Acts 17:22-34 (NASB)
22 So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious in all respects. 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. 24 The God who made the world and everything that is in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by hands; 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; 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, 27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might feel around for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His descendants.’ 29 Therefore, since we are the descendants of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by human skill and thought. 30 So having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now proclaiming to mankind that all people everywhere are to repent, 31 because He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead.
32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to scoff, but others said, ‘We shall hear from you again concerning this.’ 33 So Paul went out from among them. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.”
It is a new year and what better message to start a new year than this passage, which is referred to as Paul’s sermon on Mars Hill? This sermon that Paul preached in Athens is not just applicable to the people who heard his sermon then, it is still relevant to us today in this culture and time.
Paul was speaking to some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers who had heard Paul speaking in the marketplace. They had invited Paul to come speak to them and learn about his doctrines. Acts 17:17-21 says, “So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be present. And some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers as well were conversing with him. Some were saying, ‘What could this scavenger of tidbits want to say?’ Others, ‘He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,’—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, ‘May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean.’ (Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)”
The Areopagus, which was the place the philosophers invited Paul to speak at, was, in Greek mythological tradition, the hill which had been the setting of many trials. According to myth, that was where Ares, who was called the god of war, was charged with murdering the son of Poseidon. During Roman rule, the name of Areopagus was changed to Mars Hill, for that was the Roman name given to the Greek god of war. Even under Roman rule, Mars Hill remained an important meeting place where philosophy, religion, and law were debated.
To better understand Paul’s sermon, we should first understand who these people he was speaking to were. Acts mentions that the people who invited him to the Areopagus were Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. These were educated philosophers who seemed to love to debate new ideas. For verse 21 tells us such. More than that, both names denote their specific belief systems. Epicurean philosophers believed God existed, but that He was distant, and not involved or interested in humankind. They believed the main purpose of life was pleasure. Alternatively, Stoic philosophers thought God was not above nature but rather synonymous with nature, kind of like pantheism, which is the belief that God is in everything. They thought that the goal of life was to transcend to a place where emotional responses to life were eliminated. Logic and reason were more important than emotions.
To this day, we use words in the English language which describe these two schools of thought. Some synonyms today for epicurean are: gourmet, connoisseur, foodie or gourmand. If someone is described as being an epicurean today, we would know that they derive pleasure and enjoyment from food and fine dining. Or that their focus in life is on pleasurable eating.
And today, if we describe someone as being stoic, we are saying that person can endure hardship or pain without complaining or showing how much they are hurting. Someone who is stoic is not revealing their emotions or is emotionless.
Isn’t it interesting how greatly understood these two schools of philosophy were that throughout history these words have endured and we use them even now?
Not only have those two particular words lasted, but I would argue that these schools of philosophy have lasted. To my knowledge, I don’t know if anybody identifies themselves specifically as either Epicurean or Stoic today, (though there probably are people who do), but for sure, their ideology has continued. Although, my guess is that the people who follow these ideas don’t even realize they share philosophies with these ancient theorists.
I think the Epicureans of today are people who live their lives seeking pleasure and happiness as their ultimate goal. They think that God, if they believe in God, is distant and unconcerned with people and, therefore, they are free to pursue their form of happiness. Living their “best life” is their goal.
The Stoics of today remind me of academic type people who do not believe in God. These are people who believe in naturalism: which is the idea that there is nothing supernatural in the universe. Any form of “god” exists in nature itself. There is no other, higher being, other than what nature or science has given us. Logic and reason are everything. The idea of a higher being is merely an invention of man. “God” can be found inside of man.
Paul began his message by speaking to those false beliefs of the Epicureans and the Stoics and used those beliefs to present the gospel message to them. Some points that Paul made are: If people seek God, they will find Him; God is near to us; in Him we live and move and exist; Humans did not make God; God wants people to repent.
