Jesus in His Church..

Welcome to Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church. Thank you for using and sharing our resources. What you're about to hear is God's Word from one of our teaching elders. We trust that God's Word will inspire, instruct, and bless you. For further teachings or information on our ministry, please visit us on our website at cornerstonerbc.

com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. Acts chapter 17, we continue with our series of Bible studies in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ in the middle or in his church. And today we're going to be studying Acts chapter 17.

So we're going to read Holy Scripture, paying much attention to each one of the words. And as we are able, trying to put together the things that we have studied so far as the story develops now in chapter 17. So this is the words of God. And I'm going to be reading from the English Standard Version of the Bible. in Acts chapter 17.

Now, when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ. And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women. But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, these men who have turned the world upside down have come here also.

And Jason has received them. And they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus. And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, They let them go. The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea.

And when they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now the Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica. They received the word with all eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them, therefore, believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing, as well as men. But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds.

Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command from Silas of four islands and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed. Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him.

And some said, what does this babbler wish to say? Others say, he seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities, because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Arapagos saying, may we know what this new teaching is that you're presenting? For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know, therefore, what these things mean.

Now, all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new. So Paul, standing in the midst of the Oropagos, said, Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, To the unknown God. What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by men, nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined a lot of periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him. Yet He is actually not far from each one of us, for in Him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have said, for we are indeed His offspring. Being, then, God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of men. The times of ignorance got overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed. And of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.

Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, but others said, We will hear you again about this. So Paul went out from their midst. But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius, the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them. Amen. This is the Word of the Lord.

May He bless the reading and the preaching of His Word, beloved of Christ. Now we're continuing now with our study through the book of Acts, and here we continue with this second missionary journey of the Apostle Paul, now with Silas. We know that this mission of the apostle and this mission of the Holy Spirit through the church is started in Acts chapter 13. This glorious message of the gospel that came first to the Jews and also promised that it was going to go to the nations. The message also to the Gentiles started in Acts chapter 13.

It was the Spirit of God through the ministry of the church with the apostles sending these men to proclaim the glorious message of salvation. Now, brothers and sisters, let's keep that in mind. The efforts of the early church in taking the message of salvation to the outermost part of the earth. If we have the gospel in our hands, if we know about Christ, it is because of the ministry of the Holy Spirit through the church and these missionaries, the apostles of the early church in bringing salvation, the message of salvation to the hidden and to the Gentiles. In that first missionary trip in Acts chapter 13 and 14, as we explained it, the apostle Paul from Antioch, which is the church that was sending these missionaries and these apostles, he went to Cyprus and then to Pamphylia and then to Antioch and as far as there be.

Many of the things that we learned in that first missionary trip was not only of the power of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ unto salvation for everyone who believes, but also of the many sufferings and tribulations that come with the proclamation of the gospel. How many people, yes, were saved, but how many people were opposed to the message of the gospel. And through the opposition of those who disbelieved or who did not believe the message of the gospel, many tribulations and difficulties came to the apostle Paul and also to those who were preaching the gospel. They decided to return, not to take the short trip, but to return, strengthening the churches and coming back to Antioch. that we may have the heart to pray that our church may be like in Antioch, the saints, men with the power of the gospel to the nations, bringing salvation to the lost.

They return to Antioch, Acts 13 and 14. And then in Acts chapter 15, our brother explained to us this first controversy of this disagreement, the first disagreement of the Gentile church in regards to a very important matter of the gospel. Do we have to circumcise to be saved? And then our brother explained to us that if we add something to the gospel, then we have lost the gospel. That there's nothing that is to be added to the gospel.

And that council in Jerusalem explained and gave light into this particular situation. That is the protection and the keeping of the message of salvation that is by grace through faith. Now, there's something very important also that happened at that meeting of that council in Jerusalem that is going to help us to understand a little bit of this second missionary journey. So if you go to Acts chapter 15, in the end of chapter 15, just before the Apostle Paul, before his separation from Barnabas, He's going to tell us of the intention and the desire that he had in his second missionary journey. It says in verse 36, in the end of chapter 15, And after some days, after this controversy had been solved with a letter that the apostles had written and given to Paul, it says, And after some days, Paul said to Barnabas, Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaim the word of the Lord and see how they are.

Now, the motivation, the intention of the Apostle Paul with, in this case, Barnabas, he's going to take Silas as our brother explained, is to go on and strengthen the churches with the word of the Lord. Now, in Acts chapter 16, we are told a little bit about this strengthening of the churches. So if you go to Acts chapter 16 in verse four, we are told about the shape or the form of this strengthening in the second missionary journey. Well, in my mind, this journey is trip. So let's just journey.

Acts 16, verse 4, it says, As they went on, this is in their second missionary journey, right? As they went on their way through the cities, they wanted to return to the cities. They delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. OK, pay attention to this. The first missionary journey that they started was to preach the gospel to the lost, and many were saved.

They were inserted into the universal church, right? By the baptism of the spirit into their body, they were saved. In this second missionary trip, when they have this intention of strengthening the churches, the way that they are going to strengthen the churches is not only by preaching the word, but it's also going to be by reminding them and presenting to all of these people the things that the apostles and the elders at Jerusalem had decided. So it says, the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. So, so as a result of it, The churches were strengthened in the faith and they increased in numbers daily.

Now, why is this important? This is very important because there's something implicit that happened in Acts chapter 15. And this is, of course, the protection of the message of the gospel. But brothers and sisters, here we have the the confirmation of the apostolic authority that it was through them that the Spirit of God was going to give us a scripture. Brothers and sisters, the first letter that the apostles wrote there or this letter that was sent with Paul and with the others to the churches was, if you want, the first piece of the New Testament canon.

Now, Paul was an apostle in the same category of the same importance of the 12th. He's going to claim that importance later on. But the people at Antioch saw the need of going down or up to Jerusalem to consult with the apostles about this particular matter. Now, the apostles, speaking through the Holy Spirit, wrote this letter, and then they took this letter to Antioch to strengthen the churches, and then from there, in their second missionary journey, they took the letter of the apostles to continue the work of strengthening. brothers and sisters.

