Theme: Making God known. In the First Lesson, Acts 17:22-31, Paul witnesses to the cultured pagans on the Areopagus. Referring to a statue to an unknown god, he declares that unknown God is revealed in Christ. In the Second Lesson, 1 Peter 3:15-22, Peter encourages the beleaguered Christians to make Christ known through their words and actions. In the Gospel, Christ promises that he will make himself known to the disciples through the Holy Spirit.

COMMENTARY

Epistle: Acts 17:22-31
Peter alters his approach in an attempt to reach the cultured pagans of Athens by correlating the gospel to the cultural context. Later, in 1 Corinthians, we see that he repudiates this approach in favor of presenting an unvarnished version of the gospel. Rather than quote scriptures, he quotes pagan poets. He …