Acts 16:17

‘The same following after Paul and us cried out, saying, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” '

The spirit within this woman recognised in the Pauline party messengers of the true God. From such they could not be hidden. It was probably also deeply concerned that they should be here and wanted to give a warning to the people. The result was that it caused her to follow them and begin to shout after them, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.”

The description was probably intended to be detrimental, and to be a warning to the people of Philippi. ‘The Most High God' was a title used of the God of Israel by foreigners (Daniel 3:26; Daniel 5:18; Daniel 5:21; Genesis 14:18), and the spirit was warning the people that these Jews, the servants of the Most High God, had come claiming to bring them a way of salvation, a way that was best avoided. There were few Jews in Philippi (no synagogue), possibly because it was known to be antagonistic towards Jews. Let them then beware of these Jews. It spoke a form of truth but its intention was to deceive men into rejecting s ‘Jewish salvation'.

Others, however, see this as an attempt by Satan to ally himself with the Gospel with the aim of destroying it by later introducing error. If the Gospel could be linked with the spirit of Apollo it could become just another aspect of idol worship, with Jesus linked with the Python spirit. We see similar attempts in spiritualism today to distort the truth about Christ by making Him simply another spirit.

As regularly in the Gospels, we see here that evil spirits were aware of the presence of Christ. They could not help but testify of Him and His saving power, for they feared Him. But they did not do so in a friendly way. It was always in fear and antagonism. Thus here it was probably intending by its words to express a warning concerning something that it saw as wholly detrimental. ‘Be careful,' it was saying, ‘ or these men will save you by a Jewish salvation,' and this in what was clearly an anti-Semitic city. Not wanting to have anything to do with Jesus itself, it assumed that no sensible man would want to either.

‘The Most High God'. This was a title used by evil spirits of God in Mark 5:7, in the Psalms of God as exalted in Israel (Psalms 78:56) and was a title by which the God of Israel was known to Gentiles (Daniel 3:26; Daniel 5:18; Daniel 5:21; Genesis 14:18; Hebrews 7:1). It could be used as a title of fear, of worship and as a designation for the One God Whom the Jews claimed to worship. It could, however, be used as a title of Zeus, and of other gods. It was therefore an enigmatic title. Thus different hearers would interpret it in different ways. But the spirit probably intended by it a hated name.