[Biblemat] S) PAUL AND THE "UNKNOWN GOD"

[J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com]

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  Here is a study that rec-
ently came my way.  Use to the glory of God.

PAUL AND THE "UNKNOWN GOD"

     "And Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus, and said,
Ye men of Athens, in all things, I perceive that ye are very reli-
gious.  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 ye worship in ignoran-
ce, this I set forth unto you.  The God that made the world and all things 
therein, He, being Lord of heaven and earth,
dwelleth not in temples made with hands, as though He need-
ed anything, seeing He Himself giveth to all life, and breath,
and all things; and He made of one every nation of men to
dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their 
appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation; that
they should seek God, if haply they might feel after Him and
find Him, though He is not far from each one of us: for in Him
we live, and move, and have our being; as certain even of
your own poets have said, For we are also His offspring.  Being then the 
offspring of God, we ought not to think that
the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by
art and device of man.  The times of ignorance therefore God
overlooked; but now He commandeth men that they should
all everywhere repent: inasmuch as He hath apponted a day
in which He will judge the world in righteousness by the man
whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance
unto all men, in that He hath reaised Him form the dead" (Acts
17:22-31).

     When Paul entered into the idolatrous city of Athens, he
was moved by the religious concepts of a people devoid of
understanding as to the true nature of the God of the univer-
se.   In their city they had erected images of their gods in all
the buildings, on pedestals and niches, on street corners, and market places, 
and winged figures adorned every house
on the street of Hermes.  Then, lest they should have over-
looked and thus offended some "god" unintentionally, they 
built another altar "to the Unknown God."  This gave Paul the
introduction to his sermon on Mar's Hill.  He first accepted
their altar of worship in order to declare unto them the true
God, which to them was "unknown."  In his sermon, you will
find clear logic in developing a knowledge of God.  From their
"Unknown God," Paul introduces to them God the Maker, Lord, Giver, Father, 
Man and Judge.  Let us study his treat-
ise:

     The Unknown God: -- Here is presented the remotest con-
cept of God.  Every race and tongue entertains ideas of some-
thing greater than man behind the vast universe.  But to man,
God is unknown.  Idolatry reigns supreme where the know-
ledge of the true God is not found.  Man will find some object
to whom he will give homage, whether it be the god of the Nile in Egypt, the 
god of the sun in southern Europe or the
"great spirit" in American Indian lore.  "Howbeit at that time,
not knowing God, ye were in bondage to them that by nature
are no gods" (Gal. 4:8).  Ignorance of God leads only to idol-
atry.

     But the Lord God can be known by all who seek Him (Acts
17:27).  Paul also stated, "For the wrath of God is revealed
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of
men, who hinder the truth in unrighteousness; because that
which is known of God is manifest in them; for God manifest-
ed it unto them.  For the invisible things of Him since the 
creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through things that 
are made, (even) His everlasting power
and divinity; that they may be without excuse: because that,
knowing God, they glorified Him not as God, neither gave
thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their sense-
less heart was darkened.  Professing themselves to be wise,
they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptib-
le God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of
birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things" (Rom. 1:
18-23).  Here was a clear picture of Paul's introduction to 
Athens: a city divoted to idols.

     God, The Maker: -- Darkened minds often fail to see the
works of God in the material universe.  This was true with
Athens.  They had developed a pride in philosophy, but had
failed to see the works of the one true God, rather than the
abstractions of their mythology.  Yet, as Paul said, they were
without excuse.  "The heavens declare the glory of God; And 
the firmament showeth His handiwork.  Day unto day uttereth
speech, And night unto night showeth knowledge" (Psa. 19:1,
2).

     After the puny voices of men have argued back to their
fuzzy "first cause" in defense of their hypothesis as to how
this vast universe appeared, God's Word says simply, "In the
beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Gen. 1:1).
There can nver be found a more reasonable nor logical explanation.  Paul 
introduced God as "Maker."  He was the 
Master Designer and Architect for limitless space and He made man in His own 
image, as Paul declares in Athens.

     God, The Lord: -- Since God was Maker of heaven and 
earth, and also made man, then man shold accept Him as
Lord over all.  Other deities exist as figments of imagination,
and are the results of ignorant idolatry.  The homage paid to
Zeus, Athene, Mars, Jupiter, etc., should rightly be given to
God the Lord!  He declared, "I am the Lord thy God...Thou
shalt have no other gods before Me" (Exo. 20:2,3).  Paul used
Old Testament Scripture, declaring, "The earth is the Lord's,
and the fulness thereof" (Psa. 24:1).  King Nebuchadnezzar
became puffed up with pride when God blessed him, but God
deposed him and said, "To the intent that the living may know
that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth
it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the lowest of
men" (Dan. 4:17).  Paul did not want the Athenians to forget
that there is one Lord!

