Romans 1:22-23
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The phrase "professing themselves to be wise" carries a double edge: it highlights their self-appointed intellectual pride, but more importantly, it implies that this "wisdom" was merely a claim, an unfounded assertion rather than genuine understanding. This self-deception is precisely what led to their profound foolishness, demonstrating that true wisdom begins with humility before God.
Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Paul is detailing humanity's rebellion against God, showing how the truth about God is suppressed by unrighteousness. He explains that even though God's existence and power are clearly evident in creation, people have actively refused to acknowledge or thank Him. This rejection leads them to foolish speculations and ultimately to idolatry, exchanging the true Creator for created things.
We often think of wisdom as a fixed trait, something you either have or you don't. But what if claiming to be wise is actually the first step towards becoming a fool?
The verse starts with a powerful paradox: 'Claiming to be wise, they became fools.' This isn't just a casual observation; it's a profound statement about the human condition apart from God.
The Boast of Self-Sufficiency
Think about the philosophers of ancient times, or even modern intellectual elites. They often prided themselves on their own reasoning and understanding. The word 'philosopher' itself means 'lover of wisdom.' But Paul says that this very claim, when detached from acknowledging God, leads to a profound kind of foolishness. It's a 'vain conceit of wisdom,' as one commentator put it.
Wisdom's True Source
True wisdom, in the biblical sense, begins with acknowledging the Creator. The scholars point out that this 'wisdom' the people claimed was actually a 'vain glorying' or 'fanciful wisdom.' It was a self-generated understanding of the world and God, disconnected from divine revelation. When we try to be wise on our own terms, rather than seeking God's wisdom, we end up in a state of spiritual confusion and error. It's like trying to navigate without a map – you might think you know where you're going, but you're actually lost.
When people turn away from God, it's not just a minor detour. Paul describes a relentless downward spiral that starts with rejecting God's glory and ends in utter foolishness.
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This verse is the starting point of a chain reaction described in the following verses. It's not just about abstract foolishness; it's about a deliberate turning away from what is evident.
Exchanging the Real for the Fake
The scholars highlight that this foolishness manifests in exchanging 'the glory of the unchangeable God for a likeness of an image of a perishable man.' Instead of worshiping the invisible, eternal Creator, humanity chose to create and worship representations – idols made in the likeness of humans, animals, and even creeping things. This was a direct rejection of the clear revelation of God seen in creation itself.
Foolishness as a Divine Judgment
This isn't just accidental; it's presented as a consequence, a form of divine retribution. Because they knew God and saw His power in creation, yet refused to honor Him or give thanks, God 'gave them up' (v. 24). The foolishness isn't just a mistake; it's the result of choosing to suppress the truth and pursue empty, self-made notions. The text emphasizes that this degradation was not a stage of primitive development but a falling away from a known truth.
Understand the original words
doxa · Greek Noun
The weight, majesty, or manifest presence of God; it refers to the intrinsic beauty and excellence of God's character and attributes as revealed to creation.
Paul critiques the Gentile world's drift into idolatry not as an original, primitive state, but as a culpable departure from a knowledge of God that was once manifest in creation and perhaps in early revelation. Their sophisticated philosophies and elaborate worship systems became a 'vain conceit' when they failed to honor the true God.
c. 1400 BC - 8th Century BC
Ancient Egyptian and Greco-Roman Idolatry
For centuries, ancient Egyptians worshipped animal deities and Greco-Roman cultures developed complex pantheons with anthropomorphic gods. These prevalent forms of idolatry represent the backdrop of creature worship and fashioned deities that Paul addresses.
c. 8th Century BC - 1st Century BC
Rise of Greco-Roman Philosophy
Prominent Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle sought wisdom and debated the nature of the divine. Despite their intellectual pursuits, their systems often resulted in abstract or insufficient understandings of God, reflecting a broader cultural tendency Paul critiques.
