Ἄγνωστος θεός—the unknown God. This is what the Athenians called Him (Acts 17:23). And, in a way, they were not wrong for doing so, in the following sense:
When I name, or nominate something, as Adam did with all the animals soon after creation (Gen. 2:19), I assign some attribute or property to that person or thing. For example, I named both of my sons after historical figures—Augustine of Hippo and Oliver Cromwell. The names of my sons are derived from others who lived before them. Their names are not original. In fact, no name that we give anything is properly original. All our naming of subjects and predication about objects are derived, dependent on something else. Our language, then, is dependent, not independent. Our language is finite, not infinite. And so, all finite, human language falls short in describing, through nomination or attribution, the Being of God. The language of creatures simply cannot comprehend infinite Being.
Stephen, in Acts 7:48, says, “the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands…” He’s referring to Isaiah 66:1, “Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest?” Solomon expressed his perplexity by asking, “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built (1 Kgs. 8:27)!” Just as the architectural structures of men cannot contain or comprehend God, so too man’s words fail to contain, envelop, or otherwise comprehend Him.
Revealed, however, throughout the development of the redemptive narrative, is the fact that God makes Himself known in the Person of Christ—the second Person of the Holy Trinity. “He who has seen Me has seen the Father (Jn. 14:9),” Jesus says. And so, the Athenians, contenting themselves with the natural, non-saving knowledge of God, fell short of knowing Him in any redemptively significant way.
Victory Baptist Church | A Sovereign Grace Church in Kansas City 