Chapter 17 Discussion

1
Chapter 17 Discussion

• Chapter 17 Verses 1-15
• How did Paul preach to the Jews in Thessalonica?
• We notice also that it says he "reasoned" with
  them out of the scriptures. He did not simply
  present propositions in a take it or leave it
  fashion.
• What scriptures did Paul use?
• He did use the scriptures - the Old Testament -
  which was already accepted by the Jews as the
  Word of God. But from them tried to show the Jews
  that Jesus fit the profile of Christ as he was
  revealed in the scriptures.

2
Chapter 17 Discussion

• Chapter 17 Verses 1-15
• How do we know how to use the bible in
  evangelizing?
• The Holy Spirit directs us as to how we might
  best convince the particular individuals we are
  dealing with. Thus the gospel may be presented
  slightly differently to different people. And
  furthermore we should allow feedback so as to
  understand where people are at in their thinking
  so as to clarify the message and deal with any
  hindrances and objections they may have.
• Studying and knowing the bible is not just a good
  thing to do- it is a necessity for our job!

3
Chapter 17 Discussion

• Chapter 17 Verses 1-15
• Give examples of the prophesy of Jesus the Christ
  in the Old Testament?
• Isaiah 53 is perhaps the most explicit passage
  affirming the purpose of the Messiah being to
  suffer and die for the sake of become a sacrifice
  of atonement. And it was from that scripture that
  Philip led the Ethiopian Eunuch to Christ in Acts
  8.
• Both Peter and Paul mention Ps 16 to affirm
  Christ death and resurrection as well.
• There is also the prophecy of Genesis 315.

4
Chapter 17 Discussion

• Chapter 17 Verses 1-15
• Women were considered more influential in the
  Greek than we realized. Why?
• This comes as no surprise as some of the gods
  among the Greek and Roman religions were female.
  The Greek society may have been much more
  egalitarian than some today realize. 
• vs 6 What does "have turned the world upside
  down." mean?
• By "the world", they are referring to the Roman
  Empire alone. But the "upside down" indicates
  that people were receiving the gospel not simply
  as an interesting idea, but rather people were
  applying the gospel to life and it was having an
  effect on whole societies. People's lifestyles
  were changing. The status quo was being offset.

5
Chapter 17 Discussion

• Chapter 17 Verses 1-15
• What about today? Do Christians expect or accept
  a lifestyle change? Discuss.
• Yet some today accept the gospel with the
  contingency of "as long as it doesn't affect my
  chosen lifestyle". If it doesn't affect your
  lifestyle, then you haven't received it. If your
  world has not been turned upside down, then
  you're viewing the gospel from the wrong
  perspective.
• vs 7 Is being a Christian in conflict with civil
  authority?
• Here we see the primary charge against the gospel
  from a civil point of view - that it is
  treasonous. Yet it is not really treasonous in
  that it does affirm Caesar as king, but Jesus as
  king of kings, one of whom happens to be Caesar.
  For "everyone must submit himself to the
  governing authorities, for there is no authority
  except that which God has established. The
  authorities that exist have been established by
  God."Rom 131 

6
Chapter 17 Discussion

• Chapter 17 Verses 1-15
• In vs 10-11 what does fair-minded mean?
• Commenting on the Bereans being "fair-minded,"
  Albert Barnes writes
• This literally means more noble by birth
  descended from more illustrious ancestors. But
  here the word is used to denote a quality of mind
  and heart. They were more generous, liberal, and
  noble in their feelings more disposed to inquire
  candidly into the truth of the doctrines advanced
  by Paul and Silas. It is always proof of a noble,
  liberal, ingenuous disposition to be willing to
  examine into the truth of any doctrine presented.
  
• They received the word with all readiness of
  mind. They listened attentively and respectfully
  to the gospel. They did not reject out-of-hand
  Paul's teaching as unworthy of examination. Then
  they searched the Scriptures daily, repetitively,
  to ascertain the truth of what the apostle taught.

7
Chapter 17 Discussion

• Chapter 17 Verses 1-15
• How exactly did they search the Scriptures and
  prove this "new" information?
• Searched comes from the Greek word anakrino,
  which translates as "properly, to scrutinize,
  i.e. (by implication) investigate, interrogate,
  determine." The King James Version translates the
  word variously as "ask, question, discern,
  examine, judge, search. But it clearly
  indicates that they were not going to let old
  thoughts, ideas, or ways easily fall by the
  wayside, nor would they close the door on any
  truth that might come to them through revelation
  or by teaching. It also made them aware of the
  need to establish and re-establish the truth of
  God among them on an on-going fashion.

8
Chapter 17 Discussion

• Chapter 17 Verses 1-15
• The Bereans were zealous to hear, they did not
  thoughtlessly or uncritically accept what Paul
  said. They first tested it for themselves from
  the Scriptures and then submitted themselves to
  following it. What do we learn from this?
• Pursuing this course avoids the potentially
  disastrous "blind leading the blind" syndrome
  (Luke 639). Jesus' statement warns us to be
  careful who we follow. The Jews fell into this
  spiritual trap of presuming themselves as guides
  to the blind, though their lives did not qualify
  them for such a responsibility (Romans 219-24).

