Romans 1:19,20 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Because that which may be known of God Those great principles which are indispensably necessary to be known, such as his existence, his unity, his power, his wisdom, his goodness, and his righteous government of the world; is manifest in, or rather among, them As εν αυτοις should be here rendered: for God hath showed it to them By the light which lightens every man that cometh into the world, John 1:9. The apostle's assertion is confirmed by the writings of the Greek and Latin philosophers still remaining. See note on Romans 1:21. For the invisible things of him His spiritual nature and infinite perfections, called his invisible things, partly in opposition to the heathen deities, who being all corporeal, their being and properties were things invisible; and partly because they cannot be seen, except in their effects, by men's bodily eyes; from the creation of the world From the visible creation, from the heavens and the earth, from the sea and dry land, from plants and animals, from men's own bodies, fearfully and wonderfully made, and especially from their intelligent, free, and immortal minds. Or the meaning may be, Since, or, from the time of the creation of the world; for the apostle does not use the preposition εκ, by, but απο, from, or, ever since, the creation. Thus Dr. Whitby understands the expression, observing, “It seems not to signify the means by which they came to the knowledge of God, for these are afterward expressed, but rather to import, that from the beginning of the world the heathen had the means of knowing the true God from the works of creation; so απ αρχης κοσμου is, from the beginning of the world, Matthew 24:21; and απο καταβολης κοσμου from the foundation of the world, Matthew 13:35.” Are clearly seen By the eye of the mind, being understood They are seen by them, and them only, who use their understanding. The present tense, καθοραται, are clearly seen, denotes the continued manifestation of the being and perfections of God, by the works of creation from the beginning; agreeably to Psalms 19:1, The heavens declare the glory of God. By the things that are made “In this mundane system, every thing is so formed, that to the pious among the vulgar, God himself appears to be the author of all the operations of nature. But they who have obtained a partial knowledge of what is called natural philosophy, have, from the discovery of some second causes, been led to fancy, that the whole system may be accounted for without the intervention of a Deity. This is what the apostle calls, Romans 1:21, becoming vain in their imaginations, or rather, foolish in their reasonings. Those, however, who have made the greatest advances in true philosophy know, that second causes, properly speaking, are no causes, because they have no efficiency in themselves, but are set in motion by God. And thus the most perfect philosophy always ends where the natural sense of mankind begins.” Even his eternal power and Godhead “The true God, being eternal, is thereby distinguished from the fictitious gods of the heathens, who all had a beginning; the most ancient of them being represented as coming out of chaos, and their birth being sung by the heathen poets. Of the particular attributes of God, the apostle mentions only his power, because the effects of the divine power are what first strike the senses of men, and lead them most directly to the acknowledgment of a Deity. The word Θειοτης, Godhead, denotes every thing comprehended in the idea of God, namely, his unity, incorporeity, immutability, knowledge, wisdom, justice, &c.; all which, together with God's eternal power, the apostle affirms every intelligent person may understand, by the things which are made.” Macknight. So that they are without excuse And would be destitute of every just or plausible apology for themselves, if he should enter into judgment with them.