Acts 17:18-34
‘He (Paul) preached Jesus and the resurrection to them (the Epicureans and the Stoics). Paul…said:…”God Who made the world…is Lord of Heaven and Earth, not dwelling in temples…nor worshipped…as though He needed anything…. He gives to all life and breath and all things, and has made all nations of one blood…so that they should seek the Lord…. God…now commands all men everywhere to repent!… He has given assurance to all, in that He has raised Him (Christ) from the dead!”‘ Acts 17:18-31.
Calvin comments: “The Epicureans’…philosophy was to think that the sun is two feet wide…, and…not governed by the providence of Heaven…. The immortality of souls was like a fairytale to them…. The Stoics…did not acknowledge that God rules the world by His purpose…, (but was) bound by the necessity of fate…. The whole crowd was hostile to the Gospel!…
“One may divide this speech of Paul’s into five parts…. First, Paul charges the Athenians with superstition — because their worship of their own gods was a haphazard affair. Secondly, he shows…Who God is; what He is like; and how He is to be worshipped properly. In the third place, he inveighs against the stupidity of men who, although they were created for the purpose of knowing their Maker and Creator, yet wander about in the darkness like blind men. In the fourth place, he warns that there is nothing more absurd than making statutes or pictures of God…. Finally, in the fifth place, he passes on to Christ and the resurrection of the dead….
“Paul’s intention is to teach what the nature of God is…. For the true rule of godliness is precisely this, to have a clear grasp of Who the God is Whom we worship…. The true God ought to be distinguished from all fabrications…. There is nothing easier than to adulterate the pure worship of God, when men measure God according to their own inclination!….
“God is Spirit. Therefore the only worshippers He approves of, are those who worship Him spiritually…. God…does not dwell in temples made with hands…. Since it is evident from the creation of the world that the…goodness and power of God are diffused beyond the limits of Heaven and Earth — it follows that He cannot be confined within any spatial localities!… The only way He is worshipped — is by faith, a pure conscience, prayers and gratitude…. Men…have nothing — except from His gracious kindness; yes, men are nothing, except by His sheer grace. For they must soon be reduced to nothing, if He withdraws the Spirit by Whom they live!…
“Men ought to give careful consideration to the knowledge of God, because it was for this reason that they were made…. Whatever region of the world they inhabit…, there is one Creator…of all…. True knowledge of God, is a special gift of His…. Faith, by which He is properly known, proceeds only from the illumination of the Spirit…. The power of the Spirit is diffused through all parts of the world…. There is no life for us, except in God…. There is not even movement!… In John (1:4), when mentions is made of the creation of all things, there is added…that ‘the life was the light of men’…. ‘Now He commands all (men everywhere, to repent!)’… We must listen to God!… God is urging us to repent!… Christ has been declared and proved the Judge of the world, by His resurrection!” Thus, Paul preached to scoffers about Jesus and His resurrection! Do you so scoff?
