Romans 1.18-The Revelation of God's Wrath from Heaven
Prairie View Christian Church
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday June 12, 2007
Romans: Romans 1:18-The Revelation of God’s Wrath from Heaven
Lesson # 23
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 1:18.
Last evening we completed the first major section in the book of Romans, which appears in Romans 1:1-17 and contains the introduction to the book and deals with the subject of the revelation of the righteousness of God.
This evening we will begin a study of the second major section in the book of Romans, which appears in Romans 1:18-3:20 and deals with the universal need of the righteousness of God.
This passage is divided into three major sections: (1) The unrighteousness of the Gentiles (1:18-32). (2) The unrighteousness of the Jews (2:1-3:8). (3) The universal unrighteousness of men (3:9-20).
This evening we will begin a study of Romans 1:18-32, which is divided into two sections: (1) The basis for Gentile guilt (1:18-23). (2) The results of Gentile guilt (1:24-32).
This evening we will begin a study of the first section.
In this passage, Paul states three reasons why the entire Gentile world is unrighteous and condemned before God and thus in need of salvation and God’s righteousness: (1) They suppress the truth (1:18). (2) They ignore God’s revelation in creation (1:19-20). (3) They pervert God’s glory (1:21-23).
Let’s read Romans 1:18-32 and then concentrate on Romans 1:18.
Romans 1:18, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.”
Romans 1:19, “because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.”
Romans 1:20, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”
Romans 1:21, “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”
Romans 1:22-23, “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.”
Romans 1:24, “Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.”
Romans 1:25, “For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”
Romans 1:26-27, “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.”
Romans 1:28-32, “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”
Let’s look more closely at Romans 1:18.
Romans 1:18, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.”
Corrected translation of Romans 1:18, “For God’s righteous indignation is as an eternal spiritual truth revealed from the third heaven against each and every kind of ungodliness and unrighteousness produced by mankind who as an eternal spiritual truth are characterized by suppressing the truth by means of unrighteousness.”
The apostle Paul’s statement in Romans 1:18 presents to us the reason why God needed to reveal His righteousness by means of the gospel and offer salvation through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.
The revelation of God’s wrath from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men is the reason why God needed to reveal His righteousness by means of the gospel and offer salvation to all men through faith in Jesus Christ.
The universal corruption and sinfulness of mankind is the reason why God needed to reveal His righteousness by means of the communication of the gospel.
This revelation of God’s wrath or righteous indignation against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men must precede the revelation of His righteousness since mankind must first understand God’s attitude toward sin and that He will not overlook sin, which exposes mankind of its need for deliverance from sin.
“The wrath of God” is composed of the nominative (subject) feminine singular form of the noun orge (o)rghv) (or-gay), “wrath” and the (subjective) genitive masculine singular form of the noun theos (qeov$) (theh-os), “God.”
In Romans 1:18, the noun orge is attributed to God referring to His attitude of “righteous indignation” in response to any thought, word, or action of His moral rational creatures, whether mankind and angels, that is opposed to His holiness and manifests itself in actions that judge and punish the guilty.
The difference between righteous indignation and anger is that the former is based upon concern for the holiness of God whereas the latter is emotional, selfish, self-centered, vindictive and intent on harming another.
Nahum 1:2, “A jealous and avenging God is the LORD; The LORD is avenging and wrathful. The LORD takes vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserves wrath for His enemies.”
1 Thessalonians 5:9-10, “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.”
Revelation 19:15, “From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.”
Normally, anger expressed by human beings is emotional and selfish but sometimes human beings manifest righteous indignation as in the case of the Lord Jesus Christ who displayed righteous indignation towards the moneychangers in the Temple whose actions stood in opposition to the holiness of God (Jn. 2:13-17).
In fact, in Ephesians 4:26-27, the apostle Paul commands believers to display righteous indignation towards injustice, sin and evil and to reject the emotional, selfish, self-centered, vindictive and revengeful form of human wrath and anger.
Ephesians 4:26-27, “BE ANGRY, AND YET DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.”
God’s righteous indignation is the legitimate anger towards evil and sin since both are contrary to His holiness or perfect character and nature.
