Explanation:

Paul writes that the wrath of God is being revealed. What he likely means is that God’s wrath against sin is constantly manifested in history as humans willfully rebel against God.⁴ We can detect that this is Paul’s likely meaning because he goes on to explain why God’s wrath is revealed (Romans 1:18–23) and the consequences thereof (Romans 1:24). For Paul says that God’s wrath is revealed against all ungodliness and those who suppress the truth through unrighteousness. He says that although God’s existence is plain to them, they forsake God for idols, and the consequence of this is that God gives them over to the lusts of their heart (Romans 1:24). God doing so is how his wrath is revealed.⁵

Counterargument:

God handing humans over to their sin does not seem to be an indication of his wrath. For humans rebel against God in order to indulge in the flesh. Indulging in the flesh is their goal, and God leaving them to this goal seems to be an indication not of wrath but of concession. If God’s wrath is revealed because of people’s ungodliness, we should expect this wrath to be revealed through divine punishment for sin, not giving people over to sin.

Response to counterargument:

When we continue reading, we find that being given over to sin is a form of divine punishment due to wrath. For we know from Scripture that God disciplines those he loves for the sake of correction, which implies that handing people over to their sin means that discipline has ceased, and wrath has fallen in its stead. Further, Paul goes on to say that because God gives these ungodly ones over to their fleshly desires, the consequence is that they receive in themselves the due penalty for their errors (Romans 1:28). In other words, the consequence of willful rebellion against God is God’s wrath, and his wrath is manifest in the sense that he gives people over to their fleshly desires, which results in an internal penalty.

Explanation:

Paul writes that God’s wrath is revealed against all ungodliness. We can detect what he means because we know from Scripture how God’s wrath is revealed. God’s wrath is manifested throughout history as humans rebel against God. For instance, in Genesis 3:1–24 we read that after Adam and Eve eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God’s wrath is revealed when he curses them with death. A few chapters later God’s wrath is revealed when he destroys the world but saves Noah’s family from the flood, and when he destroys Sodom and Gomorrah with fire. His wrath was also revealed by the curses that result from not obeying the Mosaic law, and through the crucifixion of Jesus, who bore God’s wrath for our sins.⁶ In all of these ways God’s wrath is revealed as a manifestation of his anger against sin.

Counterargument:

It is important to notice the nuance of the verb to reveal. For Paul says not that God made his wrath known in the past, but that his wrath is revealed in the present. The verb is associated with God making something known, as in, specially revealing something that is not knowable otherwise. And the fact that the verb is in the present tense suggests that the wrath of God is currently being revealed in the present. Given that to reveal has to do with God making something specially known, and that this special revelation is happening in the present for Paul, this excludes the notion that Paul is saying God’s wrath has to do with his curses on Adam and Eve, the flood, and other Old Testament events.⁷

Response to counterargument:

While it might be that to reveal is a technical term that often has to do with God specially revealing something, this does not rule out Old Testament events as revealing God’s wrath. For to reveal can mean God disclosing new information, as in, one would not know what something means unless God’s discloses the meaning. Or it can mean God’s plan being manifest in history.⁸ In other words, God has a plan for humanity and this plan is revealed to humans as it plays out in human history. One aspect of God’s plan is that he reveals his wrath against sin so that his justice is satisfied, and humans might repent and believe in Jesus Christ. Of course, the fact that wrath is a part of God’s plan for humanity is revealed many times in Scripture, including when God punishes Adam and Eve, sends the flood, destroys Sodom and Gomorrah, and so on. As for the fact that to reveal is in the present tense, the present tense can carry the notion of a continuous action that began in the past and continues to the present.⁹ Thus, Paul seems to be saying that the wrath of God is manifested in history from the beginning of his interactions with humanity all the way to the present, and will continue into the future.

It is hard to see what the weakness of this view might be. It supports the notion that God hates sin and punishes it, and that God is active in human history.

Explanation:

To understand what it means that the wrath of God is revealed, we must consider the immediate context. In Romans 1:16–17, Paul says that he is not ashamed of the gospel, for in it, the righteousness of God is revealed. He then says that the wrath of God is revealed. Given that Paul has the gospel on his mind, he seems to be saying that the gospel reveals the wrath of God.¹² In other words, the context suggests that Paul is saying the gospel reveals not only God’s righteousness but also his wrath.¹³

Counterargument:

While Paul does have the gospel in mind, it is important to notice that he does not say that the wrath of God is revealed in the gospel. Rather, what he says is that the wrath of gospel is revealed from heaven. By saying this, Paul signals the cosmic nature of God’s judgment on the world. God’s judgment on the world is revealed from heaven, while the gospel reveals God’s righteousness. Thus, if the gospel were not preached, the wrath of God would still be revealed. So Paul has two divine attributes in mind in Romans 1:17–18, namely, God’s righteousness and wrath. God’s righteousness is revealed in the gospel and his wrath is revealed from heaven.¹⁴

Explanation:

When Paul says that the wrath of God is revealed, there is parallelism between Romans 1:17 and Romans 1:18. For in Romans 1:17, Paul uses the present passive indicative form of the verb to reveal to denote that in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed. Paul then uses the same form of the same verb in Romans 1:18 to say that the wrath of God is revealed. Given that he uses the same verb with the same form in both verses, we can detect that there is an intentional connection between the righteousness of God being revealed and the wrath of God being revealed. What is this connection? Most likely, Paul is saying that while God’s wrath has manifested itself in the world since the beginning of sin, the gospel reveals that the deterioration of society is the result of God’s wrath.¹⁵ In other words, without the gospel, it remains hidden that the deterioration of society is the result of God’s wrath.

Counterargument:

Unfortunately for this view, Paul does not say that the gospel reveals that the deterioration of society is the result of God’s wrath, or anything like that. Rather, he writes that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness. The verb to reveal can mean something like to make known, disclose.¹⁶ Further, Paul includes the prepositional phrase from heaven. So the emphasis of Paul’s point in Romans 1:18 is that the wrath of God is disclosed from heaven, not that it is disclosed in the gospel.¹⁷

The weakness of this view is that Paul has just explained that the gospel is the power and righteousness of God, so it is hard to see why he would suddenly say it is the wrath of God. Rather, he clearly says that the wrath of God is from heaven, which suggests that the calamity we witness in the world comes from the divine realm, not that the wrath is from the gospel.