Acts 17:24

"For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription: ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ What therefore you worship in ignorance, I announce to you."

Key Reflection

Paul's observation highlights the idols worshipped by the Athenians as mere representations of a deity they did not fully know. By revealing this altar dedicated to an unknown god, Paul subtly invites them to acknowledge and worship the true God, emphasizing their inherent knowledge of Him despite their ignorance.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Verse 24. God that made the world. The main object of this discourse of Paul is to convince them of the folly of idolatry, Ac 17:29, and thus to lead them to repentance. For this purpose he commences with a statement of the true doctrine respecting God as the Creator of all things. We may observe here, (1.) that he speaks here of God as the Creator of the world--thus opposing indirectly their opinions that there were many gods. (2.) He speaks of him as the Creator of the world, and thus opposes the opinion that matter was eternal; that all things were controlled by fate; and that he could be confined to temples.

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