GETTING THE MESSAGE/A scheme of the devil
Paul and his mission team are in Philippi staying with the recently converted Lydia (Acts 16:15). On their way to the place of prayer, they were “met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling” (Acts 16:16).
In actuality, she was possessed by a demon, but her “gifts” amazed the superstitious residents of Philippi enough that they paid for her advice. The girl began to take up a chant while following the team: “These men are servants of the Most High God who proclaim to you the way of salvation.”
After many days, Paul having become annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that same hour. Although the girl was drawing attention to Paul, he recognized a scheme of the devil beyond the words of the girl.
The devil opposes the Spirit of God in many ways. He may appear as an angel of light. Paul was not going to allow the message of the gospel to be identified with a girl being used for occult practices. There is no fellowship with light and darkness. There are many bad spirits, but only one Holy Spirit, one faith, one gospel, one Lord, one God and Father of all. Be careful what you listen to; stay away from any fortune telling or the like, no matter how positive it may appear.
After Paul cast the demon out, the change in the girl was apparent. The owners realized their income stream from the girl had come to an end. They responded by seizing Paul and Silas and dragging them before the rulers (verse 19). They wanted to see judicial charges brought against Paul and Silas.
They accuse them of disturbing the city and advocating customs that would be illegal for Romans (verses 20-21). The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates stripped them and ordered them to be beaten with rods. After many blows, they threw them into prison, directing the jailer to secure them. So the jailer put them in the inner prison and secured their feet in stocks.
If this sounds familiar, the Lord Jesus was also stripped and beaten. He was also accused of stirring up the people and forbidding people to give tribute to Caesar. The crowd also turned against Christ, the things that make for peace hidden from their eyes (Luke 19:42).
It’s a terrible thing to resist the Spirit of God. To resist the Spirit is to reject Christ and the salvation he testifies to. Jesus came with words of life. He gave those words to his apostles, who have gone about proclaiming glad tidings from God of what he has done through his Son to save sinners. Many have embraced Christ; many have resisted. Those who resist, resist the Spirit of Christ.
The tragedy of resisting the Spirit becomes evident when we see how he works in his servants. Paul and Silas, bruised, battered, and bound by painful stocks on their feet, were praying and singing hymns to God from the depths of the inner prison. We read that the prisoners were listening. They weren’t accustomed to people beaten and thrown into prison praying and singing to God.
Paul and Silas are full of the Spirit of God, so they were testifying of the wonders of salvation. The apostles in Acts 5, after being beaten, rejoiced that they were worthy to suffer for the name of Christ. When the Spirit is at work, the Lord Jesus Christ is highly exalted in the hearts and affections of his people. The Holy Spirit had descended upon the prison. All there had tuned out anything else but the matter of God and his salvation.
Paul isn’t murmuring about God allowing him to be beaten; he is praising God. Silas isn’t blaming Paul for getting them into this mess; he is joining his voice with Paul’s in praise. They knew it had been granted to them not only to believe in Christ but to suffer for him. And the prisoners (and the jailer) were receiving a word from the Lord because of these faithful servants.
It doesn’t matter the circumstance you hear the word of the Lord. This passage shows you that it is the one thing that matters. Blessed be God, he can enlighten the darkness. He can turn mourning into rejoicing. And he can give life when there is only death that waits. “Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 4:7).
The Rev. Chris Shelton is pastor of Union’s First Presbyterian Church.