Paul in Athens — The Unknown God Made Known (Acts 17:16–34)
What do you do when you’re in a place full of people who don’t know God?
In Acts 17:16–34, the Apostle Paul visits Athens, a famous Greek city known for its art, wisdom, and many gods. The people there loved to talk about new ideas, but they didn’t know the one true God. Paul saw an opportunity—not to argue, but to introduce them to the God they didn’t yet know.
Athens: A City Full of Idols
While Paul was waiting for his friends Silas and Timothy, he walked around Athens. He noticed the city was filled with idols—statues and temples for all kinds of gods. This deeply troubled him.
So Paul did what he always did: he started sharing the good news about Jesus. He spoke to people in the synagogue and in the marketplace every day. Some of the local philosophers (deep thinkers of that time) heard him and were curious.
They said things like:
“What is this man talking about?”
“He seems to be talking about strange gods.”
They brought Paul to a place called the Areopagus, where people gathered to discuss new ideas. They wanted to hear more about what he was teaching.
Introducing the “Unknown God”
Paul stood up in front of the people of Athens and began to speak. He said:
“People of Athens, I see that you are very religious. As I walked around, I even found an altar that said, ‘To an unknown god.’”
Then Paul told them:
“The God you worship without knowing is the God I want to tell you about.”
Paul went on to explain:
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God made the world and everything in it.
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He doesn’t live in temples made by people.
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He doesn’t need anything from us—He gives us life, breath, and everything else.
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God created all nations from one man and decided where and when they should live.
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He did this so people would look for Him and find Him—because He is not far from any of us.
Paul even quoted their own poets who said, “We are His offspring.” Then he made a powerful point:
“Since we are God’s children, we shouldn’t think of God as a statue made of gold or stone. God wants everyone to repent (turn away from sin) because He has set a day to judge the world through a man He chose—Jesus, whom He raised from the dead.”
Different Reactions
When the people heard Paul talk about the resurrection (that Jesus rose from the dead), they had mixed reactions:
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Some laughed and made fun of the idea.
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Others said, “We want to hear more about this.”
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A few believed, including a man named Dionysius, a woman named Damaris, and some others.
Even in a city full of idols and confusion, some hearts were open to the truth.
What We Can Learn from Acts 17:16–34
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Look for opportunities to share Jesus—even in hard places
Paul didn’t ignore the idols in Athens. He used what he saw to start a conversation about the real God. -
Speak in a way people understand
Paul didn’t argue or attack. He connected with their culture and showed them how Jesus was the answer they were looking for. -
Not everyone will believe—but some will
People respond differently to the gospel. Some laugh, some listen, and some believe. Our job is to share the message with love and clarity. -
God is near
Paul reminded the Athenians that the true God isn’t far away. He is close and wants us to know Him.
Final Thought:
Like the people of Athens, many today are searching for truth and worshiping things they don’t fully understand. But the good news is this: God wants to be known, and through Jesus, we can truly find Him.
Let’s be like Paul—ready to speak truth with grace, wherever we go.
Acts 17:16-34 (WEB)
17:16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw the city full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who met him. 18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also were conversing with him. Some said, “What does this babbler want to say?”Others said, “He seems to be advocating foreign deities,” because he preached Jesus and the resurrection.19 They took hold of him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is, which you are speaking about? 20 For you bring certain strange things to our ears. We want to know therefore what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the strangers living there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell or to hear some new thing.22 Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus and said, “You men of Athens, I perceive that you are very religious in all things. 23 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. 24 The God who made the world and all things in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands. 25 He isn’t served by men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself gives to all life and breath and all things. 26 He made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the surface of the earth, having determined appointed seasons and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 that they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live, move, and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’ 29 Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold, or silver, or stone, engraved by art and design of man. 30 The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked. But now he commands that all people everywhere should repent, 31 because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained; of which he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead.”32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked; but others said, “We want to hear you again concerning this.”33 Thus Paul went out from among them. 34 But certain men joined with him and believed, including Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.