1 Kings 18-19, Acts 17: 22-34, Acts 18: 1-8, Psalm 97
Acts 17: 29 (ESV)
“Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the
divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and
imagination of man.”
Verse 29 from Acts 17 is Paul’s advice to the people of Athens
on how they should think of God. If we know that we are children of God, then
God cannot be represented by how man can imagine him or view him in gold,
silver, or stone. As children of God, we are responsible for how we view him.
We must have “correct or right” ideas about God and know that God cannot represented
by how an artist might view him. God made the world and was too big to dwell in
temples. Since God made everything including his offspring, it would be
impossible for us for represent him in any art that we may make.
I think that what Paul is saying to the people of Athens is
that their view of who God is so small compared to the God followed by the
people who believed in Christ. Why would they want to worship such a “small god”,
when they could worship a God who is greater and more powerful and who sees
them as “offspring” and offers the forgiveness of sin and could resurrect the
dead. Paul’s argument may sound strange to our modern ears, but he was speaking
to a Greek audience who worshipped many gods. I like this verse because it
gives us an illustration of the beginnings of the Christian church and how they
worked to establish the church of Christ.
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