Grace Bible Church Gillette, Wyoming

1. “Children” (genos - posterity, offspring) might be better understood as “offspring.” All mankind is the creation of the Creator/God. It is the sense that all are the offspring of God. However, this does not mean that all men are saved.

2. Since mankind is the created offspring of God (and made in His image), then men should know that God cannot be a man-made idol or even confined in an idol (Is 44:9-20).

3. Therefore, the true God cannot be made out of gold, silver, or stone. These are materials that the Creator has made and placed on the earth.

4. An idol is not the true God, nor does it represent Him. Idols are the product of the “art” (technē - skill, craft, or trade) of men. Idols originate from the “thoughts” (euthumēsis - consideration or imagination) of men.

5. Paul’s arguments defeated the Greek’s belief in idols and polytheism. The true God is Sole-Creator, Self-Sufficient, Sovereign, Seekable, Sustainer, and Substantive.

II. THE UNKNOWN GOD FROM SPECIAL REVELATION (Ac 17:30-31)

A. Repentance is Required (Ac 17:30)

1. Paul argued from natural revelation and reason in the beginning of his sermon. He continued to reason, but with the additional knowledge of special revelation (Christ and the Scriptures), though he does not quote from the Scriptures. His concluding applications are found in vss. 30-31.

2. God had “overlooked” (hupereidon - see beyond) the times of ignorance until now. Paul did not mean that God had not punished the Gentiles for their sin. Rather, God was longsuffering toward the unbelief and disobedience of men and nations (Ac 14:16; Ro 3:25). During that time, the Gentiles were only guilty for rejecting God on the basis of natural revelation (Ro 1:19-20). But now they would also be guilty of rejecting God on the basis of the full revelation in Christ and the gospel (He 1:2).

3. Since God is the one true God revealed in nature and also revealed in Christ (and the Scriptures), all men everywhere must repent. “Repent” (metanoeō - meta = after or change, noeō = think or mind, so it is an afterthought or change of mind) means to change one’s mind. It means to change one’s mind regarding the one true God, His Christ, man’s sin against God, man’s insufficient works, and man’s faith in Christ’s atonement.

4. Though repentance is a reasonable requirement, God has declared it through His special revelation. Those who repent and place their faith in Christ (Ac 20:21; 26:20) receive forgiveness of sins (Ac 2:38; 3:19; 5:31) and eternal life (Ac 11:18).

B. Righteousness is Demanded (Ac 17:31a)

1. The reason for man’s repentance is because of God’s judgment. God has “fixed” (histēmi - set or place) or set a day in which He will judge the world for its sin and rejection of Christ (Re 20:11-15).

2. Though judgment is a reasonable idea, God has declared it through His special revelation (Ro 2:2-5, 16; 3:6; 1Ti 5:24).

3. God is righteous and therefore the standard of righteousness is demanded upon all men (Ro 1:18). Because all men are unrighteous (Ro 3:10), God will judge the world for its unrighteousness.

C. Resurrection was Proof (Ac 17:31b)

1. Paul revealed that judgment will come through an appointed Man. God “appointed” (horizō - determined or fixed, same word as in Ac 17:26) and divinely determined this Man as both Christ and the Judge (Jn 5:27-29; Ac 10:42; 2Ti 4:1).

2. “Proof” (pistis - faith, but also confidence or proof) has been provided to all men, and this Man was identified by being raised from the dead (Ac 4:33; 5:30).

3. This Man was none other than Jesus of Nazareth (Ac 10:38; 22:8), the Christ (Ac 2:36; 3:20; 9:27), the Son of God (Ro 1:4), in whom there is salvation in no other name (Ac 4:12).

4. The prophecies, identification, and resurrection of Jesus Christ had to be revealed through special revelation (Ac 18:28).

III. THE UNKNOWN GOD AND THE ATHENIANS (Ac 17:32-34)

A. Reaction of the Athenians (Ac 17:32)

1. Some have suggested that Paul’s oration was cut short when they heard the idea of the resurrection. To the Greeks, the idea of resurrection was foolishness.

2. The reaction of the Athenians was split. There were some who “sneered” (chleuazō -mocked or scoffed) when the heard of the concept of the resurrection of the dead.

3. The Epicureans did not believe in an afterlife but that the soul and body perished at death. Therefore, they would not accept the resurrection of the dead.

4. The Stoics believed that the soul lives on after death but that there is no resurrection for the body.

5. Five hundred years earlier the tragic poet Aeschylus (525456 B.C.), when describing the institution of the Athenian Council of Ares, made the god Apollo say, When the dust has soaked up a man’s blood, once he is dead, there is no resurrection (Eumenides 64748) EXP

6. Others were at least open to hearing Paul’s teaching again. Perhaps, like the Bereans, the Spirit was giving some of them a noble-minded disposition to the truth

B. Response of Paul (Ac 17:33)

1. Luke simply records that Paul went out of their midst. In one sense, he had obediently accomplished his divine responsibility. So, he could leave and let the results up to the Holy Spirit.

2. On the other hand, Paul would continue to preach at Athens for a time. He would even have more dialogue with the philosophers, especially the ones who wanted to hear him again.

C. Result of the Gospel (Ac 17:34)

1. Critics have accused Paul of being a failure at Athens. But that is not the case at all. Paul did give them the truth, but he was not responsible for their response.

2. Luke recorded that there were individuals who “joined him and believed.” One of them was an Areopagite by the name of Dionysius. Most likely, he was in attendance when Paul preached at Mars Hill. Another was a woman named Damaris. In addition, there were “others with them.”

3. Sharing the gospel is a success if even only one person places their faith in Christ.

IV. OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS

A. Success in sharing the gospel. It is measured by whether we shared the gospel or not. If an unbeliever rejects it, it does not necessarily mean it was because of our presentation. As observed in Paul at the Areopagus, a model apologist, even the best arguments do not bring everyone to Christ. Our responsibility is to grow in our knowledge of Scriptures and in our knowledge of arguments based on truth. Yet if an unbeliever does believe, it was not because of our presentation but ultimately because of God’s Spirit.

B. Facing Scorners is inevitable. Since the unbelievers do not have the Spirit, spiritual things are foolishness to them (1Co 1:22-25; 2:14). Therefore, they will often digress to ridiculing what they cannot understand. Resorting to ridicule only shows they have have run out of reasoning. Ridicule never produced one fact or good argument.

C. Knowing God is the purpose of life. This is why God made Himself seekable and knowable in nature and in Christ. The greatest purpose is to know God, because knowing God is eternal life (Jn 17:3). The next greatest purpose is to share Christ so others can know God.

Grace Bible Church · 4000 E. Collins Rd · PO Box #3762 · Gillette, WY · (307) 686-1516