“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” (Acts 17:22-23).
He was in the world, and the world knew Him not. He came to His own—His brothers—and they rejected Him. Though His fame and gospel have circled the earth, most throughout the generations have not known Him, only heard of Him. Some claim to believe, but as He prophesied in Matthew, He will say to many, “I never knew you …” Therefore, the title of this article: To The Unknown God.
As Paul ascended Mars Hill to hear what the intellectuals of his day had to say, he observed the rampant superstition of philosophy and religion. Gods were everywhere. In fear that they had left one out—and so as not to draw his wrath—they assembled a shrine to “The Unknown God.” Paul took the occasion to reveal the God they did not know. Drawing from Paul’s words and a few of my own, I hope to point you to Him.
“You worship in ignorance, [so] … I proclaim God to you. The God who made the world and everything in it—He is Lord of heaven and earth—[He] does not live in shrines made by hands.”
The Living, Almighty God is not upheld by the hands of man, as though He needed any assistance. He needs no support from that which He has created, since He Himself gives everyone life and breath and all things.
By His matchless power, from one man He has made every nationality that fills the earth. Of all these billions of people, He alone has determined their appointed time of life and death. He determines where they live and the boundaries they shall live within. He did this so that all men would seek after Him. He is near to all people everywhere, regardless of nationality or creed, waiting for them to reach out to Him. And if they do reach out, they shall find Him, for in Him they live and move and have their being.
God has made everything by the power of His Word. From nothing and out of nothing, He has created all things. Nothing exists apart from Him, and by His Word, He upholds all things.
Seeing that God has created everything, He is not the product of a craftsman or the concoction of some pagan image. His divine nature is not like gold, silver, or stone. No man could possibly conceive the magnificence of His being. No image would even begin to bear the resemblance of His excellent glory.
He is Spirit. He is eternal. And no living thing could survive the sight of Him—except the Lord sustain the awe of rapture the creature would experience.
God now commands all people everywhere to repent, because He has set a day when He is going to judge the world in righteousness by the man Jesus. He has provided proof of this judgment to everyone by raising Jesus from the dead.
He seeks no one’s counsel. His judgment is righteous and true. His judgment is final and cannot be appealed. To the chasms of hell, darkness, and death shall men go who have squandered the appeal of this God to be worshipped. But to the kingdom of life, liberty, and joy shall go those who have reached out to Him and found His kindness through His beloved Son Jesus.
Regardless of what your opinion may be of Him, when you see Him, you will bow. You will cry. You will confess that He is the Lord. You will confess that His judgments are righteous and true. Your petty arguments about what a god should be like will collapse at the sight of Him. Your insistence on justice will be granted, as those who have desired mercy shall likewise find it.
Your finite arguments will be buried in your speechless silence as you look upon absolute Holiness, Truth, and Righteousness. You will go to your destiny with no questions, no arguments, no appeals. In one moment—at the sight of such exceeding beauty and perfection, raging unending power, and everlasting love—you will know:
He is Right.
He is Good.
He is God.
©Lee Shipp