FOR THE WRATH OF GOD IS REVEALED FROM HEAVEN: Apokaluptetai (3SPPI) gar orge theou ap ouranou:  (Torrey's Topic "Anger of God")  

Notice that from Romans 1:18 to Romans 3:20 Paul like a prosecuting attorney presents God's indictment of the world, clearly demonstrating why men need the righteousness of God which is then mercifully presented in Romans 3:21 through Romans 5:21.

Expositor's Bible Commentary introduces this important section noting that...

Instead of plunging at once into an exposition of the gospel, Paul launches into a lengthy exposure of the sinfulness of man. This is sound procedure, for until men are persuaded of their lost condition they are not likely to be concerned about deliverance. So Paul undertakes to demonstrate in the human situation a grievous lack of the righteousness God requires. "Within the action of the divine righteousness there is a place for deliverance and for condemnation, a place for salvation and for punishment" (David Hill, Greek Words and Hebrew Meanings [Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1967], p. 90). ( Expositor's Bible Commentary: Old and New Testament)

C G Handley Moule eloquently explains that Paul...

...is intent and eager to bring his reader into sight and possession of the fulness of the eternal mercy, revealed and secured in the Lord Jesus Christ, our Sacrifice and Life. But for this very purpose he labours first to expose man to himself; to awaken him to the fact that he is before everything else a sinner; to reverse the Tempter’s spell, and to let him see the fact of his guilt with open eyes. “The Gospel,” someone has said, “can never be proved except to a bad conscience.” If “bad” means “awakened,” the saying is profoundly true. With a conscience sound asleep we may discuss Christianity, whether to condemn it, or to applaud. We may see in it an elevating programme for the race. We may affirm, a thousand times, that from the creed that God became flesh there result boundless possibilities for Humanity. But the Gospel. “the power of God unto salvation,” will hardly be seen in its own prevailing self-evidence, as it is presented in this wonderful Epistle, till the student is first and with all else a penitent. The man must know for himself something of sin as condemnable guilt, and something of self as a thing in helpless yet responsible bondage, before he can so see Christ given for us, and risen for us, and seated at the right hand of God for us, as to say, “There is now no condemnation; Who shall separate us from the love of God? I know whom I have believed.” (Moule, C. G. Handley: The Epistle of St Paul to the Romans) Moule concludes with the following quote...

To the full sight of Christ
there needs a true sight of self, that is to say, of sin.

Wrath (3709) (orge from orgaô = to teem, to swell) conveys the picture of a swelling which eventually bursts, and thus describes an anger that proceeds from one’s settled nature.  Orge does not refer to uncontrollable anger to which men are so prone but to God's settled indignation and controlled passionate hostile feeling toward sin in all its various manifestations. Settled indignation means that God’s holiness cannot and will not coexist with sin in any form whatsoever. Orge is not the momentary, emotional, and often uncontrolled anger (thumos - 2372) to which human beings are prone. Orge is used primarily of God's holy, righteous wrath but occasionally refers to the wrath of men (see note Ephesians 4:31)

Orge refers to to an inner, deep resentment that seethes and smolders. Orge as used of God refers to His constant and controlled indignation toward sin, while thumos (which originally referred to violent movements of air, water, etc., and consequently came to mean “well up” or “boil up”) refers more to a passionate outburst of rage. Thumos type anger represents an agitated, vehement anger that rushes along relentlessly. The root meaning has to do with moving rapidly and was used of a man’s breathing violently while pursuing an enemy in great rage!

Orge is...

God’s settled opposition to
and displeasure with sin

God’s wrath is his holy hatred of all that is unholy. It is His righteous indignation at everything that is unrighteous.  It is the temper of God towards sin. It is not God's uncontrollable rage, vindictive bitterness or a losing of His temper, but the wrath of righteous reason and holy law.

Orge is used 36x in the NT in the NASB (Mt; Mk; Lu 2x; Jn; Romans 10x; Ep 3x; Col 2x; 1Th 3x; 1Ti; Heb 2x; Js 2x; Rev 6x) and is translated: anger, 6; wrath, 30 (KJV translates it also indignation and vengeance). (Click discussion of God's Attribute of Wrath) (Click here for ISBE article on "Retribution" - scroll down to Topic "Instances of the Use of Orge and thumos; see also article on Wrath or here)

In the present context note that the quality of this wrath is divine ("of God"). As MacArthur says this wrath...

