https://youtu.be/FisS7G8Ym00
In our verse by verse study of Romans we are in Rom 1:25; where we are noting what happens when unbelievers reject God the Holy Spirit's call to believe in God and Jesus.
We have seen that when they reject God a vacuum is created in the soul that sucks in satan's lie with the result that they choose to worship and serve what God has created instead of worshipping God.
Last time we noted the Greek word "Latreuo" that is translated "serve."
"Latreuo" is used here for the worship of satan. Idolatry was one of the places where homosexuality, bestiality, incest, and child sacrifice were practiced.
"The creature" the dative of indirect object, dative of disadvantage of "ktisis" that refers to the worship of satan. He is the creature referred to here, the original creature from God. Anyone who worships the creature is disadvantaged because of their bad choice.
The next word "para" is correctly translated in the NASB as "rather than" (the Lord Jesus Christ). The KJV translates it as "more than" but that is not the best translation.
"Para" plus the accusative has one meaning whereas para plus other cases has a different meaning. Para denotes a comparison. It is used here as a preposition of comparison so it should be translated "rather than" or "instead of."
There is a mutually exclusive concept that is not expressed by the "more than" translation of the KJV. The articular aorist active participle "ktidzo" translated "creator" refers to the Lord Jesus Christ.
When the articular participle is not accompanied by a noun it often functions as a substantive so instead of giving it a participial verbal concept we will give it the substantive noun concept and simply call it "rather than the creator."
One person of the Trinity is described specifically as being the creator of the universe. The Lord Jesus Christ is said to be the creator of all things in John 1:3; Col 1:16; Heb 1:10.
Instead of using Jesus' title as Lord and Savior in this passage Jesus Christ is given title "Creator."
The articular participle used as the substantive includes a title that the unbeliever can understand. God-consciousness informs the unbeliever that the creator is God.
So the articular participle used as a substantive includes that category of unbeliever reversionists who are negative to God at God-consciousness and negative to Jesus at gospel hearing.
Rejection or negative volition at either God-consciousness or gospel hearing creates a vacuum of the soul, called "mataiotes," that sucks in satan's lie that is comprised of evil.
The lie, evil, and strong delusion are synonymous terms. Then we have the participle of "ktizo." with a cognate noun "ktisis". "Ktizo" produces "ktisis". The Creator makes the creation.
We have our source, the Lord Jesus Christ, who created everything. Jesus Christ is God and infinitely greater than the greatest of creatures. Christ created satan perfect but satan later rebelled against his Creator.
Lucifer's negative volition created a vacuum in his own arrogant being that using an anthropopathism could be called a soul so the delusion of evil entered into and possessed Satan.
Demon possession never occurs before evil delusion in the soul of the reversionist. So the deceptive delusion comes first, and strong delusion is satan's evil policy as the ruler of this world.
"Who" is translated from the relative pronoun "hos" referring to the Lord Jesus Christ; "is" is translated from the present active indicative of "eimi."
The present tense is a static present that represents a condition assumed as existing permanently. The active voice: Jesus Christ produces the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative for a dogmatic and unqualified statement of fact.
"Blessed" is a predicate nominative from "eulogetos an adjective that means praise, or blessed, revered, or to receive reverential awe.
The adjective is equivalent to the Hebrew word "baruk" a qal passive participle from the verb "barak" that means to bless.
The adjective is described as being doxological. In other words, God is not blessed by anyone else; God is blessed by His own existence. The adjective, being doxological, is never used in the New Testament to describe a human.
God's existence is blessing. Within His own being God is perfect intrinsic happiness so the adjective "eulogetos" is not referring to praise from people even though they may praise Him.
The adjective takes on the special sense of referring to God's the attributes indicating that every attribute of God is immutable and unchangeable only produces and contributes happiness to God's entire essence.
God is perfect happiness and perfect blessing, and as perfect blessing He is the source of all blessing that is provided on the basis of adjustment to His justice.
This means that the word translated "blessed" means that Jesus Christ' integrity cannot be compromised in any way so He is always in perfect adjustment to God's perfect justice and righteousness so He is always blessed.
"Forever" is a prepositional phrase "eis" plus the article "o" plus the accusative plural of "aion" that means "for the ages. It is a Greek idiom that describes "forever" as duration of time.
"Amen" transliterated from "amen" that is also a transliteration of the Hebrew "amen" that means to believe, to be stabilized and confidant.
It is used to attest the praise of God in response to a doxology. It acknowledges the validity of doctrine as binding; therefore it connotes what is sure and true.
So the Greek "amen" is used in liturgy of worship and for acclamation in Christian worship. It is used to terminate both prayers and doxologies, meaning "I believe it," or better, "I am certain of it."
Rom 1:25; Expanded Translation: "They (reversionist unbelievers) who exchanged the doctrine of the God for a lie (gospel for false doctrine or evil), both worshipped and served the creature (satan) rather than the Creator (Jesus Christ), who is blessed forever. Amen.
The final phrase means that the God's righteousness and justice are inviolable so God's righteousness and justice are neither corrupted nor compromised by blessing those members of the human race who receive His righteousness as a result of their adjustment to His justice.
God's justice is free to bless every unbeliever who adjusts to His justice at salvation by faith in Jesus Christ with eternal salvation. God's perfect righteousness is not destroyed nor is His perfect justice compromised in any way when God gives salvation to sinful man when he believes in Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ who is the creator retains His perfect inviolable, immutable, unchangeable righteousness and justice even after saving the person who adjusts to His justice by believing.
Those who reject Jesus Christ as savior remain in maladjustment to the God's justice by the rejection of Christ with the result that God's justice is not free to give them salvation.
Negative volition at either God-consciousness or Gospel hearing is maladjustment to God's justice.
Every human being will adjust to God's justice or God's justice will adjust to them. Maladjustment results in exchanging God's truth for the devil's lie and the truth of Bible Doctrine for the evil lie.
Reversionism changes the unbeliever but God's attributes forever and eternally remain immutable, incorruptible, and inviolable so God is blessed forever in the sense that His attributes remain unchanged regardless of whither his divine justice blesses or curses.
God's perfect justice can bless the person who believes in Christ with eternal salvation. That same perfect justice can only judge, condemn and curse the person who is negative at God consciousness, gospel hearing, or both.
We see in both cases that a mental decision results in an experiential reality so the decisions we make determine our destiny.
Rom 1:25; Expanded Translation: "They (reversionist unbelievers) who exchanged the doctrine of the God for a lie (gospel for false doctrine or evil), both worshipped and served the creature (satan) rather than the Creator (Jesus Christ), who is blessed forever. Amen.