To an Unknown God

In his book, The Nature of the Gods, the Roman orator and philosopher Marcus Cicero declared, “The crux of the matter is known to all men everywhere. From their birth it is inscribed upon their minds that gods exist” (Book II, sec 13). This belief in a divine spark that informs man of the existence and will of God is common in Stoicism.

The Apostle Paul also spoke of a divine spark. In his sermon to the Athenians (Acts 17 22&23), he says,

Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. 23For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, “TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.” Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.
(NASB)

Later, Paul says that God whom the Athenians worshiped in ignorance, “made from one man every nation of mankind...that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.”

The life of man is a struggle between the divine soul and the evil flesh. The soul drives us to higher things, while the flesh weakens us. There is nothing good in a man except what God has given him. The soul is a gift from God (Gen 2:7) and guarantees our free will, for without it, we would not be able to hear or receive the Gospel message. Left on his own, man is weak and carnal, incapable of even hearing God’s call. But the soul, this divine spark, enables man to seek God, “though He is not far from each one of us.” He is not far, but without this spark, we could not find Him. We could not, to use a cliche, see the forest for the trees.

And so we have our choice, and our free will. We have the divine spark that yearns for God, and we have the sinful flesh that lusts for, among other things, physical pleasure. The former leads us to life, the other to misery. Everyone, as Paul pointed out, has this spark, not just a select few. Even the Athenians, who had never heard of Christ, still worshiped Him. Therefore, all are capable of hearing God’s message, receiving it, and being saved. Which is, after all, God’s will (1Tim 2:4).

But let’s be clear. Our choice to follow the spark instead of the flesh is not enough to reconcile ourselves with God. There is nothing we can do to earn salvation. We are only saved by the Grace of God (Acts 15:11). God’s Grace is offered freely to all nations (Isa 55:1-5). But our sins separate us from God (Isa 59:1&2), so we must repent (Acts 2:38), call on God, and we will be saved (Romans 10:9&13). These are the elect. God’s grace is only granted to those who ask for it. If we choose to continue in sin, God will allow us that choice, and we will suffer for it (Heb 10:26-31). But again, we are saved by faith (Heb 11:6).

–J.E. Heath
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