‘For
in him we live, and move, and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’ Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold, or silver, or stone, engraved by art and design of man.
Acts 17:28-29
Acts 17 [19.] They took hold of him, and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is, which is spoken by you? For you bring certain strange things to our ears. We want to know therefore what these things mean.” Now all the Athenians and the strangers living there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell or to hear some new thing.
Acts 17 [22.] Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus, and said, “You men of Athens, I perceive that you are very religious in all things. For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ What therefore you worship in ignorance, this I announce to you. The God who made the world and all things in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands, neither is he served by men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself gives to all life and breath, and all things. [26.] He made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the surface of the earth, having determined appointed seasons, and the boundaries of their dwellings, that they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ‘For in him we live, and move, and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’ Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold, or silver, or stone, engraved by art and design of man. [30.] The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked. But now he commands that all people everywhere should repent, because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained; of which he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead.”
Acts 17 [32.] Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked; but others said, “We want to hear you again concerning this.”
Meaning:
Standing before the Areopagus, Paul has proclaimed the God who made the world, who “doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands” (Acts 17:24). He has said that God made every nation from one blood so that people would seek him, “though he is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:27). Now Paul quotes Greek poets his hearers knew, and draws a conclusion about idols.
- “For in him we live, and move, and have our being”
God is not far away. Every moment of human life depends on him. The psalmist knew this: “Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from your presence?” (Psalm 139:7). The New Testament says the same of Christ: “in him all things are held together” (Colossians 1:17). Many scholars think this line echoes the Cretan poet Epimenides, whom Paul quotes elsewhere; others think it was Paul’s own summary of a common Greek idea. Either way, Paul uses words familiar to his audience to express a biblical truth.
- “As some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’”
This line comes from the poet Aratus, who came from Cilicia, Paul’s home province, and a similar thought appears in a hymn by the Stoic Cleanthes. The poets wrote of Zeus, but Paul applies the words to the one true God, the Creator. He was not approving their religion; he was finding common ground. People are God’s offspring because he created them and gave them life. Scripture says, “God created man in his own image” (Genesis 1:27), and Luke traces Jesus’ family line back to “Adam, the son of God” (Luke 3:38). This is the relationship of creation that every person shares. Elsewhere the New Testament speaks of becoming God’s children in a fuller sense through faith in Christ (Galatians 3:26-28).
- “We ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold, or silver, or stone”
Paul’s conclusion is simple. If living, thinking human beings come from God, then God cannot be less than they are. He cannot be represented by a lifeless image made by human hands. Athens was full of beautiful statues, and Paul had been distressed to see “the city full of idols” (Acts 17:16). The prophets had mocked idols in the same way: “Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands” (Psalm 115:4), and “To whom then will you liken God?” (Isaiah 40:18). The commandment says, “You shall not make for yourselves an idol” (Exodus 20:4).
- “Engraved by art and design of man”
Paul does not condemn art itself. His point is that human skill cannot capture God. When people make God in their own image, they exchange the truth for something smaller. Paul later wrote that people “traded the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man” (Romans 1:23). After this argument Paul calls everyone to repent, because God has appointed a day of judgment and has raised Jesus from the dead (Acts 17:30).
The Significance of Acts 17:28-29
- God is near
The God who made heaven and earth is not distant. Every breath is his gift. This truth invites everyone to seek him, thank him and live for him.
- Finding common ground
Paul quoted poets his hearers respected to lead them to the truth. Christians can listen to the ideas of their culture, affirm what is true in them and point beyond them to the God revealed in Christ.
Cross-References:
Genesis 1:27: "God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him." Humanity as God’s offspring.
Psalm 139:7: "Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from your presence?" God is never far away.
Psalm 115:4: "Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands." The emptiness of idols.
Romans 1:23: "And traded the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man." Exchanging God for images.
Conclusion: Paul told the Athenians that in God we live, move and exist, and quoted their own poet that we are his offspring. Since people are God’s offspring, it is foolish to imagine that God is like an image of gold, silver or stone made by human skill. The living God must be known as he truly is.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible