"For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'”
Acts 17:28
The world defines purpose as an objective or goal to be achieved. It rates financial prosperity, vocational success, and self-belief as crucial benchmarks needed to experience satisfaction and happiness. But such pursuits are meaningless if a relationship with God is missing. After all, God is the One Who ultimately gives humanity purpose. He is the One Who forms and fashions the framework for our passage though this life. If our days are consumed with personal aspirations developed outside of God’s command and blessing we will almost certainly have a spiritually unsubstantial existence. Our core drive should be to know God, and thereby delight in Him.
An incident some years ago, when I was the part-time music minister for a small church in Oklahoma City, reminded me how critical purpose is at both the individual and corporate level. My pastor, at the time, was a truly gifted man. He had an infectious appreciation for God’s Word, and an extraordinary ability to communicate it, especially in regard to conveying the historical and cultural nuances of the biblical world. His educational pedigree and zeal for Scripture produced some incredibly rich sermons. The pastor was also a very organized administrator. On his office desk sat a calendar which catalogued, in great detail, upcoming events and seminars. Because of his desire to stay apprised of the various ministry happenings, it came as no surprise when the pastor asked me and the youth minister to begin participating in staff meetings every Wednesday afternoon before the church-wide evening dinner.
For the first few weeks, our discussions were informal and devoid of dire agendas or matters. We planned important activities and functions. We discussed budgetary figures, as well as fiscal constraints. But as the months passed, the pastor broadened the scope of our meeting and opened up about an emerging burden that was bothering him. He could not pinpoint it, but he felt something within the overall church ministry was lacking, which troubled him a great deal. The youth pastor and I attempted to diagnose the source of the pastor’s distress but we were unsuccessful. The hour we had in our weekly staff meeting did not provide us enough time to adequately analyze the dilemma. The pastor suggested we arrange a staff retreat one weekend. He recommended the retreat take place outside the city limits in order to help minimize distractions. We selected a date and chose a location: a lake cabin some ninety miles outside the metropolitan area.
When we arrived at the lake cabin, I was a bit restless. “What would we understand in a few days that we had not discovered over the course of several weeks,” I thought to myself. But my anxiety quickly subsided after our first prayer session. Right from the onset, God pressed upon us an urgency to focus on discipleship. Our church had a lot of programs, but what good were those programs if people were not growing in their walk with God? Although the congregation must yearn to commit itself daily to the exploration of Scripture, we, as the church staff, were deeply convicted to help ensure the body of Christ had the proper opportunities, tools, and resources to spiritually mature.
God reinforced our definitive purpose: to train up believers and equip them so that they could passionately tell others about Christ. Therefore, the prime consideration of the staff retreat became the discussion and review of the discipleship voids. We wanted to understand God’s purpose so that we could more effectively minister to each church member, as well as the community. With newfound motivation, we laid out a discipleship implementation strategy. We determined what topics and curriculum should be taught through class offerings. We decided how and when to integrate the precepts. The entire tenor of the weekend summit was one of hope and encouragement because we latched on to the power of purpose.
The days that followed produced an abundance of blessings and spiritual development. Students became teachers. Spectators became servants. God affirmed an explicit purpose: to reach and teach others. As a result of God’s inspiration, the church leadership had a significant message to present to our fellow believers, which yielded a great response.
Purpose has an uplifting quality to it. For Christians, it urges us to see something beyond ourselves, particularly Jesus’ redemption and grace. When we cling to the Lord’s instruction and marvel at His holiness we are left forever changed. The selfish nature we demonstrated prior to salvation no longer satisfies the longing of our soul. We desire a superior nature - the righteous nature of God. We desire a superior outlook - an outlook filled with praise, contentment, and sacrifice. We desire a superior purpose - to honor God in all things and in all ways.
The apostle Paul was well acquainted with the transformative property of godly purpose. Once an adversary of Christianity, he became one of its most notable advocates. Paul’s purposeful conviction to testify to the legacy of Jesus Christ post-salvation was so evident that he amassed many denouncers. Acts 16 disclosed an example of such opposition, when Paul was physically assaulted in Philippi. Even though Paul was wrongly accused of telling people to break Roman laws, the civil authorities in Philippi tortured Paul and Silas by way of flogging. They kept the evangelists in prison overnight. The next morning, the magistrates decided to release Paul and Silas without further penalty or injury and requested the missionaries leave Philippi at once. After encouraging the Philippian disciples, Paul and Silas departed the city, without trace of bitterness or malice. Encounters such as this confirm Paul continually displayed a resilient character and a heart of purpose. If one door closed on him, Paul looked for another. And thus Acts 17 states Paul went to Macedonia’s capital city, Thessalonica, shortly after Philippi.
