The Unknown God
By Howard Pastorella

Acts 17.23, “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.”

I appreciate the ease with which the Apostle Paul could introduce his God to any audience and under any circumstance. And he was able to instruct the hearers with anointed grace and guidance. In the text, Paul compliments the devotion and the religion of the Athenians. Their spiritual intent was displayed by a multitude of altars in public view. But there was something with the heart of the apostle that yearned to clear up a little matter of “THE UNKNOWN GOD”.

The good intentions of the Athenians can still be found in our generation. There are individuals today that suggest that everybody needs a “Higher Power”. I concur. However, I get a little nervous when
that power is ascribed to inanimate objects. Appointing a Higher Power for our lives is placing that appointment upon the throne of deity. That can be very disappointing. A Navajo convert had to re- think (and replace) her Higher Power tree deity when a mortal lumberjack reduced it to a stump and hauled off the residual as building materials. The point is there is a Higher Power and He can be properly identified. Lets see how the Apostle Paul described Him.

1. Creator (Vs. 24) – God That Made The World And All Things Therein. He Made It All.

2. Lord (Vs. 24) – Lord Of Heaven And Earth. Every Thing Is Under His Rule.

3. Bigger Than Temples (Vs. 24) – Dwelleth Not In Temples Made With Hands.

4. Gave To All Life, Breath, And All Things (Vs. 25) Our Source Of Life.

5. Made All Men (One Blood, By The Way), Their Times, And Habitations (Vs.26) – Every Race, Creed, And Nation Was Created By This One God.

6. Man Can Seek, Feel After, And Find Him (Vs. 27) – This Great God Is Approachable And Near To Everyone Of Us All.

7. The Source Of All Life (Vs. 28) – In Him We Live, Move, And Have Our Being.

8. Not Gold, Silver, Stone Or A Man-Made Work Of Art (Vs. 29) – He Made Us. We Are His Off Spring.

9. Once Tolerated The Ignorance Of Man; But Now Commands Repentance (Vs. 30) – Repentance Is A Change Of Mind. Man Is Commanded To Abandon All Other Conceptions Of God For This One, True God.

10. He Has Appointed A Day To Judge In Righteousness (Vs. 31.) – And The Judge Is The Risen Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ Is Human Manifestation Of The “Unknown God”. He Is Real. He Sees, Hears, Feels, And, Best Of All, He Saves! He Is The Only Answer For Man’s Quest For Spirituality And He Alone Can Fill That God-Given, Inner-Most Desire For An Enthroned Deity In Our Lives. He Lone is the Higher Power!

And those of us who have walked away from the destructive lifestyle of chemical dependency know He is the only answer for the alcoholic and the illicit drug user. Let’s not be guilty of doing an incomplete work with those who are being devastated by the effects of alcohol and illegal drugs. Lets not simply offer a drowning man a large
piece of drift wood. Without the one true God, there are no other efficient means of rescue. With driftwood, the man’s condition is barely improved. True, he’s not drowning. But he is still in a dangerous environment, without direction, lacking resources for continued survival, and still lacking a solid foundation on which he can stand.

The Above Material Was Published By Freedomline, Page Four, 2001. This Material Is Copyrighted And May Be Used For Study & Research Purposes Only.