When we read Acts chapter 15, the apostles and the elders at Jerusalem, they said that the prophets of the Old Testament had spoken of the freedom and the salvation of the Gentiles. And therefore, we write this letter not to put any burden on the Gentiles. And on top of that, they sent Silas and Judas to confirm the words that they had written as prophets of the New Testament. The strengthening of the church was through the Word of God that the Spirit was proclaiming through the apostles. And the early church started to recognize that it was through the apostles that matters of faith and of Scripture will be given.

to the point that they did not even acknowledge Paul at that point as an authority speaking from God at that level. But actually, they went down to Jerusalem. Now, the Apostle, that's why then in Galatians and in Corinthians will say, I am an apostle also, because many people will question and doubt the authority of the Apostle. Now, this is very, very important. because the Word of God was given to the early church through the apostles and then through the prophets and the early church knew this.

This was a scripture given to them, the first piece of the canon given to them. It was a battle of truth. Now, so this second missionary journey, what we have covered so far in chapter 15, or better, in chapter 16, has two very important points. The first point, or the first stage, if you want, it is in the visiting or revisiting the churches that they had already visited in the first trip, in the first journey, or the first time. That is the first stage of that second missionary journey.

It is when they went to Derbe and Iconium and Lystra and Antioch, they were in those cities strengthening the believers that they had already made in their first missionary journey. And the second important point is when they arrived to Philippi, as our brother explained to us. They wanted to go to Asia and they wanted to go to Bithynia. But we are told in Acts chapter 16 that the Spirit of God prevented them from going to Asia and to Bithynia, which was the reasonable place to go. But they are shown, or Paul is shown in a vision that they are supposed to go to Macedonia and the second place, which is Philippi.

So the first thing that they did was re- or strengthen the churches with this letter and with the Word of God given to them. That is the first thing. And the second thing is that they went to Philippi. And in Philippi, we know what happened. Our brother explained to us.

Now it is from Philippi that they are going to continue the journey that we have in Acts chapter 17. From Philippi, and we know what happened in Philippi, the opening of the hearts of Lydia and the imprisonment of Paul and Silas and the salvation of the jailer. We know the things that happened in Philippi. And it's important that you keep that in mind because there's letters of the New Testament that are directed to these people, right? The letter to the Philippians.

So it's important that you have that in your mind. Now, from Philippi, we find ourselves in Acts chapter 17. And in Acts chapter 17, the journey is going to continue to three main points or places. The first one is going to be Thessalonica. We have two letters, the first and second Thessalonians.

The second place there in verse 10 is Berea. We don't have any letters for Berea, but it is the second place or the second city is going to be Berea. And then the third one is going to be Athens. So this second part of this missionary journey is going to comprise these three different places, Thessalonica, Berea, and then Athens. From there, the apostle is going to go to Corinth, and then from Corinth, he's going to return to Antioch.

He's going to stop in Ephesus, but he's going to go to Antioch. Now, this is important, brothers and sisters, that you have in your mind. I think that Samuel has sent a map even to your phone if you actually wanted to see it in your phone. This is important because there's letters that have been written to some of the churches that are found in these cities. So even though sometimes geography and different places is difficult to keep in our minds, it's important at least that you know what happened in each one of those missionary journeys.

So we found ourselves in this second missionary journey and this part of it. We're reaching the end of this missionary journey. So he's going to go from Philippi to Thessalonica and then from Thessalonica to Berea and then he's going to go to Athens. Now, this should also immediately put in our minds, Paul and Silas are now with Timothy. Our brother explained to us that Timothy is now joining them, right?

So, Paul and Silas and Timothy, they are now all together. They are very far away from home, very far away from Antioch brothers and sisters. Imagine the diligence, the desire of these men to communicate this message of the gospel, all the effort that they are making to bring this glorious news of salvation. They are very far away from where they belong, from their church, their brothers, their sisters, their families, everything that they have. Yet they continue, moved by the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, with a desire to share the gospel, the good news of salvation to the lost.

and to proclaim to the Jews that there is a Messiah that has already come. And that's what the apostle does, first of all. He's going from Philippi down to Thessalonica, and he's going to stop in two cities there. We're told that he stops in Amphipolis and this other city, Apollonia. There's no information of what he does there, probably just transiting there, but he arrives to Thessalonica.

And one would think, brothers and sisters, that after so many years, that after so many controversies, that after so many disagreements, persecutions and difficulties, all stoned by the Jews, and after even the Apostle Paul has said in Acts chapter 13 or 14 that he is now going to the Gentiles, that he's leaving the Jews behind, that the Apostle will be done with the Jews, that he will not want to do anything else with the Jews. Yet we are told that in Thessalonica, which is a very important city of Macedonia, capital city, that there is a synagogue. And that the Apostle Paul, as is his custom, it says the text here, he goes to that synagogue to speak to the Jews for three different Sabbaths. Why would move this man who has been stoned? Why would move this man that has been persecuted by the Jews, who has been mocked by the Jews, almost dead in Lystra by the Jews?

Why would move this man who knows that he is the apostle to the Gentiles? Nothing else that the love of Christ that constrained him to go and preach the gospel, that is the desire of the heart of the apostle. Acts chapter 9, 10 and 11, it says that this is the desire of the heart of the apostle Paul, that his kinsmen will be saved. Even he says, I will desire to be cast off from Christ, that the Jews will be saved. I will desire, he says in Romans, that I will be cast off, removed from Christ, but that these people will be saved, brothers and sisters.

This is not possible to say in the flesh. These are the workings and the operations of the love of Christ in the heart of these men. These are the ones that have mocked Him, rejected Him, stoned Him, almost killed Him, yet He desires to bring this glorious message of salvation to the Jews. To say to them, my beloved brothers, brothers, my kinsmen, you are the sons of Abraham. You are the recipients of the promises.

