Paul’s Wisdom in Witnessing — Acts 17:22-34 Daily Word

Discover how Paul strategically used the Athenians’ altar to an unknown god as a bridge to share the gospel. Learn his culturally-aware evangelism approach that never compromised biblical truth.

Paul’s sermon at the Areopagus in Athens stands as a model for Gentile mission. He finds a point of contact for the gospel through the altar to “an unknown god” erected by the city’s inhabitants. Let us examine Paul’s wise evangelistic strategy — one that engages context and culture without ever compromising the message.

Paul’s Wisdom in Witnessing

[Scripture]

Acts 17:22-34 (ESV)

[22] So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. [23] For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. [24] The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, [25] nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. [26] And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, [27] that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, [28] for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ [29] Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. [30] The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, [31] because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” [32] Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” [33] So Paul went out from their midst. [34] But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them. (Acts 17:22-34, ESV)

[Daily Word]

The “Unknown God” as a Point of Contact

The people of Athens loved a good debate. So when they heard Paul proclaiming a new deity through his message about Jesus and the resurrection, they wanted to hear more, and they brought him to the Areopagus so he could make his case. It was there that Paul seized the opportunity to preach the gospel.

Paul opened by paying them a compliment, saying “I perceive that in every way you are very religious” (Acts 17:22). Yet from Paul’s own perspective, the phrase “very religious” carried a double edge — it also implied that they were prone to superstition.

The Greeks in particular lived in fear of provoking any god’s anger. To guard against any oversight, they even built an altar to “an unknown god.” Paul recognized this fact and used the god they did not know as his point of contact to bear witness to the one true God.¹A point of contact is an evangelistic and missiological concept in which the proclaimer of the gospel takes the audience’s existing thought patterns or cultural background as a starting point for presenting the truth. Paul used the inscription “To an unknown god,” already familiar to the Athenians, as his entry point to introduce God as Creator.

The One True God — Who Is He?

Paul describes God by saying “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything” (Acts 17:24-25). This description stands in tension with the Stoic school’s pantheism — the belief that the divine permeates all things and is immanent within human life. At the same time, it finds a degree of common ground with the Epicurean view that the gods do not intervene in human affairs. Most importantly, however, the God Paul proclaims is not simply one deity among many; he is the one and only God.²The Stoics held a pantheistic worldview in which the divine is immanent throughout the cosmos, while the Epicureans maintained that the gods take no part in worldly affairs. By presenting God simultaneously as transcendent Creator and personal Lord to an audience that included both schools of thought, Paul made a reasoned defense of monotheistic faith.

Whether Athenian, Roman, Greek, or Jewish, every people group traces its origin back to Adam and Eve. God has precisely planned the appointed times for nations to rise and fall, and has determined the boundaries of their dwelling places. (Acts 17:26) Nothing comes about by chance; everything in this world unfolds according to God’s meticulous plan. The reason God does this is so that people would seek Him. (Acts 17:27) In other words, God transcends what human hands have made — not to remain distant, but precisely so that He might draw ever closer to us.

To illustrate this, Paul quotes poetry that was popular in his day. He declares, “In him we live and move and have our being”; as even some of your own poets have said, “For we are indeed his offspring.” (Acts 17:28)³.The phrase “in him we live and move and have our being” is drawn from the work Cretica by Epimenides of Crete (c. 600 BC), while “for we are indeed his offspring” is taken from the poem Phaenomena by Aratus of Soli (c. 331–233 BC), a poet from Sicily. Paul thus made effective use of literature from Gentile culture to communicate the truth of the gospel.

Therefore, since we are God’s offspring, Paul declares: “we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.” (Acts 17:29)

Repentance and Resurrection — The Heart of the Gospel

God does not hold people accountable for the times when, out of ignorance of His Word, they offered worship to false gods. But now that the truth has been made known, such ignorance can no longer serve as an excuse — and so repentance is required. In particular, the fact that God has set a day on which He will judge the world, and has given proof of this to everyone by raising Jesus from the dead, serves as the ultimate and convincing evidence. (Acts 17:31)

However, although the Greeks believed in the immortality of the soul, they did not believe in the resurrection of the dead body. Therefore, reactions to Paul’s preaching varied greatly. Some mocked, some wanted to hear more, and some believed the message. Among them, two individuals are specifically introduced: Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, and a woman named Damaris.⁴According to later tradition, Dionysius is said to have become the bishop of Athens. Some scholars also argue that Damaris was a woman of sufficient education and refinement to attend a public assembly.

They were people of high social standing. God uses even those of elevated status as instruments of the gospel.

Receiving the Gospel Comes First

If there is one thing a person must do in this life, it is to receive the gospel. For the resurrection of Jesus — which has become a testimony to all who believe — is the living power of God that gives us life. We pray together and bless one another in the Lord’s name, that we may be those who proclaim the gospel as its living witnesses today.

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Originally published in Korean at bible2u.com