c. 6th Century BC
Prophetic Warnings in Israel
Prophets like Jeremiah condemned Israel's straying from God, warning of judgment for their foolishness and idolatry. This prophetic tradition, emphasizing God's glory and the folly of turning away from Him, likely informed Paul's message.
c. 30 AD - 60 AD
Early Spread of Christianity
The Gospel begins to spread throughout the Roman Empire, challenging prevailing pagan worldviews and philosophical systems with the truth of God. Paul's ministry actively confronts the very ideas he discusses in Romans.
c. 62 AD— this verse
Paul Writes to the Romans
Paul, likely in Corinth or Rome, pens his most comprehensive theological work to the church in Rome. He seeks to establish a foundational understanding of the Gospel, addressing the core human problem of sin and God's righteous judgment.
This passage echoes the sentiment that human wisdom, when separated from God, leads to folly and the creation of worthless idols, mirroring Paul's indictment of idolatry stemming from a corrupted understanding of God.
1 Corinthians 1:19-20Paul directly contrasts human wisdom with divine wisdom, stating that 'the wisdom of the wise will perish' and God will destroy the intelligence of the intelligent. This highlights the theme of human intellectual pride leading to foolishness when it stands against God's truth.
1 Corinthians 3:19This verse reiterates the idea that 'the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.' It reinforces the concept that what humans deem as wise often deviates from God's perspective, leading to spiritual foolishness.
Psalm 106:20This Old Testament passage speaks of God's people exchanging His glory for the image of an ox that eats grass. It serves as a precursor to Paul's description of exchanging the glory of God for images of creatures, demonstrating a long-standing pattern of spiritual decline.
Proverbs 26:12This proverb states, 'though there is hope for a fool than for him,' implying that those who think they are wise but are actually foolish are harder to reach. This resonates with Paul's portrayal of people who, in their self-proclaimed wisdom, become resistant to God's truth.
ellicottRomans 1:22: "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,"
(22, 23) Relying upon their own wisdom, they wandered further and further from true wisdom, falling into the contradiction of supposing that the eternal and immutable Essence of God could be represented by the perishable figures of man, or bird, or quadruped, or insect. (22) They became fools.—They were made fools. It is not merely that they expose their real folly, but that folly is itself judicially inflicted by God as a puni…
meyerRomans 1:22: "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,"
Romans 1:22-23 . In a false conceit of wisdom (comp 1 Corinthians 1:17 ff.) this took place (viz. what has just been announced in ἘΜΑΤΑΙΏΘΗΣΑΝ.… ΚΑΡΔΊΑ ), and what a horrible actual result it had! The construction is independent, no longer hanging on the διότι in Romans 1:21 (Glöckler, Ewald); the further course of the matter if described. While they said that they were wise (comp 1 Corinthians 3:21 ) they became foolish . Comp…
The phrase "professing themselves to be wise" carries a double edge: it highlights their self-appointed intellectual pride, but more importantly, it implies that this "wisdom" was merely a claim, an unfounded assertion rather than genuine understanding. This self-deception is precisely what led to their profound foolishness, demonstrating that true wisdom begins with humility before God.
Paul is detailing humanity's rebellion against God, showing how the truth about God is suppressed by unrighteousness. He explains that even though God's existence and power are clearly evident in creation, people have actively refused to acknowledge or thank Him. This rejection leads them to foolish speculations and ultimately to idolatry, exchanging the true Creator for created things.
Paul is detailing humanity's rebellion against God, showing how the truth about God is suppressed by unrighteousness. He explains that even though God's existence and power are clearly evident in creation, people have actively refused to acknowledge or thank Him. This rejection leads them to foolish speculations and ultimately to idolatry, exchanging the true Creator for created things.
"Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things." — The phrase "professing themselves to be wise" carries a double edge: it highlights their self-appointed intellectual pride, but more importantly, it implies that this "wisdom" was merely a claim, an…
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Last reviewed October 2026
