Lessons #37 and 38
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New American Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ HCSB = Holman Christian Standard Bible +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
+ 4. Text is based on 1984 edition of the NIV +
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Revealed wrath of God (Rom 1:18-23)
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
Recall the message of this section that we are considering is You should avoid rejecting God’s truth communicated to you since that will draw His displeasure towards you. We stated that there are three reasons, Apostle Paul gave in the section of Romans 1:19-23 for God’s wrath or punishment. The first reason that we considered in our last study has to do with clear revelation from God about Himself discoursed in Romans 1:19-20. In other words, God’s wrath or punishment is manifested on some people because they are without any excuse as they rejected truth about God despite His clear revelation of Himself that is given in creation. So, we proceed to consider the second reason that concerns the actions specifically the failures and state of the target of God’s wrath or punishment as described in Romans 1:21-22.
Their failures and state (Rom 1:21-22)
We are confident that Apostle Paul guided by the Holy Spirit was still concerned with reasons God’s wrath or punishment is on some people because of the first word for of Romans 1:21. The word is translated from the same Greek word translated “since” in verse 19. As we stated in verse 19, the apostle used a Greek conjunction (dioti) that may mean “because” as marker of a causal connection between two statements. It may mean “therefore” as a marker to introduce inference. In our passage of Romans 1:21, it means “for” as “a marker used to indicate why something just stated can reasonably be considered valid.” The word is used to provide in what follow the second reason for God’s wrath or punishment on some people. This second reason consists of two parts: the failures and the state of the object of God’s wrath or punishment.
There are two failures the apostle stated as part of the second reason for God’s wrath on some people. The first is the failure to positively acknowledge, recognize, or esteem God’s character, nature, or attributes. This failure that we will get to shortly is surprising because of what the apostle stated that took place with those who did not acknowledge God. This surprising fact concerns the knowledge of those who failed to acknowledge God as given in the first clause of Romans 1:21 although they knew God. Literally, the Greek reads knowing God since the apostle used a Greek participle. Although a Greek participle is subject to various interpretations but in our verse, the apostle used the participle to convey that the failure of those involved that we would get to, is indeed true in spite of the knowledge of God that is implied. The kind of construction used in the Greek is often translated in the English with the word “although” to convey that a concession is implied. Take for example, what the Holy Spirit said through Apostle Peter about the recipients of his second epistle in 1 Peter 1:8:
Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,
In this passage, the apostle commends the recipients of his epistle for their love for Jesus Christ in spite of not having seen Him physically. The clause of 1 Peter 1:8 Though you have not seen him is more literally whom, not having seen. Thus, Apostle Peter commended the recipient of his epistle of their love for the Lord in spite of not having seen Him. It is this kind of construction that Apostle Paul used in the passage of Romans 1:21 only that instead of commendation we have criticism of those who are the objects of God’s wrath or punishment.
Be that as it may, the thing that is somewhat surprising in the failure of those who did not acknowledge God is their knowledge of Him as the apostle wrote in Romans 1:21 although they knew God.
What does the apostle mean in the clause although they knew God? This question is necessary because the apostle described something that had already occurred with regard to the objects of God’s wrath. That aside, the apostle could not have meant believers in the sentence they knew God. We say this because the context of the sentence is that of disobedience on the part of those who are under God’s wrath. It is expected that those who know God as believers should live in obedience to God’s word. This fact is clearly conveyed by the Lord Jesus Christ when He compared His knowing of God to that of the Jews that He asserted did not know God according to John 8:55:
Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word.
Jesus Christ, according to this passage, indicates that the essential element to knowing God involves obedience because of the verbal phrase keep his word that may alternatively be translated obey His word as in the TEV. Apostle Paul implies that not knowing God involves being in idolatry in comparison to being free from such by those who know God in the sense of being believers as we read in Galatians 4:8–9:
8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?
