him and seated us together with Him in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus,

Isa. 55:6
6 Seek Jehovah while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near.

Jer. 29:13
13 And you will seek Me and find Me if you search for Me with all your heart;

Related Reading
As vessels of mercy unto honor and glory, we were chosen by God according to His sovereign mercy (Rom. 9:11-16)…Being a vessel of mercy is not the result of our choice; it originates with God’s sovereignty. It is of God’s sovereignty that He created us vessels of mercy to contain Himself. His sovereignty is the basis of His selection. 

God chose us even before we were born, in fact, before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). Human selection depends on what people are in themselves. Those who are good, promising, or successful are likely to be selected. God’s selection, on the contrary, does not depend on what we are; it depends entirely on God’s sovereignty and His desire. 

[An] illustration of God’s sovereign mercy found in Romans 9 is that of the potter and the clay…As the potter God has authority over the clay [vv. 20-21]. If He wills, He can make one vessel to honor and another to dishonor. This does not depend on our choice—it depends on His sovereignty. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 1184-1186) 

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In Romans 9:23 and 24 Paul goes on to [say], “In order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He had before prepared unto glory, even us, whom He has also called, not only from among the Jews but also from among the Gentiles.” All depends on God’s authority. God has the authority to make us, whom He has selected and called, vessels of mercy to contain Him so that the riches of His glory may be made known, manifested. According to His sovereign authority, He before prepared us unto glory. We were predestinated by His sovereignty to be His containers, vessels of mercy unto honor and glory to express Him. This is altogether a matter of God’s sovereign mercy. 

If we would serve God in His New Testament economy, we need to know that it is wholly a matter of God’s sovereign mercy. Through many years of experience I have become strongly and deeply convinced that everything that happens to us is of God’s mercy. All is a matter of God’s mercy. The more we see this, the more we shall spontaneously bear our responsibility before the Lord. However, even the bearing of responsibility is of God’s mercy. Why is it that some believers are willing to bear their responsibility and that others are not? The answer lies in God’s mercy [Rom. 9:15]…Because of God’s mercy we responded to the gospel when others did not respond, we received a word about Christ as life when others refused to receive it, and we took the way of the Lord’s recovery when others drew back from taking this way. 

Regarding His recovery, God has mercy on whom He will have mercy…Our being here is altogether due to the mercy of God. If you consider how the Lord brought you into the church life in the Lord’s recovery, you will worship Him for His mercy. Concerning the gospel, the ministry of life, and the church life, God has had mercy on us. How we must praise Him for His sovereign mercy, and worship Him for His mercy! 

[In Ephesians 2:4] we see that God is rich in mercy because of His great love toward us. The object of love should be in a lovable condition, but the object of mercy is always in a pitiful situation. God’s mercy reaches us for His love. God loves us because we are the object of His selection. But we became pitiful by our fall, even dead in our offenses and sins. Therefore, we need God’s mercy to reach us. Because of His great love, God is rich in mercy to save us from our wretched position to a condition that is suitable for His love. This most far-reaching attribute of God should cause our heart to react to His love. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 1186, 100) 

Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 110