You are the recipients of the covenant. You are the recipients of the oracles of God. And this Jesus Christ is your Messiah. Take my life, even to hell, away from Christ, but you may be saved." So then the apostle Paul, filled with love and with desire that his kinsmen will be saved, indeed he goes to this synagogue.

We are told that for three days, For three days he's going to speak to these Jews. Now, brothers and sisters, a manifestation of this desire is seen in what the Apostle does. He does not come to Thessalonica to only preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and then depart. He takes the time on three Sabbaths continually. He goes to the synagogue and we are told here in the text that he reasons.

that he reasons with the Jews. That word is not something of what we are doing here, that there is an active speaker and then there is some passive audience that are receiving a message, but rather this reasoning of the apostle with the Jews implies that he took the time to converse, to discuss, to argue from a scripture with love and patience and endurance, showing them that it was necessary that the Christ might suffer and may rise from the dead. So the Apostle Paul, constrained by the love of Christ, moved, goes into that synagogue with the patience of Christ, with the meekness of Christ, with the compassion of Christ, to open Scripture and to reason with the enemies. Love your enemies, love those who oppose, love those who are contrary to your ways. That's what the Lord teaches us and that's what he taught the Apostle Paul and that's exactly what he did.

We are taught now by the example of the Apostle here in this portion of Scripture, beloved of Christ, because it says, reasoned from Scripture. He was trained in the ways of the Lord. You see, he was a Pharisee. He knew a scripture. He had memorized a scripture.

But all of that scripture that he knew, it was completely closed to his eyes. It was necessary that Jesus Christ would be manifested to him in the way of Damascus, that his eyes will be open to see that everything that the Old Testament said, it was about this Jesus Christ. So it was now when he was united to Christ that he was able to reason from the Scriptures. The Scriptures that once were closed to him and that he was blind to, now they were open to his eyes to the point that he was able to open his mouth and reason from the Scriptures. He was able to give an answer from the hope that was within him.

He was able to sanctify the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in his heart and to open his mouth and to give an answer to those who will require an answer from Scripture. That is meant to be the heart of those who are to proclaim the gospel, that the word of God is so much in us, that the word of God is so much in our hearts, in our souls, in our eyes, that when a question is asked in relation to Jesus Christ, we're able to reason in love and in patience and endurance with those who ask. And we are able not to demonstrate our knowledge, our theology or our systems, but rather from a scripture. We're able to reason from a scripture presenting the Lord Jesus Christ. Then we are told something very interesting, brothers and sisters.

It says there, he reasoned from them from the Scripture, explaining and proving them. It was an exercise of discussion. It was an exercise of explaining carefully and slowly to them that all of this knowledge that they had, all of the knowledge that they had of the Scriptures was empty if the fulfillment of it or the coming together of it was not in the person of Christ. So the apostle diligently explained to them, but he says that it was necessary, that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, that it was a need, that it was not optional, but rather that it was a need for Jesus Christ both to suffer, that is to die, and after that to be resurrected. Not that it was a possibility, something that could have happened, that for the Messiah of the Israelites it was a necessity, His suffering and His resurrection.

In the words of the Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 1, verse 9 onwards, he says that this glorious salvation that we have as Gentiles was prophesied beforehand. It was a grace that was going to be ours. And the prophets of the Old Testament searched and inquired carefully trying to see in the Spirit of Christ what are going to be the sufferings and the subsequent glories of the Messiah that was to come. These all being given for the Gentiles, the sufferings and the subsequent glories. The Scriptures of the Old Testament spoke about the sufferings, the death of the Messiah and the subsequent glories, that is His resurrection from the dead, to conquer death and to establish the kingdom of God.

All of these we are told that it was necessary, that there was a need. Why was it necessary that the Messiah would suffer, die and then be powerfully resurrected? You see, the Jews and the people of Israel, they thought that the establishment of the kingdom of Israel was going to be a political, a geographical, a kingdom that was established in the might of men. They wanted that the Messiah would come and that this Messiah will be a man of power and valor and wisdom and that he, just as King David, will establish a kingdom and then the Gentiles will be subdued to the Jews through the power and the might, the political economic power of the kingdom established by the Messiah. The kingdom, according to the Jews, was a kingdom that was meant to be established through the righteousness, through the righteousness of the people of Israel.

And they will be able to receive the covenant blessings that God had promised. So in the mind of the Jew, they had to be good and observe and fulfill the requirements of the law. So if they fulfill the requirements of the law, God will pour unto them the blessings of the covenant and the kingdom will be established and they will be over the Gentiles and the hidden. The kingdom was a kingdom of righteousness, but what the Jews did not know is that it was impossible for them to obtain the righteousness of God through the keeping of the law. This is what the Apostle Paul will explain there in Acts or in Romans chapter 10, that he has this feeling of compassion for the Jews because Because the Jews were pursuing a righteousness, they have zeal for God, but they're pursuing a righteousness that is not the righteousness of God, but it's a righteousness of the law by works.

They did not know that the kingdom of righteousness of God was not going to be established by the keeping of the law, but by the Messiah coming and triumphing over death. because we were already unrighteous. So it was necessary. It was necessary that when the Messiah was going to come to establish the kingdom of Israel, that the first enemy that he was going to defeat was going to be seen and death upon the cross by and through his death. And then when he's powerfully resurrected, he will establish and inaugurate the kingdom of righteousness of God.

It was necessary that this kingdom will not be established according to the perspectives and the systems of the world, but rather that this kingdom will be a kingdom, a spiritual kingdom in the person of Jesus Christ and through Him. This is the necessity of the death of the sufferings and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the apostle says this Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, this Jesus is the Christ, this Jesus is the Messiah. Brothers and sisters, they did not know that. They were completely blind to this glorious truth of the righteousness of the kingdom of God, not obtained by the works of the law in men, but rather that it was God himself, the one who had to fulfill righteousness to establish this kingdom for the people.

