THE GOD OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on April 5, 2023 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: April 5, 2023 from Acts 16:16-40

Theme: Our sovereign God is able to use the most trying of circumstances to advance His gospel.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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When the apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians, he was in jail—most probably in Rome. The Philippian believers were very concerned for him; and even sent financial aid to help support him. But he reassured them that God’s hand was on him. And in fact, he even told them—near the very beginning of the letter;

But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel … (Philippians 1:12);

and he then went on to write to them about the ways that God was using his situation to spread the message of Jesus’ love even further.

Early on in Paul’s ministry, this was a principle that was made manifest to him. It no doubt gave him increasing confidence and boldness in his preaching—even when it cost him his freedom or resulted in his suffering. He knew that nothing that happened to him in the service of His Lord was ever an accident; and that the sovereign God who had sent him to preach was also able to use the circumstances of his trials to bring about an even greater spread of the message. Perhaps it was in Philippi that this great principle was firmly established in his thinking. As we continue in our study of the Book of Acts—and particularly at Paul’s ministry in the city of Philippi—we’re told a story that illustrates this great principle to us. It shows us that our sovereign God is able to use the most trying of circumstances to advance His gospel.

All that we need to do is trust Him, praise Him, and keep on with our work.

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Now; this story begins where the last one ended. In Acts 16:11-15, we were told about how the missionaries Paul, Silas, and Timothy—now with Luke joining them—came to Philippi in response to the ‘Macedonian Call’ that God had given them. They had gone out to the riverside, where some gentile women had been gathering on the Sabbath for prayer, and shared with them about the gospel of Jesus. One of those women named Lydia heard and believed; and she became a very significant helper in their ministry.

It seemed like a happy and fruitful time. But things suddenly changed; and a very serious circumstance fell upon them. This was when the missionaries were …

1. CAST INTO PRISON (vv. 16-24).

We’re told in verse 16;

Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling (v. 16).

In the original language, Luke wrote that she was possessed with a pneuma pythōna—a spirit that, supposedly, told the future through the Pythian god in relation to the worship of Apollo. She went around in Philippi appearing to tell the future and making prophecies; and drew a lot of people to her who were seeking her supposed insights. But in reality, she was a poor young girl who was under the influence of a demon; and she had become a mere tool to those who were exploiting her for “much profit”.

And what particularly troubled the missionaries—and especially Paul—was the thing that Luke went on to describe in verse 17;

This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation” (v. 17).

Now; what she was saying was true. So; why would Paul have become troubled by it? Wouldn’t it be good advertising? Certainly not! It may have been a true thing that she was saying; but it was coming from the lips of someone who was under the influence of a demon. Do you remember that when the Lord Jesus had cast out demons, He wouldn’t even permit them to declare that He was the Son of God? What they were saying was true; but it was still unacceptable. The declaration of the gospel of Jesus Christ is given to God’s redeemed people—not to demons. And besides; Paul knew that if Satan could then lay claim to the preaching, and defile it with his own crafty falsehoods—or make it seem like one more religion among many.

And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour (v. 18).

“That very hour” means that this girl experienced an instantaneous delivery. It would have been a manifest miracle. And though we’re not told so, she was probably very grateful to be rescued from her slavery to this evil spirit. If her story was like other similar ones in Scripture, she would have believed on the Savior who had delivered her, and become one of His followers.

But not everyone was happy about her deliverance. Luke tells us in verse 19;

But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities (v. 19).

Ordinarily, people would greet deliverance from spiritual bondage as a wonderful cause of celebration. But this deliverance provoked anger from those who were making a great profit from her demonic possession. Sadly, the message of the gospel of Jesus—the message that sets people free from sin—is often actively opposed by those who have something to gain from sin.

And so; this girl’s ‘masters’ concocted an excuse for arresting the missionaries:

And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city; and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe” (vv. 20-21).

The accusation was, of course, completely untrue. But it sounded far nobler than saying, “These missionaries are delivering people from demonic influences and from bondage to sin … and they’re really wrecking our profits!” And what’s more, it must have been that the ‘profits’ being ‘wrecked’ were crucial to the overall economy of this pagan culture. Luke tells us in verses 22-24;

Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks (vv. 22-24).

