God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;

ACTS 17:24KJV
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Acts 17:24 (KJV)

What does Acts 17:24 mean?

Acts 17:24 says that the God who made everything and rules heaven and earth cannot be confined to a building people have made. Paul is challenging the idea that a temple could serve as a home containing the maker of the whole world.

Paul is speaking to people in Athens, a city with many objects of worship. After mentioning an altar marked “TO THE UNKNOWN GOD” in verse 23, Paul describes God in terms that reach far beyond any single shrine.

The Greek behind Acts 17:24

  • “world” — κόσμος (kosmos): The Greek word can mean the world as an ordered whole. Here it describes what God made, together with “all things therein.”
  • “dwelleth” — κατοικέω (katoikeō): This word carries the sense of living or settling in a place. Paul uses it to reject the idea that a human-built temple is God’s residence.
  • “temples” — ναός (naos): The word often refers to a sacred building or its inner shrine. For Paul’s Athenian listeners, it could bring to mind places built to house images of gods.

Why Acts 17:24 matters

  • God’s authority is not limited to one city or people. Paul calls God “Lord of heaven and earth,” placing everything under that rule.
  • Paul’s point also questions the idea that God depends on human care. In verse 25, Paul continues that God is not served by human hands “as though he needed any thing.”
  • The verse helps explain Paul’s later warning against treating a crafted image as a likeness of God. In verse 29, he mentions images made from gold, silver, and stone.

Where else these words appear

“hands” Greek G5499 · used in 6 verses

  • Mark 14:58 We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.
  • Acts 7:48 Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,
  • Hebrews 9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;

“temples” Greek G3485 · used in 40 verses

  • Matthew 23:16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
  • Luke 1:22 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.
  • Revelation 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

“dwelleth” Greek G2730 · used in 43 verses

  • Matthew 2:23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
  • Acts 7:48 Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,
  • James 4:5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

“is” Greek G5225 · used in 47 verses

  • Luke 7:25 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts.
  • Acts 10:12 Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
  • Acts 28:18 Who, when they had examined me, would have let me go, because there was no cause of death in me.