God’s Wrath

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men

who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 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 men 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 mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.  Therefore God gave them over in the sinful

desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 

They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than

the Creator--who is forever praised.  Amen.  Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts.

Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.  In the same way the men

also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another.

Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for

their perversion.  Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God,

he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done” (Romans 1:18-28).

Whom does the wrath of God manifest against?  The wrath of God is revealed against those who suppress the truth with unrighteousness (Rom. 1:18).  Here, those who suppress the truth with unrighteousness refer to people who, despite having knowledge sufficient to know God, suppress that knowledge with their own unrighteousness and ungodliness.  They are described as people who "knew God, but neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him; their thinking became futile, and their foolish hearts were darkened" (v. 21).  The wrath of God is revealed against those who exchange the truth of God for a lie (v. 25).  These individuals, even though they acknowledge the existence of God through the revelation of nature, suppress that knowledge, leading their thinking to become futile and darkened, rejecting the truth, and pursuing falsehood instead.  The wrath of God is revealed against those who dislike keeping God in their hearts (v. 28).  It occurs against those who consider the knowledge of God impractical and worthless, as they do not value having practical knowledge of God (Yoon-seon Park).