Working on a paper on a biblical theology of worship, I was struct by the link between Genesis 1:26-27, the analogy of the potter and clay in the prophets and Romans 9, and the praise of the elders in Revelation 4:11.
"In creation, God is seen to be a God of action and initiative. Passivity is not found in the opening account. He acts. He takes initiative. God leads in the creation of the world—and of man. Revelation 4:11, at the end of the story, provides explicit teaching regarding an implicit consequence of God as creator—namely God is to be praise. “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” Note the reason God is to be praised. God created all things. The Creator-God thus owns and rules over all things. Isaiah and Jeremiah and then Paul in Romans 9 each build on this reality, using the examples of the potter and clay to teach on the electing rule of God. The clay is rightly shown to be dependent, given purpose and design by the potter. The potter has free will to do with the clay as he chooses—like Rev. 4:11 which ends “by your will they exist and were created. Genesis 1:26-27 is the initial establishment of this reality of ownership and rule on the part of God (the potter) over man (the clay)."
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