And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go forth to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to announce to them the glad tidings.
The verse turns a night vision into a decision: Paul and his companions weigh what they have seen and act on it. No voice gives an order. They draw a conclusion, and on that conclusion the gospel changes continents.
The vision came without an explanation attached. What settled its meaning was the state of the man who received it.
J. N. DarbyPaul lived in the things of God. So he read the vision as his mission, by the knowledge he had of both the thoughts of God and the needs of men. He crossed over at once into Macedonia.
Only Paul saw the vision, yet the verse says "we" concluded. One writer also points out which name for God the verse uses.
C. E. StuartAlone with God, in the silent hours of the night, the apostle received what we may call fresh marching orders. Now he could understand why he had been turned away from entering Bithynia... He told his companions what he had seen and heard. They all agreed it was a call from God to cross the sea and visit that country. For we read: "concluding that God" (not "the Lord") "had called us to preach the gospel to them."
The Spirit had already stopped them twice from preaching. The vision explained why.
A. J. PollockIt is good that the Holy Spirit can guide His servants where they are to work. He can also forbid and hinder them if they try to go where they are not sent... At Troas Paul may have been in great perplexity, unsure before the Lord where he should go. There he had a vision, a God-given vision... We now see why the Holy Spirit checked Paul from moving in other directions. Here was the solution to all his perplexity. Paul might never have thought of leaving Asia and going into Europe.
Their speed says something about how these men lived.
The Christian's FriendHappy servants! They were not tangled up with the affairs of this life. They were free and ready to set out at the Lord's bidding. They sailed at once, with a fair wind, for the opposite shore.
Up to this verse the account has said "they."
William KellyBut it is worth noticing that the language is "we", not "they" as before. Luke thus modestly but unmistakably lets us see that he joined the apostle's company at Troas. From this point the inspired writer was a personal witness. That is surely no small matter. But some hold that his account now takes on a higher character, and no error in principle could be deeper. Not so: inspiration rules out all question of degrees of certainty or of authority. It is equally of God, whether the writer saw what he wrote or not.
The obvious objection is that visions do not come to us.
Numerical Bible NotesBut neither did the apostle expect, nor generally receive, a vision to guide him. It is not given to any man to walk habitually in such open light. It would not really encourage faith, which has to do with the unseen and not the seen. And perhaps the record here may do us good. It keeps us from expecting any one method of assurance. It casts us on Him to meet us in whatever way He pleases... No doubt the man of Macedonia appeals to what is, or should be, always the driving force in us. Weighing one need against another will have its place in settling the matter for us. So will weighing what the Lord has been leading up to in His ways.
The names in this story sit on two different continents.
G. C. WillisUntil this time the apostle Paul had only preached the gospel in Asia. Remember that Jerusalem and Antioch and most of the other places mentioned in the Bible are in Asia. Philippi and Rome and Corinth and such places are in Europe... It was not that the Lord did not care for those in darkness in Bithynia... but now the time had come when Europe, as well as Asia, was to have the gospel.
- Hindered. The two closed doors were not failure. The Spirit was steering these men toward a continent Paul might never have chosen.
- Shown. The vision came at night to one man. He told the others, and all agreed it was God's call. He did not keep the guidance to himself.
- Concluded. God gave no audible order. They drew the conclusion. A mind living in the things of God read the sign, weighing God's thoughts and human need.
- Immediate. Nothing held them back. They sailed at once, with no gap between knowing and obeying.
- Enlarged. From that one conclusion the gospel crossed from Asia to Europe. Luke joined here and wrote from then on as an eyewitness. That makes the account no more inspired than what went before.
Having sailed therefore away from Troas, we went in a straight course to Samothracia, and on the morrow to Neapolis,
The call to Macedonia had just come, and this verse is the crossing that answers it. Two days at sea — Troas, a night by Samothrace, then the harbour of Neapolis — brought the message to Europe.
What stands out in this crossing is the speed.
William KellyLater in the story we learn that they made a short stay in the Troas region, where there was at least an assembly (Acts 20). But there was no indecision now, and no lingering on the way. The gospel had to be preached at once in Macedonia.
That speed says something about the men themselves.
The Christian's FriendThey were happy servants, free from the affairs of this life. They were free and ready to set out at the Lord's bidding, and they sailed at once, with a fair wind, for the shores on the other side.
The words "a direct voyage" point to a wind behind them. One writer reads God's kindness in that wind.
