Bible Study 5/7/25

Where we left off last week, Paul and his companions went on quite the lengthy journey, traveling hundreds of miles from Philippi to Athens with considerable stops at Thessalonica and Berea. Paul had the dream scenario in Berea after being chased out of Thessalonica. The people of Berea were excited to gather and study the Word, but then the unsatisfied Jews from Thessalonica decided to make the 30-ish mile journey to come after them, ultimately chasing them out of Berea as well. Silas and Timothy remained in Berea, so Paul traveled on his own to Athens, where we find him now. The people of Athens were thoroughly educated, but also incredibly curious. While they almost certainly thought they knew everything, they were a people that wanted to always know more about what they don’t know. At first it seemed like they were going to completely reject everything Paul was saying, even going so far as to call him names and question his sanity, for whatever reason they instead stepped toward Paul to ask him what he was talking about. And now here we are with Paul’s response.

Acts 17:22 So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects.”

It is an interesting way to begin his response. Paul is either paying the people of Athens a compliment, or perhaps insulting them a little bit. In one sense he could be commending them on their committed beliefs that they have, or perhaps, as Paul sometimes is, just being sarcastic with them and implying that they really don’t believe in anything because they in a sense believe in everything. It is most likely that Paul meant it in a good sense, to provide a way in to his address that would engage the attention of the audience. Start them with an insult and they will be quick to dismiss him, but start them with a compliment and they may lean in to hear more. But just because Paul began with a positive doesn’t mean that their religious behavior is also a positive. In fact, as we see in the next verse, their religious behavior was simply aimless wandering.

Acts 17:23 “For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.”

As proof of his statement Paul relates how he had been observing the various objects of worship in the city. These objects of worship are what led Paul to street his street preaching adventure. Once again, though we understand what Paul is getting to, he continues on a bit of a positive note. He doesn’t refer to these objects as idols, which would be more on the negative, but simply as objects of worship. Of all the objects they were worshiping, there was one in particular that stood out to Paul with the inscription “to an unknown god”. Of course, there is no real connection between “an unknown god” and the One true God - they weren’t unconscious worshipers of the true God, accidentally worshiping Him through these images. Rather, Paul is drawing their attention to the true God who was ultimately responsible for whatever they were attributing to this “unknown god”. Since they didn’t recognize what they were worshiping, Paul would now guide them away from the worship of the unknown and toward the worship of the only One worthy.

Acts 17:24 “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;”

Paul begins is proclamation with a focus on the God who made the universe and all that it contains, and who is therefore Lord of heaven and earth. The language he uses is based on the Old Testament description of God, found in Isaiah and Exodus, where God is referred to as the one who created the heavens and the earth. While Paul’s language is immediately familiar to the Old Testament student, he is also appealing to the knowledge of these men as the statement he makes would’ve also been accepted by the Greek philosopher Plato. One difference in language is Paul’s use of the word “world”, the Greek kosmos, which is not used in the Old Testament because there is no corresponding Hebrew term, but instead the Old Testament uses “the heaven and the earth”. Paul’s use of language isn’t an attempt to change the understanding of Scripture, rather he is using language that would be expected of a Greek-speaking Jew to use, especially when addressing pagans. A God who is Creator and Lord clear doesn’t live in a temple made by human hands, and there is perhaps an echo of Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple when he recognized its inadequacy as a house for God. Once again, Paul is using language that would appeal to his listeners and with this makes a statement that would be accepted by Stoic philosophy. We can start to see a theme running here that Paul is entering the world of philosophers to draw them out and into the world of Christ.

Acts 17:25 “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;”

Now we kind of start to see a shift happening to where Paul’s appeal is beginning to draw them away from their false idols. A common practice of idol worship was to make sacrifices of food, money and even in some cases sacrificing people. But this God, the true God whom they didn’t know, was different. Such a God has no need of men to supply him with anything; on the contrary, it is he who is the true source of life. The foolishness of caring for the gods was point out in the Old Testament. Listen to this verse in Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 10:5 “Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they, And they cannot speak; They must be carried, Because they cannot walk! Do not fear them, For they can do no harm, Nor can they do any good.”

Once again, the insight that Paul is sharing would’ve been shared by educated pagan, which can be read in the writings of Dibelius. But like I said, I think Paul is beginning to shift the conversation as he begins to lead them away from their false idols. The description of God as the source of breath is found in Isaiah 42:5, but Paul adds to that as he says, “life and breath and all things.” In this day, the word “life” was popularly associated with Zeus, the Greek god that even those who nothing of Greek mythology would find familiar, so it is possible here that Paul is indirectly saying that not Zeus, but Yahweh is the source of life.

