THE LIVING CHURCH
Meditations in the Acts of the Apostles
Acts 16:16-18

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THESE THREE verses begin the exciting story usually known as the conversion of the Philippian jailer. They give the account of the problem which sparked off the animosity which rose against Paul and Silas. Though only three verses we have here some important truth which God reveals to us.

Firstly we are given an example of the reality of Satan's operation and activity in the world. This slave girl we are told 'had a spirit'. In other words she was possessed by this spirit. We understand that it was an evil spirit because Paul expels this spirit in the Name of Jesus. Here is an example of life ruined by Satan. It is an example of a direct act of Satan to harm this girl and destroy the quality of her life and bind her to his evil dominion. The girl plainly was under the dominion of the spirit. She could not stop the spirit's use of her body.

Although this is an example of devil possession, it is only one example of the way Satan seeks to bring pain and disorder into God's creation. There are so many other ways Satan acts. In the Gospel's we are told of a woman crippled and bent over by an evil spirit possessing her. Her body was afflicted. Jesus said she was bound by Satan. Although mental and physical disorders are not all direct devil possession, we can conclude that such things are the result of the disorder which Satan has brought into the world. Satan was given access to dominion in this world by Adam's sin and choice to obey Satan rather than God. Satan's purpose is to destroy God's creation and oppose God and he does it through the dominion he has gained in this world. Every person is affected by this in the fallen nature we inherit from Adam which brings corruption into all our faculties. Satan goes further, as God's sovereignty allows, in the disorders, both mental and physical, that we see in the various painful conditions many suffer from birth and later in life.

Notice what is revealed about Satan. He is bent on causing pain, and opposing God. He used evil people to exploit the pain of this girl. This is Satan's way. When the devils were cast out of Legion in the Gospel's they asked to go into pigs. If Satan could not harm the man he would harm something else of God's creation, and destroy the pigs. Satan is cruel and evil through and through.

Let us also notice this amazing fact that the evil spirit in this girl knew the truth. The girl told people that Paul and Silas were servants of the most high God. Then she declared accurately the truth about Paul's ministry. She told the people that their message was concerned with the way to be saved. Satan knows the truth about God, and knows the Gospel and believes and knows it to be true. However Satan and his evil spirits hate God and the Gospel, and have no desire to receive it or obey God. Knowledge of itself does not save or change us. It is what we do with our knowledge and whether we receive it and believe it that is important.

Although the evil Spirit spoke the truth, plainly from Paul's reaction we know that Satan's purpose was evil and there was harm to the Gospel from this girl's constant shouting of this truth. Satan may speak the truth sometimes, but his purposes are evil and destructive in so doing.

Lastly we see Christ's victory over Satan, and can be assured that Christ can and does give his people victory over Satan in this world. Christ gave Paul on this occasion the power to cast out this demon in the Name of Jesus. The Name of Jesus was not a powerful incantation which had power in the uttering of it. This seems to be the way often it is thought of today in certain branches of the church. In this case it was Paul declaring his authority to command the evil spirit. Thus the power was not in Paul but in Christ, and in the authority which the Victory of Christ over sin and Satan had achieved. The spirit had to obey and depart from the girl, because Christ by his death and resurrection had taken away all Satan's authority to hold people in his power.

Though Paul here and the apostles in other cases were given the power to cast out demons in the name of Jesus, we must not imagine that any Christian, at any time and at his or her own will, has the authority to cast out demons in the name of Jesus. The authority is Christ's. When such power is seen today it is at those times when Christ intervenes to give authority to someone for a particular occasion, to command spirits to depart from people or places.

Let us learn from these three verses the reality of Satan and his malicious activity in the world. Let us also take to heart the fact, also demonstrated here, of the victory of Christ over Satan and all his activity.