Thursday
Then Paul stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and observed your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.
The Lord God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made very nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for 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 some of your poets have said: “We are his offspring.”
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 man’s design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 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 all men by raising him from the dead.
(Acts 17:22-31, NIV)
Today’s verses record the Apostle Paul’s famous speech to the distinguished “men of Athens” at the Areopagus, which formerly housed the political council that ruled Athens, but now was only a center for the discussion of religious and ethical issues. Paul’s speech, which occurs during his second missionary journey, is a powerful testimony concerning God’s plan for history.
The context for today’s verses tells us that Paul is “greatly distressed” to see the city of Athens full of idols and he therefore goes into the marketplace daily to debate the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. Luke graphically described the Areopagus by noting that the men who debated there “spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas” (v. 21).
After noting all the altars to foreign gods and especially the empty altar to an “unknown god,” the Apostle attempts to proclaim that “unknown god” to them. In contrast to Epicurean beliefs about fate and Stoic beliefs about an impersonal God, Paul describes God as a personal Creator who actively involves himself in human history.
The theme worth noting is the Apostle’s description of humanity’s common origin in Adam and God’s desire that all people “reach out for him and find him.” After quoting Greek poetry, Paul agrees that all people are “God’s offspring” and that Jesus’ resurrection is proof of God’s plan of redemption. To see the world through God’s eyes is to see all people as members of one family, not divided in groups of greater or lesser significance. For peace to occur in society, the same understanding must characterize God’s people and others as well. The blood of Christ was shed for all people.
Prayer
Creator God, one who is “not served by human hands,” we praise you. In your sovereignty you determine the times and places where people live. We recognize that in you “we live and move and have our being.” Help us to see our common parental roots with all people and to work actively pulling down barriers that divide humanity into warring factions, for the glory of your name. Amen.