W. T. P. WolstonOn this gospel errand they got, so to speak, a fair wind, and covered the distance in a day and a half. When they were coming back it took five days. I suppose they had contrary winds then (see Acts 20:6). God loves to send peace to the anxious, troubled soul. He delights in that, and often gives His evangelists a fair wind, to carry the message of peace to the troubled soul more quickly.
Luke wrote that they "concluded" God had called them. One writer weighs that word.
Michael VogelsangThe word "concluding" shows a precious attitude of humility. Some Christians seem to always know "exactly" what the Lord wants them to do without needing to think it over. But most of us know that we often reach a "conclusion" only after wrestling with it in our souls. Perhaps the Lord leaves us an element of "residual uncertainty" (if I may call it that) to keep us dependent. Sometimes He will confirm the decision afterwards. That seems to be the case here — it did not take them long to get there.
The two places named in the verse can still be located today. Neapolis was where they landed, and the last stretch was on foot.
C. E. StuartThey set sail from Troas and took a straight course to the island of Samothrace, now called Samothraki. The next day they reached Neapolis, now called Cavallo, which was their destination. They left the ship there and travelled inland on foot to Philippi, some eight to ten miles away.
Up to this verse Luke writes of "they." From here he includes himself.
William KellyBut it is worth noticing that the language is "we," and not "they" as before. Luke thus modestly but unmistakably lets us see that he joined the apostle's company at Troas. That the inspired writer was a personal witness from this point is no small matter. But no error is more serious in principle than the human notion that his account now takes on a higher character. Not so: inspiration rules out all question of degrees of assurance or of authority.
Kelly points to the evidence in the text itself.
William KellyIn fact the account is no more detailed while the writer was present. Conversations, differences, journeys and preachings were given when he was away, no less than when he was with the apostle's companions. How comforting this quiet evidence that in the inspired word we have to do, not merely with good men doing their best, but with a God Who cannot err or lie!
The doors into Asia had been shut one after another. This voyage shows why.
G. C. WillisPaul intended to go to other parts of Asia, such as Bithynia, to preach the gospel. But the Spirit of God closed all the doors in that land. It was not that the Lord did not care for those in darkness in Bithynia. We know from 1 Peter 1:1 that He sent the gospel to that land by another messenger. But now the time had come when Europe, as well as Asia, was to have the gospel, and the Lord chose His servant Paul to preach it there.
- Called. The call to Macedonia came at Troas, and this verse is Paul acting on it without a day's delay.
- Confirmed. They reached the decision humbly, and the quick crossing confirmed it.
- Carried. A fair wind took them over in a day and a half. The same water later cost them five days.
- Companioned. Luke joined the party at Troas and starts to write "we." Being an eyewitness adds nothing to the authority of what he wrote.
- Continent. The closed doors in Asia were not indifference. God sent another messenger to Bithynia, and He sent Paul to Europe.
and thence to Philippi, which is [the] first city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city certain days.
Luke names the place where the gospel first took root in Europe, and he names it carefully: a leading city of its district, and a Roman colony. Both details matter, and the second shapes much of what follows.
Philippi was not the capital of the whole province. One commentator shows how carefully Luke limits his words, and points to a detail about the city that matters later:
William KellyThe description is exactly right. It would not have been true to call Philippi the chief city or capital of Macedonia. But of that part, that district, it was. It was a Roman colony too, not a Greek one, and that had an important bearing on the events that follow — events we have in such a vivid account. There Roman armies had fought a deadly battle, not against foreigners, but against one another. There the fate of the dying republic was decided.
Older translations call Philippi "the chief city of that part of Macedonia." Another writer explains how the city began, and what that title does and does not mean:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinPhilip the Great of Macedon built Philippi as a military post, to hold back the wild Thracians who lived next to the Macedonians. Later Augustus made it a Roman colony, as a memorial of his victory over Brutus and Cassius. It was not a very important city. In Acts 16:12 Philippi is called "the chief city of that part of Macedonia." This does not mean that Philippi was the chief city of all Macedonia — Thessalonica was. It means Philippi was the chief city of that district, and the first city Paul and his companions came to. The record of Paul's visit, and of how the gospel was preached there for the first time on European ground, is found in the book of Acts, chapter 16.
To a modern ear "colony" suggests a distant outpost that pays tribute to a homeland. In the Roman world it meant something close to the opposite:
G. C. WillisAbout 168 years before Christ, the Romans conquered Macedonia. Some years before our Lord lived on this earth, Rome sent large numbers of discharged soldiers to live in Philippi. These soldiers were very loyal to Rome, and very proud of Rome's victories. So the Roman government made Philippi a "Roman Colony." This honour freed the city from the tribute that conquered states usually paid to Rome, and its citizens enjoyed all the rights and privileges of Rome. In fact, it became a miniature "Rome."
