Rom 1:18-25 theme verse Rom 1:25
The praise and honor and glory be to our heavenly Father who seeks true worshipers who worship Him with the Spirit and truth.
In this third Sunday of 2025, I pray that His grace of the application of all the benefits which Jesus earned for our salvation and also the glorious ministry of the proclamation of His kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit may be full in our life. Last week, we looked at the Being and Attributes of God, yet this week, we would like to learn how God revealed His Nature and Attributes to us together
1) According to recent surveys, it says that 97 percent of Americans claim to believe in “god,” yet many do not believe in the one true God of Scripture, rather believes fals gods. I mean, 3 percent believe there are many gods; 4 percent believe everyone is God; while 7 percent believe that God is the total realization of human potential and 11 percent believe that God is the state of higher consciousness. In other words, 25 percent of them have created their god in their own image. As such, even though lots of people knew the existence of God, yet the reason why they do not know God correctly is explained in Today’s text, Rom 1:18-25, in which, it is said that even though God originally made His existence clearly visible through His eternal power and divinity through all things He had created from the creation of the world, yet, instead of worshiping and thanking God, human beings exchanged His glory for images in the form of corruptible human beings and beasts, while living without God, as the English translation of the Greek word ἀσέβεια (asebeia) implies, and also living unrighteously, I mean, as the Greek word ἀδικία (adicia) implies, without having a right relationship with God and with people, and doing unrighteous things, and so God's wrath was revealed, yet, people were left without excuse for this judgment of God.
2) As such, God’s revelation through His creatures by His eternal power and divinity, we call the general revelation and the Belgic confession, article 2 confesses on the means by which we know God that “We know God by two means: First, by the creation, preservation, and government of the universe, since that universe is before our eyes like a beautiful book in which all creatures, great and small, are as letters to make us ponder the invisible things of God: God's eternal power and divinity, as the apostle Paul says in Romans 1:20. All these things are enough to convict humans and to leave them without excuse.”
3) To look at more details on this general revelation, there are three mediums for this general revelation, 1) the revelation by the creatures as we already saw it, 2) the revelation by the implanted notion of human beings, 3) and by the nature of our souls. First, we can have the knowledge of the existence of God who created, sustains, and reigns His creatures, as Calvin said “The glory of God is written and imprinted in the heavens, as in an open volume which all men may read . . . The glory of God is not written in small obscure letters, but richly engraven in large and bright characters, which all men may read, and read with the greatest ease,” in his commentary on Ps 19:1-4 and also as the psalmist sang that “O LORD, our Sovereign, You have set your glory above the heavens. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” in Psalm 8:1, 3-4, while confessing “O LORD, the earth is full of your creatures. Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living thigns both small and great. These all look to you to give them their food in due season; when you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.” in Psalm 104:24-29, and praising Him that “The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.”
4) And secondly, we can know the existence of God by the implanted notion to us, I mean, as Rom 1:19 says “what can be known about God is plain within them,” the Scripture seems to intimate a notion of God in the minds of humans. In other words, by the notion of a superior power to which human is accountable for his or her actions in the implanted conscience and also by the eternity in their heart, I mean, “religiosity, we can know the existence of God too. And thirdly, by the nature of our souls, I mean, the image of God in which God created human beings, we can know the existence of God so that the Scripture says that this knowledge of God avails only to take away excuse before the judgement table in the last day.
5) By the way, this knowledge of the existence of God in general revelation leaves no excuse, but it does not save, it convicts but does not convert as Calvin said “The manifestation of God, by which he makes his glory known in his creation, is, with regard to the light itself, sufficiently clear; but that on account of our blindness, it is not found to be sufficient” and “is of law, not gospel.” That’s why Herman Hoeksema said “There is no revelation of grace or mercy in creation.” Therefore, general revelation is innate to humanity, whose conscience has been implanted with the sensus divinitatis, I mean, the “sense of divinity,” but special revelation must be given.
