The law, grace and truth (17)

Blessed be the God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places because we are united with Christ Jesus, Amen.

Today's lead Word is from Acts 17:18 (NKJV)

"Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, "What does this babbler want to say?" Others said, "He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods," because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection."

Amen, thank you LORD.

During this time of ministry, Apostle Paul stopped by Athens and preached the gospel to the Jews and Gentile worshippers (Acts 17:16-17) while waiting on Timothy and Silas' arrival. During his time there, he encountered philisophers who knew about God but they did not have a clear understanding or a revelation of His Person found in Christ. When you look at their history, the Stoic philosophers believed in self mastery as the primary goal in life. On the other hand, the Epicurean philosphers believed in the existence of God but did not believe that He got involved in the day to day affairs of men.

As they listened to Apostle Paul, they referred to him as a 'babbler' as seen above because he spoke of Jesus and His resurrection. This was foreign knowledge to them. When we look at the life of Paul, we see that he was a well learned man so if there was anyone who was well qualified to preach to these philosophers, it was him. At the same time, Apostle Paul in Philippians 3:8 NKJV tells us, "yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered for the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith."

This means that yes, Apostle Paul had the knowledge of this world but at the end of the day, he reconciled his understanding to preach Christ and Him crucified as seen in the above text because that was the foundation of his faith and what he valued most. To this effect, he appropriates one of their Cretan poems to bring to their understanding God's existence and His involvement among the day to day affairs of people. This is seen in Acts 17:28-29 NKJV where Apostle Paul uses one of their poems in reference to God's sovereignty over all creation, "for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising."

In Acts chapter 3, we see Peter and John walking to the temple at the hour of prayer. On their way to the temple, they met a man who was lame from birth asking them for money. In Acts 3:6, "Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." Peter and John were well able to provide silver and gold to this lame man but they chose to give him what they valued most, which was the precious name of Jesus and the ways of His Kingdom. As a result, the lame man received his healing and walked because of their faith in the name of Jesus (Acts 3:8 and 3:12-16). Besides, the silver and the gold belong to the LORD (Haggai 2:8).

Ultimately, the wisdom and knowledge of God found in Christ His Son is not only powerful but also eternal and everlasting in its nature. When we go back to Apostle Paul's story, we see that some of the people he preached to in Acts 17 believed on the LORD Jesus. This truth continues to be confirmed in 1 Corinthians 1:24 NKJV "but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."

I'll end with this Word found in James 3:13 (NKJV)

"Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom."

Amen, thank you LORD.

Invitation to salvation: God is love and He loves you and His arms are open wide just to receive you. Jesus in Matthew 18:12 says, that He would leave the ninety nine to go find that one lost sheep. There is no need for perfection because Jesus Christ was made to be perfection on your behalf by God, the Father. If you would like to receive this free gift of salvation that is found in God's Son, Jesus Christ, the hope of glory;

"I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that; Jesus Christ, the Son of God came in a human body to die for my sins so that I could have a new life where I am dead to sin and alive to God. I repent of my past sins and enter the Kingdom of light where I choose relationship with Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour and with God as my loving Father today and forever. Thank you Father that because the Son has made me free, I am now free indeed." AMEN.

HALLELUJAH, PRAISE GOD! YOU ARE OFFICIALLY A CHILD OF GOD. PLEASE FIND A CHURCH AND GET WATER BAPTIZED!