The apostle also taught that those who know God prove it by their lifestyle in that they avoid the lifestyle that is inconsistent with truth as he wrote in Titus 1:16:
They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
Apostle John also conveyed the fact that obedience to God’s word is an essential element of knowing God since as the Holy Spirit directed him, he communicated that those who know God are those who obey apostolic teaching as implied in 1 John 4:6:
We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.
Apostle Paul implies that the objects of God’s punishment in the sense of His final judgment would be unbelievers that he described as not knowing God, implying that they did not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation as we read in 2 Thessalonians 1:8:
He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
Thus, it is inconceivable that anyone who knows God will be described as one that is consistently disobedient to God’s word. The point we are emphasizing is that when Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 1:21 although they knew God he did not include or refer to believers in Christ. To understand what he meant we should understand the word “knew” he used.
The word “knew” is translated from a Greek word (ginōskō) that may mean to arrive at a knowledge of someone or something, hence “to know, know about, make acquaintance of.” Thus, it may be used to arrive at understanding of truth, as it is with this meaning that the word is used in Jesus’ declaration of being set free by knowledge of truth in John 8:32:
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
The word may mean to acquire information through some means and so means “to learn (of), to ascertain, to find out.” Hence, it is in the sense of “to find out something” that our Greek word is used to describe Apostle Paul’s desire to learn about the faith of believers in Thessalonica that he sent Timothy to them, as we read in 1 Thessalonians 3:5:
For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless.
The word may mean to grasp the significance or meaning of something and so means “to understand, comprehend” as our Greek word was used in the apostolic prayer of Paul for Ephesians to comprehend Christ’s love for them although our word is translated “know” in Ephesians 3:19:
and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
The word may mean “to acknowledge, recognize” as it is used by Apostle Paul to indicate that the Galatians acknowledged God in the passage we cited previously, that is, Galatians 4:9:
But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?
Although the NIV translated our Greek word with “know” twice but the sense of the Greek word in this passage is that of “to acknowledge.” Thus, the clause now that you know God is translated in the NEB as now that you do acknowledge God. In our passage of Romans 1:21, the word has the sense of “to know about,” that is, “to have knowledge about someone acquired through observation.” This meaning enables us to interpret what the apostle meant in Romans 1:21 although they knew God. He meant that those he had in mind are those who through observation of creation have concluded that there is God. In effect, they knew about God, but they did not know Him in a saving manner because general revelation that points to the existence of God is not sufficient for salvation. Salvation requires special revelation of God so that an individual would understand the gospel of Jesus Christ and so believe. It is, therefore, not surprising that the Lord Jesus spoke of the impossibility of knowing God without special revelation as implied in His assertion recorded in Matthew 11:27:
“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
The Lord Jesus is clear that it is impossible to know God the Father without revelation from Him. This revelation that would come from Him should be understood as a special revelation without which no one is capable of being saved. Anyhow, we contend that those Apostle Paul asserted they knew God in the past are those who through general revelation in creation recognized the existence of the supreme God, the creator, but that is as far as they went in their knowledge of God without special revelation.
It is because of the recognition of the existence of the supreme God, the creator, that the apostle stated what is surprising on the part of those who have in the past recognized His existence. The thing that is surprising is their failure to acknowledge God’s attributes as stated in the next clause of Romans 1:21 they neither glorified him as God. This sentence introduced the first of the two failures the apostle charged those who had previously concluded that there is God, the supreme creator. Our use of the word “first” in describing the failures of those who once recognized the existence of God is supported by the word neither in the sentence we are considering. The word “neither” is translated from a Greek particle (ou) that is used for negation so means “not” or “no” in an emphatic manner. In our verse, the meaning is indeed “not.” However, because it is used with another Greek particle that we will mention later translated “nor,” it is proper to translate it with the word “neither.” The fact that we have these two Greek particles used implies here that there are two assertions of the apostle although negatively. It is for this reason that we assert that the word “neither” introduced a first failure on the part of those who recognized the existence of God through creation.
