I have used this verse and other verses in this passage very often especially during times of personally sharing with people. From the entire passage of which this particular phrase is just a small part of, there are a few things I would like to deliberate on.
What can be known about God is plain. It is clearly seen!
Now whatever it is that is plain is equally plain to all men. Be it from any nationality on any part of the globe, across centuries, cultures, races, caste or communities, gender or age, it is equally plain to everyone. Nothing more has been specially revealed to any kind of people, and nothing has been specially hidden from any of them too! So there is impartiality. Those who start believing in God and those that chose not to, those that honor God and those that chose not to, those that give thanks to God and those that chose not to, both are subject to the same evidences, see the same things, perceive the same things. It’s only that they chose to differ in their responses!
Now what is that is plain? Paul says, "The invisible nature of God". God has hidden himself only so much that he may be found by the seeker and revealed himself only so much that the evidence doesn't become overwhelming and become a weight on the free will of the person. Isn't that his magnanimity! If God were visible, then man would have been without even a 'right to have an excuse', but since he is invisible, man has the right and freedom to differ. However, the Bible says, yet he is without excuse! Even God's invisible nature is so overwhelmingly evident, that man cannot deny it, but for the hardness of his heart.
Now what is the 'invisible nature' we are talking about here? Paul qualifies this term by adding just two attributes to it - God's eternal power and his deity. He adds that these two attributes can be clearly perceived in the things that have been made. Be it the vast expanse of the seen Universe or the Universe yet unseen, be it the innermost parts of the nucleus or the particles consisting therein, be it the high temperatures in the core of the sun or the low temperatures of deep space, be high energy inside nuclear fusion or the repulsion of like poles of a magnet, be it the astronomically high energy that keeps the protons together inside the nucleus or the low gravitational force of the earth, be it the astute timing of the planets and the seasons or the randomness of the lightening, be it the pristine nature of the lush green pastures or the ruggedness of the mighty waterfalls, be it the hot springs or the desert sands, be it the cactus or the rose flower, be it the low flying peacock or the high flying eagle, the crawling ladybird or the swaying butterflies, the leaping lambs or the majestic lions, the goldfishes or the fighter sharks, be it the small ponds or the mighty rivers, be it the low valleys or the high ranges, be it the amoeba or man, these and in infinite more comparisons can we see God’s eternal power and the deity made PLAIN.
Much more marvelous and amazing is the conception and birth of a child, the growth process and
the learning inside of it, the compassion we feel and the sympathy we exhibit, the love we show and the care we share, the smiles and giggles and the romance and tingles, the feeling of awe and the realization of accountability, the sense of purpose and the potential of creativity, a friend's counsel and a well wishers comfort, a father's heart and a mother's sacrifice, brotherly love and teacher's wisdom, and many more things we live through. Though the joy of life is mixed with the pain and sorrow, hatred and murder, jealousy and bitterness, malice and sin, sickness and death, yet, what still comes out plain, be it in the elated or the deflated, is the eternal power of God and His deity.
One chooses to suppress these facts in the light of his priorities while the others chooses the knowledge to overwhelm and overshadow each of his decisions. One chooses to follow the lusts and desires of his heart while the other chooses to deny himself and the voices . The one appears wise and the other apparently foolish.
What can be known about God is plain. It is clearly seen!
Now whatever it is that is plain is equally plain to all men. Be it from any nationality on any part of the globe, across centuries, cultures, races, caste or communities, gender or age, it is equally plain to everyone. Nothing more has been specially revealed to any kind of people, and nothing has been specially hidden from any of them too! So there is impartiality. Those who start believing in God and those that chose not to, those that honor God and those that chose not to, those that give thanks to God and those that chose not to, both are subject to the same evidences, see the same things, perceive the same things. It’s only that they chose to differ in their responses!
Now what is that is plain? Paul says, "The invisible nature of God". God has hidden himself only so much that he may be found by the seeker and revealed himself only so much that the evidence doesn't become overwhelming and become a weight on the free will of the person. Isn't that his magnanimity! If God were visible, then man would have been without even a 'right to have an excuse', but since he is invisible, man has the right and freedom to differ. However, the Bible says, yet he is without excuse! Even God's invisible nature is so overwhelmingly evident, that man cannot deny it, but for the hardness of his heart.
Now what is the 'invisible nature' we are talking about here? Paul qualifies this term by adding just two attributes to it - God's eternal power and his deity. He adds that these two attributes can be clearly perceived in the things that have been made. Be it the vast expanse of the seen Universe or the Universe yet unseen, be it the innermost parts of the nucleus or the particles consisting therein, be it the high temperatures in the core of the sun or the low temperatures of deep space, be high energy inside nuclear fusion or the repulsion of like poles of a magnet, be it the astronomically high energy that keeps the protons together inside the nucleus or the low gravitational force of the earth, be it the astute timing of the planets and the seasons or the randomness of the lightening, be it the pristine nature of the lush green pastures or the ruggedness of the mighty waterfalls, be it the hot springs or the desert sands, be it the cactus or the rose flower, be it the low flying peacock or the high flying eagle, the crawling ladybird or the swaying butterflies, the leaping lambs or the majestic lions, the goldfishes or the fighter sharks, be it the small ponds or the mighty rivers, be it the low valleys or the high ranges, be it the amoeba or man, these and in infinite more comparisons can we see God’s eternal power and the deity made PLAIN.
Much more marvelous and amazing is the conception and birth of a child, the growth process and
the learning inside of it, the compassion we feel and the sympathy we exhibit, the love we show and the care we share, the smiles and giggles and the romance and tingles, the feeling of awe and the realization of accountability, the sense of purpose and the potential of creativity, a friend's counsel and a well wishers comfort, a father's heart and a mother's sacrifice, brotherly love and teacher's wisdom, and many more things we live through. Though the joy of life is mixed with the pain and sorrow, hatred and murder, jealousy and bitterness, malice and sin, sickness and death, yet, what still comes out plain, be it in the elated or the deflated, is the eternal power of God and His deity.
One chooses to suppress these facts in the light of his priorities while the others chooses the knowledge to overwhelm and overshadow each of his decisions. One chooses to follow the lusts and desires of his heart while the other chooses to deny himself and the voices . The one appears wise and the other apparently foolish.
But if the evidence is so plain and simple, then it appears more foolish to ‘not honor’ the eternal power and deity of God and give thanks to him. The Bible says, that they that overlook such an evidence have become futile in their thinking, by their own choice.
The Bible calls them senseless, ones whose minds are darkened.
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