Part VI
The reality of death in creation is not meant simply to make us tremble at God’s awesome power. Rather, it reveals God’s incompatibility with sin, which stands in contrast to his nature of truth, goodness, and beauty (TGB). God's wrath, then, is not a matter of God actively separating himself from the sinner but rather the natural result of the sinner’s separation from God. When humanity chooses sin, it moves away from God’s TGB, and this movement results in death. God's love remains constant, but sin creates a divide because it fails to reflect his essence. In Romans 1:19-20, Paul makes clear that what can be known about God is evident to all, not contingent on faith for awareness, but universally available through creation.
In verse 20, Paul expands on this idea by stating that God’s eternal power and divine nature are revealed. The term 'divine nature' (theiotes in Greek) refers directly to God’s essence—truth, goodness, and beauty. This revelation is not some vague awareness, like enjoying a sunny day outdoors, but a profound recognition of God’s very being. Paul asserts that the TGB of God—his essence—is revealed in and to all creation, especially to his image bearers, humanity. God designed us as image bearers to comprehend his revealed TGB, concur with it through faith and hope, and communicate it back to him and to each other in love. This process is the foundation of relationship with God and among his people, centered on the TGB that defines his essence. Naturally, God would reveal his essence, as it is the basis of his relationship with creation.
Paul also notes that God reveals his eternal power (dynamis), which refers to inherent power rooted in one’s nature. The power of God’s nature—his TGB—lies in its expression, which he communicates through love.
Consider the chart below. On the left is God, whose essence and activity flow from his TGB. On the right is humanity, whose essence and activity mirror God’s in our role as image bearers. The similarity between the two highlights our intended purpose: to reflect God’s nature.
This mirroring involves comprehending his revealed TGB, concurring with it through faith and hope, and communicating it back in love. These qualities—comprehension, concurrence, and communication—are central to our image-bearing identity. However, all of this hinges on God’s revelation of TGB, communicated through his love and care. God’s care is evident throughout creation, beginning in the Garden of Eden. In a world newly made and declared good, God planted a specific garden as a symbol of his love and care. This garden was a covenantal act of providing for Adam and Eve, wrapping them in his goodness and beauty and enabling them to grow in his truth.
But humanity rejected this care. Instead of waiting to grow in God’s truth and depending on him as the source of TGB, Adam and Eve sought to define TGB for themselves. Paul describes this rejection in Romans 1:18 as the suppression of truth. The Holman translation uses 'suppress,' but this word could imply mere ignorance. The King James phrase 'hold the truth in unrighteousness' better conveys the active rejection Paul describes. The Message provides an evocative image, saying that humanity 'put a shroud over the truth.' This shrouding suggests an intentional denial—understanding God’s revelation but attempting to obscure it.
God’s revelation includes everything we need to know about him—his TGB, his care, and even his wrath against all that opposes his essence. Humanity’s rejection, therefore, is not due to ignorance but a willful setting aside of God’s revealed essence. Paul concludes in verse 20 that this leaves humanity without excuse. The issue is not a failure to understand God’s revelation or a lack of desire for TGB. Rather, the problem lies in rejecting God as the source of TGB. Paul emphasizes this in verse 21, explaining that humanity failed to glorify God or express gratitude. Glorifying God means honoring, praising, and celebrating—in essence, reflecting—his manifested glory, his TGB. While we desire TGB, humanity denies God as its source, choosing instead to attribute it to ourselves.
In rejecting God as the source of TGB, humanity chose to exalt creation—specifically, ourselves as part of creation. This shift is understandable since God infused creation with his TGB at the beginning, making it naturally desirable. However, because of the fall, creation became corrupted. By seeking TGB from a flawed and insufficient source, humanity distorted its thinking. Paul describes this change in verse 21 as futile reasoning, darkened hearts, and senselessness. Humanity, in its foolishness, exchanged the true source of TGB for a corrupted and inadequate one.
It’s essential to understand the dynamics of the chart shown above. The problem is not that our image-bearing qualities—comprehension, concurrence, and communication—are broken. These qualities remain intact but are misdirected. The issue lies in shrouding God as the source of TGB and replacing him as the foundation of TGB and relationship with creation. Feeding on corrupted sources distorts our desires, darkens our thinking, and leads to the self-focused lust that Paul explains later in the chapter.
Paul’s argument in Romans 1 reveals the profound consequences of humanity’s rejection of God as the source of TGB. While we were created to desire and reflect his TGB, our denial of him has plunged us into futility, seeking satisfaction from a corrupted creation. This rejection underscores the need to realign with God as the true source of truth, goodness, and beauty.
