Romans Chapter One                                 Lesson 18

Review:

 

Now step #2:  Illumination of the light, the truth in view.  1:19b-20a

- How can things that are invisible be clearly seen??  [oxymoron]

 

       Unseen                   Creation                                 Clearly Seen

            Who God is        What God created         What Creation reveals about attributes

            attributes

 

- So what we have is illumination; or enlightenment;  "for God made it evident to them"; the truth/light in creation;

- There is a constancy of this illumination, the evidence remains constant, from the day of creation.

 

"His invisible attributes" lit. the invisible things of Him

 

- This speaks of a sense of perception;  God's attributes are not comprehended by the senses but they are clearly seen by the mind.

 

In the next phrase Paul spells out exactly what is in view with this testimony of creation;      "His eternal power and divine nature" 

 

- The message of creation is that He is powerful and that He has the attributes that only God could possess.

 

*** Examples of what can be learned about God from observing creation:

1. God's orderliness;  He is a God of order,  all the unchangeable laws of nature;  gravity; water/temp; don't vary from day to day;

2. God's greatness, the vastness of the universe, millions of suns in our galaxy alone; can't even count the number of galaxies out there its so vast; yet all of it is the work of His hands;     [Psa 19:1; 8:3-4]

3. His creativity, artistry; beautiful sunset, multicolored birds;  tropical fish; every snowflake is a different patterned 6 sided crystal;

4. God's power is seen in His control of the weather; thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes,

5. God's intelligence;  seen in the design of man; creation of man; if you consider just one part, human brain; far more complex and far more complicated than any super computer man has been able to design; cannot even approach the ability of human brain;

6. God's wisdom;  He created it all in the best, most optimum manner; placement of the sun, moon etc are precise;   that planet earth has all the resources, water, oxygen, minerals whatever needed to completely fulfill His plan; no matter what man can do, he cannot upset God's plan.   Jer 31:35f.

7. God's complete care of His creation:

 

 

 

8. God's faithfulness; seen in the constancy of day/night cycle; the seasonal cycle;    Gen 8:22; Jer 33:20

 

** "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and deity, have been clearly seen;"

 

*** Where does Satan fit into the equation, or does he? 

 

Would it not be almost a masterful stroke if he somehow could get God removed from any link to creation?

 

The clarity of the message is noted next;  "being understood through what has been made,"

 

The reality of God's existence and His basic character are known to men because they are able to perceive Him, to understand through the things He has made.

 

Thus through the light of the created universe, unsaved man no matter where they may live, recognizes the fact that there is a supreme Being who created it, who has eternal power and is deity, in fact, a Being to whom worship and obedience are due.

 

God created man and He sets the parameters for man's life, not man!

 

Step #3. 1:20b  Obligation:

"so that they are without excuse"  

 

 

Because they constantly suppress that light, they stand condemned.

 

Observation by Barclay:

In the world we can see God.

It is Paul's argument, and it is completely valid, that if we look at the world we see that suffering follows sin.

Break the laws of agriculture, and your harvest fails.

Break the laws of architecture, your building collapses.

Break the laws of health, your body suffers.

Paul was saying "Look at the world!  See how it is constructed!

From a world like that you know what God is like.

The sinner is left without excuse.

 

Step #4. 1:21a  Man responded to this knowledge of God with rejection: 

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him,

 

- What Paul is doing here is pointing out that the Biblical position is the opposite of constant upward progress; the human vpt position on man's history.

 

 

1:21b - have a dual failure on the part of those in view;

"they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks"

To honor God is to recognize Him for all that He is!

 

- This is put first here as man's greatest sin, failure, I believe,  because it is first in man's responsibility and man's duty to ascribe to Him the glory that is actually His,  what is His due!

 

Application:

- Isn't this failure to truly honor God innate in all of us also at times?

 

 

 

2nd failure: "did not give thanks"

The idea of to give thanks, is that thanksgiving is rooted in the recognition that God is the source of all that we are and possess.

 

 

 

 

- These failures, to honor and thank God are coupled with some consequences!  - result of divine action.

- The consequences in view all have impact on man's mentality, his thought process, the operation and integration of the brain computer and the real you, your soul while under the old sin nature.

 

#5. 1:21c  From that rejection man sinks into human speculations;