Don't Reduce the Most High God to a Man-Made Image
- Baptist Daily Devotional
- Oct 16
- 3 min read
Rev. Tse Amable | October 16 2025 | Acts 17:22-31
KEY VERSE: “Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man's design and skill.” (Acts 17:29, NIV)
MESSAGE:
One of the things which caught the attention of Apostle Paul in Athens was that the city was full of idols. The Bible says that observation greatly distressed him, and he could not leave it out in his address at the Areopagus. Man’s fall from God and the true worship of him is manifested in man using his own hands to create an idol and bowing in worship to what he had made himself. We saw an example of man’s depravity in Aaron's fashioning the golden calf from the gold earrings supplied by the wives and daughters of the Israelites with his hands, using a tool and telling the Israelites, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt” (Exodus 32:4, NIV). How sad!
In Romans 1, Apostle Paul makes it clear that when we refuse to glorify God or give thanks to Him, our thinking becomes futile and our foolish hearts are darkened. The result is that we exchange the glory of the immortal God for images made to resemble mortal humans, birds, and reptiles (Romans 1:21-23). The Psalmist ridiculed the worship of idols. He said they have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but they cannot smell; they have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but they cannot walk; nor can they utter a sound with their throats (Psalms 115:5-7 NIV) and concluded that “those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them” (Psalms 115:8, NIV). Besides the foolishness of worshipping an idol, it breaks the first of the ten commandments, which says “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; .....” (Exodus 20:4-5, NIV).
FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE:
An idol is anything which has come between you and God, anything you love and cherish more than you love God. Examine your heart and see if there is any object (it can be your car, mansion, position, etc.) or even a human being (your spouse, children, employer, etc.) that you are worshipping. Repent immediately if you find an “idol” in your heart or life. PRAYER:
Father, I come to you in humility. The dearest idol I have known, whatever that idol be, help me to tear it from your throne and worship only you. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen!
THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING.
SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!
The 365 DAILY BIBLE READING
DAILY word study: IMAGE The word image in Acts 17:29 is translated from the Greek eikōn, meaning “likeness, representation, or form.” It refers to something that imitates or reflects another reality.
Paul used this word to expose the error of creating visible objects to represent God. While humans are made in God’s image, we are not to make images of God. The difference is critical—one expresses relationship; the other distorts it.
God is Spirit, eternal and unseen, and cannot be reduced to material form. When we worship anything man-made, we replace revelation with imitation—and that always leads to spiritual emptiness.
Reflect on this:
Is there anything in your life—visible or invisible—that has taken the place of God’s presence in your heart?
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