Acts 14:15-17 – We are also men, of the same nature as you, preaching the gospel to you, to turn from these useless things to a living God, who MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND EVERYTHING THAT IS IN THEM. In past generations He permitted all the nations to go their own ways; yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.
Paul famously said that ‘he became all things to all people”. Now of course he is not saying he practiced the lifestyle of the culture around him to become relevant, but what Paul did do was shift things, even the things he preached. He was now preaching to gentiles who for the most part had no understanding at all of the scriptures. To the Jew in the synagogue Paul would preach from the Old Testament and the promise of a Messiah and an outpouring of the Spirit in the last days. With this crowd none of that would make any sense, instead he spoke about the magnificence of the creation and the master mind behind the beauty of creation. Here is how Barclay describes this message.
“This passage is especially interesting because it gives us Paul’s approach to those who were without any Jewish background to which he could appeal because they were followers of Greek and Roman gods. With such people, he started from nature to get to the God who was behind it all. He started from the here and now to get to the there and then. We do well to remember that the world is the garment of the living God. It is told that once, as they sailed in the Mediterranean, Napoleon’s party were discussing God. In the talk, they eliminated God altogether. Napoleon had been silent, but now he lifted his hand and pointed to the sea and the sky. ‘Gentlemen,’ he said, ‘who made all this?’”
God’s glory is plainly seen in creation. Just as the glory of God is on full display in the Old Testament pointing to redemption in Christ, God’s handiwork all around us is God’s powerful message to everyone everywhere. David said that the heavens are continually proclaiming God’s glory, all Paul was attempting to do is help them see the glory of God all around them. Paul’s argument was that if God is behind all of this beauty in creation He must have a plan. The plan that He has is to draw people from all walks of life into the kingdom of His beloved Son.