To the Unknown God

Waiting in Athens. In our last lesson, God opened the prison doors for Paul and Silas in Philippi. After that, Paul preached in other cities and came to Athens. There he waited for Silas and Timothy (17:16). A city given over to idols. As Paul waited, “his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols” (17:16). An idol is a statue or object that people worship as a god. Why it troubled him. The people of Athens had made many gods with their own hands, but they did not know the true God who made them. Paul was not just upset about statues. He cared about the people, and he knew God loved them. In the synagogue. “Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers” (17:17). Reasoned means he talked things through with them. Gentile worshipers were people who were not Jewish but worshiped God. In the marketplace. He also talked “in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there” (17:17). Paul did not wait for people to come to him. Every day he talked with whoever was there. What we learn. When Paul saw a city that did not know God, it troubled his heart, and then it moved him to speak. It is right to care when people do not know Jesus. Pray for them, and be ready to tell them about Him with kindness.

Athens (17:16). After God opened the prison doors in Philippi in our last lesson, Paul preached in Thessalonica and Berea (17:1-15) and then came to Athens. “Now while Paul waited for them at Athens,” waiting for Silas and Timothy, he walked through the city. Paroxyno. “His spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols.” Provoked is paroxyno (say: par-ox-OO-noh), to be stirred up deeply inside. Paul was not mildly annoyed. His heart was deeply troubled. Given over to idols. The city was full of objects of worship. People had shaped gods with their own hands, and yet they did not know the God who had made them. Troubled, then moved to speak. Paul’s distress did not make him leave or sneer. “Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers” (17:17). The Gentile worshipers were people who were not Jewish but had come to worship the God of Israel. Daily. He also reasoned “in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there.” Paul did not wait for a pulpit. He talked with whoever was in front of him, day after day. Application. It is easy to grow used to a world that does not know God. Ask Him to give you Paul’s heart: troubled by what takes God’s place, and moved to tell people about Jesus with patience and love.

In our last lesson, God set Paul and Silas free. After that, Paul told about Jesus in other cities. Then he came to Athens to wait for his friends. Athens was full of idols. People had made statues and called them gods. Paul was troubled when he saw them. The people did not know the true God who made them. Paul cared about them, so he talked with people every day. He talked in the synagogue and in the marketplace. Do you care about people who do not know God? You can pray for them. You can tell them about Jesus too.

Athens was full of idols. Paul was troubled when he saw them. The people did not know the true God.

The philosophers. “Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him” (17:18). These were two groups of thinkers with different ideas about life. A babbler? Some of them said, “What does this babbler want to say?” A babbler is someone who talks a lot without making sense. They did not take Paul seriously. Foreign gods? Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” “because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection” (17:18). Foreign means from another land. They did not yet understand that Paul was talking about the one true God. Jesus and the resurrection. Paul’s message was about a real Person who died and rose again. The resurrection means Jesus came back to life from the dead, never to die again. The Areopagus. “They took him and brought him to the Areopagus” (17:19). The Areopagus was a council of leaders in Athens. They asked, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak?” Doctrine means teaching. Always something new. “For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing” (17:21). What we learn. Hearing about Jesus is not the same as believing in Him. Jesus is not just an interesting idea. He is the living Lord. When you hear about Him, do not stop at being curious. Trust Him.

Two schools (17:18). “Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him.” These were two groups of thinkers with different ideas about life. Spermologos. “And some said, ‘What does this babbler want to say?’” Babbler is spermologos (say: sper-moh-LOG-os), literally a seed-picker, a word for a bird pecking up seeds. It was used for a person who picks up scraps of ideas and repeats them without understanding. Foreign gods. “Others said, ‘He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,’ because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection.” They heard the name of Jesus and the word resurrection, but they did not yet understand who Jesus is. The center of the message. Paul did not bring a new set of ideas about life. He preached a Person, Jesus, and an event, His resurrection. The gospel stands on the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. Before the Areopagus (17:19-20). They brought him to the Areopagus, the council of Athens, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? For you are bringing some strange things to our ears.” Their curiosity gave Paul a hearing. Curiosity (17:21). The Athenians “spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.” Curiosity can lead a person toward the truth, but it can also stop at talk. Application. Interest in Jesus is a good start, but it is not the same as faith. The question is not whether the gospel is new or interesting, but whether it is true. It is true, because Christ is risen.

Some men called philosophers argued with Paul. Philosophers are people who study big ideas about life. Some said Paul did not know what he was talking about. Others thought he was telling them about new gods. Paul was telling them about Jesus and His rising from death. That is the best news of all. The men took Paul to the leaders of the city. The people there loved to hear new ideas. But hearing something new is not the same as believing. Jesus is not just a new idea. He is alive, and He is the Savior!

Some men liked to hear new ideas. Paul told them that Jesus rose from the dead. They wanted to hear more.