Again, the failure in question is given in the clause of Romans 1:21 they neither glorified him as God. Quite often, we hear of statements that encourage believers to glorify God, but we may not know what that means or how to go about doing that. So, it is important to understand the word “glorified” in this context. The word “glorified” is translated from a Greek word (doxazō) that may mean “to honor” as what people do for others who have done something commendable as in Matthew 6:2:
“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
The word may mean “to glorify” as it is used to state what was to be done to Jesus because of His miracles as stated in John 11:4:
When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”
The word may mean “to take pride” or “to take seriously” as that is the sense the word is used by Apostle Paul in describing his ministry in Romans 11:13:
I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry.
The sentence of the NIV I make much of my ministry is more literally I glorify my ministry but the standard Greek English lexicon of BDAG suggests it may be translated I take pride in my ministry, or I take my assignment seriously. The word may mean “to praise” as in the expected response of believers in Jerusalem on receiving the gifts from Gentile believers organized by Apostle Paul, as we read in 2 Corinthians 9:13:
Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.
In our passage of Romans 1:21, it is used in the sense of “to glorify,” that is, “to positively acknowledge, recognize, or esteem one’s character, nature, or attributes.” Thus, the failure of those who have recognized the existence of God as the creator is that they did not acknowledge or recognize His attributes as that possessed uniquely by God. For example, they did not recognize His power in creation as that that uniquely belongs to God the creator. They failed to recognize the supreme God as the psalmist did because he acknowledged the uniqueness of God the creator among all the created heavenly beings as we read, for example, in Psalm 86:8–10:
8Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; no deeds can compare with yours. 9 All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name. 10For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God.
In any case, the first failure of those who once recognized the existence of God is that of not acknowledging or recognizing God’s attributes or in the words of the NIV, they neither glorified him as God. It is important that as a believer you should never be guilty of not glorifying God, that is, of not acknowledging or recognizing His divine attributes. How? You may ask. Well, let me briefly address what you need to do to glorify God. The first thing you do to glorify God is to praise Him. You should glorify God in the sense of praising Him each time you observe Him acting on your behalf or when you recognize what He has done for you. Praise as a form of glorifying God was demonstrated by the heavenly beings that praised God at the birth of Jesus Christ as recorded in Luke 2:13–14:
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
Praising God is indeed a way to glorify Him but another way that you should glorify Him is by living obediently to His word and so doing what He has commanded in His word. The Lord Jesus exemplified this when He indicated that He brought glory to God the Father during His priestly prayer by accomplishing His mission on the planet as we read in John 17:4:
I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.
In keeping with what our Savior stated, we glorify God when we produce spiritual fruit in terms of good works as the Lord Jesus asserted in John 15:8:
This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
When we produce fruit that glorifies God, unbelievers join in praising God as implied in the instruction of our Lord in His Sermon on the Mount as stated in Matthew 5:16:
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
It is because if we live in obedience to God’s word, we would be glorifying Him that is implied in the instruction for believers to do everything to bring glory to God as stated in 1 Corinthians 10:31:
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
Anyhow, the first failure of those who recognized the existence of God because of His creation is not acknowledging or recognizing His attributes as uniquely that of the supreme creator.
A second failure of those who once recognized the existence of God through creation is lack of gratitude to God. It is this second failure that is given in the verbal phrase of Romans 1:21 nor gave thanks to him. The word “nor” is the second indicator of a second failure. The word “nor” is translated from a Greek particle (ē) that may mean “than” as a marker of comparison as Apostle Paul used it to indicate that a person who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues if the tongues are not interpreted as we read in 1 Corinthians 14:5:
I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.
The Greek particle may mean “or” as a marker of alternative. The alternative may express opposites that are mutually exclusive as, for example, “to fall” is opposite of “to stand” as the apostle used it in rebuking those who judge other believers needlessly in Romans 14:4:
Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
The alternative may express related and similar terms, where one can take the place of the other or one supplements the other as Apostle Paul used the word “obstacle” as a word that can take the place of the expression “stumbling block” in Romans 14:13:
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.