6) This revelation is “the prophetic Word more fully confirmed” as 2 Peter 1:19 said. The Belgic confession confesses that “Second, God makes himself known to us more clearly by his holy and divine Word, as much as we need in this life, for God's glory and for our salvation.” And this revelation in the Scripture, we call special revelation. And this special revelation has two revelations, I mean, the knowledge of God by the law and by the evangelical knowledge by Christ. First, the knowledge of God by the law refers to a discovery of God in the moral law, chiefly in his sovereignty, holiness, and justice; he enacts laws as a sovereign, righteous laws against sin as a holy one, annexed threatenings and promises as a judge so this knowledge of God under the law was too terrible for the minds of human beings. So Paul called the law the ministry of condemnation and of death; and a killing, not a healing letter; a sword to cut, not a balsam to close a wound in 2 Cor 3:7-9, yet this knowledge directs people to Christ. However, the corruption of human nature was not sufficient to imprint right notions of God clearly, as we can see it in the history of Jews who warp and wallow in the sink of idolatry, notwithstanding this revelation of God. Therefore, God revealed another righteousness of God which is the knowledge of God in Christ. As the fulness of the Godhead dwelt personally in Christ as Col 2:9 says, so the fulness of the divine perfection sparkled in the action and sufferings of Christ so that we could see God in Christ who is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature. That’s why Jesus said in Jn 14:9 that “whoever has seen me has seen the Father” and in Jn 5:39 said “the Scriptures bear witness about me” and also 2 Tim 3:15 says that the sacred writings are able to make us wist for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
7) Like this, the knowledge of God in Christ is most clear; because Christ is the clearest medium, so that even in Mal 4:2, Christ was called the sun of righteousness, as chasing away by His splendour the darkness of the world, and opening the glories of heaven to the sons of human beings, directing them to the knowledge of God, who before wandered in darkness and because Christ brings God near to us, as He is Immanuel, God with us, God in our nature. And finally, because Christ revealed God more than fully through His incarnation, suffering, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. This we call the perspicuity of the Word. And also the Scriptures contains all we need for the knowledge of God, that is, the salvation, to know the will of God, to resemble Christ, and to trust in God wholeheartedly. This we call the sufficiency of the Word. That’s why 2 Tim 3:17 that the Scriptures makes the people of God complete and be equipped for every good work.
8) By the way, we have to know that it is not enough just only to have the Bible which has the perspicuity and the sufficiency of the Word. Because we have to know that no prophecy of Scripture becomes a matter of someone’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but human beings moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God as 1 Peter 1:20-21 says so that when we read and interpret the Bible, we have to ask for the Holy Spirit to teach us as John 14:26 says and then using our reason God granted us, strive to know God in Christ, as 1 Jn 5:20 says “the Son of God has come and has given us understanding” and also Heb 5:14 says “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”
9) And the purpose of His revelation was firstly the salvation and maturity of us. That’s why John 17:3 said “this is eternal life, that they know the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom God sent” and also 2 Tim 3:17 said “so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work.” And secondly it is to make them thank and worship God as Rom 1:21 said. And thirdly, it is to make us His witness to reflect the attributes and decree of God, as Isaiah 43:10 says “You are my witnesses, and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am He.”
10) As such, God, by revealing Himself through general revelation and special revelation, wanted that we may have the salvation, frow into His Son, worshiping Him and proclaiming His greatness and mercy to the world. Therefore, I pray that this year we all may grow more in the love of God, to worship Him and reflect His great love to the world.
Key Questions as Small Group Activity
Q1 Through Today’s text, we could know that God revealed us the knowledge to know God through His creatures and the Bible, i.e., the law and His only begotten Son. So after thinking God whom you met and became to know, I hope we could share our thought and experience with our team members together to learn from each other.
Q2 And also we became to know that the purpose of His revelation was to save us and make us grow so that we could worship Him and also participate in the mission of God. So after reviewing your spiritual growth, worship life and missional life, I hope we could share our thought and experience with our team members together to learn from each other.
Love you. Thank you. God bless you.
Prayer Note
Dear ( God’s attribute which you found Today ) God!
Thanks for ( something you received through the sermon or even during the week )
Praise, gratitude and glory be to You, Lord!
Today, I realized my sin (pains) that ( the sin God reminded through the sermon ),
please forgive (or heal) me and help me not to repeat ( the sins you recognized ).
I learned that ( something you learned through the sermon )
Please help me to live in that ( learned way of life )
I pray in ( Jesus’ attribute you find ) Jesus’ name. Amen.
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