Resurrection at the Center

Acts 17:29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image made by man’s design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.” 32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” 33 At that, Paul left the Council. 34 A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others. Acts 18:1 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.
 
GOD created the family to have a husband who is a father and a wife who is a mother. They are to unite in marriage and have children. The children are to live under the authority of their parents. This is God’s will. Godly parenting reveals God’s righteousness because God is a Father over the entire world. We are God’s offspring. What do we to do? With his common use of “therefore”, Paul tells the Athens men and women how they must respond to God, the Father.
   They needed to know God is a living Deity. He is not a gold or silver statue. He cannot be and is not something you have created in your own mind. God created you. Just as it is not possible for your child to create you to be his parent, it is not possible for you to create the Almighty God.
   Paul also teaches the LORD God has been patient with mankind for centuries. He has held back final judgment of their idolatry while he prepared to unveil his Savior to you. Paul is very specific to also warn them. He tells them the God of Creation, the Authority of all mankind, has set a day when he will judge the world with justice. He will require people to have faith in the man he has appointed. They will know who that man is because God has given proof of this man by raising him from the dead.
   Jesus’ resurrection is a powerful proof of God’s existence. The empty tomb fulfills thousands of years of prophecy. It points to an eternal God, who speaks his Word and completes his Word. The resurrection also establishes God’s plan for Jesus to return. We know what God has said. We know what God has done. We know what God says about the future. We know God will complete his future decrees just as he has already fulfilled his past promises. All Scripture hinges on Jesus’ resurrection. The evidence has been repeatedly proven through many sources. There is no excuse to say, “Jesus is dead.”
   Still, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” Paul had done what he needed to do. He proclaimed the Truth.
   As he left the group, some men and women believed and walked with him. Surely God used them to advance his gospel.
   It was time for Paul to go to Corinth, one of the world’s most famous cities. God had prepared another platform for Paul to proclaim and defend Jesus is the Christ.