Then Paul stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus. He said, "People of Athens! I see that you are very religious in every way. As I walked around, I looked carefully at the things you worship. I even found an altar with these words written on it: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now I am going to tell you about this 'unknown god' that you worship."
He is the God who made the world. He also made everything in it. He is the Lord of heaven and earth. He doesn't live in temples built by hands. He is not served by human hands. He doesn't need anything. He himself gives life and breath to all people. He also gives them everything else they have.
From one man He made all the people of the world. Now they live all over the earth. He decided exactly when they should live. And He decided exactly where they should live. God did this so that people seek Him. Then perhaps they would reach out for Him and find Him. They would find Him even though He is not far from any of us. In Him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, 'We are His children.'
Yes, we are God's children. So we shouldn't think that God is made out of gold or silver or stone. He isn't a statue planned and made by clever people. In the past, God didn't judge people for what they didn't know. But now He commands all people everywhere to turn away from their sins. He has set a day when he will judge the world fairly. He has appointed a Man to be its judge. God has proved this to all people by raising that Man from the dead.
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL READER'S VERSION. Copyright 1994 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervon Publishing House. All rights reserved.