"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse; Because that when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened."
Romans 1:18-21
Part 2
Yesterday: God’s Fearsome Wrath against Sin
“God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day” (Psalm 7:11).
Today: God Put the Knowledge of Himself in Us – We Can Know Him!
“For what can be known about God is plain to them [sinful humans], because God has shown it to them” (Romans 1:19, ESV[1]).
“Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them.”
“Because”
Paul begins to lay out the reason for God’s great anger in verse 18. Sinful man suppresses, holds down, hinders, or pushes the truth about God away. He wants nothing to do with his Creator.
“Every truth revealed to man by God has been fought against, disregarded, and deliberately obscured”[2] (Guzik).
It is obviously humanity that has mistreated God rather than the opposite. Satan has done his job well, and lost humanity has turned his back on God completely. The prophet Isaiah was correct,
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way, and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).
“That Which May Be Known of God”
God has not hidden from us the truth about himself, but He has made Himself knowable, and He may be known to us. Knowledge about God is available to everyone.
“That which may be known” – is “equivalent to that which is knowable…. Better, that which is known, the universal sense in the New Testament, signifying the universal objective knowledge of God as the Creator, which is, more or less, in all men”[3] (Vincent).
“Is Manifest in Them”
Again, this knowledge about God is not hidden, but it is plain,[4] it can be clearly seen and is visible to all. The only reason that mankind can see it is because “God has made it plain.”[5] And God’s Word says that truth about the knowable God is “in them.” How did mankind get this truth about God? He put it “in their hearts and consciences”[6] (Vincent). Sadly, sinful humans reject this truth and try to hold it down, suppressing it. They try to forget about God, like the proverbial ostrich burying its head in the sand. This will never work, for God has given human beings several ways to “see Him.”
“For God hath showed it unto them.”
Not only has God put the truth about himself into everyone’s conscience, but He also shows the truth about himself every day to every person on His earth.
“Men cannot charge God with hiding himself from them and thus excuse their irreligion and their immorality”[7] (Lenski).
Humans have “no excuse” for their sin. Verse 19 tells us that our Creator is knowable to everyone, and verse 20 shows us how this is possible. Please come back tomorrow as we look into how we can see this knowledge about our Creator.
Quote: God wants us to have more than just knowledge about Him. He wants a personal relationship with each of His creatures. He also wants to give us His wisdom, which is impossible without knowing Him. Knowledge of God is not enough. The demons know all about God. “You believe there is one God. That’s good, but even the demons believe that! And they shake with fear” (James 2:19, HSB[8]). We must have God’s saving faith to gain Jesus as our Savior. After that, our righteous works will make our faith public.
[1] ESV is the English Standard Version.
[2] Guzik’s quote is borrowed from the Enduring Word Commentary, the electronic version in eSword. Romans 1:18.
[3] Vincent, M. R. (1887). Word studies in the New Testament (Vol. 3, pp. 15–18). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. The emphasis is his.
[4] Paul uses the word phaneron here. This Greek word means “apparent, manifest, evident, known” (Thayer). J.H. Thayer, Thayer’s Greek Definitions, the electronic version in eSword.
[5] Paul here uses ephanerōsen, the verb form of the noun phaneron.
[6] Vincent, M. R. (1887). Ibid.
[7] Lenski’s quote is from the Enduring Word Commentary, ibid. Romans 1:18.
[8] HSB is the Harvest Study Bible from Harvest Ministries in Guam.