What is the meaning of Acts 7:50? Has not - Stephen frames the line as a question to stir holy reflection, echoing Isaiah 66:2. - The question challenges any assumption that God depends on human works or buildings. - Scripture regularly uses questions to expose wrong thinking (Job 38:4: “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?”). - By starting with “Has not,” Stephen readies his listeners to admit the obvious conclusion: of course God is self-sufficient and supreme (Romans 11:35). My hand - “My” underscores personal involvement—God Himself, not an impersonal force, is Creator. - “Hand” pictures powerful, deliberate action (Psalm 95:5: “The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land”). - The image reminds us that the same hand that fashioned the universe still upholds it (Isaiah 40:12; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16). - Because His hand made all, His presence cannot be boxed into stone walls or ritual schedules. made - Creation is an accomplished fact, not an ongoing negotiation; God alone “made” with absolute authority (Genesis 1:1). - Hebrews 11:3 affirms, “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command.” - The verb invites worship: if He made everything, He owns everything (Psalm 100:3). - It also removes pride: we contribute nothing essential to God’s existence or plans. all these things? - “All” sweeps in the entire cosmos—heaven, earth, temple, human life itself (Psalm 24:1: “The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof”). - The phrase confronts the Sanhedrin’s temple-centric mindset; God is larger than the building they revere (Acts 17:24; 1 Kings 8:27). - Isaiah 66:1 reinforces the point: “Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool.” - Since God fashioned “all these things,” He alone defines how and where He will be worshiped—ultimately through the risen Christ rather than bricks and gold. summary Acts 7:50, quoted by Stephen, is God’s own reminder that He personally and powerfully created everything. The rhetorical question sweeps away any notion that human structures or efforts can confine, sustain, or impress Him. Recognizing His sovereign craftsmanship leads to humble worship and frees believers to meet Him everywhere, especially in the Son who now dwells in His people rather than in any man-made sanctuary. |
    |