“…since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 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 people are without excuse.
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. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.”
Romans 1:19-23
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Do you ever think about where knowledge comes from? My guess is that most of us don’t. Questions like these are often left to be pondered within the cold halls of the academy.
Yet the Bible tells us where knowledge comes from. The first place is the Bible itself. Theologians refer to this as special revelation. The second place is creation. Theologians refer to this as general revelation, and this is the type of revelation Paul is writing about in Romans 1:19. He writes:
For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.
Though we rarely think about it, knowledge of God comes from His creation as well as from the Bible. In fact, the Psalmist affirms this in Psalm 19, which beautifully captures the breadth of general revelation (vv. 1-6) and special revelation (vv. 7-11). God’s creation serves as a legitimate witness to Himself. The late theologian John Murry puts it this way in his commentary on Romans, “God has left the imprints of his glory upon his handiwork and this glory is manifest to all.” (Murry 1968, 40)
It’s for this reason that Paul concludes, “So they are without excuse.” God’s general revelation is enough to show us the beginnings of a right. Paul doesn’t end there, though. He knows that humans are compelled to worship; if we’re not worshiping the living and true God, we’re worshiping something else in His creation. Thus, he writes:
Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
While a majority of Western culture may not be worshiping images the way we assume ancient civilizations did, the religion and worship of self has dominated our culture. Theologian Carl Trueman describes our era as one characterized by expressive individualism. Expressive individualism describes the popular belief that self-expression of the individual is of the highest good. May we not be blinded by the deep influence our culture has on us to worship our created selves. Instead, let us look to creation and recognize that everything our eyes see manifests God’s glory. Let us also look to the Scriptures to learn more about God, what He has done for us, and how He desires for us to live as heralds of His gospel in a world deeply in need of it.
Questions for reflection and discussion:
- How have you learned of God from both special and general revelation?
- What created things have you tended to worship at times?
Church Reading Plan: Job 20; 1 Corinthians 7