Know the Unknown God

The Main Idea:

Repent and Acknowledge God!

Acts 17:16–34 KJV 1900

Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him. Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean. (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.) Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

Introduction

The Unknown God is the Creator God

The Unknown God is the Sustainer God

The Unknown God is the Ordainer God

16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.

Idolatry is the father to the philosophy. If we have a high idea of God. If we know the true God, then we will have a godly, up lifting, helpful and positive life philosophy.

It bothered Paul… that the people were living for the present moment only and did not seem to have the faintest idea that they were eternal beings and must one day face God.

The city was filled with idols, impersonating the true and living God. Beware of Idols, they will demand our highest devotion.

Exodus 20 3 “You shall have no other gods before[a] me.

Psalms 115 3Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. 4 But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands. 5 They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. 6 They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell. 7 They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats. 8 Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.

Is idolatry a problem for us in our culture today? We read in the papers about a break down in moral values, a lack of commitment by people to people, to causes or standards. Dishonesty in many forms, irresponsibility.

Do we realize that the reason for the breakdown is spiritual? When we have a concept of God that is noble (honorable, principled, upright, honest, and ethical), our trust in God ennobles us. These very traits become important to us.

When we lose sight of God, we lose sight of the only one who can lift up our civilization.

18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him.

The two leading schools of thought in Athens during Paul’s day were the Epicureans and the Stoics.

The Epicureans believed in the pursuit of the maximum amount of pleasure with a minimum amount of pain. They were pure materialist. They believed if it feels good, do it, if it doesn’t avoid it. And they frowned upon on taken any responsibilities that might prove to be difficult because for then this life is all there is.

On the other hand, there were the Stoics and they taught that people should be free from passion, unmoved by joy or grief, and submit without complaint to unavoidable necessity. The believed in facing trouble or loss without given in to any emotions. Theirs was a sad philosophy with no sense of divine presence or divine guidance.

Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. 19 Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” 21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)

Paul analyzed Athens and responded to it in a way that is instructive to us. He was able to recognize the strengths and the weakness of Athens and to share the word of God to the people of Athens in the context of this understanding before he stood up.

22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

In proclamation God takes that truth of his word and by the power of his Holy Spirit carries it into the heart and brings conviction.

The Unknow God is the Creator God

24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.

The doctrine of creation in addition to teaching us that we have a responsibility to seek and serve God also declares that God has not left us without proof of his existence.

It is true that not all peoples have had the scriptures. In the Old Testament period God gave the bible only to the Jews but all peoples at all times have had a witness to God in creation, in the heavens and on earth. And because of this no one can claim complete ignorance of the true God.

Romans 1 18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

1 Peter 3:15 15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

The Unknown God is the Sustainer God

25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.

This verse says that God is not served by human hands as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. It is not that we provide for Him. God provides for us.

God is stabilizing all things.

Col 1:1717 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

This text seems to suggest that if the Lord Jesus Christ was not holding all things together everything would fly apart.

In today’s text God proclaims in Athens that God not only created all things but also sustains them, by continuing to give the universe and world stability.

The fact that we and the world are here, that we are alive, and that we can think about both the world and ourselves is all due to the sustaining activity of God.

The Unknow God is the Ordainer God.

In other words, God is active in His creation.

26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.

Theologians describe this guidance as the hidden counsel of God. Meaning that God has not revealed these eternal counsels to us in scripture as he has other things.

So, we do not know the future or what God will do in national affairs, but God has sovereign control over what happens. This the true God.

He determined that the Greeks would be Greeks, the Athenians, Athenians and Americans, Americans. These things are not accidents.

Since God has revealed himself to us in creation, and sustains creation including us, and has determined the bounds of our habitations and destiny it follows that we have an obligation to seek God out and find him. This is the purpose of the general revelation. God has revealed himself so that we might seek him out.

27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.

28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’[b] As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill.

God’s word says that we are willfully ignorant and without excuse (Romans 1:20) and we need to repent.

Repent and Acknowledge the Unknown God

There are three reasons why we should repent…

1. God is patient v30 (overlooking our ignorance for a time)

30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance,

2. God commands repentance

…but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.

3. God has appointed a final day of reckoning when Jesus shall be the final judge.

31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” 33 At that, Paul left the Council.

It was difficult for Paul to speak to the intellectuals of Athens, with their plethora of idols and their pride. It can also be hard for us to speak to this type of person. Yet Paul did try to reach them for Christ, and so should we. Suppose our results are meager. Well, so were Paul’s.

But we should not be profoundly disheartened, because God always allows his Word to bear fruit in one form or another. There will be some who sneer (contort their face in a manner that shows their objection). There will be some who postpone their decision, perhaps indefinitely. But there will always be some who believe.

34 Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the A-re-o-pa-gus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.

Making the Unknown God known involves sharing God’s word and living continually in fellowship with God. Living lives that are animated by (led by) our continual fellowship with God.

23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

We are called to share God’s word and to live lives that are animated by our continual fellowship with God.

For in him we live and move and have our being… We are called to be reflections of God… Imago Dei.

The “Unknown God" is the Creator, Sustainer and Ordainer God whose handy work we see every day.

Repent and Acknowledge Him as your God Today! Today is a good day to get to know Him for yourself.

In Jesus’ Name… Amen.