The commentaries of M. John Calvin upon the Acts of the Apostles, faithfully translated…The commentaries of M. Iohn Caluin vpon the Actes of the Apostles, faithfully translated…

26 And hath made of one blood all mankind, to dwell upon all the face of the earth, and hath appointed the times before determined, and the bounds of their habitation. 27 That they might seek God if peradventure they may grope him and find him: though he be not far from every one of us. 28 For in him we live, move, and have our being: as certain of your Poets said. For we be also his generation. 29 Therefore seeing we be the generation of God, we must not think that the Godhead is like to gold, or silver, or to stone graven by the cunning cogitation of man.

26 And hath made of one blood all mankinde, to dwell vppon all the face of the earth, and hath appointed the times before determined, and the bounds of their habitation. 27 That they might seeke God if peraduenture they maye grope him and finde him: though he be not farre from euery one of vs. 28 For in him we liue, moue, and haue our being: as certaine of your Poets said. For we be also his generation. 29 Therefore seeing we bee the generation of God, we must not thinke that the Godhead is like to golde, or siluer, or to stone grauen by the cunning cogitation of man.

26 And he hath made of one blood. Paul doth now show unto the men of Athens to what end mankind was created, that he may by this means invite and exhort them to consider the end of their life. This is surely ⟨p. 429⟩filthy unthankfulness of men, seeing they all enjoy the common life, not to consider to what end God hath given them life. And yet this beastly blockishness doth possess the more part, so that they do not consider to what end they be placed in the world, neither do they remember the creator of heaven and earth, whose good things they do devour. Therefore after that Paul hath entreated of the nature of God, he putteth in this admonition in due season, that men must be very careful to know God: because they be created for the same end, and borne for that purpose. For he doth briefly assign unto them this cause of life, to seek God. Again for as much as there was not one kind of religion only in the world, but the gentiles were distract into divers sects, he telleth them that this variety came from corruption. For to this end in my judgement, tendeth that, when he sayeth, that all were created of one blood. For consanguinity & the same original ought to have bin a bond of mutual consent among them. But it is religion which doth most of all join men together, or cause them to fly one another's company: whereupon it followeth, that they be revolted from nature, who disagree so much in religion & the worship of god. Because wheresoever they be born, & whatsoever place of the world they inhabit, they have all one maker and father, who must be sought of all men with one consent. And surely neither distance of places, nor bounds of countries, nor diversity of manners, neither any cause of separation among men doeth make God unlike to himself. In sum, he meant to teach that the order of nature was broken, when as religion was pulled in pieces among them: & that that diversity which is among them, is a testimony that godliness is quite overthrown: because they are fallen away from God the father of all, upon whom all kindred dependeth.