Acts 17:26 “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,”

Now from the description of God Paul turns to the way in which God has created mankind. There are a couple things that could be immediately understood by us here. When Paul says “one man” we know that he is speaking of Adam. It is out of Adam that all of mankind was made to live on the whole face of the earth. It is an interesting thing to think about. When God made Adam and Eve, he placed them in the garden, but here Paul says that God made everyone from Adam to live on all of the face of the earth. Of course, God knew all that would happen before anything was created, but it makes you wonder, if sin didn’t enter the world, if all of mankind would’ve lived in the garden or if we would still be spread over the whole earth. Anyway, rabbit trail over. Paul also teaches that it is this true God that determined all that would happen with mankind, where they would be and when they would be there.

Acts 17:27 “that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;”

Howard Marshall God’s purpose in all this was that men might seek after him in the hope of touching him and finding him. The language can be taken Hellenistically of the philosophical search for what is true or divine, without certain hope of success. But it is better taken in the Old Testament sense of the thankful and reverent longing of the whole man for the God whose goodness he has experienced.

The odd part of the text here is where Paul says “grope for Him” or otherwise translated “feel after”, which is perhaps suggestive of men groping in the darkness in order to find God. This groping takes place despite the nearness of God to men, which Paul goes on to speak about. But the main point he is making is that seeking should not be difficult because God is not far from each one of us. This is another thought that was current in Stoic philosophy, but there it was taken in an impersonal, intellectual sense. Paul’s concern is with the living God of the Old Testament who is near to his worship despite his transcendence and greatness. They didn’t think that the gods would come close, yet here Paul teaches them that the true God chooses to be close to His creation.

Acts 17:28 “for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’”

Pauls confirms this point by two statements which have a pagan origin, but could be used to support a Jewish-Christian doctrine of who God is.

Howard Marshall

Acts: An Introduction and Commentary f. Athens: The Areopagus Address (17:16–34)

A Syriac writer called Isho‘dad (ninth century) cited a passage in which Minos of Crete addressed his father Zeus and attacked the Cretan belief that Zeus was buried on the island: ‘They fashioned a tomb for thee, O holy and high—the Cretans, always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies! But thou art not dead; thou art risen and alive for ever, for in thee we live and move and have our being.’ The second line of this quotation appears in

Piece by piece, Paul is essentially kidnapping pagan philosophies, drawing what truth is in them out, and then showing the people here that the truth is not discovered in mysticism, but is pointing them to the One true God, in whose image they are made, having no divinity within themselves as they thought, and relying fully on God as the source of man’s life.

Acts 17:29–30 “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. Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent,”

On the basis of the fact that man is God’s offspring, Paul now draws his conclusion that idolatry is wrong and is completely forbidden. Small images of gold and silver and massive temple idols of marble are all wrong. If men are like God, then it should be understood that an inanimate image cannot portray the living God; and if men possess the spirit of God, they must then recognize that God is Spirit and is not capable of material representation. We won’t dive into our modern day issues of different images of Jesus, but it’s in the same breath. God the Father and God the Spirit have no physical form to build a likeness of, and no one alive today knows what Jesus looks like and therefore any image of Him, while physical like He is physical, is a false image. Of course, the main issue in false images is when they draw us away from worship of the one true God. It can’t be said exclusively that these images can’t draw us toward worship of God. With these statements made Paul now is standing firm with the Old Testament thought and in opposition to Greek thought. Haenchen argues that what Paul was saying merely attacked Greek popular religion and not sophisticated philosophy, but it remains the case that there was still a considerable attachment to polytheistic and idolatrous practices even alongside a more philosophical outlook. Until the coming of the revelation of God’s true nature in Christianity men lived in ignorance of him. But now the proclamation of the Christian message brings this time to an end so far as those who hear the gospel are concerned - they no longer have any excuse for their ignorance. God was prepared to overlook their ignorance, but now no longer will and He calls on all men everywhere to repent.

Acts 17:31 “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.”