God would not be truly a God of love that He is, if He did not respond to man’s involvement with sin and evil with righteous indignation.
His righteous indignation is not something, which is inconsistent with His love but rather it is an expression of His love just like it is an expression of His righteousness.
It is precisely because God loves us truly and seriously and faithfully that He expresses righteous indignation with man’s sinfulness.
Robert H. Mounce writes, “There is an essential relationship between God’s righteousness and His wrath. If God responded to wickedness with no more than a benign tolerance, His righteousness could be called into question. That which is right necessarily stands over against and defines by contrast that which is wrong.” (The New American Commentary, volume 27, page 76; Broadman and Holman Publishers)
Richard Chenevix Trench writes, “God would not love good unless He hated evil; the two are inseparable. Either God must do both or neither.” (Synonyms of the New Testament, page 147; Baker Book House; Grand Rapids, Michigan)
God’s wrath, which is in reality, righteous indignation is an expression of His holiness, righteousness and love in opposition to sin and evil.
God hates sin so much and loves the sinner so much that He judged His Son Jesus Christ for every sin in human history-past, present and future and provided deliverance from sin through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.
The only way to avoid God’s righteous indignation is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
John 3:36, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
Romans 1:18, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.”
The prepositional phrase “from heaven” refers to the third heaven in which God’s throne resides and from which throne He administrates His government over mankind and angels.
It indicates that God’s righteous indignation “originates from heaven” and in particular the third heaven in which the throne of God resides and from which throne, God administrates His government.
The prepositional phrase “against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” identifies the objects of God’s wrath or righteous indignation.
“Ungodliness” is the noun asebeia (a)sevbeia) (as-eb-i-ah), which refers to a lack of reverence for God as manifested in thinking, speaking and acting in a manner contrary or against the laws of God or His character and nature.
The noun asebeia, “ungodliness” refers to having a disrespectful attitude toward God and His laws.
“Unrighteousness” is the noun adikia (a)dikiva) (ad-ee-kee-ah), which refers to acts of sin against one’s fellow man.
The noun asebeia, “ungodliness” deals with one’s attitude and actions towards God and the noun adikia, “unrighteousness” deals with one’s actions towards one’s fellow man.
The latter is the direct result of the former since one’s attitudes and actions towards one’s fellow human being are a reflection of one’s attitude towards God.
Lack of respect for God will manifest itself through acts of injustice towards one’s fellow man.
Together, these two words, asebeia, “ungodliness” and adikia, “unrighteousness” describes mankind’s failure to love God and each other as they are commanded to by God (Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18; Mark 12:28-31).
The noun anthropos, “men” is in the plural and means, “mankind” and is also a “genitive of production” indicating that mankind “produces” ungodliness and unrighteousness.
Romans 1:18, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.”
The fact that members of the human race suppress the truth of God implies that they have knowledge of this truth and this truth manifested through creation according to Romans 1:19-20.
The noun aletheia, “truth” does “not” refer to the Word of God, the gospel since all men have not been exposed to it but rather it refers to the truth of God as manifested through creation, whose complex design demands a Creator according to Romans 1:19-20.
God reveals Himself to man in three ways: (1) By nature or creation (Psalm 19:1-6; Rom. 1:19-20). (2) The Living Word, i.e., the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:18; 1 Tim. 3:16). (3) The Bible in its original languages (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21).
Psalm 19:1-4, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
“In unrighteousness” is composed of the preposition en (e)n) and dative (instrumental of means) feminine singular form of the noun adikia ((a)dikiva), which refers to acts of sin committed by men against each other.
The preposition en is a marker of means indicating that the acts of sin committed by men against each other are the “means by which” men suppress the truth of God in the sense that by committing these acts of sin against each other they fail to acknowledge their accountability to God.
The reason why men suppress the truth of God and fail to acknowledge their accountability to Him and govern their lives by God’s truth is that they seek to live independently of God like their father the devil (See Isaiah 14:12-14; John 3:19-21).
Sinful mankind has suppressed the truth and God’s revelation of Himself, His ways and His will as manifested by their failure to acknowledge God at God consciousness and as Creator and in their rejection of the incarnate Word of God, Jesus Christ as well as in their rejection of the written Word of God, the Bible.
