Acts 17:26, commentary and pictures

God made all nations of men from one blood to dwell on all the face of the earth, so all peoples share one common origin and one human family and depend on Him as Creator and ruler of all. He Himself determined beforehand the times appointed and the bounds of habitation, assigning to each nation and each person its period and place to rise and fall and occupy on the earth. He placed men when and where they live so that they should seek the Lord and find Him, though He is not far from every one, for in Him they live and move and have being and are His offspring. This declares the great truth of human brotherhood in absolute equality, that in God's sight there are no caste distinctions or ranks of race, nationality or status that make some more valuable than others or divide people before Him. Behind the growth of nations and the rise and fall of empires God works silently and patiently above and through human will and passion, overruling events to carry out the counsels of His own will and His gracious purpose that the earth be inhabited by lives that bless one another and honor their Creator.

Speech on Mars Hill

Paul spoke these words on Mars Hill to the men of Athens before the council of the Areopagus, including Epicurean and Stoic philosophers who called him a setter forth of strange gods because he preached Jesus and the resurrection. He spoke away from public thoroughfares in a place of highest reverence where he could be heard without interruption, after they asked to know the new doctrine he spoke.

Taking the altar TO THE UNKNOWN GOD as his starting point, he declared the true God who made the world and all things in it, who is Lord of heaven and earth. That God does not dwell in temples made with hands nor need anything from men's hands, but gives to all life and breath and all things. In this way he turned his hearers from idols to the God they had acknowledged as unknown, setting the majesty of the living God against their idolatrous worship and announcing Him in contrast to worship of nature under the name of the unknown god.

He spoke with tact born of divine love rather than direct attack, meeting science with science, logic with logic, and philosophy with philosophy. He met false philosophy with true philosophy and eloquence with eloquence in an oratorical style fitted for kings and learned men, pointing to Jehovah as the Unknown God whom they had ignorantly worshiped. Picturing Him in words of their own poet as a Father whose children they are, he showed himself a clear and effectual missionary able to meet every class from men of renown to heathen idolaters with evidences of heavenly origin that no earthly power could quench.

The address met reasoning with reasoning but led few to accept the gospel, for it was spoken to idolatrous, proud, self-sufficient Athenians who with all their knowledge, refinement, and art were sunken in vice and corruption. Afterward he presented Christ more simply as the Saviour of sinners, for method and intellectual acquirements alone fail without power from a higher source received through union with Christ and the sanctifying work of the Spirit to convict and convert sinners. That power is received by eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of God, with the Spirit coming into the work and sanctifying every intellectual development. Yet the labor on Mars Hill was not wholly in vain, for Dionysius and others accepted the message and united fully with the believers, gaining a victory for Christianity in the very heart of paganism with unshaken confidence and courage in loneliness and adversity, holding a treasure of knowledge for the church in all coming generations.

The verse stands connected with the response at Berea and Athens, where those who honestly desire to do right receive the word with readiness and search the Scriptures daily, comparing scripture with scripture to see whether the teaching about the promised Messiah is so. All will be judged according to the light given and the way they treat the words of God's servants.

One Origin, Ordered History

God has made from one blood every nation of people to live across the whole face of the earth, so all peoples share one common origin, belong to one human family, and depend on Him as Creator and ruler of all. He Himself fixed beforehand the appointed times and the boundaries of their dwelling, assigning to each nation and each person its period to rise and fall and its place to occupy on earth. These arrangements were mapped out with the purpose that people should seek the Lord, feel after Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of them. In Him they live and move and have being as His offspring, so the Godhead is not like gold or silver or stone carved by art and human device.

Sin has darkened human sight, so fallen man by mere human wisdom cannot read nature rightly but puts nature above God and worships nature, failing to discern God and Christ in it. Nature is only created testimony to God's power and never God Himself, in contrast to idols that are only works of men's hands. Those who do not know God are most effectively taught this difference between the true Maker and idols through His works in nature, whose lessons in simplicity and purity are of highest value for heathen, children, youth and all students, leading the soul away from sin and worldly attraction toward purity, peace and God.