N. T. Wright, in his book Acts for Everyone, pointed out that this recording of Paul’s sermon is most likely not its entirety. Given Paul’s writings, it is far too succinct for Paul’s style, and so it’s safe to assume that Luke is merely summarizing what Paul spoke that day at the Areopagus. If that is so, then I see that as even more reason to look closely at these arguments that Luke included, for they must be important points.
Paul starts off by saying that both schools of thought are wrong. God is not far away or distant, nor is He found in temples made by human hands. God is near. And if people seek God, they will find Him, for as Paul said, “if perhaps they might feel around for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.”
The Epicureans thought God was distant, but Paul is saying the opposite. God is not far from any of us and if we simply look for Him, we will find Him. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” This is also what Jesus said in Matthew 7:8, “For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”
Paul is challenging his listeners to find out if God is real. He knows they have already formed ideas and made conclusions about God, but he is telling them, and I paraphrase: if perhaps you would feel around for God, you will find Him. He’s urging them to let go of their preconceived notions about God and reach out to see if He is in fact there.
That is all that people today need to do, too. If people would simply ‘feel around for God’, they will find Him. Of course, like God said in Jeremiah, the search for God must be sincere. People must search for Him with all their hearts to find Him. If someone were to search for God, but not sincerely, then they will probably not find Him. I am certain, for I’ve spoken with people like this, who say that they searched for God, but really they did not. They did not read the Bible. They did not talk with faith filled Christians. They merely said something to the effect like, “God, if you are real, prove it.” That is a start, but it is still passive. What God has said in Jeremiah and what Jesus said in Matthew requires action on a person’s part. Seek, search, and knock are all active verbs. Jesus includes the word ‘ask’, but it is followed by seeking and knocking. As we speak with unbelievers and if they say something to the effect like, “well, I asked God to prove Himself to me and nothing happened so I know God isn’t real” then we should tell them they need to also do the seeking and knocking. If they do that, God promises to open the door.
We see at the end of this passage in Acts, that some people listening that day did exactly that. They took the step of faith and joined Paul and became believers. They were on their way to finding out what Paul meant when he said this other point.
Paul said, “In Him we live, move, and exist.” In God, we live. This word in Greek is zōmen, and it’s from the Greek word zaó and it means to live. Strong’s Concordance defines this word as, “I live, am alive.” In other words, in God, we are alive. In God, we find our true life. It is as Jesus said in Matthew 16:25, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” We come alive in Jesus. In Him, we find life. We leave behind that which leads to death, and instead we find that which leads to life.
And in Him we move. Paul isn’t talking just about moving physically, but rather, moving inside our soul. For example, if I said, “that song was really moving” I mean that song really affected me emotionally. Or think of the phrase, “I was moved to tears.” This Greek word Paul used is kineó, and it means to move, to stir, literally or figuratively. I think Paul means this both figuratively and physically. In God, we are moved. We are moved into action.
And, in Him, we exist. This Greek word is eimi, and it means, “I exist, I am.” A direct translation from Greek says, in Him we “are.” In other words, in God, we find ourselves. We find our being. This is the answer to the universal question of “who am I?”
This brief statement, in Him we live, move and exist, would resonate so loudly with the Epicureans and Stoics that Paul was speaking to. For how mankind is to live life, handle emotions, and the reason for existence are all the things that they debated about endlessly in the Areopagus and here, Paul was giving them the answers they were searching for.
Philosophy is an attempt to answer the questions of life. Questions like, who am I? Why am I here? What is truth? What is the purpose of existence? Like all philosophers, the people at the Areopagus would have been debating all of those questions. In their debates, they are ultimately trying to define what they think and what their identity is- we see that in the fact that they identified themselves as Epicurean or Stoics.