9
Chapter 17 Discussion

• Chapter 17 Verses 16-34
• vs 17 What does "Therefore he disputed" mean?
• It indicates that is was out of anger of the
  sinfulness he saw in the society that he was
  provoked to do evangelism in this case.
• What provokes you do to evangelism?
• We notice once again the Paul starts with the
  Jews and devout Gentiles. Today the first people
  to evangelize should be other Christians. For
  there are many religious people in the Christian
  community who have yet to apply their faith to
  life. There are many "Christians" who have yet to
  come to the saving knowledge of our Lord and
  Savior and be born of the Spirit.

10
Chapter 17 Discussion

• Chapter 17 Verses 16-34
• vs 22 If we read between the lines, Paul may be
  saying, "You people are better than I am in your
  devotion to spiritual things. Why does he say
  this?
• Instead of "religious," the King James Version
  uses the word "superstitious," which has
  undergone what linguists call "semantic drift."
  In Shakespeare's day and King James' time, this
  word did not have the negative association as it
  has now.
• From the context of the account in Acts 17, it
  becomes quite clear that the apostle Paul was
  not, as some Protestant theologians like to
  characterize him, a feisty, wrangling,
  argumentative hothead. If that were the case, the
  philosophers of Athens, who vastly outnumbered
  him, could have made short work out of this smart
  aleck. Obviously, from their attention to his
  speech, they did not think of him this way.
• Throughout his ministry, he frequently resorted
  to diplomatic language. At one point, he
  acknowledged a cultural debt both to the Greeks
  and to barbarians (Romans 114). In addition to
  complimenting strangers, Paul continually sought
  out similarities he shared between him and other
  groups. In a conflict in which both the Sadducees
  and the Pharisees were breathing fire down his
  neck, Paul masterfully ingratiated himself to the
  Pharisees, reminding them that he and they shared
  the same view on the resurrection (Acts 236-8).
  Paul, to the right people, let it be known that
  he was a Roman citizen (Acts 1637-39 2225-29).

11
Chapter 17 Discussion

• Chapter 17 Verses 16-34
• In the process of finding common ground, we dare
  not compromise our core values or syncretism them
  with the world. We should instead practice more
  of what one late church of God minister
  counseled, "You don't have to tell all you know."
  Oftentimes, keeping our traps shut is the most
  diplomatic behavior of all (Ecclesiastes 37
  Lamentations 328-29 Amos 513).
• vs 22 Paul spoke from Mars' hill. Mars was the
  god of war.
• vs 23 It seems the Athenians were so religious
  and so polytheistic that they made sure to have
  an altar to an UNKNOWN GOD, just in case they
  missed one. But this afforded an opportunity for
  Paul to relate the gospel with their culture by
  revealing the true God of whom the Athenians were
  ignorant.

12
Chapter 17 Discussion

• Chapter 17 Verses 16-34
• vs 24 At first glance we might see a
  contradiction between the idea of God not
  dwelling in temples and the fact that the Temple
  in Jerusalem was reckoned as God's dwelling place
  (Matt 2321). Is there a contradiction?
• But in the dedication of that temple Solomon
  prayed, "But will God really dwell on earth? The
  heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain
  you. How much less this temple I have built!"
  1Kings 827 And he speaks much of heaven being
  God's dwelling place.  But Ps 747 clarifies
  this further saying,  "They burned your sanctuary
  to the ground they defiled the dwelling place of
  your Name." The temple was the dwelling place of
  God's name, not the dwelling place of God
  himself. It represented His presence on earth.
  Today the equivalent is the Christian community.
• In what temple does the Holy Spirit reside?
• 1Co 619  Do you not know that your body is a
  temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom
  you have received from God? You are not your own
  Eph 221  In him the whole building is joined
  together and rises to become a holy temple in the
  Lord. Thus we also have the New Testament paradox
  whereby we declare that God lives in us - the
  Christians - as His temple and yet is also
  omnipresent. For such dwelling is speaking in a
  different sense than what Paul is referring to
  here.

13
Chapter 17 Discussion

• Chapter 17 Verses 16-34
• vs 25 Is GOD dependent on us?
• But the idolaters worshipped their gods by
  serving them as if their gods were dependent upon
  them, much as Israel had to carry around the
  golden calf. It's simply silly to reckon God to
  be dependent upon us to provide for His needs.
  Isaiah mocks the idolaters in Isaiah 42 saying of
  the idolater
• He cut down cedars, or perhaps took a cypress or
  oak. He let it grow among the trees of the
  forest, or planted a pine, and the rain made it
  grow.  It is man's fuel for burning some of it
  he takes and warms himself, he kindles a fire and
  bakes bread. But he also fashions a god and
  worships it he makes an idol and bows down to
  it.  Half of the wood he burns in the fire over
  it he prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and
  eats his fill. He also warms himself and says,
  "Ah! I am warm I see the fire."  From the rest
  he makes a god, his idol he bows down to it and
  worships. He prays to it and says, "Save me you
  are my god."
• vs 26-27 "one blood" (KJV) The word "blood" is
  missing in manuscripts upon which modern
  translations are based. But rather than translate
  it simply "one" many chose to translate it "one
  man". What does this all mean?
• Paul's point here is the idea of common origin.
  The Athenians reckoned themselves superior and
  unlike other men. Such an attitude is not
  uncommon among racists throughout history. But
  the fact is that we all have a common origin.
  Many Jews were also racists in that they reckoned
  themselves superior to the Gentiles based upon
  their genetics.
• And thus this concept of common origin was a
  double edged sword. Paul also speaks of God's
  sovereignty over when and where we live. Why are
  you alive in this age and not in another? Why
  were you born and live in a certain place and not
  another? It is because given in the circumstances
  available God chose these for you so that you
  might seek God and ultimately find Him!

