Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 16:18

"And this she did for many days. But Paul, being sore troubled, turned and said to the spirit, I charge thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And it came out that very hour." — Acts 16:18 (ASV)

As the girl followed Paul and his companions around, she kept on screaming out: “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved” (cf. Mark 1:24; 3:11; 5:7; Lk 4:34, 41; 8:28). This acknowledgment is stated in terms acceptable to the Jewish world and readily understandable to Gentiles. The title “Most High God,” while originally a Phoenician ascription for deity, was used by the Hebrews for the Lord their God (cf. Numbers 24:16; Psalms 78:35; Isaiah 14:14; et al.) and by the Greeks for Zeus. And the announcement of “salvation”— while for Paul and the Jews referring to deliverance from sin—would have connoted for Gentiles release from the powers governing the fate of humans and of the material world. It was, therefore, cast in terms Gentiles could understand but Paul could build on.

But while the demon-inspired words provided some free publicity for the missionaries and helped gather an audience, when it continued for many days, it became a nuisance. The demon’s words were getting more of a hearing than the proclamation of the Gospel! So Paul commanded the evil spirit “in the name of Jesus Christ” to come out of the girl, and the demon left her. Presumably, having been delivered by the power of God, she became a Christian and a church member.