“Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: ‘People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you. 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 human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, We are his offspring.’” (Acts 17:22-28)

Paul has arrived in Athens. He has already been to the Synagogue to proclaim Jesus Christ and the resurrection. He has also taken the message to the marketplace, where he encountered Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. They began to debate him with their questions. They took Paul to a meeting of the Areopagus, who held sway over the thoughts and actions of the people. Paul now addresses them. He speaks because they have an idol to an unknown God, about which Paul will now tell them.

From time to time, we think about God and His love, His mercy, His fellowship with us, but rarely will we think of God being Self-Sufficient. We almost assume it, but really thinking about it, we don’t. However, this was the heart of Paul’s message. God needs nothing, but He supplies everything. Paul’s first point is that God made everything and is Lord over everything. His second point is that God does not need to be served by people. His third point is that God, the provider, gives life and opportunity to all who live their lives. This is what God gives and He needs nothing. He not only needs nothing, but He supplies everything we need.

Many times, we desire to be self-sufficient. We want to do what we want to do. We want to act like we want to act. We do not want anyone to tell us what to do or what to be. Even today we hear the idea that all truth is subjective, truth is what I think. This is our idea of self-sufficiency. However, God’s Self-Sufficiency is not all about Himself, it is about us. God does not need us, but He wants us. This was Paul’s invitation, “God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.” (Acts 17:27) God is here. Will we turn to Him? God has everything, but He wants us to come to Him. This is why Jesus came and rose from the dead, so that we can come to Him. This raises two questions. Do we know Him? If we do know Him, are we helping others come to Him? This is why Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” (John 20:21)

In the Love of Jesus,

Michael Block