     God, The Giver: -- Paul revealed that the one true God was the giver of 
life, and breath and all things.  This correlat-
es well with Jas. 1:17, where we are told that "every good and
perfect gift cometh down from above, from the Father of lights."  God has 
given more to man than man has or will ever
have.  The whole creation is a gift from God.  Paul wrote to
Timothy to charge the rich that they put their trust in, "The
living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy" (1 Tim. 6:
17).  Job had well learned this lesson, and with submission
said, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed
be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21).  Paul had labored much
for the Lord, but then admitted, "God giveth the increase" (1
Cor. 3:7).  Let us remember God is the Giver.

     God, The Father: -- The Fatherhood of God is an idea that
is developed especially in the New Testament.  Note: "For ye
are all sons of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus.  For as
many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ"
(Gal. 3:26,27).  Jesus taught the disciples to pray, "Our Father, which art 
in heaven" (Matt. 6:9).  We read that Christ
gave us "power to become the sons of God; even to them
that believe on His name" (Jno. 1:12).

     What an intimate relationship, that we can call upon God
as our Father.  Yet John wrote, "Behold what manner of love
the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called
children of God; and such we are" (1 Jno. 3:1,2).  And to this
Paul could add: "And because ye are sons, God sent forth
the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father"
(Gal. 4:6).  What an exalted relationship -- children of God!

     God, The Judge: -- Paul also presented God as final Judge
over man.  Although it is not a popular thought, all men must
face His bar of judgment.  The Wise Man declared, "But know
thou, that for all these things, God will bring thee into judg-
ment" (Eccl. 11:9).  Again, "For God shall bring every work
into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, 
or whether it be evil"  (Eccl. 12:14).  The Israelites understood
that God would judge His people.

     It was, however, the New Testament that would reveal that
God would judge through His Son, Jesus Christ.  Paul showed this to the 
people in Athens (Acts 17:31).  To the
Romans he wrote of, "the day when God shall judge the sec-
rets of men by Jesus Christ" (Rom. 2:16).  Still further he
wrote them, "For we shall all appear before the judgment seat
of Christ...So then every one of us shall give account of him-
self to God" (Rom. 14:10,12).  Yet again, "For we must all 
appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the 
things done in the body, according to that
he hath done, whether it be good or bad" (2 Cor. 5:10).  God
is Judge, but He will judge the world by His Son, Jesus Christ.

     God, The Man: -- Another facet of God was introduced 
when Paul mentioned to the people of Athens that God had
ordained a man as the Judge.  Of course, he referred to Jesus Christ, the Son 
of God.  But He was also the "Son of
Man."  It was indeed revolutionary teaching in Athens, that
God had sent His Son to be a propitiation for sins (Rom. 3:25)
God became flesh in the birth of His Son: "In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made 
through Him; and without Him was not any-
thing made that hath been made...And the Word became flesh
and dwelt among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the 
only begotten from the Father) full of grace and truth" (Jno.
1;1-3,14).  That is why Jesus could say, "He that hath seen
Me hath seen the Father" (Jno. 14:9).

     Paul presented Jesus in Athens as both God and man.  But, above all, he 
presented Him as the Christ, the Anointed
One of God.  In Hebrews, Jesus is presented as "His Son,
Whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He
made the worlds; who being the effulgence of His glory, and
the very image of His substance, and upholding all things by
the Word of His power, when He had made purification of sins, sat down on the 
right hand of the Majesty on high" (Heb. 1:2,3).  In this book Christ, the 
Anointed, is presented
as God's ordained prophet, priest and king.

     With a conclusion stating the resurrection, Paul ended his
sermon in Athens.  He had led them from "the unknown god"
to God the Maker, the Father, the Lord, the Giver, the Judge
and the Man.  Thus, from the unknown god, Paul had preach-
ed Christ as the risen Lord.  Even to now, we can well study
this sermon to better understand both God and Christ.
-------- Dillard Thurman, From The Past, July 14, 1967, reprint-
ed in Gospel Minutes, Vol. 56, No. 6, Feb. 9, 2007.

 
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