Now we see Paul’s point in urging the people to repentance - God has appointed a day for the judgment of the world. Using more Old Testament language, Paul emphasizes that it will be a righteous judgment. This judgment will be carried out by the Man whom He has appointed, who we know clearly as Jesus. The form of expression used by Paul here is chosen in order to introduce the next statement which gives confirmation of the fact of judgment - the appointment of the judge has already taken place and is to be seen in the fact of his being raised from the dead by God. In using these words, Paul now reverts to the themes of his earlier preaching in Athens, Jesus and the resurrection. He treats the resurrection as historical fact and he uses is as proof of the divine appointment of Jesus as judge. This was Paul’s final appeal in his sermon.

Acts 17:32–34 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.

Paul’s return to his starting point, Jesus and the resurrection, provoked a negative response from some of his listeners. While Greeks believed in the immortality of the soul, the idea of a bodily resurrection didn’t fit with any of their thinking, since the body was increasingly regarded as earthly and evil in comparison with the soul which was the seat of the divine in man. So not only was the cross folly to Gentiles, but also the resurrection. But there were some of Paul’s hearers that want to hear more from Paul. Not only did some say they wanted to hear more, but after Paul had left there were some listeners who had joined him and believed in what he was teaching, a couple of which are here named. We don’t really know much of anything about either of them beyond their being named here. This is another case where they likely would’ve been well known in the church at this time, but nothing beyond that. Later tradition refers to Dionysius as the first bishop of Athens, which is possible as the first converts often became the leaders of the church. There is nothing known of Damaris beyond her being mentioned here.

Acts 18:1–2 After these things he left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome.

Paul left Athens and made the roughly 50 mile trip west to Corinth. As this time Corinth was the capital city of the Roman province of Achaia. The famous city of classical times had been destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC, but a new city had been built by Julius Caesar. It was situated between the Geek mainland and the Peloponnesian peninsula and was the center of communications. As a commercial center, it had attracted a Jewish minority, which is confirmed in the finding of the remains of the inscription over the door of a synagogue dating from this period. The town had a pretty bad reputation for immorality, which was Paul’s primary topic of discussion in his first letter to the church there. Whatever motives he had that led Paul to Corinth, and whatever feelings of discouragement he might have had as he left Athens, his arrival at Corinth was off to an encouraging start. First he met up with a Jewish couple, Aquila and Priscilla. Priscilla is more frequently named before her husband, suggesting that she was the more important figure from a Christian point of view. They had arrived in Corinth themselves because of the edict of Emperor Claudius, which was associated with Jews rioting because of the preaching of Christus.

Acts 18:3–4 He came to them, and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers. And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

Since Luke doesn’t write of their conversion, the text indicates that this couple had already converted to Christianity before they met Paul in Corinth. To add to that, there was another link between the couple and Paul in that they shared the same trade. Since rabbis were expected to perform their religious and legal functions without demanding a fee, it was necessary for them to have some other source of income. Paul’s choice of occupation was that of a tentmaker. Tents were commonly made out of goat’s hair cloth, known as cilicium, and were manufactured in Paul’s hometown. They could also be made out of leather. So really, the term tentmaker could also refer more generally to leatherworker. So Paul was able to stay with this couple, support himself by sharing in their work, and enjoy some good Christian fellowship with them. And now Paul has some new ministry companions has he prepares for his next period of evangelism in which Aquila and Priscilla are certainly working alongside him. As was the norm, Paul was teaching in the synagogue weekly, trying to convince people of the gospel.

Acts 18:5–6 But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

And here’s another piece of encouragement that Paul received in Corinth - his fellow gospel worshipers, Silas and Timothy, had come down from Macedonia and joined him. Because of their arrival, Paul now devoted himself completely to the task of preaching. Considering our context, this would lead us to understand that he stopped tentmaking, at least for the time being, and went into full-time ministry. According to 2 Corinthians, Paul didn’t impose ay burden on the Corinthian church by claiming financial support from it, but instead his needs were supplied by the Christians from Macedonia. Since Silas and Timothy just came from Macedonia, it is probable that they brought back with them gifts of money that freed Paul to commit himself fully to the gospel work. The increased gospel work proved to be fruitful, but also led to some opposition on the part of the Jews who made statements that were blasphemous from a Christian point of view. Here Paul responds by not only leaving the synagogue, but before he does so he does his best to convince the Jews of the seriousness of their rejection of the gospel. He shook the dust off his garments as a sign of breaking off fellowship with them, which as we discovered earlier in Acts with their sandals was an action commonly performed by Jews against Gentiles, indicating that the view the missionaries had of the Jews was the same view that they had of any pagan, cut off from the true people of God. And the Jews were to blame for it.

NEXT WEEK: Acts 18:7-28