The verse sets forth the true philosophy of history and God's purpose in the creation and distribution of races and nations. Behind the growth of nations and the rise and fall of empires, which seem to depend on human will, power, ambition and caprice, God works silently and patiently above and through human interests and passions and overrules events to carry out the counsels of His own will and accomplish His purposes. Through all His dealings with man there runs like a thread of gold His purpose of grace and mercy, that the earth be inhabited by beings whose lives would be a blessing to themselves and to one another and an honor to their Creator, and all who will may share in that purpose. Nations and individuals also choose their course and thereby decide their destiny, while nations one after another fill in their predicted time and place on the stage of action and then pass away, unconsciously witnessing to the truth of His word even when they do not know its meaning, with His voice speaking through that history sounding down the line from century to century.

God made the world and remains ever-present and supreme over it, not having left the earth to the jurisdiction of men, retired from action, or left it to the domination of human agencies. He gives to all life and breath and all things, keeps the human machinery in motion, and supplies food and everything needed, so no one can be independent and live. He is present throughout creation, not confined to a temple or shrine, encompassing and hearing people wherever He has put them and sustaining their life and existence in Him. Though His presence is not limited to a sanctuary, He meets His people by His Spirit when they gather to seek Him.

Equality, Prophecy, and Response

The verse declares the great truth of human brotherhood in absolute equality, that all nations share one common origin and one human family and in God's sight all stand on an equality. It was taught in an age of caste when the rights of man as man were wholly unrecognized, as a Christlike principle found only in Christianity. In God's sight and kingdom there are no territorial lines, caste distinctions, or aristocratic ranks, and distinctions of age, rank, nationality, race, social status or religious privilege do not make some more valuable than others or divide people before God. This equality apart from its inherent divine power wins favor and admiration even from those who do not embrace it and from lovers of justice in all nations, drawing the oppressed and liberty-loving.

When adopted by any government this principle gives that government prominence and elevation, and embodied in a national charter it marks the lamb-like two-horned power as the United States of America with its declaration that all men are created equal. Through Christ's redemption people of every kind and background are made one, brought near, and may come freely to God with access to Him, because Christ removes the barriers that separate them. The shared origin means people of every race are members of one human family deserving compassion and care, with each person responsible for others as a brother or sister.

White and colored people have the same Creator and are saved by the redeeming grace of the same Saviour who gave His life for all, and all are bought with a price, so God has marked out no color line. There are not two heavens, one for white people and one for colored people, but one heaven for all the saved, and therefore entire exclusion of either race must not be pressed. God Himself made men of color as they are and they cannot help their color, so cursing their lot and cursing others need not be. Children of God who concede to prejudice against color of race give influence to sanction a long course of neglect, insult and oppression, and the Lord will call to account those who have had a part in this work, so men must move very guardedly lest they offend God.

One God created all people, slave and master alike, and He alone owns every person's body, mind, heart and soul, so no master owns another human being or has a right to practice torture upon one he calls property. All are God's created subjects under His justice and mercy, and He will deal with the master by the same justice as with the ignorant slave, holding the educated master more accountable because education gives greater ability to comprehend God's justice and mercy. The phrase times before appointed refers to chronological periods God has set and revealed in Scripture, within which biblical events occurred and prophetic periods extend to Christ's second coming as part of God's revealed word deserving serious study. Scripture therefore gives students reason to expect the great events of human history to be clearly pointed out.

The verse invites people of every nation to receive the message of salvation and to seek and come to Him, for His light is meant to reach even those who worship without knowing Him. Among those who have not heard, kindness and willingness to help can reflect Christ's character, they are not beyond God's blessing, and many are ready to receive the light when it is brought. Because God fixes where each person dwells and encompasses and hears them there, being no more in a temple or shrine than in any other part of creation, complete remission of sins and the favor of God are obtained not by weary pilgrimages, offerings, unprofitable works, prayers to others, multiplying words in prayer, or priestly dress, but by prayer to God Himself in whatever place He has put a person. He has not left the earth to the jurisdiction of men, retired from action, or left it to the domination of human agencies, but is present and able to take all people and lead them aright, so strife and variance among His professed servants and apostasy, rebellion and discord in His domain are the intrusion and manifestation of sin, not the result of God withdrawing. Every breath drawn depends on God, who gives breath, keeps the human machinery in motion, and supplies food and everything needed so no one can be independent and live, so claiming to be nonreligious, holding loose principles and refusing to be religious is a shame.