is therefore unlike anything we know of in the present world. God’s wrath is not like human anger, which is always tainted by sin. God’s wrath is always and completely righteous. He never loses His temper. The Puritan writer Thomas Watson said, “Is God so infinitely holy? Then see how unlike to God sin is. … No wonder, therefore, that God hates sin, being so unlike to Him, nay, so contrary to Him; it strikes at His holiness." Unable to reconcile the idea of God’s wrath with his own ideas of goodness and righteousness, one liberal theologian made this claim: “We cannot think with full consistency of God in terms of the highest human ideals of personality and yet attribute to Him the rational passion of anger.” But it is foolish, not to mention unbiblical, to measure God by human standards and to discount the idea of His wrath simply because human anger is always flawed by sin. God’s anger is not capricious, irrational rage but is the only response that a holy God could have toward evil. God could not be holy and not be angry at evil. Holiness cannot tolerate unholiness." (MacArthur, J: Romans 1-8. Chicago: Moody Press or Logos)

MacArthur adds that

Orge does not refer to an explosive outburst of temper but to an inner, deep resentment that seethes and smolders, often unnoticed by others. It is therefore an anger that only the Lord and the believer know about. Therefore, it is a special danger, (for the believer because the anger of man does not accomplish the righteousness of God) in that it can be privately harbored." (Macarthur J. James. Moody or Logos)

John MacArthur writes that orge...

signifies the strongest kind of anger, that which reaches fever pitch, when God’s mercy and grace are fully exhausted. It will mark the end of God’s patience and tolerance with unregenerate, unrepentant mankind in the swelling of His final, furious anger which He will vent on those whose works evidence their persistent and unswerving rebellion against Him." (MacArthur, J: Romans 1-8. Chicago: Moody Press or Logos)

William Barclay writes that...

The Greeks defined thumos as the kind of anger which is like the flame which comes from straw; it quickly blazes up and just as quickly subsides. On the other hand, they described ogre as anger which has become habitual...Orge is anger which has become inveterate; it is long-lasting, slow-burning anger, which refuses to be pacified and nurses its wrath to keep it warm...To the Christian the burst of temper and the long-lived anger are both alike forbidden." (Barclay, W: The Daily Study Bible Series. The Westminster Press or Logos)

Larry Richards in describing God's anger writes that...

The OT clearly specifies what human actions provoke God to anger. The NT treats wrath as a basic relational state, showing that the unsaved are under God's wrath. But God never acts capriciously in his anger. He always acts in full harmony with his character as a loving, forgiving, compassionate, and just person." (Richards, L O: Expository Dictionary of Bible Words: Regency)

Arthur Pink defined God’s wrath as...

His eternal detestation of all unrighteousness. It is the displeasure and indignation of Divine equity against evil. It is the holiness of God stirred into activity against sin” (Arthur W. Pink, The Attributes of God, p83).

Bishop Trench defines orge =

a wrath of God who would not love good unless He hated evil, the two being inseparable, that He must do both or neither.” Trench adds that orge is an anger “which righteous men not merely may, but as they are righteous, must feel; nor can there be a surer and sadder token of an utterly prostrate moral condition than the not being able to be angry with sin—and sinners”

Orge is used of our Lord when, after healing the man with the withered hand, He observed the hardness of heart of the Pharisees, and looked upon them with anger (Mk3:5).

Marvin Vincent describes orge as God’s personal emotion with regard to sin. It represents God’s abhorrence and hatred of sin and His constant, invariable reaction to sin.

C H Spurgeon writes that...

"The wrath of God does not end with death. This is a truth which the preacher cannot mention without trembling, nor without wondering that he does not tremble more. The eternity of punishment is a thought which crushes the heart. You have buried the man, but you have not buried his sins. His sins live and are immortal. They have gone before him to judgment, or they will follow after him to bear their witness as to the evil of his heart and the rebellion of his life. The Lord God is slow to anger, but when He is once aroused to it, as He will be against those who finally reject his Son, he will put forth all his omnipotence to crush his enemies." He adds that "I am certain that to preach the wrath of God with a hard heart, a cold lip, a tearless eye, and an unfeeling spirit is to harden men, not benefit them...The conscience of man, when he is really quickened and awak­ened by the Holy Spirit, speaks the truth. It rings the great alarm bell. And if he turns over in his bed, that great alarm bell rings out again and again, "The wrath to come! The wrath to come! The wrath to come!...There is no trouble like genu­ine conviction of sin. Racks, scor­pions, death—these are troubles to be laughed at, as compared with the weight of guilt pressing on the conscience, the sight of an angry God, and the fear of the wrath to come."