Paul later wrote a letter to these believers. The same writer says they had an advantage over us: they lived inside the picture Paul used.
G. C. WillisThe believers at Philippi would probably understand Paul's meaning better, and more easily, than we can, because Philippi was "a colony" of Rome. The word "colony" did not mean at all what it means to us today. It was a miniature Rome, a copy of Rome planted in the province of Macedonia. Most of its people were former Roman soldiers, and they were all Roman citizens, with the special privileges that came with that. Paul uses this unique position of the city of Philippi as a picture of the heavenly citizenship of the believers there.
Luke records nothing happening in those first days. One writer sees a purpose in the pause:
Michael VogelsangThe verse goes on to say, "We remained in this city some days." Clearly they wanted to get an impression of the city, and to find out how to reach its people with the gospel. When you enter a new area of service, it may help to look and listen before doing anything else. Perhaps Paul was also looking for a synagogue, since he usually spoke to the Jewish community first. But Philippi appears to have had no significant Jewish population — at least not enough men to form a synagogue.
One of the most important days in Europe's history passed in Philippi without anyone noticing:
A. J. PollockThe people of Philippi had no idea that one of the greatest days in the history of Europe, or indeed of the world, was the day Paul walked into their city — unannounced, quiet, unnoticed. Yet that is what it was. Our hearts rejoice to think of this simple scene, with so much bound up in it. It matters far more than the rise of ancient ruling families.
- Exact. Luke claims only that Philippi led its own district. The chief city of the whole province was Thessalonica, so read the older wording, "chief city of that part," with that limit in mind.
- Roman. A colony was a miniature Rome: settled by former soldiers, free from tribute, holding full citizenship. That Roman character, not Greek, shapes the trouble that follows.
- Pictured. That proud Roman citizenship became Paul's picture, in his later letter, of a citizenship held in heaven.
- Patient. The first days were not wasted. Paul and his friends looked and listened, and found no synagogue where he would normally have started.
- Unnoticed. One of Europe's greatest days came with no announcement at all: a quiet arrival that mattered more than the rise of ancient ruling families.
And on the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where it was the custom for prayer to be, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had assembled.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And a certain woman, by name Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, who worshipped God, heard; whose heart the Lord opened to attend to the things spoken by Paul.
The gospel had just crossed into Europe, and the first person there to receive it was a working woman named Lydia. The verse names her city, her trade and her religion — then credits the whole result to the Lord, who opened her heart.
Lydia was not born a Jew. The words "a worshiper of God" mark her as someone who had already turned to the God of Israel — a proselyte, as one writer puts it:
F. B. HoleThe work began in the heart of Lydia, which God opened. The words "a worshiper of God" show that she was a seeker, and had become a proselyte. Now, in the gospel that Paul preached, she found the full thing she had been looking for.
One writer finds in her an encouragement for places the gospel has not yet reached:
A. J. PollockHer name is Lydia, a seller of purple, clearly a person with a profitable business, perhaps a widow, since she was the head of a household... Before Paul came, she was known as one who worshiped God. May there not be many seekers after light whom God takes note of in places where the pure gospel has not yet reached? The first name of a European convert was a woman's. She was peacefully at work in her lawful trade, yet she had a fear of God in her heart and was seeking light.
Paul spoke and Lydia listened. One writer traces both to God, and reads the verse beside the Lord's teaching in John 6:
J. G. BellettThe heart of Lydia was opened by the Lord, as well as the lips of Paul that spoke to her. He spoke to her and she attended to him; and both of these things were of God. How simple, and yet how necessary! The Lord lets us know we need both of these operations in His great discourse in John 6. He teaches us that if the Father does not give to the Son, if He does not draw, if He does not teach, the ministry will be lost on the soul. The bread of life, the true manna of the desert, will be spread out in vain.
Another writer asks whether a woman this devout was already converted before that day:
The Christian's FriendWhether she had already been born again cannot now be settled. But it is certain that while she listened to Paul's message the Spirit of God worked with the glad tidings of grace, and produced faith in her soul.
