Man’s Search for God

WHEN the Apostle Paul visited Athens near the beginning of the Christian era, he found the people given over almost entirely to the worship of idols. It has been asserted that there were more idols in Athens than in all the rest of Greece. The Athenians imported the deities and superstitions of every nation, along with their arts and learning. A satirist observed that it was easier to find a god in Athens than a man.

There were two groups of philosophers in Athens, cited by Paul: the Epicureans and the Stoics. (Acts 17:18) The Epicureans were, as one writer has stated, “gay and superficial infidels, who amused themselves and others with various and curious speculations.” These, even as millions still do, ascribed the origin of all things to chance.

The Epicureans graciously, and probably for reasons of personal popularity, did not deny outright the existence of the many heathen gods of the times, but insisted that these really had nothing to do with the creation of the world and what is in it. The Stoics, on the other hand, more firmly believed in being submissive to natural laws, but were very vague in their philosophy, and they had little or no faith in a future life.

It was these two groups of philosophers who called Paul in question. To them he was advocating a strange god, “because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?”—Acts 17:16-19

This furnished Paul with a rare opportunity to set forth some basic truths pertaining to the great and loving God of the Bible, the Creator and Ruler of the universe. As Paul was led to Areopagus, or Mars’ Hill, the route took him close to a large display of idols, each ascribed to a particular god. When he stood on the hill and faced his audience these idols would be visible in the valley below to the left. Towering above him to the right was the Acropolis on which there stood in all its architectural glory that massive heathen temple, the Parthenon.

Paul made full use of this setting as he explained to the Greek philosophers important facts concerning the God he worshiped, and the “new” religion he was advocating. He began his sermon by reminding them that one of their idols was ascribed “TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.” Yes, even in Paul’s day, and among the wisest philosophers of the time, was the acknowledgment of the existence of a God about whom they knew little or nothing.

Paul explained that this “unknown God,” whom they ignorantly worshiped, was the One he “declared” unto them. He then proceeded to call their attention to some of the characteristics of this “unknown God.” This was the great and powerful God who had “made the world and all things therein.” This was contrary to the “unbelief” of the Epicureans.—Acts 17:24

Furthermore, this true and living God, Paul explained, “is Lord of heaven and earth,” and since this was true, he could not be expected to “dwell in temples made with hands.” Here we can see Paul taking a glance at the magnificent heathen temple which towered above him as he spoke, a temple that housed many gods, and indicating that the unknown God he was identifying for them was entirely too great and too glorious to be confined in any structure which could be erected by man, regardless of how beautiful and glorious it might be.

This is a great truth concerning the God of all glory which is important for all to remember. Our little minds are often impressed by displays of splendor which are to be seen throughout the world in the various temples of public worship. To the extent that these lift our minds and hearts to the true and living God of wisdom, justice, love, and power, and inspire us to devote our lives to his service, they serve a useful purpose. But may we ever realize that the true God of our worship, and to whom we are devoted, could not now he expected to dwell in temples made with hands, any more than in the days of Paul.

King Solomon of Israel recognized this many long centuries before Paul’s day. Solomon’s temple was probably the most magnificent ever constructed up until that time. But when it was complete, he realized that the great God of Israel could not be confined within its walls, and in his prayer of dedication said, “Will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!”—II Chron. 6:18

Jesus also confirmed this larger viewpoint of the true and living God. A Samaritan woman raised the question with Jesus as to where God should be worshiped, whether at Mt. Gerizim, or Mt. Zion, in Jerusalem. Jesus’ reply did away with the necessity of limiting the worship of God to specific locations. He explained that “God is a Spirit,” hence invisible to human eyes, and that the true worship of him is “in spirit and in truth.”—John 4:20-24

The word “spirit” is used here in contrast with that which is material and visible. Crude images of God, as in idols, are hindrances to true worship, for the mind concentrates on the image and sees little beyond. God is a person, but not human, and so far above us that it is impossible for us fully to conceive him; so our minds and hearts go out to him as the One in whom is centered all that is good and holy. From him, “the Father of lights,” comes “every good and every perfect gift,” the Scriptures declare.—James 1:17

Prayers to this glorious God of love reach him without the aid of temples made with hands; and without the imagery of pagan ceremonies. We can lift up our hearts to such a God at any time of day or night, regardless of place or circumstance. Costly temples may give a temporary sense of awe and reverence, but so much more should the “temple” of nature which God himself has provided, and in which we dwell, help us to realize his exalted character and majesty.

