Exchanged Romans 1: 21-27
Response of man to God’s Revelation
Men, both religious and nonreligious, have received God’s revelation of himself manifested through what he has made, through creation (1:19, 21). Man’s normal response to God’s revelation has been to reject it and him. Men sought to disassociate themselves from God’s revelation, so they exchanged his truth, through successive stages (1:23, 25, 26), into something they perceived to be more palatable and tangible. Here we see the fatal downward trend of humanity, alienated from God; like a ship loosed from her moorings, adrift on the sea, the sport of the billows and the caprice of the storm, till wounded or wrecked. (Godbey).
There are 3 sets of exchanges outlined in the text. These exchanges seem to progressively move them away from God’s truth into self –indulgence, self-gratification and self-glorification. Their progression moved them from the position of God (1:23), from the person of God (1:25) and final from the path of God (1:26). The first two are an exchange of the authority and attributes of God. The third is an exchange of the actions of men.
Definition of Progression
The word translated “exchange or change” is used 3 times in the text. (1:23, 25, 26) These three occurrences use two Greek words: allasso and metallasso. The latter (metallaso) is used twice (1:25, 26 -only here in the New Testament) and is much more intense word then the former (allasso) (1:23). Gk allasso –means to exchange or to trade for something else -1:25-26 metallasso exchange meta– a change of condition, allasso – a change or exchange, so it’s meaning to convert from one condition or thing to another. They exchanged the one for the other (Ps 106:20, Jer 2:11). The sense is not that they change one thing into another, but that they exchanged one thing for another. The glory, a collective term for all the divine perfections of God. They exchanged the substance for the image, the substantial or real divine glories for the likeness of an image of corruptible man. (Hodge) They found a substitute for God. You can’t exchange what you do not possess. You want to exchange something because you prefer or value something else or you have no use for the item that you possess. The item to which you seek is of greater value or worth than the item that you possess. So, you are willing to exchange the item that you perceive is of lesser need, value or significance for the thing that you deem worthwhile or worthy. The problem is that sometimes the thing which we attribute worth in itself is worthless. So, we exchange the valuable for the useless. We become deceived by desire. We are seduced by the substitute.
Dynamics of the Progression
There are two primary exchanges in the text. The first is an exchange of deity, the true God for images resembling created things, the true God for a false god “the lie” (v. 23, 25). It is an exchange of true worship and service of the Creator to worshipping the created things. It is idolatry. It is an exchange of image and imagining the Creator God. The second is an exchange of desires, the natural desires for unnatural ones (26). It is an exchange of the innate desires God placed with in all mankind to serve and please him for unnatural desires or “passions” that only please and serve the creature. (27).
Position of God 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. The essence of idolatry is that it substitutes the majesty of God for the corruption of this world. (Sproul) It is basically dethroning God and enthroning another. It is exchanging the authority of God as creator and assigning that authority to something that resembles god. They forsook him of whom they had knowledge (1:21), and offered the homage which was due to him, to idols (Barnes). The pagans "turned aside and distanced themselves from the true knowledge of God and traded him for the lie of idols" (Brad Price) It is a reversal toward God, a tendency to question His purpose, His character and his existence (HCG Moule) How ridiculous would it be for us to exchange the present knowledge of science for the crude notions and false theories of savages or of the ancients! How absurd for us to strip the walls of our national galleries of the masterpieces . . . and to put up in their places paintings without true perspective, worthy conception, or correct execution! Or, again, what an act of madness would it be to abandon springs of clear and crystal waters for impure and poisonous ponds! (Is 44:20.) But such instances of folly and madness in exchanging the true for the false, the good for the evil, were nothing in comparison to the exchanging the positive and precious knowledge of God for falsehood . . . . (C. Neil, M. A.). Worship is the attribution of supreme excellence to, and the entire dependence of the heart upon, a certain person or thing. And the people or the things to which a man attributes excellence, and on which he hangs his happiness and his well-being, these be his gods, no matter what his outward profession is. You can find out what these are for yourself, if you will honestly ask yourself one or two questions. What is it that I want most? What is it which makes my ideal of happiness? What is it which I feel that I should be desperate without? What do I think about most naturally and spontaneously, when the spring is taken off, and my thoughts are allowed to go as they will? And if the answer to none of these questions is “God!” then I do not know why you should call yourself a worshipper of God. . . . If our real gods could be made visible, what a pantheon. . . . Honor, wealth, literary or other distinction, the sweet sanctities of human love dishonored and profaned by being exalted to the place which Divine love should hold, ease, family, animal appetites, lust, drink--these are the gods of some of us. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
Person of God 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen Men are guilty of trading in truth and embracing in exchange for the truth, a lie. (Sproul). What a bargain they made, “the truth of God for the lie.” (Bengel).
