To an unknown God ∙∙∙

To an unknown God ∙∙∙

God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.” – Exodus 3:14

Acts 17:23-31

23 As I was walking along, I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.
24 He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples,
25 and human hands can’t serve his needs – for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need.

27 His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him– though he is not far from any one of us.

30 God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him.
31 For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.

From Concept to Communion

Would it be too radical to suggest that most individuals throughout the millennia, irrespective of their geographic location, have possessed some concept of God? People everywhere have asked, “Who or What is God?” Yet, when we speak of God, we are somewhat limited by the English language. English uses a single term, “God,” to signify both the concept of God and the person of God.

When we use the term “God,” especially in English, we risk oversimplification. One word stands in for both the idea of God and the person of God. Yet, the difference between a concept of God and the living God revealed in Scripture is vast and deeply significant.

Limits the Concept of God

Theism, the prevailing Western view of God, offers a lofty vision. It posits God as the creator of the universe, endowed with omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, and unmatched moral perfection. While this philosophical framework is compelling, it falls short of capturing the vibrant, personal essence of the God of Scripture. A concept can be admired, dissected, and debated, but it cannot truly be known.

This is a grand vision, but it’s worth pausing to reflect. It is essential to distinguish the things that differ. Is there a difference between the concept of God and the living God revealed in the Scriptures? Absolutely.

Consider Moses. When he stood before the burning bush at Mount Sinai, he wasn’t encountering a concept. Moses, a man raised amidst the majestic pagan deities of Egypt and grounded in the faith of his Hebrew ancestors, already understood the idea of God. Yet, this moment was extraordinary. He wasn’t facing a vague, distant, unknowable force. He was standing in the presence of the living, personal God.

Introducing “I AM”

Moses was driven by curiosity and caught up in the moment. Moses was now in face-to-face contact with the God of his fathers, the living, personal God. Heretofore, He was simply known as “He-Who-Has-No-Name” (The Ten Commandments) or simply “The Unknown God.”

So, driven by awe and necessity, Moses asked, “What is Your name?” He knew the children of Israel would demand an answer as to who sent him to set them. A mere nameless concept wouldn’t suffice.

At that moment, God declared, “I AM WHO I AM. Tell them I AM [Yahweh] has sent you” (Exodus 3:13-14).

The Lord revealed Himself not as a fleeting abstraction but as an eternal, self-existent person. The declaration “I AM” signifies a God who is always present and personal, bridging the gap between knowing about God and truly knowing Him.

This revelation wasn’t new but a continuation of the personal encounters woven into the history of Israel. Adam walked with God in the garden, hearing His voice directly. Noah trusted God’s specific instructions to build the ark. Abraham heard promises spoken to him personally while Jacob wrestled with Him face-to-face. These stories and oral traditions were the heartbeat of the Jewish people. At the time of Moses, they had not yet been collated and gathered into the single book we now call Genesis. That great privilege and honorable task would fall to Moses.

An Invitation to Relationship

Moses’ writings, beginning with Genesis, unveil the heart of God for His creation. They remind us that God’s name matters because it points to His desire for connection. Scripture introduces us to Yahweh, the God who calls us by name. He invites relationship. Moses encountered the Father God of Scripture: a living being to love, trust, and relate to, not a distant “Unknown God” or “From Concept to Communion” as earlier generations might have whispered.

Unlike vague deities that don’t engage, Yahweh is present and active in our lives, captured in Exodus 3 when Moses learns His name. Through the name of Yahweh and His ultimate revelation in the Lord Jesus Christ, we recognize that God’s desire for connection is both remarkable and deeply significant. He is not merely a concept but a personal Savior who invites us into a deep communion.

Moses recorded his interaction with the Father in Exodus 3:13-14: “Then Moses said to God, ‘If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, “The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,” they will ask me, “What is his name?” Then what should I tell them?’ God replied to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.’”

The choice is ours. Will we remain content with a concept, or will we step into the deeper reality of a God who longs to be known? His hand is extended to all who seek Him. He is not an idea to grasp but a living God to meet.

REFLECT & PRAY

As A.W. Tozer warned, “Nothing twists and deforms the soul more than a low or unworthy conception of God.”

Father, thank You for being more than a human construct or a fleeting thought. You see past my ignorance, pursue me, and reveal Yourself as I AM—personal, present, and real.

