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THE KING’S BUSINESS
on the face of the earth, and hath (having) determined the times before appointed (their appointed seasons), and the bounds of their habitation: that they should seek the Lord God, if haply they might feel after Him. and find Him, though He be (is) not far from each one of us." It is a great truth that Paul declares here that God “made of one all nations of men.” Do we really believe it? Do we believe in our kinship to the negro, the Chinaman, the Hindoo, and men of every other race? There certainly never has been a time in the history of the world when this unity of all races of men needed more to be emphasized than in this day in which we are living, where nations on every hand are rising up against nations, and men almost' everywhere throughout the world are murdering their brothers. The present war arises entirely from the fact that men have lost sight, of this truth and the truth that Paul couples with it, that' God has determined the bounds of the habitation of the different races of men. The desire for territorial expansion beyond their divinely set bounds has had much to do with the origin of the present war. The purpose for which God has made men and deter mined their appointed seasons and the bounds of their habitation is “that they should Seek God.” How little the nations have fallen in with this benevolent purpose of God (Rom. 1:28). It is for man’s own highest interest that he 'should fall in with God’s purpose in His creation and seek God (Amos 5:4, 6 (Ezra 8:22; Prov. 28:5; 2 Chron. 26:5; Ps. 34:4, 10; Ps. 69:32; 1 Chron. 16:10; Lam. 3:25; Heb. 11:6;. Ps. 119:2). God is not at all difficult to find for those who seek Him with the whole heart (Jer. 29:13), “He is not far from every one of us.” It is not necessary that we should go up into heaven to bring God down, nor that we should descend into Hades to bring God up (cf. Rom. 10:6, 7). He is within touch of every one of us, even-though we be absolutely unconscious- of His presence (Ps. 139:5-10). v. 28. “For in Him we. live, and move,
and have our being, as certain also (even) of your own poets have said, For we are also His offspring.’’ How absolute is our dependence upon God, no life, no motion, no existence outside of Him. This .being so, there can be no peace in our souls until our wills -are absolutely surrendered to Him, and our affections absolutely centered in Him. Paul quotes approvingly the senti ment of their own Greek poet Aratus, that we are the “offspring” of God. This does not teach the universal Fatherhood of God in the way that, it is so commonly taught today : while all men are God’s “offspring,” they are not all truly His “children” (John 8:44, 47; 1 John 3:10; Matt.-13:38; Gal. 4:4, 6; Heb. 12:8; Eph. 2:3). We are all His offspring in the sense that He has imparted His physical life to us, but those only aré His children to whom He has imparted His moral and spiritual life, those who receive Jesus Christ (John 1:12, R. V.). But there is a higher position than that' of “children of God;” viz., that of “sons of God,” i.e., mature children (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 3:26; 4:1-6). v. 29. “For as much then as we are (Being then) the offspring of God, we c/ught not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device (device of man).” Paul had a deeper object in quoting their poet than merely to approve his sentiment, or even to win their favor, though doubtless he did gain a more favorable hearing by showing his knowledge and approval of what their own poet had said. Paul’s real object, however, was to show them how, accord ing to their own accepted teaching their worshipping objects made of “gold, or sil ver, or stone, graven by art and device of man” was unwarranted and wrong, and that it was indeed not only unphilosophical, but a sin that demanded repentance. vs. 30, 31. “And (omit, And) the times of this (omit, this) ignorance (add, there-' fore) God winked at (overlooked), but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent (men that they should all everywhere repent): because (inasmuch as) He hath
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