Here is a teaching on chapter 16 of the book of Acts. If you want to check out previous Bible studies and chapters going forward, join our group here. Once you get added into that Facebook group, you can go to the "units" tab and you'll see all of the chapters and their study guides as they are being taught.
First I want to say a quick prayer... Lord I pray that you lift up every single person reading this right now. I pray that you open up our eyes to see the truth of your words, and that you help us discern the truth and live by that truth. Please give us knowledge and understanding to know exactly what it is that we're reading, and the wisdom to implement it in our daily lives and to make an impact in other people's lives. Lord please lead, guide, and direct us through every aspect of our lives. I pray that you reveal the fruit of the spirit in our hearts and you help us to portray the fruit of the spirits of others. I love you with my whole heart. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Acts Chapter 16:
1 He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek. 2 The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 3 Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.
6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
So we see that Paul went to Lystra and a disciple named Timothy lived there. Paul circumcised him because he wanted to take him on the journey with them, but all the Jews knew that his father was a Greek. So they traveled from town to town and delivered the decisions that were reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for these people to obey. In verses 6-10 Paul and his companions had been kept from preaching the word in the province of Asia. Whenever we are led by the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit guides us and shows us truth. We just have to listen to what the Holy Spirit is telling us and we will not be led astray. Sometimes we may be sent to places that we never would have imagined that we would be. There are also times where the Holy Spirit has a different direction and a different plan for us, and the places that we wanted to go we shouldn't go too. So it's so important for us to let the Holy Spirit guide us and show us truth and make sure we're staying on the path that God has planned for us. In verses 9-10 we see that Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia begging him to come and help them. So they got ready to leave for Macedonia. It seems here in verse 10 that Luke had went with them to Macedonia. Luke is the one that wrote the book of Acts, and we see in verse 10 that he says "we" got ready to leave once for Macedonia. But before that he talks about "they," so it seems here that Luke had went to Macedonia with them.
11 from Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day on to Neapolis. 12 From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.
13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. 15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us.
So in verses 13-15, they went outside the city gate to the river on the Sabbath to try and find a place to pray. There were women gathered there at this river and they began to speak to them. In verse 14 we see that there was a woman named Lydia and she was a worshiper of God. The Lord had opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. So in verse 15 after her and the members of her household were baptized, she invited Paul and his companions to stay at her home. She told them that if they consider her believer in the Lord to come and stay at her house. So they came and stayed at her house and it doesn't say exactly why she wanted them to stay. But it seems here that her heart was opened, she received the message that Paul was saying here, her and her household got baptized, she was full of the Holy Spirit, and wanted to show hospitality and how grateful she was for the message and for her and her family getting baptized. So she wanted them to come stay with her.
16 Once when we were going to a place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved." 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!" At that moment the spirit left her.
19 When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, "These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice."
So we see in verses 16-18 we see that as Paul and his companions were going to a place of prayer they met a slave girl and she had a spirit in her by which predicted the future. She followed them for days and shouted that they were servants of the Most High God. So finally Paul turned around to the spirit and told it to come out in the name of Jesus Christ. In that moment the spirit left her. Then in verses 19-21 the owners of the slave girl seized Paul and Silas when they realized that they weren't able to make money from her. They dragged them to the marketplace to face the authorities and they told the magistrates that Paul and Silas were Jews that were supporting customs that were unlawful to the Romans. These owners of this slave girl were not worried about what Paul and Silas were doing they were just so angry that they were no longer able to make money because Paul had driven the spirit out of the girl, so they wanted to seize them.
22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!"
29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
31 They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved-- you and your household." 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God-- he and his whole family.
So in verses 22-23 we see that the crowd had joined in on the attack against Paul and Silas. The magistrates had ordered for them to be beaten. After they had been severely flogged (beat with whips and lashes,) they were thrown into prison to be guarded carefully. In verse 24 it says that they were put in the inner cell and their feet were fastened in their stocks. So the jailer thought that that would keep them in their cell and they would be guarded. We see in verses 25-26 that at midnight they were praying and singing hymns to God, and there was this violent earthquake that shook the foundation of the prison. All the doors flew open and everybody's chains came loose. This just shows the power of God. Whenever we are praising him, worshiping, and singing to him, the power of the Holy Spirit is throughout the whole place that we're at. These other prisoners were listening to their songs and hymns, and them worshiping God. In verses 27-28 we see that the jailer had woke up and he drew his sword because he thought the prisoners had escaped and he was going to kill himself. He knew that if he had let the prisoners escape then he would be put to death anyway, so he was just going to go ahead and kill itself. Paul shouted for him not to harm himself and he let him know that they were all there. Even though the chains had been broken from all the prisoners, the prisoners were still there and they hadn't escaped. This didn't happen for Paul and Silas to be able to escape, it happened to show the power of God. Just like we see in the verses after these verses that the jailer and his whole family believed and this led that to happen. If the earthquake didn't happen and their chains didn't become loose, then the jailer and his family may have never came to believe in God.
In verses 29-30 the jailer rushed in and fell before Paul and Silas and asked what he must do to be saved. Then we see in verses 31-34 that Paul and Silas told the jailer to believe in the Lord Jesus, and he and his household will be saved. So Paul and Silas spoke the word of the Lord to them and all the others in his house, and the jailer washed their wounds and him and all his family were baptized. He brought Paul and Silas into his house, fed them a meal, and he was filled with joy because he believed in God. Him and his whole family believed in God. This just goes to show that nothing can stop the gospel from being spread and God is more powerful than any evil thing that tries to keep the gospel away. This earthquake happened so that the jailer and his family could be saved and the others in prison would believe. We can pray, worship, and spread the gospel anywhere. Whoever needs to hear it will and they will believe. There's nothing that can stop the gospel from being spread, and there's nothing that can stop people from hearing the message of Jesus Christ and being saved that are meant to hear it and believe.
35 When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: "Release those men." 36 The jailer told Paul, "The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace."
37 But Paul said to the officers: "They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out."
38 The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. 39 They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. 40 After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia's house, where they met with the brothers and encouraged them. Then they left.
Alright so those are all the verses of chapter 16 of the book of Acts, but I'm going to discuss these verses with you guys here. In verses 35-36 we see that the magistrate sent officers to the jailer to order that Paul and Silas be released when it was daylight. But Paul said for the magistrates to come and escort them out, and that even though they were Roman citizens they beat them publicly without a trial and they threw them into prison, and now they just want to get rid of them quietly. We see in verses 38-39 that the magistrates were alarmed when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. They didn't know that they were Roman citizens and they were so surprised and shocked at this. So they came in escorted them from prison and they asked that they leave the city. In verse 40 Paul and Silas went to Lydia's house and we see from verses 14-16 that she was the lady that worshiped God, her and her family were baptized, and she invited them to come stay at her house. So in verse 40 they went to her house, they met with the brothers, they encouraged them, and then they left the city.
Acts Ch 16 Study Guide
Why was Timothy circumcised?
What happens when we are led by the Holy Spirit?
Why do you think that Lydia wanted the brothers to come stay with her?
In verse 18, how did Paul drive the spirit out of the girl?
Why did the owners of the slave girl seize Paul and Silas?
In verse 26, why do you think there was an earthquake and what did it reveal?
Is there anything that can stop the gospel from being spread? Why or why not?
What is your biggest takeaway from this Bible study?
So that concludes this Bible study on chapter 16 of the book of Acts. Next week we're going to go into chapter 17, so make sure you stay tuned for that.
I love you guys so much.
Never forget to choose faith over fear.
-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)
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Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
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