Charles Ellicott Commentary Romans 1:20

"For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, [even] his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse:" — Romans 1:20 (ASV)

For, although there were aspects of God’s being that the eye could not penetrate, they could still be easily inferred from the nature of His visible creation, which bore the stamp of Omnipotence and Divinity throughout.

The invisible things of him.: His invisible attributes, later explained as “His eternal power and Godhead.”

Are clearly seen . . . by the things that are made.: There is something of a play on words here. “The unseen is seen—discerned by the eye of the mind—being inferred or perceived by the help of that which is made,” that is, as we would say, by the phenomena of external nature.

Even His eternal power and Godhead.: This is a summary expression for those attributes that, apart from revelation, were embodied in the idea of God. Of these, “power” is the most obvious. Saint Paul does not delve into the questions raised in recent times about the other qualities to be inferred as existing in the Author of nature; instead, he summarizes them under a name that could be used by a Pagan philosopher as well as by a Christian—the attributes included in the one term “Godhead.” Divinity would be, perhaps, a more accurate translation of the expression. What is meant is “divine nature,” rather than “divine personality.”

So that they are without excuse.: They could not plead ignorance.