We are kingdom members by being in the person of Jesus Christ who is the one who had obtained the righteousness of God and the kingdom of righteousness. This is the message that then Paul was presenting diligently. Now imagine, think about this, all of these people were raised, they grew up and they understood that the righteousness was to the law and they needed to keep Moses and that Moses was the intermediary unto a fulfillment. Now comes this person who says, the intermediary unto righteousness is not Moses anymore. Well, it's not Moses, it is the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is only one mediator between man and God and that is the main God, Jesus Christ. Praise God for that because He's the one that fulfills all the requirements and establishes that kingdom. When the truth of the gospel is proclaimed, then there is going to be fruit, as I have said in the past. And the result of this in Thessalonica, when Thessalonica was twofold. First of all, satanic opposition, and the second one was the fruit of salvation.

So we are told that after this proclamation of the gospel in the synagogue for three Sabbaths and reasoning diligently and in love, that the fruit of it is going to be, first of all, that many people believed. Many of the Jews believed, many of the Greek devout believed, and many of the leading women believed. The Lord had its purpose in the coming of Paul to Macedonia and to Thessalonica. And that is the salvation of some of them. Some of them believed.

Even we are told the story about this Jason, who seems to be a person there, a believer who was receiving other believers in his house to the point that the opposers or those who were in opposition to the message, thought that Paul and Silas and Timothy would be in Jason's house. So these people that we are told that are filled with jealousy, jealousy, imagine that in the flesh, purely in the flesh. They have these visitors coming from afar off speaking this message that interpret the scripture. And now many people are following them in their minds. They are not following us.

They are not following us anymore, but now they are following Paul and Silas and Timothy. So they are filled with jealousy. They are now jealous in their hearts. What are they going to do? They're going to try to find ways to actually oppose the workings of the gospel, not in their own will, but a satanic, demonic will in opposition against the mission of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But one of the things, one of the things that I want you to observe, brothers and sisters, is that the fruit of salvation to these believers, Jason and the others that were in his house, the brothers and sisters that would have been in his house, comes also with the opposition of Satan. Because the same opposition and the same tribulation and the same difficulties that Paul, Silas and Timothy would have faced as they were proclaiming the gospel is what Jason and the other believers of Thessalonica are left with. So that is that if we're going to follow Jesus Christ, then we're going to enter into His kingdom through many tribulations. Just as the apostles and the prophets will enter into that kingdom through many tribulations, Jason and the believers will also do exactly the same. These Jews are now filled with this anger.

They're going to collect or bring some men so that they will uproar the city, bring chaos to the city, so that the city will be against them. And they're going to say something very interesting there. When they're accusing Jason, because they think that they have received Paul and Silas and Timothy. When they are accusing them, it says in the end of verse 16, it says, these men who have turned the world upside down, And praise God for that, because indeed these feeble, weak, limited men, they were indeed turning the world upside down. The message of the gospel of Jesus Christ that was spreading through all of those cities was indeed turning the world upside down.

And this is what it should be said of the church, brothers and sisters, that the message of proclamation of the gospel, the righteousness that is found in the person of Jesus Christ, the power of the Spirit working in us individually and covenantally, is to turn the world upside down. Not the power of the world to turn the church upside down, but rather the church to turn the world upside down. This is the message that they were proclaiming with much eagerness and with much power in the Holy Spirit. So they are going to be accused that what they are saying is in opposition to the king, to Caesar. That they are saying that there is no other king but Jesus Christ.

And this is true and this is false. Because you see, Jesus Christ is not a replacement of Caesar. Jesus Christ is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. So the Lord says, give to Caesar what is his and give to God what is God's. They were just simply changing that message, trying to bring opposition to these people.

It seems that they were afflicted and they were oppressed, let's say, or they were afflicted better by all of this pressure that these people put on Jason and the believers. And they saw how the life of the apostle and Silas and Timothy were in danger. So we are told there in verse nine that when they had taken money and security from Jason, And the rest, they let them go. So it seems that they brought this accusation to Jason and the brothers and sisters that this proclamation of this message of the gospel was bringing some civil disturbance. And if that accusation would have continued, there would have been much opposition or even a death for some of them.

So it seems that they paid certain amount of money as security was given to them so that they will remove or lift up that accusation that was on them. Now, this was with the purpose of the progress of the gospel. Now, we are told there in 1st Thessalonians, we're told in 1st Thessalonians, the letter that is written for these people, that Paul speaks of the hindrance of Satan, that he wanted to continue preaching there in Thessalonica, but there was a hindrance. Perhaps he's referring to the opposition, the demonic opposition of all of these men against the brothers Jason and the apostles and the messengers of the missionaries, so that they had to depart. Now, brothers and sisters, the interpretation of the apostle Paul of what happened in Thessalonica is glorious.

And I would like just to invite you just to read a portion of the First Thessalonians. You will see the apostolic perspective of what happened at Thessalonica. So go to First Thessalonians, chapter 1. And this is fleshed out, or this is the heart of the Apostle. In that very short description that Luke gives us, then you can see here the heart of the Apostle.

We could easily read three chapters. Perhaps we will do it, perhaps we will not do it. But let's just read some of the details of what the Apostle says to the Thessalonians. It says, Paul, Silvanus and Timothy. Now you understand that, right?

Paul, Silvanus and Timothy. To the church of the Thessalonians in God, the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace. We give thanks to God always for all of you constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers and sisters, loved by God, that he has chosen you because our gospel Now, listen to this.

Our gospel came to you, not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit, and with full conviction. Jason and the brothers and sisters at Thessalonica, they would have been persecuted equally like Paul and Silas and Timothy. After Paul departed, they were left not only with eternal life, but with the persecutions and the tribulations that come with being a son of God in the person of Jesus Christ. So the word of God came in full conviction, in power. They received this word, not as the word of men, but as the word of God.

