For there is revealed wrath of God from heaven upon all impiety, and unrighteousness of men holding the truth in unrighteousness.
Paul has just announced God's righteousness in the gospel, and here he gives the reason it was needed. Two questions follow: what makes this wrath different from God's earlier judgments, and who stands under it?
Wrath revealed alongside the gospel, not in it
Two things are now made known, and commentators are careful not to blur them.
This is what made the gospel so sweet and precious, and, what is more, absolutely necessary, if he would escape certain and eternal ruin. There is no hope for man otherwise; for the gospel is not all that is now made known. Not only is God's righteousness revealed, but also His wrath. It is not said to be revealed in the gospel. The gospel means His glad tidings for man. The wrath of God could not possibly be glad tidings. It is not yet carried out. It is "revealed," and this too "from heaven"… So it is in view of eternal things, not of the things that touch present life on earth.
"From heaven" — a different kind of anger
The phrase marks a shift away from the visible, national judgments of the past.
It is not governmental wrath, such as bringing the Assyrian against Israel, or leading them captive to Babylon — a thing of this world, while God was hidden still behind the veil. It tells us that God's nature cannot live with evil. God's wrath was revealed against everything that does not fit His nature — wrath from heaven against all ungodliness. And where the truth was known, so that men might seem nearer to God, as the Jews were, wrath was against them too if they held that truth in unrighteousness.
The sentence has not fallen yet, and still nothing about it is left in doubt:
Notice, the wrath is revealed, not hidden, and the revelation is just as complete as if He were sitting on the great white throne.
Who is included
Commentators differ on how to read the sentence. Some see two groups named, divided by where the comma falls:
It appears to me that the usual punctuation here spoils the sense. As I understand it, the force is this: "all ungodliness, and unrighteousness of men that hold the truth in unrighteousness." This is a most important distinction. It brings in the whole Gentile world as guilty, as the apostle proves later… So we have two great classes: ungodliness everywhere, and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness.
Others find one charge here, not two groups:
If one can find a person who has no truth to hold, he cannot come under this revealed wrath. "Impiety" is what men are condemned for: a heart away from God, and so it misuses whatever truth it has. That is the charge; and it is broad enough to cover the whole race of fallen man. There are not two classes in this statement, as some have thought.
Truth held, but held wrongly
Kelly reads "hold the truth in unrighteousness" as holding it firmly. He rejects the newer "hold down" and "hinder" — the sense the ESV carries with "suppress":
Firm orthodoxy may go together with a life that disregards righteousness. Holding truth down hardly makes sense. Hindering it adds no worthwhile idea to the phrase. Holding the truth is a solemn warning for professing Christians now, as it once was for Jews.
On that reading, correct belief is no shelter:
To hold the truth in unrighteousness would be no security… A man may know God's revealed mind exactly. But if that knowledge brings no renewal of the heart, if it leaves him without life towards God, it must all be worthless. A man is only so much the worse for knowing the truth, if he holds it ever so firmly along with unrighteousness.
The grounds Paul goes on to give
Verse 18 states the charge; the rest of the chapter supplies the evidence.
About the Gentiles, the apostle gives two reasons for this wrath. First, the testimony of creation (vv. 19, 20). Second, that they knew God and did not wish to keep Him in their knowledge, but preferred idolatry (vv. 21-24)… This does not mean that they knew God as He is in His nature. It means they should have known Him as Creator. Unless a person is blind, a Creator is seen in the creation.
Summary
- Revealed — God announces this wrath now and has not yet carried it out. The announcement is as full as the final judgment seat itself.
- From heaven — not a blow on earth like the Assyrian invasion or the exile. This is God's own nature, which cannot live with evil.
- Against all — every sort of ungodliness falls under it. Commentators differ over whether Paul names two classes or one charge wide enough for the whole race.
- Held, not just heard — truth held firmly, alongside unrighteous living, brings no safety. The older reading warns those who hold right doctrine; newer versions render the phrase "suppress."
- Without excuse — creation gave its testimony, and men still refused to keep God in their knowledge. This is why the gospel's righteousness of God was needed.