In our passage of Romans 1:21, the particle is preceded by a negative sentence hence it is used with the meaning “nor” to introduce a second failure of those who once recognized the existence of God because of His creation.
It is interesting that the apostle used the aorist tense in the Greek in describing the two failures we described in the section we are studying. This usage is not intended to tell of something that happened in the past as may be expected of the use of the aorist tense in our verse, but the apostle used it to state a timeless, general fact or a universal fact. The two failures were true of those in the past that acknowledged the existence of God but failed to acknowledge His divine attributes or express gratitude to Him, but they are also true of all times of such individuals. People who do not recognize the uniqueness of God as He intended to be recognized will be guilty of these two failures at any time or period of human history until the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Be that as it may, we asserted that the second failure in question is that of lack of gratitude to God because of the verbal phrase of Romans 1:21 nor gave thanks to him. The expression “gave thanks” is translated from a Greek verb (eucharisteō) that may mean to show that one is under obligation, that is, “to be grateful” as the word is used in Apostle’s Paul expression of his gratitude to Aquilla and Priscilla for risking their lives for him as we read in Romans 16:4:
They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.
The word may mean to express appreciation for benefits or blessings that one receives, hence “to give thanks, express thanks, render/return thanks” specifically to God as, for example, in Apostle Paul’s thanksgiving to God on behalf of the Corinthians for His grace towards them as stated in 1 Corinthians 1:4:
I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.
In our passage of Romans 1:21, the Greek verb means “to thank,” that is, to express gratitude or show appreciation. Hence, when the apostle wrote in Romans 1:21 nor gave thanks to him, he meant that those who once recognized the existence of God failed to express gratitude to Him for His creation. A good illustration of both failures is what unbelievers do when unbelievers enjoy God’s common grace. Instead of recognizing the power of God and thanking Him, they say they have been lucky. In effect, they recognize the goddess “luck” instead of the creator.
Anyway, as in the first failure, we should also caution that we believers in Christ do not become guilty of this second failure. Thus, we must be individuals characterized by thanksgiving to God. We, believers, are required to be thankful to God in all circumstance of our lives as stated, for example, in 1 Thessalonians 5:18:
give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
We should be thankful to God for our salvation, especially for the victories over sin and anticipated eventual victory over death as Apostle Paul implied in 1 Corinthians 15:57:
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
We should be thankful to God for enabling us to serve Him in whatever capacity we find ourselves serving Him as Apostle Paul did according to 1 Timothy 1:12:
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service.
Our thanksgiving should involve prayer as in the instruction of 1 Timothy 2:1:
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—
By the way, it is goes without saying that we are to offer thanks to God before we eat our food as Apostle Paul exemplified during his voyage to Rome to stand trial before Caesar as recorded in Acts 27:35:
After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat.
Our thanksgiving should be expressed through songs as implied in Ephesians 5:19–20:
19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
An expression of thanksgiving to God that is often neglected by some believers is giving. When you give either to the ministry or to help others, you show appreciation to God for His goodness towards you as implied in 2 Corinthians 9:11–12:
11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.
This passage implies that when you give, and the beneficiaries of your gift thank God that you have in a sense participated in thanksgiving to God since it is because of your generosity that another person thanked God. In any event, we have considered the failures of those who recognized the existence of God through creation but do not come to a saving knowledge, so we move to consider the second aspect of their failures that is part of the reason for God’s wrath or punishment.