Then he says, You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake, and you became imitators of us and of the Lord. For you received the word in much affliction with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God." The Thessalonians were idolaters.

When Paul and the others came, they preached the gospel and these people turned from idols. We're not told that, but they are turned from idols to God and wait for his son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. Now, just bear with me. And perhaps in the second chapter, there's also interesting. Please continue with me.

For you yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you was not in vain. But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our gut to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. For appeal does not spring from error, or impurity, or any attempt to deceive. But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please men, but to please God who tests our hearts. For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed.

God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God, but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. Now, just listen to that heart of the apostle, that they were like children to him, and that the heart of the apostle was connected, was taken by the heart of the Thessalonians, just like the heart of David and Jonathan, connected in love.

They were in love for one another in Christ. They were attached in the Spirit to one another. Now, this father who has just through the gospel and in the Spirit begotten this, spiritually speaking, people unto Jesus Christ, he has to depart. He has to depart. He has to leave this place.

What other reason would not be more than the glory and the exaltation of the name of Jesus Christ and the continuing proclamation of the gospel to leave his children behind, knowing that the same persecutions and difficulties that he went through is that which is before the people at Thessalonica. The only way that a person could do that is by having absolute certainty that the life of those believers does not depend on the efforts of the Apostle, but the life of those believers is in the hands of the Savior and of the Lord. That the same Savior that is working through the Apostle and Silas and Timothy and is spreading the gospel and conforming them to Christ and fulfilling the objective, It is the one that is going to work in those who have been genuinely saved in Thessalonica. So the Apostle can depart and go into the next city, in this case, because of force. It was imposed onto him because of the circumstances and he goes to Berea.

So we are told that it's the brothers of Thessalonica in verse 10 that they immediately sent Paul and Silas, and of course we know Timothy, away. by night. This speaks that their departure, it is a matter of, you know, that they were doing it covered. They didn't want to be seen. So they depart at night and they go to Berea.

Immediately, brothers and sisters, Luke wants to present to us a contrast, a contrast between the saints of those who received the words at Berea and those who had received the word at Thessalonica. So we are told in verse 10, and when they had arrived at Berea, they went into the Jewish synagogue. That was the custom of the apostle, right? They went into Berea to the synagogue. And now these Jews, the Jews that were in Berea, we are told that they were more noble than those in Thessalonica."

Now, this is a very interesting language in Paul, or better in Luke, but in Scripture, and describing the ministry of Paul. Because the Apostle Paul will say in 1 Corinthians 1, chapter 1 and chapter 2, I think chapter 1, that it is not many noble that are the ones that have been called. That is actually that which is the despised of the world, that which is the meek of the world, that which is the lowly of the world, is that which God has called to the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet here we have in Berea, or at Berea, that we have this Jews that are going to receive the Word of God in a particular way and are going to be saved, we are told that they are more noble. That word literally means of a higher rank, very contradictory to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 1.

But why is this? Because being of a higher rank, spiritually speaking, is not the same to be of a noble status, of a higher rank in the flesh. You see, in the flesh, being of a noble status, of a higher rank, it is our reputation, where we come from, how much money we have. But spiritually speaking, by the workings of the Spirit, a person that is of higher rank has the spirit of the Bereans that they have here. They received the Word of God with all eagerness.

They received the Word with all eagerness. How did they do that? They did it by examining the Scriptures daily. What was the purpose of the examination of the Word of God daily? To see if those things were true.

Everything in relation to the Word of God. Brothers and sisters, the higher rank, spiritually speaking, of the nobleness or nobility of the people at Berea, compared with those in Thessalonica or Thessalonica, were in relation to the Word of God. They received the Word of God with all eagerness and with all desire. Their hearts were eager to hear the words that the apostles were to speak, and that eagerness was manifested in the fact that they were diligent. So, they will examine the Scriptures daily.

They were not slothful, they were not lazy, but they received that Word and the manifestation of it was that they were examining the Scriptures. What? To confirm, to confront. If that which was said is that which is written. everything in relation to the Word of God.

Brothers and sisters, when we go through the parables in the New Testament, we're told that there is a type of heart in which the Word of God is sowed and enters into a heart and that Satan comes and steals and takes that word and these people do not believe. Or that there are circumstances in our life that choke or move the work of the Word of God in our hearts. The heart of the genuine believer is a heart that is eagerly awaiting for the Word of God. And when the Word of God is proclaimed, it's a heart that eagerly meditates upon the Word of God and confirms that against the Scripture to see if those things are truth. You see, the desire of those who are moved by the Spirit is a desire to truth.

And they know that truth is that which corresponds to Scripture. So, they will not negotiate and they will not take anything less than truth. And truth requires diligence. Now, brothers and sisters, this is what we are called to do with the Word that is preached. with the words that are preached from the pulpit, with the words that are mentioned from those who speak and those who preach, are to be listened and received with much eagerness, but also they are to be examined against Scripture.

They are to be examined and confronted against that which is written, to prove and to know if that which is said corresponds to truth. How much you do that and how much you are eager to receive the truth of the Word of God, it speaks of where your heart is. So, brothers and sisters, we are to have the diligence and the eagerness of those in Berea now. What is more confronting and interesting is that this exercise of the Bereans, it seems to be the cause of their belief. So we are told in verse 12, "...

many of them therefore..." as a result of their eagerness, as a result of their continued and ongoing examining of the Word, as the result of their desire to see that this was truth. As the result of it, they believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. The Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ was already working in them, drawing them to the Lord Jesus Christ by working in their hearts. I desire to hear the words of the Savior, giving them diligence to seek in the Scripture just to see if those things were true.

What I contrast here, Luke is presenting and giving us between the hardened hearts of those at Thessalonica and the heart in which the Spirit of God was working at Berea. So many of them believed. and the spirit of Satan that was in those Jews, disbelieving or unbelieving Jews in Thessalonica, moved them now, not only to hear that the word of God was being preached at Berea, but also moved them to travel also the distance to go and oppose the apostle again. So we are told that when these Jews heard all of these things that were happening, they decided to go there because they were jealous, pushed, moved, Encouraged by satanic desires and demonic powers, they went all this way to make opposition to the Word of God. But once a person has been truly saved by the working of the Spirit, there is no demonic or satanic power that can unsave that person.

Because once a person is in the hands of Christ, then there is nothing that can separate us from the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. So Satan and his demons working in these men were working against the proclamation of the gospel, but those souls that had been taken captive into eternity by the workings of the Spirit, We're now in the person of Jesus Christ. So the ministry of the Apostle will continue. That's what he does there in Berea. There's going to be a stirring up.

Those who are not in Christ will receive the satanic words of those of Thessalonica and will oppose the Apostle. So now here's something interesting is going to happen because the brothers of Berea are going to send to better Paul and Silas and Timothy. They will decide to go now to Athens to the next city. But we are told that only Paul goes to Athens. We are told that that Silas and Timothy remained at Berea.

And now some of the men, some of the brothers who were saved at Berea, they took the apostle Paul now by sea, sailed down to Athens. And in Athens, when they arrived there, the apostle is going to give an instruction to these men and say, please go back to Berea and just tell Silas and Timothy, that when they're finished there, they come back to me as soon as possible. So now we move into a very interesting story now in the third place, in the third city now, which is Athens. We have covered now what happens in Thessalonica, what happened in Berea, now brothers and sisters, and now we have here what happens in Athens. We are told now something very interesting by Luke.

And this is, brothers and sisters, that as we know already Thessalonica was a city of idolatry and even those who had been saved in Thessalonica had been saved from idols. We were told in 1 Thessalonians 1, verse 9 and 10 that they had been saved from idols. Now Luke decides to give us some particular information about the emotional disposition and the emotional reaction of the Apostle Paul to what was happening at Athens. So we are told that while Paul was waiting at Athens for Timothy and Silas, because he wanted them to come back to him, We are going to be given an insight into what happened in the core of Paul. So Luke says to us that he was provoked in his spirit.

That it is that there was a strong emotional reaction in Paul, that his core, his heart, his spirit was moved in such a radical way. That he was perplexed by what he was actually seeing. This is very similar vocabulary or a word used to speak of the sharp disagreement that existed between Paul and Barnabas. Something very emotional, something very strong. And we are told that that which moved Paul to this emotional status or this emotional state better, it is what he was seeing.

And he was seeing that this was a city of idolatry. It was a city of ideology who was provoked in anger by this situation that was happening there. But as I said, Paul had already seen many idols and Paul had traveled through many different cities and those different cities will have their idols and their gods and their divinities and their temples and their systems of worship and all of those things. So it would have not been something different to what he was actually seeing then in Athens. But we are told something very interesting about that idolatry there in verse 16, and that is that the city was not only a city of idols, but this was a city that was full of idols.

That is a city that had been taken over completely by idolatry. That would have been a city that when Paul was walking through, he would have seen different temples and different images and different divinities that had been created by men full of it. The people and the men of Athens were men that had been taken captive over by the idolatry that had created for themselves many, many idols. Now, as I said, this is something that we're already seeing. But what makes it here so different in Athens and why is Luke telling us this particular information about this city in Athens?

And this is because, brothers and sisters, you see, idolatry is simply an external manifestation of something that happens internally and spiritually in the heart of a particular person. Idolatry, something that takes the place of God, corresponds to something, a reality that rules powerfully through the heart and through the mind of the person. And that condition is that men have made themselves the ultimate authority of truth. so that they can discern for themselves that which is worthy of giving oneself unto, different to God. You see, brothers and sisters, idolatry is nothing else than making yourself the ultimate authority of truth.

So that because you are the ultimate authority of truth, you can discern that which is worthy and that which is valuable of giving yourself unto. Of giving your time, of giving your effort, of giving yourself, your worship, of giving your knowledge, your intentions, your strength, your energy. that is worship, unto idols, that is the core aspect of idolatry. You have made yourself so much the ultimate authority of that truth and removing God that now you have the power to decide what is worthy, what is valuable to give yourself unto. That was the core thing that was happening in the heart of those who were at Athens.

The city was full of idols because they had made themselves the standard of knowledge and of worship so that they could decide what was worthy and what was valuable so that they could give themselves unto. They were the final standard and authority of truth. And at least I want you to see it here from the information that Lux gives us in two aspects. They were lovers and seekers, and they made themselves the standard and authority of, first of all, knowledge. And second of all, they made themselves the final authority and the standard of worship.

We are told, if you pay attention in verse 21, about the type of life that the people at Athens will have. It says, verse 21, Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who live there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new. They were completely given, entirely given. They desired very deep into their hearts and into their soul to know more, to hear things, to receive things. We can see in the philosophies that we are told in verse 18 that there were some Epicureans and some stoic philosophers.

These are people that think and they try to come up with answers for very important matters of life. People at Athens or in Athens, they were the standard or they were lovers of knowledge. They wanted to know new things, to receive, to listen, to observe, to define that which was for them. They were lovers of this particular knowledge. You can see even in the way that they accept when Paul comes to them with what he was preaching that they say to him in verse 19.

And they took him, that is, Paul, and brought him to the Aeropagus, saying, May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know, therefore, what these things mean. Now, these people were wise in their own ways. They were wise in their own opinion.

This is the condition of men. Men in the flesh and men apart from Jesus Christ is wise in their own ways and they become the authority and the definers of that which is knowledge and men are always seeking to know more and knowledge that is in the flesh always pops up. and takes and moves and exposes the workings of the flesh. They were given themselves to knowledge. Not only that, but they were given themselves to worship.

