The conditions under which Paul made his speech cannot be determined with certainty. The difficulty arises from the ambiguity of "Areopagus." "Areopagus" means "Mars' hill." But the term was also applied to the court which held at least some of its meetings on the hill. Which meaning is intended here? Did Paul speak before the court, or did he speak on Mars' hill merely to those who were interested? On the whole, it is improbable at any rate that he was subjected to a formal trial.
The speech of Paul at Athens is one of the three important speeches of Paul, exclusive of his speeches in defense of himself at Jerusalem and at Cæsarea, which have been recorded in The Acts. These speeches are well chosen. One of them is a speech to Jews, Acts 13:16-41; one a speech to Gentiles, Acts 17:22-31; and the third a speech to Christians, Acts 20:18-35. Together they afford a very good idea of Paul's method as a missionary and as a pastor. As is to be expected, they differ strikingly from one another. Paul was large enough to comprehend the wonderful richness of Christian truth. His gospel was always the same, but he was able to adapt the presentation of it to the character of his hearers.
At Athens, an altar inscribed TO AN UNKNOWN GOD provided a starting point. The existence of such an altar is not at all surprising, although only altars to "unknown gods" (plural instead of singular) are attested elsewhere. Perhaps the inscription on this altar indicated simply that the builder of the altar did not know to which of the numberless gods he should offer thanks for a benefit that he had received, or to which he should address a prayer to ward off calamity. Under a polytheistic religion, where every department of life had its own god, it was sometimes difficult to pick out the right god to pray to for any particular purpose. Such an altar was at any rate an expression of ignorance, and that ignorance served as a starting point for Paul. "You are afraid that you have neglected the proper god in this case," says Paul in effect. "Yes, indeed, you have. You have neglected a very important god indeed, you have neglected the one true God, who made the world and all things therein."
In what follows, Paul appeals to the truth contained in Stoic pantheism. His words are of peculiar interest at the present day, when pantheism is rampant even within the Church. There is a great truth in pantheism. It emphasizes the immanence of God. But the truth of pantheism is contained also in theism. The theist, as well as the pantheist, believes that God is not far from every one of us, and that in him we live and move and have our being. The theist, as well as the pantheist, can say, "Closer is he than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet." The theist accepts all the truth of pantheism, but avoids the error. God is present in the world--not one sparrow "shall fall on the ground without your Father"--but he is not limited to the world. He is not just another name for the totality of things, but an awful, mysterious, holy, free and sovereign Person. He is present in the world, but also Master of the world.