The Puritan writer Thomas Watson said,

“Is God so infinitely holy? Then see how unlike to God sin is. … No wonder, therefore, that God hates sin, being so unlike to him, nay, so contrary to him; it strikes at his holiness.”

J. I. Packer:

The fact is that the subject of divine wrath has become taboo in modern society, and Christians by and large have accepted the taboo and conditioned themselves never to raise the matter" (Knowing God, p. 149).

Vine has an interesting insight

The subject of the wrath of God recurs throughout the first part of the Epistle (2:5, 8; 3:5; 4:15; 5:9; 9:22). In this Epistle, which treats especially of the gospel, the differing attributes of God are set forth in a manner which reveals His character as a whole. While the gospel reveals Him as infinitely merciful, His mercy is not characterized by leniency toward sin. The Scriptures never reveal one attribute of God at the expense of another. The revelation of His wrath is essential to a right understanding of His ways in grace." (Vine, W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson or Logos)

The Shaw Pocket Bible Handbook has the following note on "God's Wrath":

"In Scripture, God’s strong and vigorous opposition to everything evil. There is a Greek verb that can be used both of anger and of the swelling of buds as the sap rises. It points to the kind of anger that results from a settled and consistent disposition, and not to a losing of one’s temper. God’s wrath is like that, rather than like human anger on a grand scale. With us, wrath always has elements of passion, lack of self-control, and irrationality. The wrath of God does not." (The Shaw Pocket Bible Handbook, Walter A. Elwell, Ed, Harold Shaw Publ., Wheaton , IL; 1984)

The respected expositor Albert Barnes writes that ...

It is clear that when we think of the word “wrath” as applicable to God, it must be divested of everything that is like human passion, and especially the passion of revenge. It is one of the most obvious rules of interpretation that we are not to apply to God passions and feelings which, among us, have their origin in evil. [God’s wrath] is the opposition of the divine character against sin; and the determination of the divine mind to express that opposition in a proper way, by excluding the offender from the favors which He bestows on the righteous. We admire the character of a father who is opposed to disorder, vice, and disobedience in his family, and who expresses his opposition in a proper way. We admire the character of a ruler who is opposed to all crime in the community, and who expresses those feelings in the law. Why shall we not be equally pleased with God, who is opposed to all crime in all parts of the universe, and who determines to express His opposition in the proper way for the sake of preserving order and promoting peace?

A W Tozer said that...

The holiness of God, the wrath of God and the health of the creation are inseparably united. Not only is it right for God to display anger against sin, but I find it impossible to understand how He could do otherwise

Kenneth Wuest writes that...

"There are three words speaking of anger, thumos, indicating a sudden outburst of anger that cools off quickly, orge, defining an abiding and settled habit of mind, not operative at all times, but exhibiting itself in the same way when the occasion demands it, and parorgismos which speaks of anger in the sense of exasperation. The latter is forbidden in Scripture, “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath” (see note Ephesians 4:26); the second, orge is permitted, but the qualification is that no sinful element be included in it." (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans or Logos)

One of the great tragedies of modern Christianity, which sadly has crept into much of evangelicalism, is the failure to preach and teach the wrath of God and the condemnation it brings upon all with unforgiven sin. Instead how often does one hear a truncated, sentimental gospel that is frequently presented today falls far short of the gospel that Jesus and Paul proclaimed. Examine any 19th century Psalter he will note that many of the psalms in those hymnals emphasize the wrath of God, just as much of the book of Psalms itself emphasizes His wrath. It is tragic that few hymns or other Christian songs today reflect that important biblical focus. Both the Old and New Testament consistently emphasize God’s righteous wrath.

Ray Pritchard has the following note on the forgotten doctrine of God's wrath declaring that...

"It is truly a forgotten doctrine, even in the evangelical church. I’ll dare say that many of you have never heard a sermon on God’s wrath—that is, not a full sermon devoted to this one topic. The reasons for this apparent neglect are not hard to find. Most of us would rather hear about love and grace. I know I would rather preach about God’s grace. After all, to speak of the wrath of God makes us appear narrow-minded, judgmental, and God help us, fundamentalist...God’s wrath is difficult to comprehend, so in some ways, this is a doctrine that is easy to overlook. The thought that nice people we know might someday go to eternal hell is so overwhelming—and so disheartening—that we’d much rather not think about it at all." (Forgotten Doctrine: The Wrath of God)  (Bolding added)

The revelation of God's righteousness in the gospel was necessary because of the failure of men to attain it without that revelation. Paul will explain how God's Wrath is revealed in the verses that follow: most certainly it is by God giving mankind over to their own lusts, degrading passions & depraved minds! God let men have what they wanted is at least in part His wrath revealed! And so Paul pronounces God’s judgment on the whole human race in response to man’s rejection because the truth is men have a problem—not God. First all men rebel (because they are born rebels at heart ~ the depravity of all men) and then God responds with His righteous wrath.