God opened her heart first, and then she paid attention. One writer explains why that order matters:
Hamilton SmithUntil the heart is touched, the mind will not be fixed. So notice what it says: God opened the heart of Lydia "to pay attention." The mind runs on the will's errand. We spend our thoughts on whatever our hearts choose. If the heart has no sense of its ignorance, or no desire after God, no wonder such a person does not listen to the preacher. His heart sends his mind somewhere else.
Lydia's attention is then turned into a test for anyone sitting under preaching today:
C. H. MackintoshLydia was not one of those who go to meetings and think about anything and everything except the things spoken by the Lord's messengers. She was not thinking about her purple, or the prices, or the likely gains and losses. How many of those who fill our preaching rooms and lecture halls follow Lydia's example? Sadly, we fear very few indeed.
Later in the same chapter the jailer is converted too. One writer sets the two side by side:
J. G. BellettSo with the jailer and Lydia in Acts 16. She was devout, gentle and gracious, and the Lord, by a very gentle operation, opened her heart. An earthquake went with the unlocking of the bars of the jailer's strong iron heart. With Lydia's heart, "the still small voice" had done the same work.
One writer turns her next step into a question for the reader:
W. T. P. WolstonIt is a great thing when the heart is opened. What do you think happens when the heart is opened? The Lord gets His right place there... First her heart is opened, and then the next thing is that her house is opened. Is your house used for the Lord? If it is, that is a very happy thing. If you do not use your house for the Lord — even if it is only one room or two — I do not think He has a very big place in your heart.
What began with one soul did not stay small:
The Christian's FriendOne soul had been won for Christ. Though the work during this first visit of the apostle was not large, it was so thorough that it became the foundation of a church. In its spiritual state, that church was surpassed by none we have on record in the New Testament. The stability of a house depends greatly on its foundations. In the same way, the character of a church often comes from the nature of its beginning.
- Opened before Paul came. She already worshiped God, and He took note of her — as He takes note of seekers where the gospel has not yet reached.
- Opened by Him. God moved Paul's lips and Lydia's heart. Without the second, the preaching would have been spread out in vain.
- Opened heart, then mind. Until the heart is touched, the mind will not stay fixed. A hearer whose heart is elsewhere sends his mind after it.
- Opened differently. With Lydia a still small voice, with the jailer an earthquake — God fits the work to the person.
- Opened house. The heart that opened to Christ opened its door to His servants. That one household became the foundation of a whole church.
And when she had been baptised and her house, she besought [us], saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and abide [there]. And she constrained us.
Commentators count Lydia as the first convert to Christ in Europe, and this verse shows what happened once she believed. Two questions follow: who was in that household, and what did she mean by tying her invitation to their judgment of her faithfulness?
One writer traces her steps from receiving Christ to standing openly with Him:
C. H. MackintoshLydia's was a very real and decided case, in every respect. It was direct, positive, and unmistakable. She received Christ into her heart. At once she took Christian ground by being baptized, and baptism carries deep meaning. Nor was this all. She opened her house at once to the Lord's messengers. Hers was no mere lip profession. She proved her faith in Christ in two ways. She went down under the water of baptism. She also joined herself and her household to the name and cause of that blessed One whom she had received into her heart by faith.
One writer draws out the order of what happened in her, and turns it into a question for the reader:
W. T. P. WolstonIt is a great thing when the heart is opened... The Lord gets His right place there. She is the first in Europe to identify herself with the Lord. I believe that in Lydia you have the first convert to Christ in Europe... First of all, her heart is opened, and then the next thing is her house is opened. Is your house used for the Lord? If so, it is a very happy thing. Perhaps your house is only a room or two. Even so, if you do not use it for the Lord, I do not think He has a very big place in your heart.
Here commentators differ. Some warn against filling in what Scripture leaves out:
George C WillisWere the members of it saved? Were there children in it or not? On all this the Scripture is absolutely silent: and it is not silent to give us the opportunity to speculate about these matters... the important thing for us is to note what the Scripture says, and not add our own thoughts: and the Scripture records that Lydia's household was baptized, without any mention whatever of faith, real or otherwise, on their part. As the record stands, Lydia's whole household was baptized on the ground of her faith.
Others read the same silence as leaving no ground for baptizing infants, and note who the record does mention:
William KellyWe do not hear of children or of husband; she may have been a widow without a family or never married. She had a household, and in verse 40 we hear of the brothers there, believers therefore, and probably not men only but women. We hear nothing of little children. God's record is wonderfully full and exact in every other detail, yet it does not even hint at anything of the kind.
