cultured people in all ages of the world that the Greek thought it a great calamity to die without beholding this image of their greatest god." But Paul proclaimed to them a God which they worshiped, not knowing-a God who did not represent a passion, a propensity or a power of nature alone, but a God who had greater power, greater wisdom, and holier love than that which was ascribed to all their gods. A God whose image could not be carved, who was unknown to Greece, and for whose full revelation the world had been preparing for four thousand yearsa God before whom, when all His attributes were revealed, all others were to fade away. Truly, such a God as Jesus revealed and Paul preached needed not temples made with hands" in which to dwell when he had made the earth and all things therein. No ministration of human hands was needed by Him who had "given to all life and breath and all things." This God, great in wisdom, power, and goodnesssuperior to all human conception of Deity even by the wisest of earth, is now proclaimed on Mars Hill. How insignificant are altars, temples, and idols before Him who created all things, whose glory the heavens declare and the firmament showeth His handiwork.

From the description of this unknown God, and His great superiority over all that was known as gods or worshiped, Paul comes down to man and proclaims the unity of the human race, and asserts that God made of one blood all nations to dwell on all the face of the earth. That God made of one blood all

peoples is not only a revealed truth but is now demonstrated by science to be a fact.

The Grecian language, though the most perfect, had no word in it expressive of humanity-nothing to express the kinship of the race. All other people were called, by the Greeks, barbarians. As before quoted, Max Müller has stated that no such word as "mankind” is found in human language before Christ. Before Him it was Egyptian, Persian, Grecian, Roman, Jew and Gentile. Christ was the first on earth to reveal the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. And Paul proclaimed here this great truth to the Gentile world.

It will be observed that Paul was interrupted before finishing this discourse to the Gentiles. Interrupted in this city of philosophers and numberless gods, when speaking of the one true God, the Creator of all; to a people who knew Him not, whose wisest philosophers had tried to discover Him by human reason but had failed. Paul asserted a truth after this which may have been inspired here when he said, "That the world by wisdom knew not God." This is a truth which can not be controverted. God and His attributes can only be known through revelation. “A proposition and its proof. must be homogeneous." A superhuman proposition must have superhuman proof. "Canst thou by searching find out God?" a The wisest of the Greeks searched in vain to find the God whom Paul revealed. Again, this interruption of Paul and the mockery of those whom he addressed, a Job xi. 7.

demonstrates the truth of what he said in after years: "But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness."

Again he says, "Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called." a

We would remark in the next place that Paul in this discourse did not begin by referring to or quoting from the Jewish Scriptures, as he did when addressing Jews. Persons can, and many have, become Christians without having knowledge of the Old-Testament Scriptures. This new religion, while preceded by the patriarchal and Jewish religions, is complete in itself to "save unto the uttermost. 'Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." "Ye are complete in Him." It spread over the world as an oral religion. It was the verbal story of the Christ told throughout the then known world that won for Christianity its first and greatest victories.

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Notwithstanding that Paul's speech was rudely interrupted it was not without results, for, we are told, that certain men clave unto him and believed, among whom was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them. None of these, however, are again mentioned in the Acts or epistles nor was any church established in Athens in apostolic times. Yet this discourse of Paul still lives, expressing the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. It grows more significant, exerts more power as the ages advance and will be proclaimed around the world in all coming time.

a 1 Cor. i. 23-26.

b Matt. ii. 28.

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c Col. ii. 10.

CHAPTER XXVIII

PAUL AT CORINTH

Paul in Corinth. Establishes a Church. Paul in Ephesus. His Third Missionary Journey. Apollos and The Baptism of John. Paul Arrested in Jerusalem and his Defense. Imprisoned at Cesarea. Speeches Before Festus, Felix, and Agrippa.

a

We now come to consider briefly Paul's work in Corinth. We are informed that "after these things" Paul departed from Athens to Corinth. It may be observed that this city, as Paul found it, was not the ancient Greek city, but it had been rebuilt as a Roman colony. In some regards it was more distinguished than the former city. Its location on the isthmus gave it great commercial advantage. It was renownd for industry, for wealth, for athletic sports, for philosophy, and noted for licentious worship. In many regards it was the most important city in Greece, and it was one of the most conspicuous cities for the early spread of the Christian religion. From this city and to this city six of Paul's fourteen epistles were

written.

When Paul reached Corinth we are told that "he found a certain Jew, named Aquila, born in Pontus, and Priscilla, his wife, lately come from Italy; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome,) he came unto them and because

a Acts xviii. I.

he was of the same trade he abode with them and worked, for by their trade they were tent-makers." a Here we learn that Paul, the great apostle, had a trade-that of tent making. This was an important industry in that age. Notwithstanding his daily toil, "he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath and persuaded the Jews and Greeks. And when Silas and Timotheus came down from Macedonia Paul was pressed in the spirit and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ." But when the Jews rejected Him he said unto them, "Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles. And departing thence he went into the house of a certain man named Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was adjacent to the synagogue." This man was evidently a Gentile, but a worshiper of the true God. We are informed that "Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house, and many of the Corinthians hearing, believed and were baptized." While it is only stated Crispus believed on the Lord with all his house and "many of the Corinthians hearing believed and were baptized," it can not be inferred that they did not comply fully with the terms of the gospel, as shown in preceding cases.

We will pass over briefly the remaining chapters in the book of Acts, noting any allusions to pardon, and also some of the important events in the life of the Apostle Paul.

a Acts xviii. 2, 3.

b Acts xviii. 4, 5.

c Acts xviii. 6, 7

d Acts xviii. 8.