John Piper asks...

"Why does Paul introduce v18 with the word "for" or "because"? He does this in order to show that everything he is going to say about sin is meant to support the GOSPEL of v17. He does not mention the gospel for the sake of sin. He deals with sin for the sake of the GOSPEL. UNDERSTANDING SIN is the FOUNDATION that upholds the preciousness of the GOSPEL, not vice versa. His main aim is not to lead us from gospel to sin, but from sin to gospel. If you have been caught in a crime and are facing trial, and I say to you, "I have a letter here from the Hennepin County Court that they have dropped the charges against you, because you were guilty and liable to severe punishment," what's the point? The point of saying that you were guilty is to help you understand and cherish the good news that the charges are dropped. That's the point of "for" at the beginning of v18."

Ray Pritchard in his sermon entitled "What About Those Who Never Hear The Gospel?" writes this about the "wrath of God":

"It’s the word "wrath" that grabs our attention. We’re accustomed to hearing about the love of God. We know about the grace of God. We sing about the mercy of God. We extol the glory of God. We ponder the holiness of God. But the wrath of God? We hardly ever mention it. There aren’t many hymns about God’s wrath. We’d much rather sing "Jesus loves me, this I know." But you can’t read Romans 1 without coming face to face with the wrath of God." What about those who never hear the gospel? Romans 1:18-20 touches the key issue we must face. It tells us how God views the people of the world—including those who never hear the gospel."

Deffinbaugh has this interesting comment on "the wrath of God":

"God’s present wrath is really a gracious gesture on God’s part. It is not permanent, and it is not irreversible. When God gives men over to sin, He is not giving up on men. Giving men over to sin is God’s way of encouraging men to forsake their sin and to be saved. While God’s future wrath, once in force, cannot be reversed or escaped, God’s present wrath can be reversed, and men can escape. The reason for this is that God has already poured out His “future wrath” on Jesus Christ. This is the good news of the gospel. God’s anger toward sin has been satisfied in Christ because His wrath was poured out on Him, at Calvary. Have you accepted God’s forgiveness in Christ? Those who have trusted in Christ have already been punished, in Him. No man needs to suffer God’s eternal wrath, for Christ has suffered it for us. But only those who trust in Him may share in God’s salvation through Him. God’s future wrath falls only on those who reject the suffering of Jesus Christ, bearing God’s wrath, in their place. How tragic!"

Revealed (601) (apokalupto from apó = from, any separation of one thing from another + kalúpto = cover) is used 26 times in the NT in the NASB (Mt 4x; Lu 5x; Jn; Romans 3x; 1Co 3x; Gal 2x; Ep; Phil; 2Th 3x; 1P)

Apokalupto means literally to uncover and then to cause something previously secret or unknown to become fully known or disclosed. The present tense  indicates that God's wrath is continually being (passive voice) revealed. This verse is more accurately rendered "is constantly being revealed".

Note that the righteousness of God (see exposition of Romans 1:17) and the wrath of God are being revealed "side by side".

The problem doesn’t start with God but with man. Man rejects truth and God responds to this rejection. God is not unjust and is not in heaven waiting for us to "slip up" so He can send us to Hell. Such a view of God is a monstrosity, but sadly is a view far too many have concocted in their vain imaginations. On the other hand, Paul is saying that God will not overlook sin. He won’t wink at it, laugh at it, or pretend it never happened, for all sin is an affront to His holiness.

Geoffrey B. Wilson commented that...

"God is no idle spectator of world events; He is dynamically active in human affairs. The conviction of sin is constantly punctuated by Divine judgment” (Romans: A Digest of Reformed Comment. London: Banner of Truth)

God’s wrath is therefore always being revealed from heaven against those who mock His name and reject His truth. This revelation of His wrath began in the Garden of Eden when He passed the "sentence of death" upon Adam and Eve as well as all their descendants. The wrath of God was later revealed in the world wide flood that drowned all mankind except for eight souls. It was revealed in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the drowning of Pharaoh's army. The greatest revelation of God's wrath however was when it was poured out in full force on the sinless Son of God, Jesus Christ, on the Cross.  The revelation of God's wrath will culminate in two great expressions, the first at the end of this present age, during the time referred to as Daniel's Seventieth Week  (see the 6 uses of orge in