Very religious. Paul stood in the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious” (17:22). They worshiped many things. The altar. He had found “an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD” (17:23). An inscription is writing carved on something. They had built an altar for a god they did not know. Him I proclaim. Paul said, “the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you.” The true God can be known. The Maker of all. “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands” (17:24). The God who made everything cannot be kept inside a building. The Giver. “He gives to all life, breath, and all things” (17:25). Every breath you take is a gift from Him. One family. God “has made from one blood every nation of men” (17:26). Not far. God made people “so that they should seek the Lord,” and “He is not far from each one of us” (17:27). Their own poets. “For in Him we live and move and have our being,” Paul said. Then he quoted their own poets: “For we are also His offspring” (17:28). Offspring means children. Not gold or stone. Since we are God’s offspring, “we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising” (17:29). People cannot make the God who made them. A picture. Many Christians see the altar to the unknown god as a picture of every heart that is searching for God. What we learn. The true God made everything, and He is close to you. He is not unknown. He has shown Himself to us in Jesus.

In the midst of the Areopagus (17:22). “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious.” Paul spoke respectfully. He did not mock their worship; he told them about the true God. Agnostos (17:23). He had found “an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.” Unknown is agnostos (say: ag-NOH-stos), not known. Paul answered, “the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you.” The God they could not name could be known. Creator and Lord (17:24-25). God “made the world and everything in it,” and He “does not dwell in temples made with hands.” “He gives to all life, breath, and all things.” He is the Giver of every good thing. One human family (17:26). God “has made from one blood every nation of men.” Seek Him (17:27). God set people in their times and places “so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.” To grope is to feel for something in the dark. Their own poets (17:28). “For in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’” The conclusion (17:29). “Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising.” If God made us, we cannot make Him. An idol turns the Creator into something created. A picture. Many Christians see the altar to the unknown god as a picture of the human heart searching for the God it does not yet know. Application. The God who gives you every breath is near. He is not unknown any longer: He has made Himself known in Jesus Christ. Seek Him; He is not far away.

Paul stood up and spoke to the leaders. He had seen an altar “to a god who is not known.” They worshiped a god they did not know. So Paul told them who the true God is. God made the whole world and everything in it. A God who made the world cannot be made by people. God gives everyone life and breath. He wants people to look for Him. And He is not far from any of us! Paul even quoted their own poets: “For we are his children.” Many Christians see that altar as a picture of searching hearts. You can know the true God through Jesus.

Paul found an altar to a god nobody knew. Paul said God made the whole world. God is not far from us!

Now. In the past, God was patient while people did not know Him. But now He “commands all men everywhere to repent” (17:30). To repent means to turn from sin to God. A day is coming. “He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness” (17:31). God will judge everyone fairly. The Man. He will judge “by the Man whom He has ordained.” That Man is Jesus. Ordained means chosen and appointed. The proof. “He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (17:31). The empty tomb shows that Jesus is who He said He is. Mocked. “And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked” (17:32). Mocked means they laughed at him. Later. “While others said, ‘We will hear you again on this matter.’” Some wanted to wait. Waiting can keep a person from ever deciding. Some believed. “However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them” (17:34). Dionysius was a member of the Areopagus council. What we learn. God loves you and wants you to turn to Him now. Jesus died on the cross for your sins and rose again. Do not laugh it off, and do not put it off. Believe Him today.

Now (17:30). In the past God “overlooked” those times when people did not know Him, “but now commands all men everywhere to repent.” God’s patience was never approval. To repent is to turn from sin to God. A fixed day (17:31). “Because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness.” The judgment is certain, and it will be perfectly fair. The Judge. He will judge “by the Man whom He has ordained.” That Man is Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. The assurance. “He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” The resurrection is God’s public proof that Jesus is the appointed Judge and the living Lord. Three responses (17:32-34). “Some mocked, while others said, ‘We will hear you again on this matter.’ So Paul departed from among them.” But “some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.” The believers. Dionysius was a member of the Areopagus council. Damaris is named beside him. The gospel reached a member of the city’s council and a woman of Athens. Delay. “We will hear you again” sounds polite, but putting off a decision about Christ is still a decision. Application. The same news that made some laugh made others believe. Christ died for sinners and rose again. Do not mock it and do not delay. Turn to Him today.

Paul said that God tells everyone to turn from sin. In the past, people did not understand God. But now God wants everyone to change their hearts. To change means to turn from sin to God. God has chosen a day to judge the world fairly. Jesus is the One God chose to be the Judge. God showed this is true by raising Jesus from death. Some people laughed at Paul. Others wanted to wait and hear more later. But some people believed! Dionysius and a woman named Damaris believed in Jesus. When you hear about Jesus, do not wait. Trust Him today.

God wants everyone to turn from sin. God raised Jesus from the dead. Some people believed in Jesus!