Acts 17:24, commentary and pictures

God made the world and all things in it and is Lord of heaven and earth, so He is not confined to or contained in temples made with human hands. He is not dependent on human worship or service and needs nothing from men's hands, but Himself gives to all life and breath and all things. This sets Him apart as the true living God above lifeless idols, which have no life of their own and cannot represent His glory. Therefore no shrine makes Him more present in one place than another, and true believers may worship Him throughout the world in spirit and in truth rather than only in earthly temples. Paul declared this on Mars Hill to the idolatrous men of Athens who worshiped without knowing Him, drawing them away from heathen deities to seek and find the near Creator.

Paul's Mars Hill Setting

Paul stood in the midst of Mars Hill to speak these words to the men of Athens, and Mars Hill was the highest and most reverenced place in Athens where courts were held and religious questions were decided. He spoke after he had beheld the city's devotions and found an altar inscribed to the unknown God, declaring to them the God they ignorantly worshiped. Epicurean and Stoic philosophers had brought him to the Areopagus to explain his new doctrine, because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection and they called him a setter forth of strange gods. His hearers were idolatrous men of Athens, including philosophers, poets, artists, and scholars, and great and learned men assembled as the court of the Areopagus. His faithfulness before that court was the same as when he later faced a dark dungeon and prison and awaited sentence from Nero under threat of death.

He carefully drew proud, idol-worshiping minds away from heathen deities by revealing the true God unknown to them, rebuking idolatry and the sins of a proud, self-sufficient people with tact born of divine love rather than by direct attack upon their gods and great men. By this he showed he was not a novice but could meet every class of people from men of renown to heathen idolaters. He met them with logic, science, philosophy, eloquence, and oratory, meeting false philosophy with true philosophy, eloquence with eloquence, and logic with logic. He adapted his teaching to his audience by discussing natural religion and reasoning from nature, science, and philosophy. Yet his reasoned presentation, though it silenced his wisest hearers, led few to accept the gospel.

The labor was not wholly in vain, for Dionysius, one of the most prominent citizens, and some others accepted the gospel message and united themselves fully with the believers. His words contain a treasure of knowledge for the church, handed down to all coming generations as witness of unshaken confidence and courage in loneliness and adversity and of victory gained for Christianity in the very heart of paganism. The limited success showed that even the highest human education in literary science leaves men in complete darkness without Christ revealed. Afterward he turned from elaborate arguments and theories to point people simply to Christ as the Saviour of sinners, and determined to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified, because a short lifetime leaves time for nothing else. Power for such work must be received from a higher source, and the Spirit must sanctify every intellectual development in order to convict and convert sinners.

Maker Beyond Human Temples

God made the world and all things therein, and as Lord of heaven and earth He does not dwell in temples made with hands. He is not confined to them, not shut up in them, and not contained in buildings made by people. He is distinct from nature and remains beyond all such human structures.

He is not dependent on human worship, service, or offerings. He needs nothing from human hands to add to His power and glory. The heavens are not large enough to contain Him, how much less are temples made by human hands. No human-built temple can therefore contain Him or limit His presence.

As Lord He is not worshiped with men's hands as though He needed anything. He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things. All life and existence depend on Him.

True God Above Idols

The declaration that God made the world and all things in it and is Lord of heaven and earth sets the true God apart from false gods. The fourth commandment is the only commandment in the law that makes this same distinction by pointing to Him as Creator. That shared mark of creatorship shows why the Sabbath stands as His sign and seal.

He is the true Deity beyond the limits of false religion, independent of man and needing nothing to add to His power and glory. He cannot be likened to forms of man's devising, for statuary and graven images cannot in the faintest sense represent the glory of Jehovah. Idols have no life but are controlled by human power and move only when the hands of men move them, so those who worship them are in every way superior to what they worship. Human beings made in His image are far greater than the lifeless idols they fashion.

The verse holds forth the majesty of the living God in contrast to idolatrous worship. He is distinct from nature and wholly different from idols that are works of human hands. Idolatry of nature is thereby exposed as a farce, an invention of men who do not know God and are trying to keep out of sight a knowledge of the true God. Sin has darkened human sight, so men mistake creation for God, put nature above God, and fail to read nature rightly or to discern in nature God and Christ whom He sent. Dependence on human wisdom surely fails in this.

True knowledge of this God is found alone in the Bible, for a man may spend a lifetime in laborious searching after God by reason, yet his argumentative powers and logical reasoning only leave him ignorant and confused. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the God who made the world and all things therein. Creation teaches that He is the life and light of every living thing.