Recall, this second reason consists of two parts: the failures and the state of the object of God’s wrath or punishment. The state of those who are the object of God’s wrath that is described next, contrasts with what would have been expected of those who have recognized the existence of God through creation because the next clause of Romans 1:21 begin with the word but. The conjunction “but” is translated from a Greek particle (alla) that has several usages. In our passage, it is used either as a marker of emphatic contrast or a marker of additional matter for consideration. In either case, the particle may be translated “but.” It is probably the case that the apostle used the Greek particle in both senses, that is, he provided additional information that is in contrast to what would be expected of a person who has acknowledged the existence of God through creation. This additional information concerns the state of those who are the object of God’s wrath that is to be understood as different from the failures described in the clause that precedes the conjunction but. The difference between what preceded and what follows the conjunction but is that in the preceding clause the verbs that describe the major actions that are tantamount to failures of not glorifying God and not thanking Him are in active voice in the Greek implying they are the ones that took the actions described. However, the Greek verbs used in the clause after the conjunction but in the Greek that we will get to shortly are in passive voice. The implication is that the objects of God’s wrath are recipients of the actions so described. Thus, we contend that the states described by the Greek words that we will consider shortly imply that the two states of those who are the objects of God’s wrath described should also be considered states of punishment. In effect, two of these states are results of God’s punishment on them.
The state of those who are the object of God’s wrath after acknowledging His existence in creation but went no further is described in three ways. The first description of the state of the objects of God’s wrath is that of reasoning that does not help in further understanding of God. It is this state that is described in clause of Romans 1:21 but their thinking became futile. The apostle in this clause seems to have in mind what Prophet Jeremiah stated in Jeremiah 2:5:
This is what the LORD says: “What fault did your fathers find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.
Or the apostle could have had in mind what the psalmist wrote in Psalm 94:11:
The LORD knows the thoughts of man; he knows that they are futile.
Anyhow the clause of Romans 1:21 but their thinking became futile literally reads But they became futile in their reasonings.
What does the apostle mean in the clause of Romans 1:21 but their thinking became futile or literally, but they became futile in their reasonings? To answer this question, we need to consider two key words the apostle used. The first is the word “thinking” that is translated from a Greek word (dialogismos) that may refer to the content of reasoning or conclusion reached through use of reason and so means “thought, opinion.” It is with the meaning of “thought” that the word is used in describing what the Lord Jesus said about what comes from human heart in Matthew 15:19:
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.
The word may mean “doubts” as the word is used in Jesus’ question following His resurrection and the difficulty of the disciples to believe He was the One standing before them in Luke 24:38:
He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?
The question why do doubts rise in your minds? is literally wherefore do reasonings come up in your hearts? Reasonings here refer to doubts. The word may mean “dispute, argument” as in the instruction of Apostle Paul regarding a necessary prayer condition in 1 Timothy 2:8:
I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.
In our passage of Romans 1:21, the Greek word means “reasoning” or “thinking,” that is, “the process of using one’s mind to consider something carefully.”
The second key word in the clause of Romans 1:21 but their thinking became futile concerns the expression “became futile” that is translated from a Greek word (mataioō) that in the Septuagint may mean “to act foolishly” as in the confession of David for the ill-advised census he conducted as stated in 1 Chronicles 21:8:
Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.”
Still in the Septuagint, the word may mean “to be worthless” as it is used to describe the Israelites who were involved in idolatry, something worthless, in the passage we cited previously, that is, in Jeremiah 2:5:
This is what the LORD says: “What fault did your fathers find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.
However, the word appears only once in Greek NT; it means “to render futile or worthless,” that is, “to be or become useless as a consequence of being purposeless or incapable of producing results.” As we indicated previously, the Greek verb used here is in the passive voice in the Greek. The implication is that someone is responsible for rendering futile or worthless the thoughts of those who are the object of God’s wrath or those who after acknowledging the existence of God did not recognize God the creator as the unique God He is.
Our consideration of the key words used in the clause of Romans 1:21 but their thinking became futile enables us to understand what the apostle meant. He meant that the state of those who are the objects of God’s wrath after they have acknowledged the existence of God but went no further about God’s attributes is that in which their thoughts are worthless in that they do not lead them to the right conclusion about God or in further understanding of God. Thus, these individuals are in a state where they are helpless in understanding further anything about God, the creator, other than acknowledging His existence.
The second description of the state of the objects of God’s wrath is that of darkened heart, that is, a state of inability to perceive or understand further God’s attributes. We will show this interpretation to be correct as we consider the clause of Romans 1:21 and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although we consider this a second description, it is probably the case that it is an explanation of the first description since the conjunction and is translated from a Greek particle (kai) that is often translated “and” in our English versions as a marker of connection between single words or clauses, but the conjunction has several usages. It may be used as a marker of introduction of a result that comes from what precedes and so may be translated “and then, and so.” It may be used to emphasize a fact as surprising or unexpected or noteworthy, leading to the translation “and yet, and in spite of that, nevertheless.” It may be used as a marker of emphasis where there is a stress on what is said and hence means “indeed, certainly.” It may be used as a marker to indicate an additive relation that is not of equal rank and significance to another clause, in which case, it means “also, likewise.” Still the word may be used as a marker of contrast so that it means “but.” In our passage, it is used either as a marker of explanation of what preceded its use so that it may be translated “that is” or “namely” or it is used as a marker of an additional fact. This may be a case where both interpretations are applied. In other words, the apostle added a second state of the object of God’s wrath that serve also as an explanation of the first state. This interpretation is supported by the words that follow in the clause their foolish hearts were darkened we are considering.
The adjective “foolish” is translated from a Greek word (asynetos) that means “void of understanding,” hence means “foolish, senseless.” In our passage of Romans 1:21, the word has the sense of “uncomprehending,” that is, “lacking the ability to understand the meaning or importance of something.” It is used to describe the word “hearts” that is translated from a Greek word (kardia) that may refer to “the center and source of physical life” as what Apostle Paul indicated to the audience in Lystra he preached to, that God satisfied with them food and filled them with joy as recorded in Acts 14:17:
Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”
The word may refer to heart “as center and source of the whole inner life, with its thinking, feeling, and volition.” Thus, in some contexts, the word means “mind” as it is used to describe where a decision is arrived at concerning marriage issue in 1 Corinthians 7:37:
But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing.
In our passage of Romans 1:21, the word is used in the sense of “the seat of a person’s thoughts (mind), volition, emotions, and knowledge of right from wrong (conscience).” Something is said to happen to this “seat of a person’s thoughts” in the word “darkened” in the clause and their foolish hearts were darkened.
The word “darkened” is translated from a Greek word (skotizō) that may mean “to be darkened” literally as the word is used in the Lord Jesus’ description of the signs of the end of the age He described to His disciples as recorded in Matthew 24:29:
“Immediately after the distress of those days “‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’
Figuratively, the word may “to become unable to perceive and thus unable to understand” as it is used to describe state of unbelievers regarding moral issues in Ephesians 4:18:
They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.
In our passage of Romans 1:21, the word is used figuratively in the sense of “to become unable or unwilling to perceive or understand.” Again, as we indicated previously, the Greek verb is in the passive voice implying that someone acts so that the recipients of the action are unable to perceive or understand. Hence, those who after they acknowledge the existence of God refused to recognize Him as the unique God He is, receive a further punishment of not being able to understand or perceive further any other attributes of God that should have caused them to recognize and thank Him. This inability to perceive or understand that describes the second state in effect explains further the first state we interpreted to mean that those in view were in a state where their thoughts are worthless in that they do not lead them to the right conclusion about God or in further understanding of God the creator other than acknowledging His existence.
It should not be difficult to accept that the two states of the objects of God’s wrath we have considered are states that result from His punishment since later, the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul referenced God handing over such individuals to sinful activities as stated in Romans 1:24:
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.
In any event, having considered the first two states of those who after acknowledging the existence of God failed to recognize His attributes as the unique God He is, are in, we proceed to consider the third state described beginning in Romans 1:22, this we will do in our next study because we are out of time. However, let me end with a reminder of the message we are considering which is: You should avoid rejecting God’s truth communicated to you since that will draw His displeasure towards you.
08/09/24