14
Chapter 17 Discussion

• Chapter 17 Verses 16-34
• What is it about your circumstances that have led
  you to seek God?
• vs 28 Paul actually quotes a couple of  Greek
  poets.
• The first comes from a quatrain attributed to the
  Cretan poet Epimenides (c.600 B.C.), which
  appeared first in his poem Cretica and is put on
  the lips of Minos, Zeus's son, in honor of his
  father
• They fashioned a tomb for thee, O holy and high
  one
• The Cretans, always liars, evil beasts, idle
  bellies!
• But thou art not dead thou livest and abidest
  for ever,
• For in thee we live and move and have our being
      (M.D. Gibson, ed., Horae Semiticae X    
  Cambridge Cambridge University, 1913, p. 40,
  in Syriac italics mine)
• Interesting to note also that Paul uses the first
  part of this quote in Titus 112 saying, "Even
  one of their own prophets has said, "Cretans are
  always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.""
• The second comes from the Cilician poet Aratus
  (c. 315-240 B.C.) "It is with Zeus that every
  one of us in every way has to do, for we are also
  his offspring italics mine" (Phaenonlena 5)
  which is also found in Cleanthes's (331-233 B.C.)
  earlier Hymn to Zeus, line 4.

15
Chapter 17 Discussion

• Chapter 17 Verses 16-34
• Was Paul equating God with Zeus?
• This is of course not to say that he equated God
  with Zeus nor agreed with these poets on
  everything. He was simply trying to show them
  that there were aspects of his message which were
  not far from their own concepts. Principle of
  Evangelism Know your audience. Christians should
  be familiar with the ideas and reasoning of those
  we seek to save. For didn't Christ also become a
  man and minister among sinners? By "we are his
  offspring" Paul is referring to the general
  relationship of created to Creator, and not to
  the special relationship inherent in the
  relationship between God and the Christians as
  the children of God.
• vs 29 How much are we like God?
• We are made in the image of God and the Greeks
  even affirm this to a degree in their
  anthropomorphizing of their gods in human form.
  Also see Exodus 7 and John 1034-36

16
Chapter 17 Discussion

• Chapter 17 Verses 16-34
• Who will be our judge in the end times?
• God the Father has appointed Jesus Christ to
  judge humanity. Only He has ever lived a perfect
  life. In addition, He knows what it is like to be
  a human being and what difficulties His people
  have while living in this present, evil world
  (Hebrews 214-18). Thus, He is eminently
  qualified to be the Judge of all mankind.
• In vs 30 Paul indicates that God
  overlooked, tolerated, or bore with it because
  of, in this case, our ignorance. God made
  excuses, as it were, to Himself to restrain
  Himself from striking out. How can God tolerate
  these things?
• This is, of course, bringing God down to a human
  level so we can understand. This is the kind of
  language Paul and Luke used to allow us to grasp
  the fact that God bore with us. We have to learn
  to do the same toward others.
• How do we know when the time of our repentance
  has come?
• The time of repentance is the crisis of your
  life. It is the turning point in your entire
  destiny!
• When we are finally brought to real repentance,
  we mean business. We are ready, in every phase of
  our lives, to say "Yes, Lord. Your will be
  done." In real repentance, we have become
  completely sick and tired of our own selfish
  ways. We are truly sorry for our sinsand we are
  ready and willing to make a permanent change. We
  are now ready to "turn around and go the other
  way"God's way.

17
Chapter 17 Discussion

• Chapter 17 Verses 16-34
• What is the basis upon which people should
  believe that Jesus Christ is who Paul claims him
  to be?
• His resurrection from the dead affirms the
  gospel. The physical historic fact of the
  resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is an
  essential part of the gospel message. For God
  does not expect or demand people to believe from
  blind faith. He is reasonable. But He affirms the
  message through miracles, being culminated in the
  resurrection. 
• Was Paul a failure in Athens?
• For among these philosophical elite there were
  those who wanted to hear more. And in fact some
  came to believe, like
• Dionysis, was a member of the Council. Eusebius
  later writes of the bishop of church of Corinth
  who in about 166 ad mentions this Dionysis that
  he later became an episcopate of the church at
  Athens. Such a comment is interesting also for
  the fact that a church indeed became established
  in Athens.