Jesus said that our great God of glory and of love should be worshiped, not only in spirit, but also in truth. There are certain basic truths concerning God which must be known if we are to worship him acceptably. It will not do to conjure up a concept of him based upon our own superstitions and twisted philosophies. The Athenians did this with the result that they worshiped idols, and the true God remained “unknown” to them.

The human mind can never know more than a mere fraction of the whole truth concerning God, but that fraction must be true if we are to worship him “in spirit and in truth.” All concepts of God which depict him as other than a God of wisdom, justice, love, and power, merely hinder true worship. Idols, images, and sacred cows are barriers between the human soul and the glorious and loving God of all creation.

Certainly, as Paul declared to the Athenians, this true and living God who is still unknown to countless millions of the human race, does not dwell in temples “made with hands, neither is worshiped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.” How perfectly plain it should be that the Creator of all life, including our own, does not need anything from us, and that nothing wrought by human hands can be used to induce him to bless us.

God said to ancient Israel, “Every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof.” (Ps. 50:10-12) We have nothing that we can give to God that we did not first receive from him. “In him we live and move and have our being,” Paul said. We are alive only because God gave us life. We are able to move about in the pursuit of life’s responsibilities and joys only because God designed our organisms to make this possible. Our very existence depends upon the continuance of his loving provisions.

These common blessings of life are showered upon all without respect to the degree of appreciation which may be manifested. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus expressed it beautifully, saying: “Your Father which is in heaven … maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matt. 5:45) The sun and the rain, and all the other elements by which life is sustained, are the handiworks of God. They are beyond our ability either to create or to regulate.

It is not difficult to realize why there have been those from time to time who worshiped the sun and the rain. Their failure was that they did not look beyond these to the great God of the universe who created them, and pour out their heartfelt devotion to him. David did this, and wrote, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, without these their voice is heard. Their rule is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.”—Ps. 19:1-5, margin

The Greeks were reputed to be a wise people, especially in their philosophies. Perhaps the Epicureans and “Stoics” considered themselves to be somewhat superior to hoi polloi, the “common herd,” especially of other nationalities. If they had illusions of this sort, they would not like Paul’s bold assertion that the God who was unknown to them had “made ‘out of one’ [Greek] all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation.”—Acts 17:26

Here is a great truth, simply stated. It is that the human family is one family, the offspring of one father, who was created by the Athenians’ “unknown God.” Yes, the great Creator of heaven and earth has made of, or from, one, all the various races and nationalities of men. The “one” referred to by Paul is Adam. Paul believed in the Genesis record of creation and in his letter to the church at Corinth referred to Adam as being the “first man.”—I Cor. 15:45

One of the proofs that all races of men are of a common stock is the fact that they can—while not generally practiced—intermarry and produce normal offspring. The different characteristics of the various races are accounted for by differences of climate, food, and other factors to which they have been subjected throughout the centuries, and not because they sprang from different sources.

Paul told the Athenians that God’s design was that all nations of men should “dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitations.” (vs. 26, R.V.) To this he adds, “That they should seek the Lord, if ‘haply’ they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.”—vss. 27-29

Here two great truths concerning the true and living God are beautifully expressed. He is the fountain of all life; in him we live, and move, and have our being, and he wants us to seek him and to know him. Furthermore, as Paul reminds us, in seeking God we are not to think that we will find him in images of gold, or silver, or stone which are fashioned by human hands, for this would imply that the great Creator is something less than his creatures.

