In Acts 17:28 we find a well known statement about God and our relationship with Him. This passage records the Apostle Paul’s exchange with the men of Athens. “…for ‘In him we live and move and have our being;’ as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ He observed that the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers seemed to be “very religious” because they had erected an altar with the inscription “To the unknown god.” The Apostle decided to capitalize on their quest for god by instructing them concerning the True God.
On this occasion he preached at the Areopagus, a forum where the Athenians met to discuss important issues of the day. Greek philosophers had recognized pagan gods for several centuries. Their culture embraced belief in many gods. Paul made reference to the startling statement: In him we live and move and have our being. He pointed out that some of their own “poets” had uttered similar statements. Their poets (philosophers) were not referring to the True God—the Creator of All Things. Instead, the poets referred to ideas generated in their own minds. Paul responded with a powerful apologetic for the God of Creation—the Lord of heaven and earth—and Jesus Christ, God’s Son, whom God had raised from the dead!
We quote the statement In Him we live and move and have our being frequently in devotional discussions with friends and in personal prayers. It is a statement permeated with theological as well as scientific reality.
IN HiIM WE LIVE: God is the originator of life on our planet. Not only did he create the original life. He also sustains the life of all creatures from moment to moment.
IN HIM WE MOVE: God supplies living creatures with ability to move physically, using energy. (Remember that God is the Creator of all things, including time, space, matter, and energy.)
IN HIM WE HAVE OUR BEING: We define this phrase as consciousness. The topic has been the subject matter for many of our past blogs.
The passage from Acts 17:28 emphasizes primarily the concept of life. Another passage, Romans 1:20, “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.” (God created time, space, matter, and energy.) Scripture has countless other passages affirming the reality of God, the Creator. The two passages in Acts and Romans serve as a starting point in the study of God’s reality.
In our study of life (Acts 17:28) there is a strong linkage to the Christian worldview. God is the Creator of all life. Likewise, in our study of creation (Rom. 1:20) the same linkage exists. God is the Creator of All Things—matter, energy, time, and space.
The Apostle Paul utilized his persuasive gifts to reveal divine truth to the Athenians. He posed contrasts between the Athenians view of reality and the Christian view of reality. Many Greek poets/philosophers believed in mythical gods composed of gold, silver, or stone to reveal truth concerning God. Paul skillfully explained the reality of the True God in whom “…we live and move and have our being.”
