Acts 7:48 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says,

NIV: However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:

NASB: However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says:

CSB: but the Most High does not dwell in sanctuaries made with hands, as the prophet says:

NLT: However, the Most High doesn’t live in temples made by human hands. As the prophet says,

KJV: Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,

NKJV: “However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says:

At the time of Jesus, and Stephen's speech, Herod's temple sat on top of the Temple Mount. About forty years before, Herod the Great had decided to renovate the temple Zerubbabel had led the Jews to build upon their return from Babylon (Ezra 1:2). It was he who placed the huge blocks of stone and infilled the land to make the top of the temple mount so large and flat. Although Herod the Great was not a good man, the Jews were proud of their temple and very protective.

What they had forgotten was something Solomon had said upon the building of the first temple: "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!" (1 Kings 8:27). God proved him right: "As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD'S house" (2 Chronicles 7:1–2).

Stephen understands his accusers' love of the temple. He is also a Jew, though a Hellenist who lived far from Jerusalem. Most likely, like them, he had traveled to Jerusalem to worship at the temple. But when he arrived, he found out about Jesus. And he knows that Moses, the Law, and the temple are nothing compared to worshiping the Son of God.

Jesus had explained this to a Samaritan woman a few years before. She asked Him if her people were right to worship on the local mountain, or if they should worship in Jerusalem (John 4:19–20). Jesus responded that, a time was coming when people no longer be obligated to worship at the temple. Instead, they would worship wherever they were, in spirit and in truth (John 4:21–24). The attitude of worship and the object of worship matter, not the location.

Acts 7:44–50 points out that while God accepted the temple, He never asked for it and it can't contain Him. Jews from northern Africa and modern Asia Minor have accused Jesus-follower Stephen of blaspheming Moses, the Mosaic law, and the temple (Acts 6:8–15). Stephen has already proved that the patriarchs worshiped God without a temple, the Law, or even a homeland (7:2–16). Even Solomon, who built the temple, knew it couldn't contain God. Moses, the Law, and the temple have effectively become idols to the Jews.

Stephen is a Greek-speaking Jewish Christian and one of the first deacons in the church in Jerusalem (Acts 6:1–7). He's also a skilled apologist and has been debating Jews from outside Judea about the proper place of the Mosaic law and the temple (Acts 6:8–15). His opponents cannot counter his arguments so they resort to lies. They tell the Sanhedrin that Stephen wants to destroy the temple and repeal the Mosaic law. Stephen counters that his accusers don't respect Moses or the Law, and the temple isn't necessary to worship God. This enrages the mob, and Stephen is stoned, becoming the first Christian martyr.

Chapter 7 is one of the pivot points of the book of Acts. Until recently, the early church has seen favor from the people and indifference from the Sanhedrin. Now, the Sanhedrin has beaten the apostles and ordered them not to preach about Jesus (Acts 5:40), and the people are starting to realize how different Christianity is. In Jerusalem, a Hellenist Jewish Jesus-follower named Stephen has been in a debate with other foreign Jews who finally accuse him of wishing to destroy the temple, like Jesus (Acts 6:8–15). This is Stephen's defense, which leads to his death and the introduction of Paul.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.