God is not far from any one of us, Paul asserts. He is not referring to distance, but to the Creator’s interest and love, and his ability to do for his human creatures all that his wisdom and love sees is best for their eternal welfare. We are not to think of God as being austere and unapproachable. We are not to seek him in fear, but with the assurance that he is understanding, merciful, and kind.

To find and to know God is a glorious experience in one’s life. The Prophet Jeremiah wrote, “Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.”—Jer. 9:23,24

But we must not expect to find God in our own small concepts of what we would like him to be. Many make the mistake of trying to find God amidst the confusion of a selfish and dying world. They think of the crime, war, accidents, injustices, the sorrow and suffering from all causes, and they wonder where God can be found in it all. He can’t! If we are to find God we must look for him apart from, and above all that has been distorted and defiled by human hands and minds.

The great God of all creation said, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my Word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”—Isa. 55:8-11

Truly God’s ways are higher than ours. And how beautifully he has illustrated this in his reference to the purpose served by the rain and snow. Shortsighted humans often complain when it rains or snows, forgetting that their very life depends upon the objects of their complaints. But God in his love does not withhold the rain and the snow because his human creatures, in their foolishness and selfishness, complain about it. No, the rain and snow continue to fall and water the earth, “that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater.” To the lesson of the rain and snow the Lord significantly adds, “So shall my Word be.”

God’s Word is the expression of his plans and purposes for his human creatures. Paul explained concerning the nations of earth that God had determined their seasons, and the bounds of their habitations. Moses wrote that God had “divided to the nations their inheritance.” (Deut. 32:8. See also Genesis 11:8.) There has been a divine overruling with respect to the location on this planet of all the different races, and a determination of the season, or time, in which they are to remain in these “habitations.”

But this is only a fragment of the Creator’s design for his earthly creatures, and even this is not known by the vast majority involved in it. They are born, they experience briefly a measure of joy, they suffer, they die. If they think of God at all it is usually in terms of their own restricted experiences and limited understanding and viewpoints. The vast majority throughout the ages have not even discerned, as some of the Athenians did, that there is an “unknown God” whom Paul said is not far from any one of us.

But just as their lack of knowledge has not hindered the periodic falling of the rain and snow to water the earth, so it has not interfered with the “Word” of God, his detailed plan, as it has gone forth through the ages for the accomplishment of a wise and loving provision by which he will eventually be revealed to all mankind, who will then be enabled to know and serve him with rejoicing. The Prophet Isaiah wrote, “The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”—Isa. 11:9

The universal blessings of the rain and snow are today not without their drawbacks, for thorns and thistles are also thereby helped to grow. Here again we see the result of disobedience to divine law. (Gen. 3:17,18) But the Lord has promised that when his “Word,” his plan, has been accomplished, this also will be changed. He said, “Ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn, shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”—Isa. 55:12,13

The soil of this planet has, of course, been continuously plagued with pests and convulsions of nature, which is not always to be the case. But we might also think of the “thorns and thistles” of human experience—the disappointments and sufferings of the people throughout all the ages. These also are to be removed, and they will no longer serve to obscure the people’s vision of the true and loving God. On this point Isaiah wrote: “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces. … And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” Nothing shall be permitted to “hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, or king dom.”—Isa. 11:9; 25:8,9

Yes, through all the ages of human experience there has been a searching after God, a “feeling after him,” but few have been rewarded with anything better than to be told that God is to be found in the imagery of pagan, oriental, mythological, and pseudo-Christian rituals. And the gods they have thus found have been vindictive and cruel—particularly the pseudo-Christian god of torture.

But eventually, and in the Creator’s own due time, he will reveal himself to his human creatures. They will see him as one who loves and cares; who is sympathetic and understanding; and also an all-powerful God who is able to rid the world of everything which contributes to human unhappiness. He will “swallow up death in victory,” which means that there will be no more sickness, no more pain. Tears will be wiped away.

The Apostle John wrote concerning that time, “The tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” (Rev. 21:3,4) No wonder the people will say, “This is our God”! Truly they will be glad, and will rejoice in the salvation from death which he has provided through Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. “Hallelujah! what a Savior!”

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