The Invisible Man?
The Invisible Man?
By: Dr. Danny Purvis
Have you ever wondered what the first chapter of Romans has in common with the 1933 classic sci-fi film ‘The Invisible Man’? Who hasn’t wondered that? I know it may sound a little weird but bear with me. If you’re not familiar with this particular movie, give me a second to provide some perspective. It is an interesting story with a familiar trope. You have a scientist on the verge of a big discovery only to decide to test out his experiment on himself. Because that always works out well.
The antagonist (the Invisible Man) stumbles upon the secret of invisibility using a chemical that has the unfortunate side effect of inducing madness. After he injects himself with the concoction, the consequences are predictable. He turns invisible and goes mad. His madness grows as he struggles to find a way to reverse the invisibility he so desperately craves until he finds that in his madness he actually begins to embrace his transparency. Now, here is the interesting part.
Once the villagers (there are always villagers in these movies) discover he is invisible, they have a very unenviable task. They have to prove to the authorities that an invisible man actually exists. Needless to say, the authorities were not inclined to believe that such a thing was possible. After all, how you do prove something you cannot see? Person after person who testifies to the existence of the Invisible Man is written off as either drunk or delusional. But then something fascinating happens.
The Invisible Man “shows” up and begins wreaking havoc on the proceedings. He attacks people. He throws things around. He moves things around the room. Once that happens, the doubters then become convinced that the Invisible Man, in fact, exists. Here’s the thing. He is still just as invisible as he was when they didn’t believe. He cannot be seen…at all. And yet the scoffers come to plainly believe that he exists because of the obvious evidence of his existence in spite of the fact that he still cannot be seen. Here is where we come to Romans.
In chapter 1 of Romans, Paul makes an amazing statement. He says, in part, that God’s invisible attributes are clearly seen. These are fascinating words that God chose to use here. We generally do not say that something that is invisible is clearly seen. In fact, isn’t one of the primary characteristics of something invisible is that it cannot be seen? Isn’t that what makes it invisible in the first place? Yet God is telling us here that though God is invisible to us now, He can still be clearly seen. How can that be? Well, let’s look at the entire verse in question.
“For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and his divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Romans 1:20). The village authorities did not believe in the existence of the Invisible Man because they actually saw him. They believed because of the evidences of his existence made it impossible for them not to believe he existed. That is exactly what God is saying about His existence. Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is making the same point about God.
Because the obvious evidence that God exists is right in front of all people, through natural revelation, there can be no excuse for a person to not believe He exists. In fact, Romans 1:20 unequivocally states this when God says that all people are “without excuse” for disbelieving in God. God is invisible to us right now because as His Word says: “man shall not see me and live” (Exodus 33:20). His holiness is such that our mortal bodies could not survive seeing Him in person. So, what does He do?
He shows us that He exists in the universe that He created. He is saying that there is no credible explanation for all that we see except for the fact that He exists. This is the act of a loving God. That even though we cannot see Him, He still makes it so plain that He exists that no one will be able to say: I didn’t know. God is basically saying here that there is no such thing as an atheist. We disbelieve because, as Paul writes earlier, “unrighteousness suppresses the truth” (Romans 1:18b). In our natural, sinful condition, we actively suppress the truth and are willing to believe anything but God. Our minds are blinded by the Satan, “the god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4). But that doesn’t mean we are not on the hook. Every person on the planet is on the hook. God has unequivocally shown us all that He exists because of the mountain of evidence available to us. And that is one of the greatest gifts He has ever given us. How cool is that?
-Dr. Danny Purvis
By: Dr. Danny Purvis
Have you ever wondered what the first chapter of Romans has in common with the 1933 classic sci-fi film ‘The Invisible Man’? Who hasn’t wondered that? I know it may sound a little weird but bear with me. If you’re not familiar with this particular movie, give me a second to provide some perspective. It is an interesting story with a familiar trope. You have a scientist on the verge of a big discovery only to decide to test out his experiment on himself. Because that always works out well.
The antagonist (the Invisible Man) stumbles upon the secret of invisibility using a chemical that has the unfortunate side effect of inducing madness. After he injects himself with the concoction, the consequences are predictable. He turns invisible and goes mad. His madness grows as he struggles to find a way to reverse the invisibility he so desperately craves until he finds that in his madness he actually begins to embrace his transparency. Now, here is the interesting part.
Once the villagers (there are always villagers in these movies) discover he is invisible, they have a very unenviable task. They have to prove to the authorities that an invisible man actually exists. Needless to say, the authorities were not inclined to believe that such a thing was possible. After all, how you do prove something you cannot see? Person after person who testifies to the existence of the Invisible Man is written off as either drunk or delusional. But then something fascinating happens.
The Invisible Man “shows” up and begins wreaking havoc on the proceedings. He attacks people. He throws things around. He moves things around the room. Once that happens, the doubters then become convinced that the Invisible Man, in fact, exists. Here’s the thing. He is still just as invisible as he was when they didn’t believe. He cannot be seen…at all. And yet the scoffers come to plainly believe that he exists because of the obvious evidence of his existence in spite of the fact that he still cannot be seen. Here is where we come to Romans.
In chapter 1 of Romans, Paul makes an amazing statement. He says, in part, that God’s invisible attributes are clearly seen. These are fascinating words that God chose to use here. We generally do not say that something that is invisible is clearly seen. In fact, isn’t one of the primary characteristics of something invisible is that it cannot be seen? Isn’t that what makes it invisible in the first place? Yet God is telling us here that though God is invisible to us now, He can still be clearly seen. How can that be? Well, let’s look at the entire verse in question.
“For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and his divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Romans 1:20). The village authorities did not believe in the existence of the Invisible Man because they actually saw him. They believed because of the evidences of his existence made it impossible for them not to believe he existed. That is exactly what God is saying about His existence. Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is making the same point about God.
Because the obvious evidence that God exists is right in front of all people, through natural revelation, there can be no excuse for a person to not believe He exists. In fact, Romans 1:20 unequivocally states this when God says that all people are “without excuse” for disbelieving in God. God is invisible to us right now because as His Word says: “man shall not see me and live” (Exodus 33:20). His holiness is such that our mortal bodies could not survive seeing Him in person. So, what does He do?
He shows us that He exists in the universe that He created. He is saying that there is no credible explanation for all that we see except for the fact that He exists. This is the act of a loving God. That even though we cannot see Him, He still makes it so plain that He exists that no one will be able to say: I didn’t know. God is basically saying here that there is no such thing as an atheist. We disbelieve because, as Paul writes earlier, “unrighteousness suppresses the truth” (Romans 1:18b). In our natural, sinful condition, we actively suppress the truth and are willing to believe anything but God. Our minds are blinded by the Satan, “the god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4). But that doesn’t mean we are not on the hook. Every person on the planet is on the hook. God has unequivocally shown us all that He exists because of the mountain of evidence available to us. And that is one of the greatest gifts He has ever given us. How cool is that?
-Dr. Danny Purvis
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