Acts 17:22

Monday, 12 June 2023

 

Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; Acts 17:22

 

A more literal translation would say, “And Paul, having stood in the midst of the Areopagus said, ‘Men, Athenians, I recognize that in all things you are super-spiritual’” (CG).

 

In the previous verse, Luke explained that Athenians and the foreigners who came to Athens spent all their time telling or hearing something new. With that thought being understood by Paul, it now says, “And Paul, having stood in the midst of the Areopagus.”

 

Of this, Ellicott says, “The Court sat in the open air on benches forming three sides of a quadrangle. A short flight of sixteen steps, cut in the rock, led from the agora to the plateau where the Court held its sittings.”

 

Paul was standing in the midst of this court where all of those professing to be wise would be gathered to hear whatever presentation was brought forward. In this case, it is the apostle Paul bringing the message of the incarnation and life of Jesus Christ to their ears. To begin, he “said, ‘Men, Athenians.”

 

As in Hebrew, when men are present, the masculine is used. However, later in the chapter, it will be seen that the court was not only attended by men. Having made this formal address, he next continued with, “I recognize that in all things you are super-spiritual.”

 

The word translated as super-spiritual is deisidaimonesteros. It is found only here in Scripture. HELPS Word Studies says – “(from deidō, ‘to dread’ and daimōn, ‘a deity’) – properly, religious (superstitious) fear, driven by a confused concept of God – producing ‘sincere’ but very misdirected religion. Indeed, this is the mark of heathenism.”

 

The word is variously translated as over-religious, very religious, remarkably religious, too superstitious, etc. Rendering it super-spiritual eliminates the often-negative connotation of superstition and it more correctly addresses the state of mind of what he will say in the coming verse.

 

The Athenians, like the supposedly super-spiritual people of today, obviously thought that there were many gods or that all paths led back to God. Such thinking is confused concerning God, what He is like, and what He expects. Paul, being an apostle of Jesus, was there to present to them the truth of God. His words will take from their own writings and he will present them in a manner that clearly expresses concepts that the Hebrew Scriptures had presented since the first verses of Genesis.

 

Life application: One of the most common things you will encounter when witnessing to others about God is a state of mental confusion concerning who He is and what He must be like. By following the pages of the Bible, one can develop a clear understanding of these things.

 

For example, it says in Genesis 1:1 that God created the heavens and the earth. Just a momentary stop before proceeding to the next verse to think about that statement and the reader can deduce that God is therefore before creation. Because time defines the progression of the aging of the creation (meaning that time started when the material universe came into existence), then God must be outside of (before, above, not limited to, etc.) time.

 

Further, and because of what that conveys to us, if God created matter, then He is not associated with matter. Thus, He is Spirit (John 4:24) and He exists in an eternal state where time does not exist. When the Lord said to Moses, “I AM THAT I AM” in Exodus 3:14, He was proclaiming His eternality. But more, He is a Necessary Being who cannot not exist.

 

Thinking on this, and then considering the rest of Scripture in light of this, including the things said about Jesus, we can more fully appreciate innumerable things about God. However, we must be careful to never apply incorrect ideas about Him to our theology. If our thoughts do not align with Scripture, then we must put them aside.

 

If you are saved, you are saved. Your incorrect ideas about God will not change that. However, what you set forth for others in your words or in what you write may affect their chance of ever being saved. Be careful to always consider God from how He has revealed Himself. Don’t try to be smarter than God. That which is considered orthodox has been carefully contemplated for millennia.

 

The chances of you or someone you follow suddenly having a correctly aligned epiphany about God that nobody else has had are very unlikely. But this is how cults get started. So, be careful to not get drawn down strange paths of theology.

 

Lord God, Your word is so very wonderful. It is a revelation of Yourself to us and we can know so much about You if we think about You in relation to it. And, for sure, we can know that anything that is said about You that is not in line with the pages of Scripture cannot be correct. So, Lord, help us to stay on the right path as we seek out who You are. Amen.