As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour. (Acts 16:16-18, ESV)
The girl has an evil spirit, but she speaks as if she endorses the Christian faith. This might be a curious case, but not an altogether puzzling one.
Perhaps it is an involuntary confession compelled by the presence of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus taught the people, demons would cry out, saying, “You are the Holy One of God!” and “Jesus, Son of the Most High God!” Some of them would say, “Have you come to destroy us?” and “Have you come to torture us before the appointed time?” He did not covet the endorsement of demons, but he commanded them to be silent and then cast them out.
This is a side of Jesus that is seldom mentioned. The Bible depicts demons as wicked and insane entities that drive men to foam at the mouth, to throw themselves into fire, and to exhibit superhuman strength such that chains could not hold them. But Jesus is stronger than the demons. He shouted at them and commanded them to leave. The Lord is both a gentle shepherd and a fierce warrior. He breathes life and beauty into sin-wrecked souls, but he also leaves a trail of blood and destruction in his path as he punishes those who oppose him. As the gospel continues to spread and witness against the stubborn rebellion of men, his terror would only increase more and more.
As the Psalmist warns, “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment” (Psalm 2:12), and “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery” (v. 8-9). Jesus is the tormenter of demons. He is the destroyer of nations. If you love him and follow him, he will be your brother and your best friend. But if you do not, he will become your worst nightmare forever. He will be to you the single scariest entity in the universe.
However, if the evil spirit is compelled to acknowledge these preachers, why does the girl follow them around and keep doing this? Why not stay away from them? Something else could be happening. Perhaps the demon intends to take the offensive and cause disruption to the gospel ministry. It is not uncommon to encounter milder instances of this in our work, as when some repeatedly exclaim “Amen!” or “Praise the Lord!” or other such things at the most inappropriate times, or when they stand up to “prophesy” or attempt to “help” in some way. The words appear agreeable, but the effect is counterproductive.
These are often attempts from immature members to contribute or to make themselves feel useful and important. Some of these individuals are open to correction. On the other hand, there are those who follow around preachers to do these things in their gatherings over and over again, so that it practically amounts to persecution and a severe undermining of the work. When there seems to be an obsession that drives them to do this, and especially when attempts at correction trigger fits of despair and rage, it is possible that the behavior is demonically inspired.
It is also possible that this is a deliberate strategy to force an association between the demonic activity and the gospel ministry. If the girl can appear as a partner to the Christian preachers, then she could ride on the impressiveness of their work, making her business in fortune-telling more credible and making it easier for her to lead men astray from the gospel. If she is very successful at this, she could even make the preachers appear to operate under the umbrella of this local fortune-teller.
This is reminiscent of the earlier case of Simon. His sorcery captivated the people, who regarded him as someone special. When the Christian faith entered the city and displayed a far greater power, he offered to purchase the ability to lay hands on people so that they would receive the Holy Spirit. This could probably ensure his reputation as someone great in association with the gospel ministry, so that he could hijack the credibility of the Christian preachers for his own gain.
This is not uncommon, whether or not it involves the demonic. Some people might try to borrow your credibility by fabricating an association with your ministry. They will find excuses to add your name on their work, and they will use flatteries to insinuate themselves into your circle. Do not be tempted by this. Do not covet associates and supporters for the sake of having more associates and supporters. Most of these people are unstable and incompetent, of inferior intellect and character. They will not contribute to your ministry or reputation, but will leech from your work and contaminate your message. Their loyalty is often fragile, because they do not truly grasp or believe your mission or your message, but they are looking out for themselves. They sometimes rise to prominence because they are zealous in self-promotion and skilled in attaching themselves to respected leaders. The fact that these leaders allow this to happen also exposes a significant flaw in them. It shows that they are vulnerable to flattery and other tactics.
I do not want people to be associated with me or claim to be my students, and then demonstrate a lack of competence and resolve when confronted by opponents, so that they would abandon their position and even become my critics. I would not beg such useless people to remain in agreement with me. If they would turn against me, then it would be better for that to happen speedily, and it would be even better if they would not claim to support me in the first place. Be careful, and do not easily acknowledge an association, because there are many such people. They are tossed back and forth by the newest argument that they come across, and they are eager to attach themselves to celebrities. These people are useless as supporters and as believers. The best thing that could happen is if they would become your enemies. Fickle enemies are good. Fickle supporters are bad. And most people are fickle.
Therefore, be careful of your associations. Do not easily associate yourself with a church, seminary, or denomination. Do not easily associate yourself with a person, endorse a book, or any such thing. If you are in the habit of being strict and clear about your associations, then it would be more difficult for someone to hijack your credibility. When someone who is unworthy fabricates an association either by declaring his support for you or claiming your endorsement, it would be easier for you to say, “I do not know him. I have not trained him. I do not endorse him. He acts and speaks on his own, and his achievements and failures have nothing to do with me.”
When you associate yourself with someone, or when you endorse him or even send him out, make sure he is faithful and competent, and that he can adapt what he has learned from you against new arguments and circumstances. Suppose you say of him, “He is a loyal brother, an able defender of the faith, and represents the learning and position of this ministry,” and then an opponent crushes him or even turns him against you, then you will have disgraced yourself as well as the gospel. But if this happens with someone you have never acknowledged, then you can say, “He is weak in intellect and character, and an inferior specimen of a man and believer. He has gone from me because he was never with me. He has always belonged to you.” Rejoice when an unworthy and unstable person rejects you or turns against you – God has delivered you from trouble.
