# Acts 17:26,28 - To whom is this addressed?



## Tirian (Mar 20, 2005)

Folks,

What is your view on this passage of scripture in terms of who is the "they" and "us" referring to in 27, what did it mean to those being addressed and what does it mean today?




> 26And He has made from one blood[c] every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, "For we are also His offspring.'



One interpretation I heard on the weekend that I'm not entirely comfortable with is that this suggests that the way in which God has ordered creation (specifically human beings) generally causes them to seek Him. Surely, this view is at odd's with texts such as Rom 3:11.

Your thoughts?


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## Contra_Mundum (Mar 20, 2005)

The language of verse 27 is in the subjunctive mood, giving it an continuous or undefined quality. The text teaches the following:

1) God sovereignly appointed all the nations of men, coming from the one man he made.

2) He has set them in their spaces, and given them their dominance

3) The *reason* he did this is that they _might_ (or would, or should, or ought to--all words used in English to convey the subjunctive) seek after him. This is why God has put man, every single individual person, and not ignoring the contextual nature of their birth, upon the earth--_so that he would worship God._

4) Man cannot see God, however, in his spiritual blindness--he must "grope" for him, *if perhaps* he had a will to. You might even think so, given all the idolatry in the world (but see Rom. 3:11!).

5) And its not as if he was so far away that he _couldn't_ be found, right? No, he's always been findable, if men weren't dead in trespasses and sins...

6) This truth _about God_ was even discoverable in some form by the Greeks themselves. Paul's point is that they should have come to further knowledge of God, better, more complete. What they had should have led them on to more truth. And it didn't. Why? Because whenever the natural man discovers something about God (which is natural revelation, it is GOD whom the man discovers) he ignores it, perverts it, turns it aside, hates it, etc

The rest of his speech Paul declares to them what they in their ignorance had missed: The One True God, the Judge they must face. And more, He preaches the Gospel to them for their redemption's sake.


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## pastorway (Mar 20, 2005)




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## Tirian (Mar 20, 2005)

Bruce,

That was very helpful - thanks so much for the prompt reply.


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## The Lamb (Mar 21, 2005)

Matthew Henry does an excellent job on this.


http://www.ccel.org/h/henry/mhc2/MHC44017.HTM


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