Charles Ellicott Commentary Acts 17:29

"Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and device of man." — Acts 17:29 (ASV)

Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God.—One consequence from the thought of sonship is immediately emphasized. If we are God’s offspring, our conception of Him should ascend from what is highest in ourselves, from our moral and spiritual nature, instead of descending to that which, being the creation of our hands, is beneath us. Substantially asserting the same truth, the tone of St. Paul in speaking of idolatry is very different from that which we find in the older prophets (1 Kings 18:27; Psalms 135:15–18; Isaiah 44:9–20). He has, as it were, studied the genesis of idolatry, and instead of the burning language of scorn, and hatred, and derision, can speak of it, though not with tolerance, yet with pity, to those who are its victims.

The Godhead.—The Greek term is neuter, and corresponds to the half-abstract, half-concrete forms of the “Divine Being,” the “Deity.”

Gold, or silver, or stone.—The first word reminds us of the lavish use of gold in the colossal statue of Zeus by Phidias. Silver was less commonly used, but the shrines of Artemis at Ephesus (see Note on Acts 19:24) supply an instance of it. “Stone” was the term commonly applied to the marble of Pentelicus, which was so lavishly employed in the sculpture and architecture of Athens.