22” So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man.” (Acts 17:22- 24)
Luke often recorded the Apostle Paul preaching and teaching in the synagogues within the various cities he and his companions visited. However, in today’s text Paul is not preaching and teaching in a synagogue but rather he is standing in the midst of the Areopagus, otherwise known as Mars Hill.
His presentation of the Gospel is masterful. He does not openly condemn the Athenians for their blatant postmodern idolatry. Rather, he used their very idolatry as an object lesson.
Paul began his message by saying, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.” Paul expressed that he understood the widespread religiosity of the Athenians. He also did not say that they were just religious, but rather that they were devoutly religious. Realize that this statement can be understood in either a positive or negative way. Certainly, Paul had in mind the latter and not the former.
Paul then wisely pointed to one of the Athenians’ very own idols. He said, “23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’” What did the inscription “to the unknown god” mean?
“Possibly a reference to the Altar of the Twelve Gods of Athens, erected to ensure that no god is left out of their worship Paul uses this point of contact to begin his discourse about the God who made the world, who is not carved out of stone or confined to any temple, and who controls the times and the seasons where people live.” writes Dr. R. C. Sproul.
Paul then said, “What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.” The word “unknown” means to be unaware or ignorant of something, or in this case, someone; namely God. It is this One, True God who Paul proclaimed to the Athenians.
Paul identified the “UNKNOWN GOD” with the One, True God of the Bible. Paul told the Athenians about this God who they had already acknowledged existed and regarded worthy of honor. Paul gave the Athenians valuable and biblical knowledge of God.
First, Paul told the Athenians that God was the true creator of the universe. He was the one who made the world and everything in it. Therefore, God is greater than His creation. He is Lord and sovereign ruler of the earth. He cannot be contained, nor does He live, in man-made temples.
God is the self-sufficient creator. He does not need anything outside of Himself. While God’s creation needs Him to exist, God does not need anything from His creation to exist. He has no need for anything from us.
It is important for us to remember Paul’s audience consisted of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. The Epicureans believed the Greek gods were remote and uninvolved in human affairs. The Stoics, on the other hand, believed in a divine principle that reason and logic dominated the cosmos. Both people groups, like today’s postmodernists, had their own particular truth claims.
In response, Paul preached that God was a personal being who was transcendent over the universe, in contrast to the Stoics. Paul also preached that God also was deeply intimate and involved with His creation and creatures, in contrast to the Epicureans.
God is neither an impersonal philosophy or force nor an uninvolved clock watcher who has no role in human life and living. As we shall soon see, it is in the Lord of heaven and earth that we live, move and have our being.
What point of contact can you use to those who you know who do not know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior? What objects do you observe your friends, or family members, worshipping and honoring? Use this as a starting point to explain the Gospel and the reality of the One, True God of the Bible.
Soli deo Gloria!
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