Her words point back to a judgment the preachers had already made when they baptized her:
William KellySo, when she was baptized, "she urged us, saying, 'If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord.'" This faithfulness, the fruit of faith, was not something given after her baptism. On the contrary, their baptizing her implied their conviction that she was faithful.
That wording also sets a standard for whose hospitality a servant of Christ may accept:
C. H. MackintoshThere is great moral beauty in Lydia's words to Paul in Acts 16... There is a great principle wrapped up in these words. To accept hospitality where there is obvious and definite unfaithfulness to Christ the Lord is to prove that He has a very low place in our hearts.
The last phrase is stronger than a polite offer. The ESV reads "she prevailed upon us"; older translations read "constrained."
The Christian's FriendThe word here translated "constrained" is found only twice in the New Testament, and it is used the same way in both places. Lydia "constrained" Paul and Silas to stay with her (Acts 16:15). The two disciples "constrained" our blessed Lord in the same way, saying, "Stay with us." It is a strong word. In classical Greek it can even mean doing violence to someone. So in these scriptures it means constraining in the sense of taking no denial. How such a constraint must have delighted the Lord's heart, and with what joy He would answer a request pressed like that!
She had no idea what her insistence was worth to Christ:
William KellyThe love of Christ was there and made her, little knowing the value of her gracious insistence in His sight, to be a fellow worker with the truth (3 John 8).
- Opened. Her heart was opened first, and the Lord took His right place there. Everything else in this verse flows from that.
- Owned. Baptism was how she publicly took her stand — faith that stayed at the level of words would have stopped short of it.
- Household. Her house was baptized with her. Scripture says nothing about their faith or their ages, and commentators differ over what that silence proves.
- Opened wide. Heart first, then home. The open house is the honest test of the opened heart, however small the house.
- Constrained. She took no denial, and that insistence made her a fellow worker with the truth.
And it came to pass as we were going to prayer that a certain female slave, having a spirit of Python, met us, who brought much profit to her masters by prophesying.
The gospel's first days in Europe move from Lydia's conversion straight to a very different meeting on the same road. A slave girl meets Paul's group on the way to prayer, and the spirit in her earns good money for her owners.
Was the group going to a place, or to an act of prayer? One writer weighs the manuscripts, then names the tactic that followed:
William KellyThe better manuscripts put "the" with "prayer" in verse 16, so "the place of prayer" is the more likely meaning. ... Satan tried a new way of doing harm. He did not attack the gospel; he publicly backed it — and this went on for many days.
Why does the place matter? One writer connects it to what the enemy is set against:
The Christian's FriendPaul and his companion entered that city because the Lord had called them there. They were soon found at the place of prayer, where Lydia's heart was opened to receive the things of the Lord. There is no doubt the enemy knows the power of prayer among believers, and he does everything he can to hinder it.
What kind of spirit was this? The word behind "divination" is Python, and that name had a history:
Morrish Bible DictionaryIn Acts we find a girl controlled by a spirit of divination, or of Python. This was the prophetic oracle at Delphi, held to be the centre and focus of pagan divination. An evil spirit connected with that oracle had taken hold of this young woman.
This trade did not need a temple or a sacrifice behind it:
For the YoungFrom the passage in Acts 16:16, it would also appear that people were employed in this way apart from any temple or sacrifice.
Her reputation and her real condition were opposites. One writer sets them side by side, then shows how the contest ended:
F. W. GrantIt was an astonishing testimony. The crowd accepted her as a true prophetess, yet her whole condition spoke of dreadful bondage to an evil spirit — to anyone who could see it! ... If Satan will testify, he shall testify by being cast out. For a time the apostle simply ignored his effort to attach himself like a parasite to the tree of life. At last he brings to bear on him the power of the Name of Jesus Christ.
Her words sounded like support for the mission. That is what makes Paul's grief hard to explain:
C. H. MackintoshMost men would have welcomed such words from the lips of this girl as an encouraging testimony to the work. Why then was Paul grieved? ... Because it was of Satan; and the apostle was certainly not going to receive testimony from him. He could not allow Satan to help him in his work.
Another writer points to what the spirit never said:
J. N. DarbyHere Satan tries to tamper with the work by bearing testimony to the ministers of the word. Not that this spirit acknowledged Jesus — he would not then have been an evil spirit... He speaks of the agents, to have a share of the glory.
Why does the verse mention her owners' profit? What happened next answers it:
W. T. P. WolstonAt once there was a great uproar, and why? Because the owners of this poor girl saw that their money-making had stopped. When you touch a man's pocket he begins to wince. Nothing shows sooner where a man is.
