For the wrath of God is revealed AGAINST all ungodliness and unrighteousness ~ Romans 1:18
The word translated against in Greek is “epi” which is a preposition. The root of the word means UPON or TOWARDS.
Against is defined in the dictionary as in opposition to. This keeps us thinking God is angry and oppposed to us. We read it with a lens of sin consciousness.
Instead His wrath/passion (the finished work of the Cross) was toward us or upon ALL. Upon also means the response or effect of the envisioned contract – God’s vision saw us IN CHRIST and Jesus’ response to the contract or covenant He made with the Father was to take our sin and give us His righteousness
If we read Romans 1:18 and replace against with upon or toward….. “The wrath of God is revealed upon or toward all ungodliness and unrighteousness” — when we read it through the lens of the finished work and in conjuction with v. 17 and look at the root of “epi”, then it begins to sound an awful lot like Romans 5.
“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. (7) For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. (8) But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (9) Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him” ~ Romans 5:6-9
Just a thought