20060917 Living The Significant Life

The Significant Life

by Manuel Mariano, for PBMC Sunday night service, 2006/09/17

Before the reading - What's happened prior to this passage

Why Paul is in Athens

Paul is in Athens, a city in Greece. He is in his second missionary journey from Jerusalem, the year is around 52AD, about 20 years after Jesus' death and resurrection.

Paul is in Athens because he was escorted there for his safety by some of the believers from a city called Beroea. Paul had been causing a ruckus from Philippi to Thessalonica to Beroea with the message about Jesus, the cross and the resurrection. Many Jews hated him and wanted him charged and punished.

So they left Paul all by himself in Athens, to wait for the arrival of his travelling companions Silas and Timothy who were still in Beroea.

The status of Athens at this time

At this time, all of Greece was rule by Rome - as was most of the know world.

Although Athens was no longer the political and economic center of Greece, it was still the intellectual centre. As Luke, the writer of the books of Acts says of them in verse 21 in our passage today, "All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas."

So Athens was full of intellectual people who were exposed to many ideas from all around the world because Athens was visited by foreigners from all over.

And so we catch up on the reading below.

Passage

Please open your bibles to Acts 17:16-34. I will be reading my passage from the New International Version.

Acts 17:16-34
New International Version (NIV)

In Athens

16While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of
idols.
17So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the
marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.

18A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, "What
is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said
this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

19Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, "May
we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?

20You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean."
21(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about
and listening to the latest ideas.)

22Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every
way you are very religious.

23For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with
this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to
proclaim to you.

24"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live
in temples built by hands.
25And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men
life and breath and everything else .

26From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he
determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.

27God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is
not far from each one of us.

28'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said,
'We are his offspring.'

29"Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver
or stone—an image made by man's design and skill.

30In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.

31For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has
given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."

32When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, "We
want to hear you again on this subject."

33At that, Paul left the Council.

34A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the
Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.

Opening Prayer

Pray for God's guidance to speak His words and not mine.
To speak clearly into all hearts His love and purpose for our lives.

Summary of the Talk

Today I wish to share the following:

that all peoples on the Earth have a common origin and a common purpose and direction. If we find our purpose, then we can live significant lives.

We are all created by God, and for God. That is our origin.

He did not leave us alone to muddle our way through life - although nothing is preventing us if we wish to muddle our way if we wish. Instead He made us according to his image, with everything inside us designed to seek him, to reach out to him, and ultimately to find him. That is our purpose and direction.

So if we live our lives seeking for him, reaching out to him and finding him, then we live significant lives.

That's what I hope to expand on today.

Paul's Distress

16While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.
17So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.

From his background and experience, Paul knows only one God

We read that Paul was 'greatly distressed' to see so many idols in Athens. Why was he distressed, or in other translations, why was 'his spirit provoked within him' by the idols? Because Paul, from his cultural background as a Jew and elite education in Judaism, and then later from his transforming experience with Jesus on the road to Damascus, knows intimately that there is only one God.

God prohibits worship of other gods in the ten commandments

And this God declares powerfully in the ten commandments that belief or worship of any other created things is prohibited.

God's first commandment He gave the people of Israel states (Exodus 3:20):

"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.You shall have no other gods besides me.  4 You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God"

Paul knows quite well what rebellion against this commandment leads to. The whole history of Israel and Judah shows how God punished Israel and Judah for worshipping other gods. Years of exile away from the promised land followed; a large proportion of Jews died by the sword, by pestilence - all because they abandoned God.

Paul's spirit was provoked to warn, not to judge

Paul was distressed primarily because he was concerned of God's judgement on the city for their rebellion against God. I don't think he was doing it merely to tell them they were wrong, but to warn them that there are very dire consequences for idolatry. So he preached in the synagogues and in the marketplace, to anyone who would listen, passionately, so that Athens might turn away from the worship of idols.

Reaction to Paul

18A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

Outrage from the Philosophers

Then some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers argued with Paul. Obviously what Paul was saying disagreed with their philosophy. And so it should. The Epicurean philosophy discounts superstition and divine intervention, and instead emphasizes overcoming fear and pain through knowledge. The Stoic philosophy discount passions and emphasizes reason.

On the contrary the message of the gospel as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:18 seems like foolishness to those who are perishing. To the Epicurean God doesn't even exist so the idea of sin and the need for salvation is foolishness. To the Stoic the idea that the resurrection even happened is completely unreasonable and therefore foolish.