He repeats what he had said before, (1:21) though in different words, in order to fix it deeper in our minds. (Calvin). The term translated “the truth of God” literally means the “true God” God is called “the true God” in opposition to idols, which are called false gods. There is but one real or true God, and all others are false (Barnes). What they exchanged was the true God for something that “resembled” God. This is similar to Israel’s exchange (1 Kings 12: 25-33). They ceased to worship God as He is—in His own true essential nature, and worshipped a false gods instead. The phrase “into a lie,” is literally, with a lie, the “lie” being regarded as the instrument by which the substitution is made. By “a lie” is meant here “false gods,” who are the supreme embodiment of falsehood. (Is 44:20; Jer 13:25; 16:19) (Ellicott) The truth of God, is either a paraphrase for the true God, or the truth concerning God, i.e., right conceptions of God. For a lie, that is, either a false God, or falsehood, i.e., false views of God. (Hodge) Not only did ancient people reject God, they actually engaged in an "exchange" (metallasso). . . . The pagans "turned aside and distanced themselves from the true knowledge of God and traded him for the lie of idols" and sexual sin (Spicq) The lie is that God is not God, that God doesn't have to be obeyed or honored or glorified. . It is not unusual that God is called “the truth.” It is not unusual that idols are called “the lie”. They made gods of their own liking and their own making, whom they worshiped rather than the true creator. .”( Mac Arthur). The worship of idols is so appealing because they don’t judge. .
Path of God For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another. . . . when man forsakes the author of nature, he forsakes the order of nature (Mac Arthur) When God’s position and person is exchanged for something else abandonment of God’s path will follow. Regardless of the desire, when there is no regard for God there will be no regard for his word and no delight in walking in obedience to his word. Whatever the diversion from God’s purpose and plan, it springs from an initial disavowing of the rightful reign and rule of the Creator over our lives. When we abandon God we abandon His path. There is no desire to honor or thank God (1:21), so there would be no desire to serve him (1:25).
This is illustrated by women and men “trading” natural relations for those that are counter to nature. It could have easily been illustrated by a multitude of other actions that are a departure from God’s path (1:29-31).
God created man in his image (Gen 1:28-29) to glorify God. When men do not Glorify (honor) him as God (1:21) they will act in a way contrary to the image in which they were created. They reflect the creature rather than the Creator. Jesus completely images God the father (Col 1:15). Jesus is the truth (John 14:6). His word is truth (John 8:32). In the same way that men exchanged the truth for lie, to be restored they must exchange the lie for the truth, Jesus.
Deliverance for the Progression Buy back Hosea 3: 2
If this exchange is an eternal exchange we are all hopeless, for in a real sense we have all exchanged the true for a lie. We have all believed the deceiver and fallen it his despicable trap. We have all sinned. We need to make a new exchange. One that is eternal in the heavens. We need to exchange darkness for light, death for life, slavery for salvation and ruin for redemption. Paul reminds us that it is the gospel that has the power of salvation for all who believe (1:16). The gospel is the exchange that we need to make. The life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus is the great exchange. We must exchange his righteous life for our rebellious life, his sacrificial death for our sinful acts. He is the way back. There is yet time.
We must exchange God’s redemptive love for our rebellious life (Luke 15:17-24). Hosea 3:2 says, So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley. Two Hebrew words: 1) kindsman redeemer go’el – the tradition of Jewish culture was that property should remain within the family if possible so to keep the inheritance that God had provided for Israel. So, provision was made in the law that if a man had lost his property, he could get it back through the obligation of a relative (kinsman). The closest relative who himself was debt free would buy back the land back and restore it to the family. 2) ransom price – kofer – in Jewish culture, if an animal got loose and killed someone the animal or even the owner could face death for murder. So an arrangement was made where the man who owned the animal would agree on a price with the relatives of the man who was killed to “ransom” the accused animal (or himself). The price of redemption was kofer.
These words are a picture of Jesus as our kinsman redeemer- where he buys us out of the slavery of sin at the ransom price of his life. (Matt 20:28,1 Pet 1:18-19, 2:24-25).
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