thinking bible.

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what did paul's original audience understand by 'invisible qualities' and 'divine nature'?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Romans 1:20

For since the creation of the world his invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

Paul is writing to a diverse group of believers in Rome, likely in the mid-first century CE. In this part of his letter, he is laying the groundwork for his argument about human sinfulness and the universal need for salvation, starting by asserting that God's existence and attributes are evident in the created world.

What aspects of the world around you point to something beyond human creation?

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

  • Psalm 19:1-4

    This psalm speaks of the heavens declaring God's glory, echoing the idea of creation revealing divine attributes.

  • Acts 14:17

    Paul's sermon in Lystra mentions God giving rain and fruitful seasons as evidence of his goodness, a more general revelation.

  • John 1:18

    This verse suggests that while God's nature is invisible, he has been 'explained' or 'made known' through Jesus, offering a different mode of revelation.

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