#Bible Expressions of Faith. AN UNKNOWN GOD. Acts 17


This is the first in an unplanned, two-post series. I wrote this in December 2018. I didn't upload it to my blog message que. Earlier this month, I found my place marker for this series in Acts 17. I wrote another blog on this Scripture selection. That will be next week's post. I hope you read both. They provide a concrete example of how God speaks to us in different ways from the same portion of His Word.
AN UNKNOWN GOD
23For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
24“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.
Acts 17:23-24
Paul is sent to Athens to escape the wrath of Jews in Thessalonica.

Athenians were famous for the willingness to consider worshiping a plethora of gods.

Native Athenians are confused by Paul’s description of Jesus and His resurrection. 

They grab Paul, escort him to Mars Hill and ask,
“May we know what this new teaching is, which is spoken by you? 20 For you bring certain strange things to our ears. We want to know therefore what these things mean.” vv19b-20 (WEB)

Having seen an empty altar for “AN UNKNOWN GOD,” he presents YHWH as the missing Deity.

He builds a strong case for YHWH as THE God.
  • Athenians were hard to impress
  • Some scoffed.
  • Others said, “We need more information... But some men joined him and believed”Vv32b, 34a (WEB)

Athens was a lot like today’s world.
  • It didn’t matter what you believed.
  • Everything was open for debate.
  • To cover all the bases, they invented an UNKNOWN GOD.

I wonder if Paul regretted his decision to argue YHWH as the UNKNOWN GOD in Athens.
You’ll never know the answer to that.

You know the answer to this.
What god is my god?

Don’t accept AN UNKNOWN GOD.

Stop now and ask YHWH to take away your sin and fill--or refill--you with the Holy Spirit.

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