The girl speaks by an evil spirit, but her words agree with the Christian faith: “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” Some Christians delight in reminding us that Satan also performs miracles to distract and mislead people from the truth of Jesus Christ. This is a legitimate issue when it is discussed among those who continue to believe and operate in God’s power, and the issue has been settled. However, those who are so zealous to declare Satan’s ability often mention this to devalue or undermine the continuing manifestations of the Holy Spirit, or even as an objection against them. When the matter is raised from this perspective, it seems very nonsensical, and it prompts us to become suspicious of their motive and their intelligence.
The idea that Satan could perform some miracles cannot be used to promote cessationism or to devalue or undermine a Christian ministry of miracles in any way. Jesus himself was attacked from this angle. His opponents said that he was demon-possessed, and that he cast out demons by the prince of demons. There are some today who would more readily insist that a healing miracle is performed by Satan than to admit that cessationism is a false doctrine. Jesus replied that Satan would not cast out Satan, and warned them concerning the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. In another place, many people said of Jesus, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?” (John 10:19-20), but others knew better and answered, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” (v. 21).
The idea that Satan could perform miracles has no direct relevance to whether or not the miraculous gifts of the Spirit continue today, but it is an issue to be discussed after this other has been assumed or settled. If it is assumed that there is no longer a Christian ministry of miracles, this means that all contemporary miracles performed through men are of Satan, that there are no miraculous countermeasures to these miracles, and that our chief response is verbal condemnation, and where applicable, church discipline. But if it is assumed that there is still a ministry of miracles today, then the fact that Satan could perform some miracles, even through men, is an issue to be addressed under the assumption that the Holy Spirit continues to perform miracles through the disciples of Jesus Christ.
Thus our response would include sound teachings on the matter of spiritual gifts, policies on regulating the use of these gifts and on testing spiritual manifestations, and also the possibility of miraculous countermeasures against demonic powers. One answer to demonic supernatural power is a greater divine supernatural power. The Bible portrays numerous power encounters, where the miracle-working power of God overwhelmed the power of Satan. Consider the confrontations between Moses and the magicians, Elijah and the false prophets, Jesus and the demon-possessed, Philip and Simon, Paul and Elymas, and Paul and this girl with the evil spirit in our text. Paul cast out the spirit of divination, and the girl lost her ability. This is the biblical answer to the miracles of Satan. The solution is not denial, but discernment and domination.
When we refer to the ministry of preaching, these same people do not become skeptical and warn, “You know, Satan also preaches.” But he does, and in our text his words entirely agree with the Christian faith. What about it? The ministry of preaching is much more regular and widespread than the ministry of miracles, so how come these people do not raise the issue about demonic preaching and do it in a way that devalues and undermines the ministry of preaching? How come we do not challenge preaching itself? It is not enough to test the content for false doctrine, since what the fortune-teller said exactly agreed with the apostles. So how come we do not reject preaching itself, or get paranoid about how to test preaching, including preaching that exactly agrees with the Christian faith? It is because these people have their own theological and personal agendas. They are not interested in preserving the integrity of a ministry of miracles, but in undermining all miracles because they do not have the power for such a ministry. They are a brood of faithless hypocrites.
If the idea that Satan could perform miracles is in any sense raised against the Christian ministry of miracles itself, then the idea that Satan could preach must in the same sense be raised against the Christian ministry of preaching. That is, if they say, “Satan also performs miracles” in a sense that devalues or undermines the ministry of miracles, then they must also say, “Satan also preaches” in a sense that devalues or undermines the ministry of preaching. If it cannot in any sense challenge the ministry of preaching itself, then it cannot in any sense challenge the ministry of miracles. And if they admit that the point should not undermine preaching, but only raises the need for discernment, then the same must apply to the ministry of miracles.
The Bible is complete, sufficient, and final, and it asserts that there is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit that enables one to discern or distinguish between spirits. Therefore, in the face of demonic preaching and miracles, the complete, sufficient, and final answer is that there is a supernatural gift from God that enables the Christian to perceive the truth, to expose deception, and to cast out the evil powers. Cessationism is a much greater threat than the demon that possesses and speaks through the fortune-teller, because it is a rejection of God’s complete, sufficient, and final answer on the matter. By the Holy Spirit, we have the power to deal with the demonic, but cessationism attempts to neutralize God’s solution.
The fortune-teller speaks words that agree with the Christian faith, but she does so by a demonic spirit; likewise, the cessationist claims that he defends sound doctrine, but he speaks by a spirit of unbelief and tradition, and often a spirit of hatred and murder. He affirms that the Bible is complete, sufficient, and final, but when he asserts that the ministry of miracles has ceased, he introduces a new doctrine, because the Bible does not teach it. In effect, the cessationist claims that he has a new revelation that overturns the existing one.
When Paul writes that “even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14, ESV), he is warning his readers about false apostles. Yet by this statement he does not undermine the ministries of the apostles or the manifestations of angels. Rather, because Satan thus disguises himself, we ought to exercise discernment when we encounter those who claim to be apostles or when we experience visions of angels. But look! He writes that the agents of Satan also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness (v. 15). Christians, watch out! For here comes Satan as a cessationist theologian.