If they were the final authority that defined everything that was valuable and worthy to give oneself unto, then they could define who are going to be the gods that they were going to worship. So, as men who are puffed up in their minds, as wise who are according to the flesh, they came up with their gods made according to their own image. So, as there are many ideas there was in Athens, there would be gods. As many affairs and matters of life there would be in Athens, there would be gods. So, that city will be full of idols.

Full of idols. And these idols were man-made idols. They were made according to the image and the thoughts that men had in their mind, to the point that when Paul is speaking to them, we see that they confuse And you see there in verse 18 says, Some of the Epicureans and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, What does this babbler wish to say? Others said, He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities.

Think about that. These people were so accepting of man-made idols, man-made divinities and man-made gods that they conceived the idea that there could be foreign divinities and foreign gods or gods of other people and they wanted to hear about those particular gods. It says, because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection, even it seems that they confused and they thought that he was speaking about two different gods, Jesus and resurrection, these foreign divinities, brothers and sisters. The heart of Paul was provoked or was moved within him. The spirit was moved in such a way because he saw that men in Athens had made themselves the ultimate authority for what they knew and what they worshipped, and they had come up with all kinds of idols.

Men made idols, men after creatures and different types of temples and divinities that were created by men, and this provoked the spirit of the apostle. Holy zeal, holy anger towards the ways of these men. How is then the apostle, how is he going to destroy the man-made Babel towers? How is he going to destroy the man-made gods? How is he going to destroy the man-made knowledge?

How is he going to destroy these man self-centered ideologies of the people of Athens? Brothers and sisters, there is no other way to destroy the power of self in man than by the exaltation of the only true God. So he is going to offend. the people at Athens. Because brothers and sisters, you can have, people can create in their own minds, guts that are according to their desires, that behave and do the things that they want, that respond to the way that they want them to respond.

And they are okay submitting to these gods because they have been created according to the mind of men. And what satisfies people is that they do what I desire. They speak how I want and they work as I want. But Paul is going to come and is going to destroy that by the exaltation of the true God. So then we are told in verse 22, we're going to be given the discourse or the preaching of the apostle Paul.

And he's going to do a couple of things. And we're just going to summarize that in a very simple way, brothers and sisters, of what he's going to do, because what he's going to present here is just basically what the apostle Paul teaches in Romans chapter one. And we might go and see that if the Lord leads. But this is basically what the apostle does. He is going to, first of all, capture the attention of the people of Athens in verses 23.

When you start in verse 22 and verse 23, he's going to capture the attention of these men of Athens. And then once the attention has been captured, he's going to present a message of exaltation of the only one God. Now, he says to capture the attention, he says, As I was walking through the city and as I was just going through the city, I saw these many things that you have. And I saw that you are a religious people and that you have all of these objects of your worship. So he acknowledged that these people had objects of worship, that they have come up with these many type of deities and temples and all of these images that they were actually worshiping.

And he says, but you have One that says to the unknown God, and I am the one that is going to proclaim to you about this God that you do not know. You have a desire to know about these deities and about these gods, and you have one that you do not know. I am the one that is going to proclaim to you about this one. He says, what therefore you worship as a nun, this I proclaim to you. So the glorious message of Paul is going to start in verse 24.

And what he's going to do, brothers and sisters, is this. He is going to basically present to the people and to the men of Athens, God, the God of the Bible, as the creator of the world and the ruler of the world. First thing that he does, God as the creator of the world and the ruler of the world that he created. Once he has done that, he's going to present God as the creator of men and as the ruler of men." In verses 24 and 25, he presents God as the creator of the world and as the ruler of the world.

And then from verses 26 to verse 27, he presents God as the creator of men and as the ruler. of men. Now be with me, brothers and sisters here, because what the apostle is going to do, and I hope that the Lord might give me the words to try to show what he does here is clear to your ears, because what he does is glorious. He's going to pierce the spiritual ego of these fallen men. These fallen men who had given themselves the right to come up with gods and with deities.

These sinful, broken men who had given themselves the right to come as being the standards of truth, and being the one that discerns what we want to know and the things that we reject, and even calling the apostle a bubbler, one that does know many things, being them the bubblers, the ones that do know the truth. He is going to pierce the ego. He's going to come with the Spirit of God in him and he's preaching to pierce and to reach to the court of this matter. The people and the men at Athens were exalting men. Paul is going to come to exalt God.

So he says that this God whom I proclaim, he says, is the creator of the world and everything that is in them. He is the creator. He's the one that has created the heavens and the earth and everything that is in them. And he is not only the creator of the world, but he's also the Lord. He rules over everything that has been created in heaven and earth.

Now, because he is the creator of the world and the ruler of the world, he does not dwell in places that have been created by men. So he says, God is the creator of the world and he rules on everything that has been created in the world. And therefore, he does not live in temples that have been created by men. Now, the place would have been filled with temples that would have been created by men with images and statues that had been created by men. And they thought that their gods were living in those particular temples.

Now, he says, My God is the Creator of everything and the Ruler of everything, and He does not live in those temples that have been created by you, comparing the Creator with you, who think to be a creator of a dwelling place, nor is He served by human hands. Why? Because if there is a God that dwells or lives in a created temple, and He needs to be served by human hands, He is not God. So then he comforts and changes that, but this God is the giver. He's the giver of life, he's the giver of breath, and he's the giver of everything.

You thought that the gods that you have created, who live in created places, are the ones that need your offerings to bring things unto this God? The God that I'm proclaiming to you is the creator and the ruler of the world, that is the one that gives you everything that you need, life and bread and everything. He is the ruler. There is a distinction between the one that creates and the one that is created. And the one that is created, this is important brothers and sisters, cannot create dwelling places for the Creator.

So then he continues in verse 16, he says, And he made, then he moves to the second point, this God is not only the creator of the world and the ruler of the world, but this God is the creator of men and the ruler of men. He says in verse 26, And he made from one man every nation of mankind, now pay attention, to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place. That is that you thought that you could create a temple made by hands to be the dwelling place of your gods. The God that I am preaching to you and proclaiming to you, this God which is unknown to you, is the creator of the world and everything that is in the world. And he does not only not live in the temples that you have created, but he is the one that when created from one man, all nations, he is the one that determines the boundaries and the dwelling places of men.