When Paul made it to Thessalonica, he went to the Jewish synagogue, an opening he did not have in Philippi since the city did not possess one. As was Paul’s custom, he offered the first fruits of evangelism to the Hebrew people. If they rejected it, Paul then took the message to the Gentile people. For three straight Sabbath days, Paul reasoned with the Jewish people that Jesus was the Messiah prophesized about in Scripture. This account underscores that Christ’s life and lordship are not irrational or illogical. They are, in fact, credible and defensible. Using the Bible as his foundational reference, which is always a proper and essential witnessing aid, Paul proved that Jesus was both the Savior of mankind and the Son of God. This persuaded some of the Jewish people to believe. They submitted themselves to Paul’s teaching and grew in faith. But Paul’s preaching not only captivated Jewish people, it drew the attention and receptiveness from Greek people in Thessalonica. As the church in the Macedonian capital expanded, so did the resentment of Jewish unbelievers. Whether they associated Christianity as a violation of Jewish doctrine or they were jealous that Christianity appealed to Gentile people the text does not say. But Acts does note that the Jewish unbelievers in Thessalonica assembled despicable, immoral individuals to lead a Christian resistance.
A ragtag band of misfits went to the local marketplace and sparked a riot in the city. In anger, people rushed to the home of a man named Jason, where Paul and Silas were apparently lodging. The mob barged into Jason’s residence without permission or warrant. When the people realized Paul and Silas were not there, they apprehended Jason and some fellow believers, dragged them through the city, and brought them to the local magistrates. The mob falsely accused Jason and the believers of defying Roman law by promoting Jesus as King. The implication was that the Christian faith was attempting to overthrow the governmental structure by advocating the worship of Christ, a lie that was applied to Jesus before His crucifixion (Luke 23:2). The disciples never advocated sedition against earthly leaders. If anything, the believers showed immense respect for civil authorities for they recognized such people held the reigns of command throughout the nations because of God’s awe-inspiring will. When the city officials heard the charges against Jason and the disciples they were deeply troubled. But rather than afflict or punish Jason and the other Christians without due process (as the leaders of Philippi did with Paul and Silas), the magistrates released them upon posting of bond. That same night, Paul and Silas, who were presumably awaiting the cover of darkness to move quietly through the city, fled to Berea. For all the hardships and acts of persecution the first century missionaries endured, they certainly were not unwilling to leave a city when they recognized a general openness to the gospel was absent. Paul exited places of duress many times over to this point in Acts, but he never left the respective cities in order to abandon ministry altogether. He simply departed one place so that he could immediately serve in another.
When Paul and Silas arrived in Berea, they went to the local Jewish synagogue. As Paul had done in Thessalonica, he reasoned with the Jewish people about Jesus’ legacy through Scripture. Luke points out that the Bereans were much more receptive and respectful than the Thessalonians to Paul’s witness. They did not arbitrarily dismiss his testimony, but evaluated the merit of his salvation presentation against God’s Word. They searched the Bible daily with eagerness to determine if what Paul said about Jesus was true. The response was phenomenal. Many Jews and Greeks became Christians in Berea. This passage verifies that when we concede to the rightness and relevance of Scripture we cannot help but be changed.
Before long, agitators from Thessalonica learned Paul was preaching in Berea. Exercising hearts of obstinate defiance, they journeyed to Berea to incite the general public against Paul. One wonders how they could feel justified in their conduct as God’s covenantal people for they intentionally followed, harassed, and stirred others against Paul. Because they refused to accept salvation from Christ, the Christian dissenters would see to it that others would share the same hardhearted disposition. For his protection, Paul was asked to leave the tumultuous environment by Berean disciples. It would seem that the aggression of the Thessalonians was solely aimed at Paul because after Paul stepped foot out of Berea, Silas and Timothy stayed behind to work with the church without further report of incident or persecution. Some Berean disciples led Paul to Athens. They probably accompanied Paul to exhort him and help ensure his safety along the way. When the company arrived in Athens, the disciples immediately started back for Berea, but not before Paul gave them some parting instructions. The apostle requested Timothy and Silas join him in Athens as soon as possible. Paul’s pattern (as was that of the other apostles) was to evangelize with one or more witnesses so that the message could be affirmed by multiple sources. This method also helped promote accountability of speech, thought, and action. While awaiting the appearance of Timothy and Silas, Paul traveled throughout Athens. Although he had seen a fair share of idolatry in his life, Paul was especially grief-stricken by the spiritual emptiness that pervaded the Athenian streets. This once great city enjoyed much historical significance. It was the birthplace of democracy and was an important center for arts, learning, and philosophy. It was renowned for human wisdom and enlightenment. But its people had a propensity to accept and accumulate false gods. In a place highly revered by most of the known world for its intellect and knowledge, idol after idol revealed the people of Athens were steeped in spiritual captivity.
The desire to amass a pantheon of idols was so rampant in Athens that Paul found an inscription on an altar dedicated to an unknown god. The people were enslaved to mythology and religious fabrication. So much so that that they chose to enshrine a nameless god just in case they had somehow overlooked one in their numerous pagan temples. Athens’s citizens had many avenues to worship, but no real worship. They were so consumed with the notion of accumulating gods, and thereby power, that they never cognitively assessed the plausibility of their belief system.
