"And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour." (Acts 16:16-18)
The word of God carries power and so do the genuine preachers of the Word as we go about preaching the word of God. When a child of God preaches the word, the power of God is released to save sinners from sin, heal sicknesses and deliver from the power of satan (Mark 16:20). That was why the centurion told Jesus, "...but speak the word only,..." (Matthew 8:8)
Paul the Apostle and his colleagues had taken the Word of God to Macedonia where the Holy Spirit sent them (Acts 16:9) and now they were confronted with demonized damsel who was in control of the place. Paul only spoke the Word and commanded the evil spirit to come out and he obeyed because "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,..." (Philippians 2:10).
Paul by the spiritual gift of discernment, determined and cast out the spirit of divination in the damsel, not by suggestion, suspicion or submission. Let us consider some salient points, firstly The Demon in this Girl, secondly The Diabolic Gain through this Girl and finally The Deliverance of this Girl.
1. The Demon in this Girl
Acts 16:16
She has the spirit of divination like the witch of Endor (1 Samuel 28:7-12). Those who possess this spirit knows who is a real Christian and who is a pretending Christian. That is why salvation is essential to escape their attack because they see into the supernatural. She was Pythonissa by whom the oracle of Apollos at Delos were delivered. She has the spirit of soothsaying that dictates ambiguous answers to those who consulted her which served to gratify their vain desire of knowing things to come but often deceived by them as we have many of them today pretending to be servants of God prophesying using the spirit of divination. We can recognize them by the following character of the evil spirit in their actions:
- i. Loves to flatter. "...These men are the servants of the most high God,..." (Acts 16;17; Daniel 11:32)
- ii. Demands attention. "...followed Paul and us..." (Acts 16:17)
- iii. Loves to be seen and heard. "...and cried,..." (Acts 16:17)
- iv. Always wants to be important. "followed Paul and us,...And this did she many days..." (Acts 16:17,18)
- v. Sometimes violent. (Acts 19:16; Mark 9:26; Luke 9:42; Acts 8:7)
- vi. Some other times they are many and manifest in different forms. (Mark 5:9)
- vii. Expresses monetary motive. "...which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:" (Acts 16:16)
But Paul by the spirit of discernment identified and rebuke the spirit in the name of Jesus and it came out of her. That is the authority Christ gave to every child of God that preaches the true word of God. Children of God cannot be afraid of evil spirit “because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)
2. The Diabolic Gain through this Girl
Acts 16:16,17,19
Some people were enjoying the benefits of the activities of this girl because she was possessed with the spirit of divination. She couldn't decide how to live her life but was controlled by the demon. In times of ignorance, infidelity and idolatry, the devil, by divine permission, thus led men captive at his will (2 Timothy 2:26). Satan control people to live the way they do not want to live trying to be their best but always realizing that there is a controlling power they cannot contend with that is controlling their lives, "But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children." (Isaiah 49:25)
3. The Deliverance of this Girl
Acts 16:18
Paul commanded in the name of Jesus and the evil spirit came out. It is by the authority in Jesus name "...Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts." (Zechariah 4:6). Children of God don't beg the devil or sweat for evil spirit (Mark 5:6-8; 9:25-27) but we command because Jesus gave us the power (Luke 10:19). So we speak and command and the evil spirit will come out in Jesus Mighty Name. Amen.