THE NEW THING

Paul, an apostle, was in Athens and made this remarkable statement to his listeners who were always discussing ‘the new thing,’ the latest prophecy, or the current trends and fads. Paul addressed the Areopagus (Mars Hill) council and said to those who spent their time on nothing but the New Thing: “Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new. So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”

Paul’s message is as appropriate today in that as we look for God in temples (churches, church buildings, shrines, etc.) made by human hands and promote that a building is a special place to find God or in fact call that place ‘the house of the Lord.’ The New Thing is that God dwells inside of us…we are the temple of the Lord. The other New Stuff is old.

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” Jesus