INSIGHT

To Know the Unknown God

The Greeks of the ancient world were famous for their pantheon of gods, a vast collection of deities whose stories permeated their culture. Names like Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Athena, and Apollo are still familiar to us today. Yet despite their devotion to these gods, the Greeks’ concept of divinity was fragmented and flawed. Their gods were changeable, selfish, and unpredictable. And in their fear of offending a deity they might have overlooked, the Athenians built an altar dedicated “To an Unknown God.”

This altar was meant to serve as a safety net, which reflected their uncertainty and spiritual restlessness. They felt there might be more to the divine than they understood, but they couldn’t grasp it. When the Apostle Paul visited Athens, he used this altar as a bridge, a starting point to introduce them to the one true God.

Introducing the True and Living God

Paul masterfully connected with the Athenians by pointing to their own altar. Their altar, erected “To an Unknown God,” provided common ground for communication. He seized the opportunity to speak of the true and living Father God and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul used the concept of God as a launching point, a bridge to explain the personal God. He opened his speech in Acts 17 with these words: Acts 17:23: “For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: ‘To an Unknown God.’ So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship–and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.”

From there, Paul revealed the profound truth about the God they had missed. Unlike their deities, who were limited and required human worship to stay relevant, the true God is infinite, self-sufficient, and deeply personal. Paul described Him as the Creator of the entire universe, the one who gives life and breath to every living thing.

“He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since He is the Lord of heaven and earth, He doesn’t live in man-made temples, and human hands can’t serve His needs–for He has no needs. He Himself gives life and breath to everything, and He satisfies every need.” (Acts 17:24-25)

The purpose of this God, Paul explained, was not simply to exist as a distant deity but to draw each person into a relationship with Him.

“His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him–though He is not far from any one of us.” (Acts 17:27)

A Personal, Infinite God

Unlike the fickle, capricious deities of Greek mythology, the God of Scripture is both infinite and personal. He is near and accessible, yet so vast in His glory that we can never fully fathom Him. This paradox is captured beautifully in art, such as Michelangelo’s famous fresco in the Sistine Chapel.

“On the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, there are the tremendous frescoes by Michelangelo. Among them is the magnificent picture of the creation of man. God is reaching out His finger, and man, just having been created, reaches out to God as well. But their fingers do not touch. This is a true Christian insight” (Francis A. Schaeffer).

The Father God of Scripture is personal yet infinite, close at hand yet distant. Being a person, He thinks, feels, and desires to enter into a relationship with the people He created in His image. His desire for connection is not distant or abstract; it is deeply personal. He reached out to humanity through His Son, Jesus Christ, offering an invitation to know Him, not just in passing but with intimacy and depth.

To Truly Know Him

The apostle Paul sought to know Him. He expressed this longing to know God personally and deeply. His words in Philippians 3 reflect the heart of a man who sought not just knowledge of God but communion with Him.

Philippians 3:10: “That I may know Him.”

To truly know Christ is more than studying theology or gathering intellectual understanding. It’s about experiencing Him and being united with Him in a personal relationship. It’s living in such intimacy with Christ that His life becomes interwoven with our own. It’s not an abstract knowledge of who He is but a shared experience of His presence, His love, and His grace.

William Barclay captures this truth perfectly, saying, “To know Christ is not to be skilled in any theoretical or theological knowledge; it is to know Him with such intimacy that in the end, we are as united with Him as we are with those whom we love on earth, and that just as we share their experiences, so we also share His.”

God did not create us merely to believe in Him from a distance. Faith is good, but it’s not the end goal. It is not good enough for eternity! Knowing Him is. He calls us to a relationship where we can not only understand His truths but walk with Him daily, experiencing His presence in real and tangible ways.

An Invitation

It is not enough to know about Him. He created us to know Him. He seeks us out. The altar to the Unknown God was a symbol of spiritual searching. But Paul’s message reminds us that we don’t need to search blindly. The Father has revealed Himself to us through Jesus Christ, inviting us into the most profound relationship possible.

It is not enough to know about Him. He created us to know Him. He seeks us out. The altar to the Unknown God was a symbol of spiritual searching. But Paul’s message reminds us that we don’t need to search blindly. The Father has revealed Himself to us through Jesus Christ, inviting us into the most profound relationship possible.

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© Dr. H 2025