The counterfeit faith of the Athenians deeply disturbed Paul. He went to the synagogue and marketplace day after day speaking against the widespread idolatry. Some of the Greek philosophers disputed the validity of Jesus’ life and resurrection. But because they could not convincingly counter Paul’s claims, they asked the apostle to address the Areopagus, a council of academics who met together to discuss personal, social, and spiritual ideals and viewpoints. When given the opportunity to refute the worship of pagan gods, Paul seized it. Realizing that his audience did not have the appreciation or understanding of Hebrew history, Paul chose not to preach through the prism of the Old Testament. Instead, he focused on the truth that God is the Creator of this world and everything in it, as attested to by nature itself.
Unlike idols and statues, God’s image cannot be reduced to any manmade structure. The majesty of the Maker of heaven and earth cannot be memorialized by something constructed by human hands. God is the eternal One, Who ordains the rise and fall of nations and controls the destiny of humanity. No temple could ever enhance or adequately contain the glory of the true God. Paul’s message ended with an appeal to consider the pending judgment day, a day in which humanity will face a reckoning for its lifestyle. Jesus, the One Whom God appointed, set the standard for holy righteousness and was raised from death as proof of His divinity.
Paul’s sermon in Athens was passionate and had several impactful statements. It emphasized the dependency mankind has for God, a dependency humanity rarely acknowledges or addresses. It highlighted the considerable difference God’s purpose makes in a person’s life. In Acts 17:28, Paul said, “For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’” Paul’s truthful declaration identifies three important attributes of purpose. One, God’s purpose gives us connection. Paul stated it is in God that we live. Life, therefore, is not defined by our perceived level of acumen, our perceived level of accomplishment, or our perceived level of health. It is defined by God. Only through His blessing do we have an existence.
Our destiny literally rests in the hands of God. We are solely and wholly dependent upon Him to live out each and every day. This reliance upon our Sustainer connects us to Him. He fashions us and He fortifies us in order to take pleasure in a relationship with Him. He wants us to forge a relationship with Him, a relationship we can treasure. This reflection should not produce a distorted image of God, but rather a humbling view of God. That God would even reach out to an often defiant and discontent people divulges much about the compassionate nature of God.
Two, God’s purpose gives us counsel. Not only do we have a physical existence because of God, but we experience spiritual existence because of Him as well. Salvation gives birth to a soul that has meaning, fullness, and vigor. It yields a newfound spiritual breath and purpose. Believers do not just live in God; we live for God. His power governs our steps. His providence envelops our days. His presence leads us and satisfies us.The Holy Spirit renders a continual source of guidance and counsel for believers. He makes us liable for everything that we think or do. We are always under the leadership, protection, and discipline of the Holy Spirit. This persistent process of correction is not administered out of some malevolent intention, but rather out of an abundant love. God sees our shortcomings and refuses to let us stay in such a miserable state. Although setbacks and hardships sometimes deceive us into feeling as though we are isolated or abandoned, we are never alone because the Holy Spirit is inseparable from believers’ hearts. Through the Holy Spirit, we have a Comforter and a Counselor ever near.
Three, God’s purpose gives us a calling. We live in God and move in Him. Although God can and does control humanity’s ability for mobility, this movement is better expressed in terms of the spirit, rather than in terms of the body. The movement of the spirit is a superior work to the activity of the human frame for it is through the spirit that man discovers divine purpose, as well as a calling. God does not just give our spirit the ability to move; He gives it reason to move. In Him, we have all we need. In Him, we have all we could ever long for. In Him, we are free from the stigma of a sin-stained life.
With clean hearts and cheerful testimonies, salvation sets regenerated spirits in motion. When we affix our eyes on God, our soul is uplifted. Our mind is enamored as it reflects upon the heavenly realm of God’s eternal kingdom. This inspiration motivates us and moves us to live lives that are not relegated to personal, selfish ambitions. It calls us to exercise the holy, righteous nature of God through the supervision of the Holy Spirit.
In Acts 17:28, Paul cited a Greek poet, Aratus, who wrote that humanity is the offspring of a supreme maker. Unfortunately, the creator Aratus was referring to was Zeus, the Greek god of sky and thunder, who many wrongly believed to be the father of gods and men. Although Aratus (along with many others) misunderstood who the true God is, Paul knew the real origin of mankind. Not intimidated by the supposed brilliance of the Areopagus, Paul testified that it was God Who made us and it is He Who moves us. No other explanation or scholarly argument will stand against the truth when we reach the end of this life.When Paul finished his sermon, some of the Areopagus attendees sneered at him, thinking the apostle’s words were absurd and laughable. Others showed a mild interest and asked Paul to speak again at a later time. But a few became followers, one of whom was a senior member of the Areopagus. In a society largely filled with sophisticated Greek humanists, a small number of salvation experiences were recorded as having taken place in Athens per Acts 17. But this resistant atmosphere did not prevent Paul from producing a compelling message, a message that speaks well of the fulfillment and purpose mankind can find in God.
Have you grasped the significance of God’s purpose for your life?
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