Acts 16:32

And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. AND THEY SPAKE UNTO HIM THE WORD OF THE LORD - unfolding now, doubtless, more fully what "the Lord Jesus Christ" was, to whom they had pointed his faith, and what the 'salvation' was which this would bring him. AND TO (OR 'WITH,' ACCORDING TO ANOTHER READING) ALL THAT WERE IN HIS HOUSE - who from their own dwelling (under the same roof no doubt with the prison) had crowded round the apostles, aroused first by the earthquake. From their addressing the Gospel message "to all that were in the house," it is not necessary to infer that it contained no children, But merely that as it contained adults besides the jailor himself, so to all of these-as alone of course fit to be addressed-they preached the word....

25-34 The consolations of God to his suffering servants are neither few nor small. How much more happy are true Christians than their prosperous enemies! As in the dark, so out of the depths, we may cry unto God. No place, no time is amiss for prayer, if the heart be lifted up to God. No trouble, however grievous, should hinder us from praise. Christianity proves itself to be of God, in that it obliges us to be just to our own lives. Paul cried aloud to make the jailer hear, and to make him heed, saying, Do thyself no harm. All the cautions of the word of God against sin, and all appearances of it, and approaches to it, have this tendency. Man, woman, do not ruin thyself; hurt not thyself, and then none else can hurt thee; do not sin, for nothing but that can hurt thee. Even as to the body, we are cautioned against the sins which do harm to that. Converting grace changes people's langua...

Verse 32. _AND THEY SPAKE UNTO HIM THE WORD OF THE LORD_] Thus, by teaching him and all that were in his house the _doctrine of the_ _Lord_, they plainly pointed out to them the way of salvation. And it appears that he and his whole family, who were capable of receiving instructions, embraced this doctrine, and showed the sincerity of their faith by immediately receiving baptism. And, by the way, if _he and all his were baptized straightway_, παραχρημα, immediately, instantly, at that very time, _dum ipsa res agitur_, it is by no means likely that there was any _immersion_ in the case; indeed, all the circumstances of the case, the dead of the night, the general agitation, the necessity of despatch, and the words of the text, all disprove it. The apostles, therefore, had another method of administering baptism besides _immersion_, which, if practised according to the Jewish formalities,...

TO ALL THAT WERE IN HIS HOUSE - Old and young. They instructed them in the doctrines of religion, and doubtless in the nature of the ordinances of the gospel, and then baptized the entire family....

EXPOSITION ACTS 16:1 _And he came also _for _then came he, _A.V._ _and T.R.; _to Lystra _for _Lystra, _A.V._; Timothy _for _Timotheus, _A.V._; of a Jewess _for _of a certain woman which was a Jewess, _A.V. and T.R.; _which _for _and, _A.V. For DERBE and LYSTRA, see Acts 14:1. and notes. This time St. Paul visited Derbe first, whereas before he came from Lystra to Derbe (Acts 14:6, Acts 14:8, Acts 14:21). WAS THERE; viz

AND THEY SPAKE UNTO HIM THE WORD OF THE LORD,.... That is, the Gospel; which comes from the Lord Jesus Christ, as the author of it; and is concerning him, as the subject matter of it, and is what was preached by himself when on earth; this is the word, which is called the word of salvation, the word of reconciliation and peace, the word of life, the word of righteousness, and the word of faith; because it publishes salvation by Christ, peace and reconciliation by his blood, life by his death, his righteousness for justification, and proposes him as the object of faith, and encourages souls to believe in him; and faith comes by it, and it contains things to be believed: and this word Paul and Silas spake to the jailer, and opened and explained it to him for his comfort, and for the encouragement of his faith in Christ: AND TO ALL THAT WERE IN HIS HOUSE; his whole family, who were all ala...

Acts 16:9. _And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us._ Our dreams often follow the leading thoughts of the day; or, if not of the day, yet the chief thoughts that are upon the mind. Paul dreams about mission work, for his heart is in it. I should not wonder if some before me, who are deeply engaged in earnest Christian work, have often dreamt about their Sunday-school, or their mission-station. Where the mind goes when we are awake, it often goes when we are asleep. This vision that appeared to Paul was supernatural; and was an indication of what God wanted him to do. Acts 16:10. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord ha

ACTS 16:32 tou/ kuri,ou {B} Although Weiss argues that the reference in ver. Acts 16:31 to the Lord Jesus influenced scribes to alter “the word of God” to “the word of the Lord,” 320 in view of the preponderant weight of external testimony the Committee preferred kuri,ou. What Ropes describes as a special force residing in qeou/, which calls attention to the divine truth of the answer of ver. Acts 16:31, so far from supporting the genuineness of qeou/, suggests rather the wor...

CHAPTER 16 _ 1. In Derbe and Lystra again. Timotheus (Acts 16:1)._ 2. The Preaching forbidden in Asia (Acts 16:6). 3. The Vision of the Man from Macedonia (Acts 16:9). 4. The Gospel in Europe (Acts 16:13). Read in connection with the first verses of this chapter 1 Timothy 1:18; 1Ti 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:5; 2 Timothy 3:15. The circumcision of Timothy, the offspri

IMPRISONMENT OF PAUL AND SILAS. THE PRISON BROKEN. The rulers (Acts 16:19) are the heads of police; they are afterwards called _Strategi, which_ answers to the Roman _Prœ tores._ Philippi was a colony, its magistrates were Roman, _duoviri,_ and had the _fasces,_ the Roman rods, showing their power to order a beating. The missionaries are accused of making a disturbance in the city, being Jews (Jews are generally unpopular, and at Philippi they are not strong), and of introducing strange customs, _i.e._ a religion which was not an allowed one, in the Roman community. The populace takes the side of the accusers; a beating on the bare body is at once inflicted (_cf._ 2 Corinthians 11:25). The inner prison into which they were put was, to judge by other known cases, a pla