Making Known the Unknown God
The Book of Acts 2 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Life is an adventure. Ups and downs, highs and lows but what makes life fun and exciting no matter what, is going through life with other people. We can laugh together, cry together, talk, pray, rejoice, grieve but it’s better together. Never do life alone.
Paul wasn’t ever alone, he had a team that he relied on. It wasn’t just Paul and the Holy Spirit but God provided him a group of people to encourage him and even protect him. If Paul needed that, we need that as well.
PRAY
Paul and Silas went from the prison break in Philippi to Thessalonica where they found a synagogue on the Sabbath. So they reasoned with the Jews, going through the scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead and then pointing to Jesus as the Christ.
4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 5 But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd.
Jealousy motivates people to do crazy things like start mobs, spread lies, and create division. The unbelieving Jews were jealous saying that “these men who have turned the world upside down” “… they are going against the decrees of Caesar by saying that there is another king whose name is Jesus.”
So as things began to escalate they sent Paul and Silas away at night to Berea.
10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 12 Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.
So the Bereans were more noble then the Thessalonians. They eagerly recieved the word and examined the scripture daily to see if what Paul and Silas were saying was true. So many of them believed.
They were open to leaning and ready to accept Jesus as the Christ and put their faith in Jesus.
Don’t just take what people say as God’s Word, examine it for yourself.
Don’t just take what people say as God’s Word, examine it for yourself.
Ask questions, seek out the scriptures, and don’t just blindly receive something. Just because people claim to be an expert, a prophet, a pastor, a teacher or whatever title they throw around, be noble like the Bereans.
When we just let God speak through HIS Word we don’t have to defend ourself. God is more then able. Besides, God never needs to defend HIMSELF, our job is to know God’s Word, believe God’s Word and then trust that God is able to fulfill HIS Word.
As great things were happening, jealousy was stirring up trouble again.
13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. 14 Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. 15 Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.
Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea, Paul jumped on a boat and ended up in Athens where he waiting from them to arrive.
What do we do when we wait?
Scroll through our phone, check out Facebook, read, play candy crush, crochet…
Don’t waste the wait. Use the wait as a God opportunity.
Don’t waste the wait. Use the wait as a God opportunity.
What do you think Paul would be doing in the waiting?
16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.
Idol worship was rampant in Athens and Paul’s spirit was provoked which drove him to action. Paul then went to the local synagogue in Athens and debated with the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles.
Then Paul went to the marketplace, the public square.
Paul had a balanced and adaptive approach to his ministry in Athens.
In the synagogue, he debated with the Jews and devout Gentiles, seeking to prove to them that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah.
Afterwards, Paul went into the public arena, the square, the central marketplace and spoke to whomever would listen.
18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.
The Epicureans and Stoics were the dominant philosophers in Greek culture.
The Epicureans, believed that the purpose for living was for pleasure and happiness. If God existed, he didn’t interfere in human affairs.
Epicureans are similar to modern-day materialists and hedonists.
The Stoics were pantheistic
Pantheists believe that God and the real world are one. Therefore they felt that a great “purpose” in directing history.
They believed that it was humans’ responsibility was to align themselves with that purpose through duty and self-discipline.
This belief led to pride and self-sufficiency (“I am the master of my fate!”).
The Stoics are similar to modern-day New Age followers and pantheists.
So what Paul was saying about Jesus did not align with these dominate philosophies and beliefs in Athens so they characterized Paul’s arguments as “babbling”.
They were saying that his ideas were not as well thought through or as valid as theirs.
Others thought that when Paul was teaching about Jesus and the resurrection that he was advocating foreign gods.
But, either way, the people were curious.
19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.”
Paul’s dialogue in the marketplace led to an invitation to address the Areopagus. This was the judicial and legislative seat of government of Athens. This was a council or court full of intellectuals.
These intellectuals were ever interested in hearing new ideas so they wanted to hear this new teaching that Paul was presenting.
Luke added his own observation… vs 21
21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.
These people just sit and learn and talk about new ideas. These are lifetime learners but never doers. These people do nothing to apply their knowledge.
It’s like a sponge that is full of water that lives in a bucket of water, it serves no purpose.
Theses people were seeking knowledge.
Here the descendants of the most influential thinkers in Western civilization, who had been on a centuries-long quest for knowledge, were given an opportunity to receive the ultimate knowledge.
