“ Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
Therefore disputed he —in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and —-in the market daily— with them that met with him.
Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him.
And some said, ‘What will this babbler say?’ other some, ‘He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.’
And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, ‘May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean. (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)
Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said,
“Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, —- dwelleth not in temples made with hands; —— Neither is worshipped with men's hands, —— as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the —-times before appointed, —- and —-the bounds of their habitation;——
That they should “seek the Lord,” if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:For in him we live, and move, and have our being;
as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.
And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Because he —hath appointed a day— , in the which he will judge the world in righteousness —-by that man whom he hath ordained; —— whereof———
he hath given —assurance— unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.”
And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.
So Paul departed from among them.
Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.” - Acts 17:16-34 ( KJV )
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The Man with 2 Names - The Greek life
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Paul is waiting in Athens for Silas and Timothy .... while waiting... and going about his business, we are told that “his spirit was stirred”... when he saw the culture totally given over to idol worship.
But he is a stranger, an outsider, one man....what difference can he possibly make to an entire city?
Are you in the same situation?
Do you see this planet worshipping at the feet of wealth, power, ego and self? Do you see crimes committed in your neighborhood (from gated communities to housing projects and trailer parks) by people whose only interest is in securing the things we just mentioned for their ... all so brief ... existence?
Are you appalled at the prostitution of human intellect and aesthetic sense by day time game/reality shows, TV-MA rated violent and foul/“real language” “entertainment”? Are you tired with the constant barrage of requests for you to buy thus or that ... ads have replaced television, spam your e/vmail box, and “bargains” happen every day..
What are you going to do about it?
The Spirit and Paul, and we ourselves, offer you the same advice and encouragement. Do what -YOU- can, trust God to figure out the rest!
Paul goes to the synagogues, speaking to whoever will listen... and —- “daily” ——... in the markets... where real life people from all walks of life ... are going about their day to day.... he is willing to share!
It’s very simple folks. Just be obedient to God every day as you go about it. Be committed to growing and nurturing the hope within you, and growing up to know Him, so you can be “like” Him, and watch Him work!
Pauls voice, physically, could heardly be heard over the din and bustle of the Athenian bazaars... but his simple, dogged, persistence has its reward...
His views are radical enough to attract the attention of the Athenian intelligentsia, the first mentioned being the Epicureans and the Stoics. These, and others of their ilk, hung out at the Areopagus on Mars Hill, where they usually engaged in philosophical debates. New ideas were like new fashions and fads, and the scripture says, these Athenians were the thought leaders in their society... always looking to be up on the most current and novel ideas.
Obedience will cause God to open doors that have been shut! Paul did not have to “crash” that circle, he was invited to speak... even if they were expecting to be entertained by his “babblings” about Jesus and the Resurrection.
We have reproduced Pauls homily in its entirety, and we commend deeper study with some commentaries as your companion, but lets see what we can glean and apply today....
He starts by complimenting his audience on their devotion to their religion ( the word “superstitious” is an unfortunate translation ). Their devotion even extends to Gods as yet unknown, and they have a place too, in the Athenian pantheon. The God of Israel, however, is an unknown quantity to them... and Paul is about to tell them about this God..... a God worth knowing!
1. This God is the omnipresent life giver to everything. We see him all the time in every single expression of life around us. A glow in everything living, invisible to the naked eye.
This is so profound, we will attempt to explain it with a metaphor....
What’s the most important and critical component in a conventional fossil-fueled car?
.... close your eyes, stop and try to answer before reading on ....
..... it’s the humble spark plug. Yes, a bad carburetor can prevent your car from starting or running smoothly, and you need gas... but if there is no spark, there is no motive power! Its the continual sparking, that causes the mini explosions in our engine, that keep us rolling down the highway....
All life has this divine spark plug... ( A piece of God , if you will... ) . When His life-giving Spirit ( a measure of it ...in all Life ) is gone, life ends, and all things coast to a stop, no longer able to continue repairs on a system that is always in a state of breaking down, and being repaired, fighting entropy...