- Prayer — It starts on the road to the place of prayer. The enemy knows what prayer among believers can do, and he works to hinder it.
- Python — Her "spirit of divination" was a spirit of Python. The name came from the oracle at Delphi, the recognised centre of pagan fortune-telling.
- Prisoner — The crowd treated her as a prophetess. In fact she was held twice over: owned by men, and bound by an evil spirit.
- Patronage — Satan does not attack the work here. He backs it, praising the messengers and never naming Jesus, so that he can share the glory.
- Pocket — Her owners' "much gain" shows what really drove them. When the spirit went out, the profit went with it, and their rage followed at once.
She, having followed Paul and us, cried saying, These men are bondmen of the Most High God, who announce to you [the] way of salvation.
In Philippi a slave girl began shouting after Paul and his companions. A spirit controlled her, and her owners made money from it. What she shouted was true — and Paul refused it. Why can true words still be dangerous?
Her words sound like free publicity for the mission. One writer asks why they were unwelcome.
C. H. MackintoshHere, then, was a case perfectly suited to test the spirituality and integrity of the evangelist. Most men would have welcomed such words from the lips of this girl as an encouraging testimony to the work. Why then was Paul grieved? Why did he not allow her to keep bearing witness to the object of his mission? Was she not saying the truth? Were they not the servants of the Most High God? And were they not showing the way of salvation? Why be grieved with — why silence such a witness? Because it was of Satan; and the apostle was certainly not going to receive testimony from him. He could not allow Satan to help him in his work.
The title she used has a settled meaning across Scripture. It names God as Ruler over the kingdom of men, and even evil spirits must bow to His Son.
The Bible TreasuryThe "Most High," then, throughout the whole range of Scripture, is an expressive title of God as the Sovereign Ruler in the kingdom of men (Dan. 4:17). The demon-possessed man confessed Jesus as the Son of the absolute Lord of the universe. In the same way, the fortune-telling girl owned Paul and Silas as the servants of the Most High God (Acts 16:17). They anticipate in this way the divine decree that all infernal beings shall bow the knee to Jesus and confess Him Lord to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:9-10).
Notice where the cry points: at the preachers, not at their Lord. Commentators differ on her exact words — one reads them as offering only "a way" of salvation, not "the way".
Leslie M. GrantA girl possessed by a satanic spirit of divination followed Paul and his companions. Greedy promoters were taking advantage of her. She advertised the men as servants of the Most High God, come to show the people "a way of salvation," not the way. It is always Satan's method to draw attention to the servants rather than to their Lord. Paul put up with this improper activity for many days. Then at last he commanded the evil spirit, in the name of Jesus Christ, to come out of the girl, and it happened that same hour.
There is a boundary the cry never crosses. It praises the messengers and names God in general terms, but it says nothing of Jesus.
J. N. DarbyHere Satan tries to tamper with the work by bearing testimony to the ministers of the word. Not that this spirit acknowledged Jesus — he would not then have been an evil spirit, he would not have possessed the girl in this way. He speaks of the agents, in order to have a share of the glory, and of the Most High God... The testimony of Satan could not go so far as to own Him Lord; and if Paul had not been faithful, it would have mixed the work of the enemy with that of the Lord.
True words are not by themselves proof of a good source. Demons can speak them for their own ends.
W. W. FeredayDemons can adopt a pleasant appearance as well as a repulsive one... They can also tell the truth when it suits them. The demon who said to the Lord, "I know who you are—the Holy One of God," spoke the truth (Mark 1:24). So did the demon-possessed girl who cried after Paul and Silas through the streets of Philippi, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation" (Acts 16:17). But when these evil beings speak the truth, they do it to win their victims' trust and so make sure of their everlasting ruin.
Paul let the shouting go on for days. When he finally acted, the trouble began.
William KellyAn act of such uncompromising decision as well as power roused the enemy working through human greed. But it is well to note that the apostle did not act in divine energy until Satan's persistence made it a duty.
- Flattery — Satan's first move at Philippi was not attack. He offered to advertise the preachers instead of silencing them.
- Silence — the cry named the servants and the Most High God. It never owned Jesus as Lord. That was the line the spirit could not cross.
- Discernment — words can be true and still come from a source no servant of God may accept.
- Refusal — Paul waited many days. He acted only when the spirit's persistence made it a duty, and then spoke in the name of Jesus Christ.
- Freedom — the spirit that praised the way of salvation was driven out that same hour, and the girl was free of it.