God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwells not in temples made with hands;
that made.
Acts 17:26-28 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; …
Acts 4:24 And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:
Acts 14:15 And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:
seeing.
Genesis 14:19,22 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: …
2 Kings 19:15 And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.
Psalm 24:1 A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
dwelleth.
Acts 7:48 Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,
1 Kings 8:27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?
2 Chronicles 2:6 But who is able to build him an house, seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him? who am I then, that I should build him an house, save only to burn sacrifice before him?
is the Lord of heaven and earth
This statement affirms God's dominion over all creation, both the physical earth and the spiritual realm. It connects to Deuteronomy 10:14, which acknowledges God's ownership of the heavens and the earth. By declaring God as "Lord," it emphasizes His authority and governance over all things, challenging the Greek pantheon where different gods ruled over different aspects of the world. This phrase also foreshadows the New Testament revelation of Jesus Christ as the one through whom all things were made (John 1:3) and who has been given all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18).
and does not live in temples made by human hands
This phrase critiques the practice of idol worship and the belief that deities could be contained within man-made structures. It reflects Solomon's acknowledgment in 1 Kings 8:27 that even the highest heavens cannot contain God, much less a temple. This idea is further supported by Isaiah 66:1-2, where God declares that heaven is His throne and the earth His footstool. The phrase challenges the Athenians' religious practices, emphasizing that the true God transcends physical structures and human limitations. It also points to the New Testament understanding that believers themselves are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), indicating a shift from physical temples to a spiritual dwelling.
• The opening words point to God as the sole Creator. Genesis 1:1 affirms, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”.
• By grounding Paul’s message in creation, the text reminds us that everything starts with God, not with human ideas or philosophies (see Isaiah 42:5; Revelation 4:11).
• This truth calls us to humility—since God made the world, He has the right to define its purpose and our place in it.
• Creation is comprehensive: “The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof” (Psalm 24:1).
• Nothing exists outside God’s ownership—whether visible or invisible, as Colossians 1:16 states.
• Because everything belongs to Him, every part of life is spiritual. Work, family, leisure, and worship all fall under His lordship.
• “Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool” (Isaiah 66:1). God rules everywhere, not just in religious spaces.
• His authority extends over kings and kingdoms (Daniel 4:34-35) and over every individual heart (Jeremiah 10:10).
• Jesus echoed this universal reign when He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me” (Matthew 28:18).
• Paul echoes Stephen’s words in Acts 7:48-49 that “the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands.”
• Solomon recognized this even while dedicating the first temple: “Even the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this temple I have built!” (1 Kings 8:27).
• God’s presence is not confined to buildings; Jesus told the Samaritan woman that true worship is “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:21-24).
• While church buildings serve as gathering places, they must never substitute for a living relationship with the omnipresent Lord.
Acts 17:24 lifts our eyes to the Creator who owns everything, reigns everywhere, and cannot be boxed into human structures. Recognizing His universal authority reshapes how we see the world: every place becomes sacred ground for worship and every activity an opportunity to honor the Lord of heaven and earth.
(24) God that made the world . . .--The masculine form of the pronoun and participles throughout the sentence presents an emphatic contrast to the neuter pronoun of the previous verse.Seeing that he is Lord.--Better, He, being Lord.
Dwelleth not in temples made with hands.--We note with special interest the reproduction of the thought which the then persecutor had heard from the lips of the martyr Stephen. (See Note on Acts 7:48.) As asserted of the Temple at Jerusalem, it had at that time, even though it was quoted from a Jewish prophet, driven the Pharisee Saul into the frenzy of fanaticism. Now, having learnt the lesson as regards that Temple, he proclaims the truth as applicable a fortiori to all temples raised by human hands. It is obvious that this truth places the sacredness of Christian churches on a ground entirely different from that which influenced the minds of Jew or Greek in regard to their respective temples. Churches are holy, not because God dwells in them, but because they are set apart for the highest acts of the collective life of the congregation of His people. In those acts men hold communion with God, and so the Church is for them all, and more than all, that the Tabernacle of Meeting (this, as meaning the place where man met God, rather than Tabernacle of the Congregation, being the true rendering of the Hebrew term; comp. Exodus 29:42) was to the Israelites of old. Romish theory and practice, in presenting the consecrated wafer in pyx or monstrance, or carrying it in procession, as an object of adoration, revives the old Pagan view which St. Paul disclaims.
Verse 24. - The God for God, A.V. (surely a change for the worse); he being Lord for seeing that he is Lord, A.V. Made with hands (χειροποιήτοις); see the same phrase in Mark 14:5, 8; Acts 7:48; Hebrews 9:11. St. Paul applies it, too, to the circumcision made with the knife, as distinguished from that wrought by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 3:11). It is frequent in the LXX. It is a striking instance of St. Paul's unflinching boldness and fidelity to the truth, that he should expose the hollowness of heathen worship, standing within a stone's throw of the Parthenon and the temple of Theseus and the countless other temples of gods and goddesses, which were the pride and glory of the Athenian people. Note how he begins his catechetical instruction to the Athenians with the first article of the Creed: "I believe in God the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth."