Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, The Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands - Here St. Stephen evidently refers to Solomon's speech, 1 Kings 8:27. But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven, and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee, how much less this house that I have builded? Both Solomon and St. Stephen mean that the majesty of God could not be contained, not even in the whole vortex of nature; much less in any temple which human hands could erect.
As saith the prophet - The place referred to is Isaiah 66:1, Isaiah 66:2 : Thus saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne, and the earth my footstool. Where is the house that ye build unto me? And where is the place of my rest, etc., with which the quotation by Stephen agrees.