The Unknown God Made Known — Acts 17:22–29
Nov 12, 2026 6
Is our city really as secular as it seems? When Paul stood before the thinkers of Athens, he started with an altar to the unknown god.
Acts 17:22–23
[22] So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. [23] 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. (ESV)
Making the Unknown God Known
Paul is standing in the Areopagus, the cultural heart of Athens. It’s the place where ideas, worldviews, religion, and philosophy are debated.
Isn’t it interesting how he begins? Paul has observed all their objects of worship. The city has so many gods and so many idols. And then, just in case they’ve missed one, there’s an altar “To the unknown god.” They’re hedging their bets!
And there’s Paul’s moment. What you worship as unknown, let me make him known.
Paul doesn’t come in all guns blazing. He starts with observation. He acknowledges their religion and uses it to build a bridge, as if to say, “I can see you care about these things.” He affirms their search for meaning, and then he redirects it to the one true and living God.
Brisbane Is Full of Altars
I live in Brisbane, Australia. You may be in another city or town. But imagine with me for a moment if Paul were in Brisbane. How might he begin? “Men and women of Brisbane, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. As I drove your streets and scrolled your feeds, I saw the objects of your worship.”
Shopping centres like temples. Weekends planned like religious festivals, with Friday drinks to kick them off. Gym routines like daily liturgies. I can’t believe how many gyms there are in my suburb! Food rules with moral weight: “good” food and “bad” food. Sport followed with fanatical devotion at Suncorp Stadium. Music festivals as worship experiences. Endless scrolling as we look for belonging.
The philosopher Charles Taylor describes our world as an “immanent frame.” We’ve been told that all there is, is what we can see, feel, and touch. But as Mark Sayers, a pastor in Melbourne, observes, people keep clutching at morsels of the transcendent in a world that says there’s nothing beyond the here and now. Deep down, we know there’s got to be more.
Like Athens, Brisbane’s altars point to a deeper longing. We want meaning. We want beauty. We want real community. We want there to be more. And Paul would say all these desires ultimately find their answer in Christ.
[Watch this week’s video devotion with Dave Miers]
The God Who Can Be Known
So who is this God?
Acts 17:24–25
[24] The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, [25] nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. (ESV)
He is the Creator. We don’t have to make him into a golden calf or dig him out of the earth like a crystal. You can’t put him in a box. He is the Sustainer. He doesn’t need us to keep him going. We need him for every heartbeat and every breath.
Acts 17:26–27
[26] And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, [27] 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, (ESV)
He is the Ruler, sovereign over the nations and their times. Nothing catches him by surprise. And he is knowable. That longing our friends, neighbours, and colleagues have for something more doesn’t have to lead to a dead end. God has revealed himself, and he wants to be known. He is our Father, and we are his offspring, made to know him and be known by him (Acts 17:28-29).
The Good News is…
The unknown God has made himself known. The God who is not far from any of us came near in Jesus. He lived the perfect life, died in our place for our sin, and rose again, so that anyone who trusts him can have their relationship with God restored. Every altar in our city points to a longing that only Jesus can satisfy. In him, we can know the true and living God.
Like and share so others can see Jesus clearly.
Further reading: Acts 17:22-29
Reflection
Pray for a friend who is searching for something more, that they would come to know the God who has made himself known in Jesus.
Rev. Dave Miers
President, Good News Unlimited