This hasn't changed much at all today. The cross still appears foolish to the "wise", and the main reason is that we discount God at the outset, so any argument for God is immediately unreasonable.

At the Council of the Areopagus

19Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?
20You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean."
21(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)

They 'took' him to the Areopagus - an Arrest?

Then they 'took' him to the council of the Areopagus.

Scholars believe that Paul was not invited to friendly get-together; it was more an arrest. The reasons pointing to this include the fact that the word "dispute" in verse 18 in the original Greek translation leaned more towards being translated as "quarrel".

Furthermore, the philosopher's reference to Paul talking about 'foreign divinities', scholars say, is the same charge that condemned Socrates in Athens as well.

And the phrase "they took him and brought him" in verse 19, say the scholars, could just as legitimately be translated as "they took hold of him".

The Areopagus - what was it?

A Word about the council of the Areopagus.

The Areopagus is a hill in Athens, northwest of the Acropolis. It is also called Mar's Hill.

The council that met there in ancient Athens was the highest governmental assembly; later it became the chief judicial criminal court in Athens. Even under the Roman rule, the council of the Areopagus still maintained significant authority over the citizens of Athens.

A Trial?

Scholars believe that Paul was brought before the council in a formal sitting. The purpose perhaps was to determine whether Paul was preaching something that threatened Athens; and then maybe to decide whether he should be allowed to continue to preach at all.

Parallels between Athens and 21st Century Australia

22Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.

23For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.

Intolerance of faith is unacceptable today

Now I believe that what Paul says to the Athenians at the Areopagus he also says to us today.

As with the Athenians, our society has learned to tolerate many belief systems, even if some of them contradict. We have different world views. And on the surface at least, it is criticism of other faith that is not tolerated.

We would scrutinize Paul critically today too

So if Paul were to come today stating repeatedly and with passion, to anyone who would listen - that none of these belief systems were right, he too would face our most critical scrutiny.

We normally suspend judgement against any religion don't we, until they appear to judge ours? Well that's what Paul was doing in Athens. No wonder they 'took hold of him' and presented him to the formal sitting of the council of the Areopagus.

When he stood before the council, Paul confronts the Athenians, and us who read about this event, about the things that we 'worship', the things that we put our trust in. Paul confronts us about our idolatry.

Idolatry: a quick definition

We need to define idolatry at this point.

In general terms 'idolatry' is used by religions to describe the worship of false gods. This means each religion in the world believes that those who do not worship their god are committing idolatry.

What is the biblical interpretation of idolatry? Earlier we touched on God's commandments to Israel expressly forbidding them from worshipping other gods. So in the bible the condemnation of idolatry is not made by human followers, but God himself.

Idols: Tangible and Intagible; Inanimate and animated

And it is God who defines the terms by which we recognize 'idols' - it is anything that we put up for ourselves and worship, instead of worshipping God. In Genesis we see that idols can be tangible objects, made of metal or wood.

Now 'idols' are not merely limited to tangible, inanimate objects - made of metal or wood. Any attitude or world view or person in fact can be an idol if we value them above God. If they take centre stage in our affections. For example, in Ephesians 5:5 we read:

For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

An idol therefore is anything that causes a man to become immoral, impure or greedy because they have taken God's place as the center of that man's motivations and passion and worship.

See how extensive this quicksand of idolatry is? And do we recognize from this definition that we therefore today have as many idols as the Athenians did?

John Piper said "Anything that usurps that [God's] place becomes an idol, whether it be a spouse, a child, a humanitarian project, or pornography, or drugs or power over the poor or religion. An idol is a god-substitute. Archeology limits idols to stone statues, biblical theology teaches that idols are anything that take the place of God in our lives."

Pause and consider - what are our idols today?

Let's take a moment here and pause and consider - what are our idols today?

What have we put up above God? For what things do we say - "I'll do this first, and I'll go to God later"? Whatever that thing is, you've made it more important than your communion with your Creator. You've made it your idol.

But idols are not just those things that we believe give us something 'good'. They can be things that we know are 'bad' for us.

Our idols include 'bad' things we've put above God

What have we put as beyond God? What wrong things that we've done in our lives do we say, "God could never forgive me for this"? Because whatever sin  that may be, you've made it more powerful than God in your life. You've made that sin your idol.

What hurt have we experienced that we say, "God could never heal me in this"? Because whatever hurt that may be, you've made it more powerful than God in your life. You've made that hurt your idol.

Brief Summary of Paul's declaration at the Areopagus

I've already said that what Paul has to say to the Athenians at the Areopagus he also says to us today.