Placed beside Barabbas, this Creator was set before men to choose between Him and Barabbas, who stood for Satan personified, and the crowd chose Barabbas over Christ. That same choice between Satan and the Creator Christ is still being made by every person today. The God the Hebrew youths refused to dishonor was this Creator and supreme Lord and King of Kings and Lord of Lords, so they would not obey a human command to worship an image in place of Him.

Sovereign Sustainer Of Nature

The God who made the world and all things in it is its sustainer, the great Sovereign of the universe, and His creative power and overruling providence are shown in the verse. He is the living God who overrules all events for His own glory. All nature is only the working out of the laws He has made as a manifestation of His sovereign will. It is in the fullest sense under the control of physical law as the expression of His higher will. Winds and earthquakes and tempests are not capricious outbreaks of unregulated mechanical forces. Human wisdom must not dethrone and defy Him as the great Sovereign of the universe.

He remains Lord of heaven and earth, present and active over what He made. He has not left the world entirely to the jurisdiction of men, retired from the scene of action, or left it to the domination of human agencies. He is an ever-present supremacy, here with His people and able to take them all and lead them aright. The world is still His fair domain. He proved His command over the natural world and over the powers worshiped by Egypt's oppressors by great signs and wonders in Egypt.

He will again execute judgment on the gods of this world as on the gods of Egypt, with fire and flood, plagues and earthquakes that spoil the whole land. Then His redeemed people will exalt His name and make it glorious in the earth. His power and greatness, majesty and power speak to the senses through grand and sublime scenery. Towering mountains rising peak above peak and ridge on ridge, snow-capped heights glittering in sunlight, and huge granite peaks stretching heavenward declare Him and invite lingering view. They impress the beholder with awe and point upward to the God of nature.

Worship In Spirit Everywhere

God who made the world and all things in it, as Lord of heaven and earth, is not contained in any temple or shrine, nor is He more present in one such place than in any other part of creation. Wherever He has fixed a person's dwelling He encompasses that person and hears them there. Outward religious acts and objects cannot secure His grace, because He looks upon the heart.

A dedicated house of worship does not confine Him, yet He honors the gatherings of His people and meets them by His Spirit when they come together to seek Him, acknowledge and confess their sins, and pray for one another. That meeting calls for worship in spirit and truth, with hearts turned toward Him rather than merely outward words. It must be offered in holiness and holy beauty, with evil put away and hearts emptied of every evil thing, and unless so offered their coming together does them no good and is of no value.

Complete remission of sins and the favor of God are not secured by weary pilgrimages to a consecrated shrine, unprofitable works, offerings, prayers to the virgin and saints, multiplying of words in prayer, or priestly garments and outward forms. Pardon is freely given through Christ, who offered Himself on the cross once for all as the sacrifice that satisfies for all eternity for the sins of all believers. True believers may worship Him throughout the world in Spirit and in truth rather than only in earthly temples, and this worldwide worship accompanies the gospel's going to other nations, for the death of Christ brings to an end the temple order that had served its purpose.

Though He hallowed Solomon's house to put His name there forever, He remains free to meet His people anywhere. He visits faithful isolated ones in times of captivity and distress and cheers them with special manifestations of His glory. He is the one the faithful worship, and He sees and knows their needs, hears their prayers, and provides for them. He is to be trusted with a faith that rules character, faith in Christ's power to redeem the soul and keep it in perfect peace, held by a people who uphold truth, justice, and purity. Since the world is still His fair domain and He has not left it to the jurisdiction of men nor retired from the scene of action, strife and variance among those who profess to obey and serve Him is a terrible intrusion of sin, manifesting itself in apostasy, rebellion, and discord.

Proclaiming Truth To All

This truth is declared to people who worship God without knowing Him, for God is near to them and to everyone and gives life and breath to all. He created humanity and ordered the times and dwelling places of nations so that people might seek Him and find Him, for their life and existence depend on Him. Many who have not heard the message of salvation may receive its light when it is brought to them. Those living in the last remnant of earth's history must become intelligent in these lessons of the living God who made the world and everything in it and who overrules all events for His own glory. They are to be drawn to the world's Redeemer with cords of a man and with bands of love, which is riches beyond estimate, holding a faith that rules character in Christ's power to redeem the soul and keep it in perfect peace as a people upholding truth, justice, and purity.

The most effective way to teach those who do not know God is through His works in nature, because lessons drawn directly from nature make the difference between man-made idols and the living Creator clear more readily than any other method. These lessons from nature have a simplicity and purity that makes them of the highest value not only for the heathen but for children and youth and all classes of students. The beauty of nature itself leads the soul away from sin and worldly attraction toward purity, peace, and God. Setting before all classes evidences of Christianity which were not of human invention showed he was not a novice but could meet every class of people from men of renown to heathen idolaters. His religion came from God, bears divinity's stamp, is of heavenly origin, and no power on earth can quench its light from heaven.