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what did 'creation of the world' mean to paul's original audience in rome?

Adds the setting and its conversation across both testaments.

Romans 1:20

“For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by the things that are made, so that they are without excuse.”

The Apostle Paul writes to believers in Rome, likely in the mid-1st century CE. He's laying out a comprehensive argument about God's righteousness and how humanity can be made right with God. This verse comes early in his letter, as he explains why all people, both Jewish and Gentile, are accountable to God.

What does it mean for us today to 'perceive' the divine through the created world, and what responsibilities might that perception carry?

Then — the setting

Paul wrote Romans around 57 CE from Corinth, addressing a diverse community of Jewish and Gentile believers in the imperial capital. For his Roman audience, many of whom would have been familiar with Greek and Roman philosophy, 'creation of the world' (κτίσεως κόσμου - ktiseōs kosmou) would resonate with common philosophical ideas about a divine order or first cause. While not all Romans believed in a single creator God, the concept of an underlying rationality or power behind the universe was present in Stoic and Platonic thought. Paul asserts that this understanding of God's power and nature is not a hidden secret, but 'clearly perceived' through the observable world, making humanity responsible for acknowledging it.

Across the Testaments

In the Old Testament, particularly in Genesis 1-2 and prophetic books like Isaiah (e.g., Isaiah 40:28), God is unequivocally presented as the sole creator of the cosmos. This narrative establishes God's absolute sovereignty and power. Paul's statement in Romans 1:20 resonates with this, affirming God's creative act, but he extends it to argue for the universal accessibility of certain knowledge about God. While the Old Testament emphasizes Israel's covenant relationship with this creator God, Paul's New Testament perspective argues that even Gentiles, who did not have the Law, could discern aspects of God's 'eternal power and divine nature' through creation itself, thus establishing a common ground of accountability before the gospel.

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

Psalm 19:1-4
This Psalm speaks of the heavens declaring God's glory and handiwork to all.
Acts 17:24-28
Paul, addressing Athenians, refers to God as creator of the world who sustains all life.
Hebrews 11:3
This verse states that through faith, we understand that the worlds have been framed by the word of God.

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