Keep in mind, Paul was still waiting for Timothy and Silas. As Paul was waiting, God gave Paul a captive audience so they can have an opportunity to know the one true God.
As Paul was waiting, the Holy Spirit gave him the words he needed to say at just the right moment.
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.
Paul perceived that they were religious addressing the many different idols throughout Athens.
Paul did not come in and blast their religion without seeking to understand it first.
Paul showed respect by observing and getting to know their culture, art, and architecture before addressing the fallacies.
Paul noted that they were very religious as he pointed to the many idols, even an altar dedicated to the unknown god.
Archaeological finds have shown many such altars with the inscription, “to the unknown god(s).”
We see here that the Athenians had built an idol to the unknown god for fear of missing blessings or receiving punishment.
Paul’s opening statement to the men of Athens referred to their “unknown god.”
Paul used this as a point of entry to talk to them about the one true God.
Paul said, let me tell you about…
24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,
The known God, the one true God is not limited to a building or does not need to be served or taken care of.
God does not need anything from mortals since he himself is the source of life and breath of all things.
The Greeks served gods’ who needed human services;
The Epicureans believed the gods were above human events.
Paul tells his audience that God is the source of “all life and breath” This may have appealed to the Stoics in the crowd, who were trying to align themselves with the cosmic “purpose.”
Paul began with God being over all creation because HE is the source, HE is the center of all creation because God is the creator.
God has the power to create… HE created the heavens and the earth. We are HIS creation and we exist to enjoy HIS creation.
Through Paul’s reference to the unknown God he introduces the audience to the one true God who can be known and wants us to know HIM.
Paul explained that God is not only creator but HE is also involved and connected to HIS creation. God has given us life and purpose which can only be revealed to us through a relationship with God.
Acts 17:27–29 (ESV)
27Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for “ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’
29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.
‘In him we live and move and have our being’
‘For we are indeed his offspring.’
Both of these statements from well-known and accepted literary sources of the day.
Paul used this to point out that creation and sustaining of life was in the hands of the one God whom they did not know BUT who was very near and very knowable.
The sense of humanity being God’s “offspring” means that all receive life and breath from HIM.
Paul was exposing three FALSE Greek ideas:
God was unknowable;
God lived in man-made temples;
God was not involved in human affairs.
Being aware of our fallacies in light of God’s Word is important. Knowing and accepting God’s truth will give us to an opportunity to know Christ but we must be humble enough to acknowledge our fallacies receive God’s Truth.
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
The Athenians had to understand that although God had overlooked people’s former ignorance… not in the sense that he condoned it but rather that he had not yet judged it.
God now commanded everyone everywhere to turn FROM idolatry and turn TO HIM.
Things got serious for this Athenian audience. They heard the word, now they had to choose to respond or ignore it. Whatever the nature and consequences of their former failure, they needed to respond to God. By choosing to ignore this reality was to reject what was being offered in the finished work of Christ.
31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
Paul confronted his listeners with Jesus’ resurrection and its meaning to all people—either blessing or punishment.
The Greeks had no concept of judgment. Most of them preferred worshiping many gods instead of just one. And though their gods became angry from time to time, there was no real accountability in the way that Paul was presenting.
All judgment had been given to the one who was raised from the dead—Jesus Christ.
The one Paul had been proclaiming in Athens since the day he had arrived
When it come to the resurrection, Greeks thought this concept was unbelievable and offensive, but on this issue the whole gospel hinged.
13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.
Even though Paul knew it would offend their precious philosophies, he did not hold back the truth.
Our methods will change but the Message never changes.
Our methods will change but the Message never changes.
Paul often would change his approach to fit his audience, but he would NEVER change the Message.
32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” 33 So Paul went out from their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.
As God entered the human race to redeem fallen humanity and put them in a position to know not philosophically but rather personally knowing the person of Jesus Christ.
The Bad news… Judgement, knowing that we are all accountable for our choices.
BUT… The Good news is that Jesus paid for our sin that deserves eternal judgement but we have to receive Christ, accept HIS grace through faith, repent, put our faith in Christ and in the power of HIS resurrection.
The message is not going to be accepted by everyone but the Holy Spirit will do the work that we cannot do.
Take Away:
Watch for ways to find common ground
Illuminate poor views of God
Nurture that part of each person that wants to know God
Study the world and it’s culture
Offer the proof and power of Christianity—the Resurrection
Make it clear, every person is accountability for his or her life
Expect a variety of responses