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Such harsh treatment! These things hadn’t exactly turned out the way someone would expect a successful missionary campaign in a city to have gone. But in reality, they were going exactly as our sovereign God wanted them to go … and all for the furtherance of the spread of His gospel. This is made obvious to us in …

2. CONVERSION OF THE JAILER (vv. 25-34).

Now; think of this jailer. What a job he had! It was his responsibility, according to Roman law, to keep custody of the prisoners entrusted to him at the cost of his own life. If any prisoner was ever to escape, it would mean his life for the prisoner. It would be hard to imagine that a man would actually want this job; but whether he wanted it or not, it was his. And having received an intense command from the authorities to ‘keep them securely’, he made especially sure of it by putting them into ‘the inner prison’ and by fastening their feet ‘in the stocks’.

Humanly speaking, it would have seemed like a very dark time. Paul and Silas couldn’t really be sure whether they would live to see the next day. And we’re not told how many hours they were kept in confinement like this. But we’re definitely told what they spent their time doing. Verse 25 tells us;

But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them (v. 25).

Why could they do this? Why could they sing hymns of praise? It was because they had confidence in the sovereignty of God to bring about their good and to protect the cause of His gospel. On another occasion, Paul was able to write to the Philippians and tell them;

For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Philippians 1:19-21).

Now; most of the prisoners—and certainly the jailer—would have been used to the sound of other prisoners weeping and moaning and cursing. But not hymn-singing! These missionaries were expressing their confidence in God’s sovereignty by singing His praises. We should remember—whenever we are experiencing times of trial—that unbelieving people are watching and listening to us. We may not think they are … but they definitely are! They’re making an evaluation of the truth of our gospel by seeing how it helps us to respond to our trials.

Then—as the sound of this singing and praise was filling the halls of the jail—Luke tells us in verse 26;

Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed (v. 26).

This was no ordinary earthquake. Other earthquakes are destructive in nature. But not this one. It was sent by God to open the prison doors. Perhaps it was obvious to everyone that it came in response to the missionaries’ praises.

And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself (v. 27).

We can understand why. If it would be his life for any single prisoner who escaped; then seeing all the prison doors open would have caused him to conclude that all the prisoners had escaped—and that his life would therefore be required of him multiple times over.

But notice the mercy of God’s servants. They hadn’t gone anywhere; and they cared for him.

But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.” Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (vv. 28-30).

It’s the greatest of all questions. And why would he have asked it? It would have been—most likely—because he knew the true reason why the missionaries had been cast into his jail; and also because he would have been listening intensely as they sang God’s praises. And so—hearing him ask the greatest of all questions—they answered with the clearest of all answers:

So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household (vv. 31-34).

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Now; it was a happy ending for the jailer and his family. And it may also have been a happy ending for many of the prisoners. And we can see something of the humble submissiveness of the missionaries in that they remained faithfully at the jailer’s home—still under his care.

But the story of the spread of the gospel was far from over. Next, we read of how it became even further advanced by how Paul was …

3. CONFIRMED AS A CITIZEN (vv. 35-40).

There must have been some sense of the wrongness of how the missionaries had been arrested. Philippi was, after all, an honored Roman colony; and it had a reputation for justice to keep up … and the favor of the Roman government to maintain. Luke tells us;

And when it was day, the magistrates sent the officers, saying, “Let those men go”. So the keeper of the prison reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Now therefore depart, and go in peace” (vv. 35-36).

But Paul wouldn’t put up with this ‘secret release’. He and his fellow workers had been treated unjustly—contrary to Roman law. And so, he made a surprising announcement.

But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us openly, uncondemned Romans, and have thrown us into prison. And now do they put us out secretly? No indeed! Let them come themselves and get us out” (v. 37).

Paul, you see, was a Roman citizen by birth (see Acts 22:22-29); and he wasn’t afraid to use his citizenship to the advantage of the gospel when he needed to. He wasn’t being belligerent or prideful in demanding a public release. It would have resulted in an official recognition that he was a Roman citizen, and would thus afford him the protection of his citizenship in his further work of the gospel. No one in the Roman Empire would dare to treat a Roman citizen unjustly.

And the officers told these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans. Then they came and pleaded with them and brought them out, and asked them to depart from the city. So they went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia; and when they had seen the brethren, they encouraged them and departed (vv. 38-40).

It seemed that Paul—the Roman citizen—didn’t feel obliged to leave the Roman colony of Philippi until he felt good and ready to do so. And from then on, he and his missionary team operated under the protection of their Roman citizenship … as they spread the gospel throughout the Roman world.

Truly, in the sovereign hand of God, things ‘ turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.’

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Later on, Paul wrote to the Philippian Christians as they were suffering persecution. He told them that he expected to be released from prison and to be united with them again. But added;

Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me (Philippians 1:27-30).

We can have this kind of confidence too—never ‘terrified’—if we remember that our sovereign God is able to use even the most trying of circumstances to advance His gospel.

AE