That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
they.
Acts 15:17 That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.
Psalm 19:1-6 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork…
Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
he be.
Acts 14:17 Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.
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?
Psalm 139:1-13 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me…
and perhaps reach out for Him
The imagery of reaching out suggests a groping or feeling after God, akin to a blind person searching for something in the dark. This reflects the spiritual blindness of humanity due to sin, as described in 2 Corinthians 4:4. Despite this blindness, God has made Himself known through His creation (Romans 1:20) and through His Word. The use of "perhaps" indicates human free will and the possibility of rejection, yet it also underscores God's grace in making Himself accessible. This reaching out is an act of faith, as seen in Hebrews 11:6, which states that God rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
and find Him
Finding God is the culmination of the seeking and reaching out process. This is not merely an intellectual discovery but a relational encounter with the living God. Jeremiah 29:13 promises that those who seek God with all their heart will find Him. The assurance of finding God is rooted in His faithfulness and desire for relationship with His creation. This finding is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Through Christ, believers have direct access to God, as emphasized in Ephesians 2:18.
though He is not far from each one of us
This phrase emphasizes the immanence of God, contrasting with the deistic view that God is distant and uninvolved. God's nearness is a recurring theme in Scripture, as seen in Psalm 145:18, which states that the Lord is near to all who call on Him. Theologically, this reflects the omnipresence of God, who is present in all places and times. Culturally, this would have been a radical concept for the Athenians, who were accustomed to gods who were distant and capricious. The nearness of God is also a comfort to believers, assuring them of His constant presence and support, as promised in Hebrews 13:5.
“God intended that they would seek Him…” (Acts 17:27).
• The plan is His, not ours. Long before anyone ever pondered spiritual things, “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4).
• Creation itself bears witness to that design: “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1), showing that the universe is wired for people to notice its Maker.
• Even national boundaries serve His purpose (Acts 17:26). History moves under His sovereign hand so that every culture has opportunity to hear (Daniel 2:21; Revelation 7:9).
• Seeking is active. Scripture calls us to “Seek the LORD while He may be found” (Isaiah 55:6).
• God rewards this search: “He rewards those who earnestly seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).
• The call is universal, yet deeply personal. David testified, “My heart said, ‘Seek His face!’ ” (Psalm 27:8).
• The phrase pictures a blind person groping in the dark. Sin clouds spiritual sight (2 Corinthians 4:4).
• Still, clues are everywhere—rain and harvests, kindness and joy—so that people can “feel their way” toward truth (Acts 14:17; Romans 1:19-20).
• God’s patience makes room for the hesitant; His kindness leads to repentance (Romans 2:4).
• Finding is the goal of seeking. “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).
• The promise is guaranteed because Jesus is the way: “No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
• All who come are welcomed: “Whoever comes to Me I will never drive away” (John 6:37).
• God’s nearness is both spatial and relational. “The LORD is near to all who call on Him” (Psalm 145:18).
• There is no corner where He cannot be reached: “Where can I flee from Your presence?” (Psalm 139:7-10).
• The gospel word is “near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart” (Romans 10:8), making salvation immediately accessible.
Acts 17:27 shows a loving God who orchestrates history so that every person has the chance to notice Him, reach for Him, and genuinely find Him. Seeking is our responsibility; finding is His sure promise. No one is beyond His reach, for the Creator who set the stars in place is already standing right beside each seeker, ready to be known.
(27) Should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him.--The word for "feel after" expresses strictly the act of groping in the dark. From the Apostle's point of view, anticipating in part the great Theodikaea--the vindication of the ways of God--in the Epistle to the Romans, the whole order of the world's history was planned, as part of the education of mankind, waking longings which it could not satisfy, leading men at once to a consciousness of the holiness of God and of their own sinfulness. The religions of the world were to him as the movements of one who climbs"Upon the great world's altar stairs,
That slope through darkness up to God;"
who can only say--
"I stretch lame hands of faith, and grope,
And gather dust, and chaff, and call
To what I feel is Lord of all,
And faintly trust the larger hope."
Their ritual in all its manifold variety was but as the inarticulate wailing of childhood--
"An infant crying for the light,
And with no language but a cry."
--Tennyson, In Memoriam, liv. . . .
Verse 27. - God for the Lord, A.V. and T.R. (Meyer does not accept this reading); is for be, A.V.; each for every, A.V. If haply they might feel after him. Ψηλαφάω is "to touch, feel, or handle," as Luke 24:39; Hebrews 12:18; 1 John 1:1. But it is especially used of the action of the blind groping or feeling their way by their hands in default of sight. So Homer describes Polyphemus as χερσὶ ψηλαφόων, feeling his way to the mouth of the cave with his hands after he was blinded by Ulysses ('Odyssey,' 9:416). And in the LXX. of Deuteronomy 28:29 we read, Ἔση ψηλαφῶν μεσημβρίας ὠς εἴ τις ψηλαφήσαι τυφλὸς ἐν τῷ σκότει, "Thou shall grope at noonday as the blind gropeth in darkness." The teaching, therefore, of the passage is that, though God was very near to every man, and had not left himself without abundant witness in his manifold gifts, yet, through the blindness of the heathen, they had to feel their way uncertainly toward God. In this fact lies the need of a revelation, as it follows ver. 30, etc. And hence part at least of the significance of such passages as, "Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord" (Ephesians 5:8); "Who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9 ); "God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6), and many more like passages.