Friday, June 23, 2023 Some material taken from Wisdom for Today by Keith Warren
“The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;” Acts 17:24-25
Earlier this week we read about Paul in Athens and how his spirit was provoked. That day, he stood in the middle of the Areopagus, which was the name of both an official court of 30 or so city-leaders, and the hill upon which they met, and told them about the Gospel. He gave them four important points to consider about God as the One True God.
Four Lessons From Paul About the One True God
1. God is not made but is the Maker.
“The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;” Acts 17:24-25
God made all things and cannot be worshiped by anything made with human hands. Paul said this because idol worship was so prevalent there. He wanted them to know how useless their efforts were.
2. God has guided history. v.26
“…and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God,” Acts 17:26
Paul told them we are all descended from Adam through Noah, and the same God created us all. He alone deserves all our praise and worship. As our Creator, we should seek Him. He causes nations to rise and fall, and His sovereign hand is guiding things now.
3. God has wired us for worship. v.27-29
“…if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His offspring.’ Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.” Acts 17:27-29 NASB
Paul told them that as His offspring, we have responsibility to God. We should not think of Him as the same as the false gods, but reject those ideas, telling others the truth about His divine nature.
The altar to an “unknown god” shows that the Athenians did not know about God and Paul has been proving it with his evidence.
Paul says more about this in Romans 1:18-20
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” Romans 1:18-20 NASB
Like all men before them, these efforts have fallen short, but God has made a way…
4. The day of judgment is coming. v.30-31
“Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” Acts 17:30-31
Paul taught them about who God is (our Creator), to who we are (His offspring), to our responsibility before Him (to understand Him and worship Him in truth), to our accountability if we dishonor Him (judgment).
Paul was bold and did not sugar coat things. His spirit was provoked about the wrong ideas they had about God and he told them about the reality of God’s coming judgement. For the first time in his talk to the Athenians, Paul referred to Jesus, as a righteous judge. He talked of His resurrection as assurance – the furnished proof to all men. For Paul, none of the Christian life made sense without the triumph of Jesus’ resurrection.
The path of salvation was illuminated: Life is a journey to the judgment seat of God, where Jesus Christ is Judge. The proof of the pre-eminence of Christ, over all that they have considered deities, is the resurrection. All of the philosophy, art and idol worship in their storied history could not compare to the work of God in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
And now, they were without excuse.
“Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, “We shall hear you again concerning this.” So Paul went out of their midst. But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.” Acts 17:32-34
