17:28 In him we live and move and have our being. Paul says that God brought all people into being and they only exist by His providence. In the ancient world the three great mysteries of philosophy and science were the questions of life, motion, and being. See “General Revelation” at Ps. 19:1.

some of your own poets. Paul knew that the Athenians did not know the Old Testament, and he quoted from three of their own poets. Although their words originally referred to Zeus, the head of the Greek gods, Paul applied the quotations to the living God of heaven. The poets are Epimenides (c. 600 b.c.), Cleanthes (331–233 b.c.), and Aratus (c. 315–240 b.c.).