In brief Paul declares the following at the Areopagus, and to us:

1. Who God is (verses 22-26)
2. Who we are (verses 27-28)
3. The judgement against idolatry to come (verses 29-31)

I will not discuss the third part of his talk, that is the judgement against idolatry. I will talk about what Paul says about God briefly, to strengthen what is my main focus for today - and that is what Paul says about who we are.

Who is this God?

Proclaiming the 'Unknown God'

Firstly Paul acknowledges the Athenian's piety, or their willingness to perform religious duties. The fact that they reserved an idol for the "unknown god" shows how seriously they wanted to perfectly perform these duties, to cover all religious requirements of all possible gods.

The Paul tells them that he proclaims to them this "unknown god".

God the Creator - self-sufficient and complete

Paul says that this God is creator of everything; heaven and earth. He gives men their life; their breath, everything.

Because of this, God doesn't need shrines made by human hands - nor does he require the service of men. Indeed God doesn't need anything because He made everything.

This God is complete within Himself; He is totally self-sufficient. Man's actions do not add anything to God's glory.

God is not distant but is close to each of us

Paul says at the end of verse 27 that God is not far from each one of us. God is not a distant entity. In fact, Paul says he is near "each one of us", implying that God doesn't look at humanity only as a group, but as individuals. Having God that close to each of us individually implies that he is interested in the minutiae of our individual lives.

God is interested in us

And God is not uncaring - he doesn't leave us to fumble our way in the dark.

Paul says that at the start of verse 27 that if we reach out for him, we will find him. In fact that is why he created us - that "men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him".

Who are we?

Unity in Humanity

Paul says that God created us all from "one man", to "inhabit the whole earth" - meaning that regardless of our color, nationality, culture - we are all united. We come frome the same source.

There is nothing that differentiates our needs; our wants; our desires our rights from that of anyone else in the world.

There is nothing that separates us in God's eyes, the Creator, from each other.

Isn't it amazing though how easily we gloss over this fact in the way we see each other? How easily we fall into the "us and them" syndrome.

Failing to accept this 'unity in humanity' allows people to justify mistreatment of others - Slave labour; forced prostitution; bullying at school.

We have a built-in desire to seek God...

Paul then says that God created every person on earth, and allocated for them their own space to live in, and their own finite time, firstly so that we would seek him.

Paul is implying here that God's creative work can be recognized within the sphere of human experience. That even without any formal religious introduction or background, every person on Earth would naturally seek after God, just by the mere fact that they exist, and that this existence is in a particular place and for a finite time.

Paul here is appealing to a natural theology that even the Greeks would recognize.

This explains why in all of man's history in every civilized society that ever existed, we have never stopped seeking for something greater than ourselves to define us; to guide us; to lead us.

Some seek it through religion; others nature; others humanity; others government, others anarchy, etc. etc.

It is built into us, as intrinsic to our natures as breathing.

... but we don't reach out to God

But then note what Paul says next in verse 27 "...and perhaps reach out for him". Note the use of the word "perhaps". In other translations it says "in the hope of".

I see Paul here saying that even though we will all automatically seek God, we won't necessarily reach out to God. Some people will try to engage with this God whose divine existence is obvious in what is created.

Some people have intellectually or morally decided outright that there is no God and therefore they find god-substitutes.

They would reach out to their idols instead.

We all seek our purpose

We've already said that all of us will definitely seek God. But we haven't seen "why" yet.

Paul hints at why we are seeking God in verse 28 when he said "For in Him we live and move and have our being; as even some of your [own] poets have said, For we are also His offspring."

The reason why we seek God? Because we are seeking our identity, our purpose and ultimately our direction.

An often quoted phrase to describe this longing is "... a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God the Creator, made known by Jesus Christ."

Created in God's Image

If your question today is "what is my purpose in life?" Verse 28 answers it for us. That is why this is for me the key verse for this message. Paul tells us that who we are; why we are; is "in Him".

In saying this, Paul reminds us that we are created in God's image, therefore it is in God that we will finally find our identity, purpose and direction.

What is God's Image in man?

Understanding God's image = understanding our purpose

We should spend a little time here discussing what this "God's image in man" is. This is critical because this image is what makes man man.

Misunderstanding the meaning of this image of God in man can mean misunderstanding our purpose in God.

The key passage regarding the image of God in man is in Genesis 1:26, in the creation of man God says "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, ^[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

Various theological views about the image of God***

There are basically three (3) views on the image of God in man: the 'substantive', the 'relational' and the 'functional' view.