Something that many people seem to struggle with is trying to find their identity. Maybe this is something you wrestle with yourself, or maybe you have noticed just how many people in our world are trying to work out their identity. They ask themselves and other people: who am I? Am I defined by my age, my job, my talent, or my interests? Is my identity found in my success or failure? I think the reason this is a universal question is because God has already given us our identity and until we find that identity, we struggle to answer that question. What is this identity? It is being a child of God. You see, God has a plan and purpose for every single person on this earth. If we follow God, then we find that purpose. And like Paul said in this sermon, “He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;” and then he also quoted a verse from a poem that these listeners would have recognized and he said, “as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His descendants.’”
God created all people, and in that sense, we are all His descendants. We are all meant to be children of God. But we are not all part of the family of God. Paul is stressing that all people are God’s descendants in the sense that God has created mankind. Mankind cannot create God nor fashion an idol with human hands and call it God. Those are false idols and false gods. God is the one who created all people.
But I think it’s important to clarify that Paul is not saying in this verse that all people are a part of God’s family, even though He has created all people. This idea would completely contradict many other passages of scripture. One key verse being John 1:12, which says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” People only become part of God’s family by believing in Jesus and being adopted into the family of God.
Paul is emphasizing that God was not made by humans, which is something that some of the people in the Areopagus believed because they had many idols, altars and objects of worship on display to worship false gods. Paul is saying that God has created humankind, not the other way around. Humans did not make God. God has made humans and as such, He wants all people to become children of God. By becoming children of God, we find the ultimate answer to the question: who am I?
Today is January 1st, and so we start a new year. Many people use this time to start new habits, get healthy or change poor habits. Some people hope that a new year will bring new changes. Have you heard the saying: a new year, a new you? A new year offers a hope to some people that this year everything will be different. They can reinvent themselves, try on a new identity. I think our culture’s fixation on identity is all a result of our culture’s lack of realizing our identity is found in Christ.
Paul addresses this issue in the final point I wanted to highlight from His sermon. He said, “So having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now proclaiming to mankind that all people everywhere are to repent, 31 because He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead.”
In other words, God wants people to repent, for one day the resurrected Jesus will return and judge each person. Each person must face this judgement. God will not overlook people on account of “ignorance.” We will all be judged according to God’s standard of righteousness. And while Acts doesn’t tell us if Paul expanded on this concept or not during this sermon, we know from Paul’s other writings that all people will be found lacking. Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and there are no exceptions.
Interestingly, Paul doesn’t mention Jesus’ dying on the cross, nor mention the word forgiveness. At least in what Acts records, Paul doesn’t include the rest of the Gospel message. And though Paul didn’t mention Jesus by name in his sermon, certainly Jesus is the Man whom God appointed and who was raised from the dead. These listeners, being learned philosophers, would have known who Paul was referencing. And while Paul also doesn’t mention the Holy Spirit, He was obviously working through Paul and working on those listening. Paul simply announces that God wants all people to repent for all people will one day be judged. And it was enough to lead some people to salvation. it makes me think of Jesus’ instructions to the 12 disciples and how Mark 6:12 says, “And they went out and preached that people are to repent.”
While some listeners scoffed at him, we also know, “some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.”
I think Paul’s model is an effective model for us to follow today. While some people will scoff at us, our hope is that others will believe. In presenting God’s truth, we should understand where people are at and address the questions that people have, stating the truth and offering solutions from Scripture. And we should not shy away from preaching repentance, for that is how people will understand why Jesus died on the cross. It is through repentance that we come to faith in Jesus. By repenting, we learn we are sinners who need saving. It is only then we find our identity as a forgiven child of God. And that is a message our world desperately needs to hear.
Pray: Heavenly Father, at the start of this new year, we first thank You for the gift of life and the gift of another year. As this new year brings changes and self-reflections, we pray that You would help us to find our identity in You. Help us to base our identity not on external titles or interests, but on our standing as Your child. Help us, too, to communicate Your truth to our world. Help us to be wise and bold to share the good news of repentance with those who still don’t know You. Please bless this new year. We give this year to You, the same way we give You our lives each day. We love You and praise You for all that You have done for us through Jesus, in whose name we pray, amen.
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