This spark plug comes in a variety of form factors..... different kinds for plants, fish and organic life forms, animals, and human beings. All exhibit the core similarities of genesis (birth), growth, maturity, age, and timely or un-timely death.
When the spark plug stops sparking... life leaves, suddenly, at a precise moment, and 99.9999% of the time, irreversibly. The Resurrection, and near death experiences ( NDE’s ) are the only known, distinctively and separately unique, exceptions to this rule that we know of.
Beyond basic life, the divine life force powers additional —mental— faculties in lower organisms.
Perception ( time, space, sound, environment ), Primal Instincts - the drive to procreate, the ability to react to seasons with bud and fruit, organisms building their little homes and looking for food... spawning salmon, migrating birds, who tells them what to do and how to do it? ( Read the Lords answer to Job to validate this understanding.... )
Higher animals are gifted with the abilities like the higher emotions... ( pain,joy, sadness, affection, intelligence... ) just look at your pets, and all those Youtube videos of those cat piano prodigies ... ?
Life is birthed with these inborn ( not taught ) qualities, which grow progressively more complex in higher organisms, requiring in turn, more and more complex information management and communication systems to enable life at that level... from ants to elephants.... these are autonomic ( do NOT require input from the living being ) systems for generating and distributing energy and data to enable men to live and breathe - “ in him we live, and move, and have our being; “.
What temple can contain a God like this.... and what can man bring to the table, even if it is worship?
This God “dwelleth not in temples made with hands; —— Neither is worshipped with men's hands, —— as though he needed any thing ——, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;”
2. The universality of mankind, and Gods universal purpose for all men.
This God, “ hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the —-times before appointed, —- and —-the bounds of their habitation;——“
Isn’t it ironic that we are fighting to discover a vaccine for Covid-19, a common solution to a common danger for all mankind... “ made of one blood” .... while simultaneously seeing protests about racist MEN making a difference between people?!?!!!
How cognitively tone-deaf and hypocritical are we? Even when our noses are rubbed in it, some people refuse to see plain truth even while they shelter in place and hope for a cure!!! We sense the Lord is coming to the end of His patience with us........with signs like these demonstrating mans wilful ignorance if the truth now nakedly out in the open. At the very same time!
But we digress... Paul also answers the question of purpose...
Beyond just enabling life, there is the question of purpose, or to what end? WHY does life exist?
In lower life forms it is propagation of the species. The physical source for this power is solar energy, in an ecosystem dependent on the day/night and seasons our planet has. The ecosystem is itself a complex and evolving hierarchy of life... with man at the apex, dependent on it.
What is the purpose of man then?
To recognize that he is unique in posessing the most evolved spark plug ever, the spirit given to all men, one that powers life and healing in his/her body, but also one that underpins the human soul.... a drive to create, an aesthetic sense to appreciate creation, the power to mold it, to transcend limitations like earth, sky and space, even the capabilities of our own bodies.... To give us the mental capabilities to understand and value relationship... to understand and value Truth, Love and the intrinsic value inherent in every human being, a reflection of the Divine Designer! We are like God Himself!
Purpose for man: “That they should “seek the Lord,” if haply they might feel after him, and find him. “ Knowing God is mans aim!
An extra-biblical —non-canonical— gospel of the Hebrews summarizes it well.... we don’t agree with everything in that book, but are happy to appropriate this particular statement... :
“ He that seeks will not rest till he finds; and he that has found shall marvel; and he that has marveled shall reign; and he that has reigned shall rest. “ .... while extra-canonical, this saying summarizes the Christian story...in line with scripture... and experience....
God puts a hunger for Him in even a pagan heart. A true seeker ( and there have been many over the ages ) will believe that “He {God} is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him”. We marvel at His wisdom and ways, that bring us to Him to receive Grace to reign... and in Salvation, rest from our works... peace and contentment in this life!
Hallelujah!!!
We will continue our exposition of Pauls message next week, God willing, but in the meantime urge you to read and meditate on the words spoken by just one man, that touched a few people, that saved a city! You can do the same for yours!
Hallelujah!!
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