The Wrath of God is Revealed from Heaven

2014-03-07

For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. 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 shewed 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 (Romans 1:17-20)

Previously we saw how “the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith” in Romans 1:17. Starting in Romans 1:18, we see its antithesis: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven.” Do not miss this dichotomy. My Bible, along with many others, place some sort of subtitle between verses 17 and 18, which may throw us off. The righteousness of God is revealed one way (by faith), but the wrath of God is revealed another way (from heaven). We can know by nature that there is a God, we deny Him and His power, and therefore know that His wrath is upon us.

From God’s throne room the wrath of God is revealed “against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.” Humankind is naturally at enmity with God. God cannot tolerate the natural man. In ancient times, “GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). God eventually destroyed the world except for Noah’s family. In the future, God will again pour out His wrath on the earth (Revelation 6:16-17). The justice of God demands judgment on humankind’s sin.

Why is God’s wrath upon humanity? Humanity also holds “the truth in unrighteousness.” In other words, they know the truth, but dismiss it anyway. We in our flesh oppose to the truth, and are content in doing so. He has revealed Himself to us, but we rejected Him as the ultimate truth in regard to His being creator, His authority, and His judgment of sin.

How did He reveal himself to us? “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.” The creation itself testifies that a power of great intellect made it. In ourselves, we have volition and personality, and we can deduce that volition does not happen by chance, and personality does not come from the impersonal. The greatest characteristics of humankind, such as these, were patterned from someone yet greater than us. We create, we communicate, we love and cherish... these are all attributes of God that He has woven into our being. This someone was distinct from the heavens, the earth, and the rest of creation, because the creation itself has neither volition nor personality.

Yet we are without excuse before God, because we have rejected the reality of God. Because we reject the truth of the creator, we remain under wrath, and there is nothing that we in ourselves can do about it.