Let's look at these briefly.

The relational view states that the image of God in man is the relationships we have with each other and with God, and not anything that man is or possesses. It is patterned in the understanding that God's image is the relationship within the trinity - and therefore the image of God in man is also about relationships.

The functional view states that the image of God is in what man does. In Genesis 1:26 it is believed that the image of God in man is in his dominion or mastery over all creatures - that is what makes man like God - this lordship that God has extended to man.

The more common view is the 'substantive view' which says that the image is "identified as a definite characteristic or quality within the makeup of the human". Some believe the image is an aspect of our physical makeup. Others believe it is an aspect of our physchological, or spiritual makeup.

What view to believe? **

Scholars see many weaknesses in both the functional and relational view. Based on careful examination of the bible, it is apparent to them that the image of God is more 'substantive' - that is the image of God is something that God put in man.

What is the image of God in man?

What can we say definitively about the image of God in man, based on the bible?

1. the image of God is a set of attributes of God which, reflected in man, make worship, personal relationships, and work possible. It is the intelligence, the will, the emotions that enables man to have the divinely intended relationship with God and fellow men, and to exercise dominion.

2. Everyone possesses the image of God, not only good people. In Genesis 9:6 murder is prohibited because man is created in God's image. It does not prohibit it only for believers, but all men. Therefore everyone has the image of God in them whether or not they recognize it.

3. Also implied in the prohibition of murder is that this image of God was not lost after Adam and Eve sinned. Otherwise muder would not have been prohibited.

4. The image of God is not present in different amounts from person to person. It is not linked to natural superiority, intelligence. It is not dependent on what we do because God intended it before Adam was created - so it wasn't at all based on what Adam and Eve could do.

Why are we created in God's Image? (What is our purpose?)

In Jesus we can find out why we were created in God's Image

So why were we created in the image of  God? This would answer our question about what our purpose is - why are we here?

The bible tells us that it is our sin and sinful nature that separates us from God. To save us it became necessary to send His Son Jesus as the sinless sacrifice (Hebrews 4:15) to pay the price of salvation that we could not pay. That is the good news of the gospel.

Since Jesus is the only sinless person who ever lived, then he possessed humanity in pure form. In him the image of God was lived out to perfection. By studying Jesus, we get our answer as to why God created us:

1. We are intended for perfect fellowship with God.
In John 17:21-22 Jesus said that He and the Father are one, and his prayer is for those who believe in Him be one with Him too.

2. We are intended for perfect obedience to God.
In the Garden of Gethsemane the night Jesus was arrested, Jesus prayed to the Father to take away the coming suffering at the cross, but that the Father's will, not Jesus' will, be done. Throughout his ministry Jesus' always put his will as subordinate to the Father's will.

3. We are intended for strong love for others.
Jesus was concerned about the sick, the poor, the widowed, the grieving.

So it is God's intention that we are only completely human if

a.) we show the same characteristics of fellowship, obedience and love in our relationship with God,
b.) we are bound to each other in love.

How are we to live out our purpose?

A common answer: Jesus

So at the end of this, how are we to live out our purpose?

Whether you are already a believer in Jesus or not, the answer to this question is the same: the answer is still Jesus.

To the unbeliever

If you do not yet believe in God, know that He believes in you. And did so even before you were born. He made you in His image which is in you today even though you don't acknowledge that it is there. It is intrinsically in you, and it is what is pushing you to seek an answer - any answer. It is why you put up your idols. You were made by God and for His purposes. You won't be happy until your life is in complete synch with his plans for it.

Today He is telling us that we need to put  away our idols. Put our trust in God alone. God has already provided for the way, through Jesus who said "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the father but by me."  5God presented him (Jesus) as a sacrifice of atonement (on the cross),^[a] through faith in him (Romans 3:25)."

God is able. No sin, no pain is beyond his capacity to forgive and heal - and his chosen channel for both to come through is in faith in Jesus. Jesus said in Matt 11:28 - 31:
 28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

To the believer

If you are a believer then remember that you are to pattern yourself after Jesus who is the complete revelation of the image of God in us.

If we want to see how to live a life of purpose, we only need to look at Jesus.

We are to characterize the dedication of him who said "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless not as I will, but as you will".

We are to characterize the determination  of him who said, "'We must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day; night comes, when no one can work.' (John 9:4).

And we are to emulate the love in the life and death of him who said "greater love has no man than this, that a many lay down his life for his friend" (John 15:13)