You thought that you were creating a dwelling place for these gods? It's actually you living in the creation that God created and He is the one that defines the boundaries and the dwelling places of men. And the purpose of this governing authority of God the Creator over the creature, it is this mercy in verse 27, that they should seek God and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him. He does not only, brothers and sisters, portray this God as the creator and ruler of the world, but also he makes a very important distinction between everything that has been created and men. God is the creator of men.

And then he will move to say that these men are the offspring of God. Now, I could not express this in better words than the words that Apostle Paul expresses in Acts chapter, in Romans chapter 1. So quickly, let's just simply go there and read there because there's a couple of things that I want us just to see there in Romans chapter 1 before we conclude Acts chapter 17. Brothers and sisters, Acts in Romans chapter 1. The Apostle says in Romans 1, verse 18, Now, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honour Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal men and birds and animals and creeping things.

Therefore God gave them up in the lust of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions, for the women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature, and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passions for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice.

They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless." Now pay attention to the verse 32. "...though they know God's righteous decree.

What is that decree? That those who practice such things deserve to die. That is judgment. They not only do them, but give approval to those who practice them. Paul was at Athens presenting the God creator who rules over the creation that he has created and also presenting the God that did not only create creation, but also create men.

This man, as Paul calls it in Acts chapter 17, was the offspring of God. And even he quotes some of the poets and some of the writings of the men of Athens to show them that even they knew in a certain way that they were the offspring of this God. That it is that this God who is the creator of everything that has been created, it is in a relationship with everything that He has created. and everything that He has created, it is in necessity, in need of obedience to this Creator that rules over everything. You see, brothers and sisters, the lust that is one outside of the person of Jesus Christ.

When they open their eyes and they see everything that God has created, they have the testimony of the eternal power of God and also the divine nature of God. That it is that people know that there is a being that is different to us, that is of divine nature, and his workings are eternal and powerful. They have the testimony of everything that has been created. But verse 32 tells us that they also know that this God has a righteous decree of judgment upon sin. That's why in Acts chapter 17, when we go back after the apostle has presented to these people in Athens, the reality of God as the creator of everything and the ruler of everything, and also the creator of mankind or the creator of men and all nations, He's now going to present to them the judgment of God that is coming.

He acknowledges in verse 29 that people are the offspring of God, and therefore we are not to create for ourselves gods that are according to our own imaginations. But God has passed these times of ignorance, he says in verse 30, the times of ignorance God overlooked, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent of their sins, because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world. in righteousness. Now, this is the crazy things for the people at Athens, because now we have this crazy man that is coming in this language to speak to us about this Creator that has created everything in the world, that is the ruler of everything, that is very different to the powerless, limited gods that they had created, that they were very small compared with this Creator. But now we have this man preaching this Creator of everything and ruler of everything, telling us that He had also created all humankind and that we are the offspring of God and that we're going to be judged by this God, but then this man says that this judgment is going to be through something that has been created, namely a man.

It says, Because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead. This man is absolutely nuts. This man is absolutely crazy. He's telling us that the Creator of the world is going to judge us through a man of equal standing to us who was resurrected from the dead. Hearts were hardened.

Most of them were hardened to the message of the gospel, and they moaned when they heard of the resurrection of these men. Some of them believed, we're told about two people that believed, and many others just said, okay, we're going to hear you, we want to listen to you one more time, but many of them departed. The hardening of the heart was taking place. Many of them rejected the message of the gospel. Now, brothers and sisters, in this story of what we have here in verse, in chapter 17 of this book of Acts, is just simply an answer to a very simple question.

How can men know God? How can we truly, how can we truly know in a saving knowledge? How can we know God? What Luke has done here is just presenting to us two different perspectives of how can people know God. One is through those who seem to have the Scriptures, namely the Jews, and who have heard about the Messiah, and who have the authority of the Scripture, the oracles of God in their hands.

And the other one is through these Gentiles who do not have the Scriptures, and therefore Paul did not come to the synagogue there to proclaim, but was in the marketplace every day preaching to them. And now these other people that do not have the Scriptures. There are two ways to approach the knowledge of God, brothers and sisters. One is through the flesh, and the other one is through the Spirit. In the flesh, we can have the Scriptures and we can have truth.

But if it's in the flesh, then the person is going to have the same response that the unbelieving Jews had, that is, reject the Messiah and even become the enemies of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, trying to destroy the proclamation of the Gospel. Same reaction of those who do not have the Scriptures and who are Gentiles and who are hardened in their hearts. Because true knowledge of God, brothers and sisters, only happens through the workings of the Holy Spirit. Be it that we have the Scriptures for the Jews, or be it that they don't have the Scriptures, the Gentiles, but they have the testimony of creation, testifying that there is a God. Salvation is only by the workings of the Holy Spirit when the offensive message of the Gospel, either for the Jew or for the Greek, is made real in the person.

And this is the lesson that we are to learn as we progress through the book of Acts. that it is not in the power of the flesh, brothers and sisters, but it's rather in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is not with the striving, with the efforts, and with the imaginations of men that we're going to be able to convince others of salvation in Jesus Christ. but it's only through the power of the Holy Spirit, either by taking a scripture and making it clear to the heart of the person, or by taking the workings of creation and the testimony of the conscience into a person to save them and to regenerate them unto eternal life. This is to be not only the tool and the instrument, but also the desire of the church, brothers and sisters, that the message that we have is supposed to turn the world upside down by the regeneration and salvation of that which is unsavable by other ways.

not the world to turn the church upside down by bringing the ways and the imaginations of the world into the church, removing and taking the power from the Christian and changing the gospel for ways of men. May He give us grace to understand all of these things. Amen.