AGNOSTO THEO? THE UNKNOWN GOD OF THE FAITHFUL
And Paul, being in the midst of the Areopas, said, Athenians, I see you in all a little superstitious; because, passing by and seeing your sanctuaries, I also found an altar on which it was written: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD: what you unknowingly honor is what I announce (Acts 17: 22. 23)
- When Paul.
- The Apostle.
- Gave his speech in Athens.
- He began by quoting an altar on which Agnosto Theo (to the Unknown God) was engraved and using this cultural hook.
- As well as the quote from local literature.
- Does he continue to present?the world and everything in it?.
Although there is a general revelation from God in creation, consciousness, and history, it cannot save man. And it does not happen because of a problem in revelation, for this general knowledge is a guide to specific and saving revelation, as Paul says in Acts 17: 27,28:
that they may seek the Lord, if they find Him groping; though it is not far from each of us; because there we live, move and exist; as some of your poets have said: For we too are your generation.
But the ineffectiveness of general revelation in salvation lies in the un regenerated heart of the human being who rejects the knowledge of God, as Paul says in Romans 1:18-32, which makes man inexcusable.
For what God can know in them is manifested, for God has manifested it to him; because their invisible things, from the creation of the world, both their eternal power and their divinity, are clearly understood and seen by the things they are. created, so that they are unforgivable; For having known God, they did not glorify him as God, nor gave him thanks, but in their speeches they fainted and their foolish hearts were darkened (Romans 1:19-21).
Therefore, a saving knowledge, not necessarily complete but fundamental and correct, of Christ’s redemptive work is essential and urgent; without this, salvation is impossible, because it is necessary to believe and repent. Paul’s text below specifies the role of preaching and God’s specific knowledge in salvation:
For there is no difference between Jew and Greek; for one is the Lord of all, rich for all who invoke him; for whoever invokes the name of the Lord shall be saved. So how will they invoke the one they didn’t believe, and how will they believe the one they haven’t heard, and how will they hear if there’s no one to preach, and how else will they preach?as written: How beautiful are the feet of those who proclaim the gospel of peace; of those who bring good news of good things. But not everyone obeyed the gospel; For Isaiah said, Lord, who believed in our preaching?Therefore, this faith is by hearing and hearing the word of God (Romans 10:12-17).
To make god alive and eternal, Trinitarian and one, omnipotent and creative, omnipresent and immutable, omniscient and sovereign, the God who is who he is, the God Yahweh, his will, his decrees and his work known to man is the mission of the Church left by Christ in the great commission.
In the world, there is only one thing to look for: the knowledge of God (Robert H. Benson).