Acts 16:32 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.

NIV: Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.

NASB: And they spoke the word of God to him together with all who were in his house.

CSB: And they spoke the word of the Lord to him along with everyone in his house.

NLT: And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household.

KJV: And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.

NKJV: Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.

Paul and Silas are in Philippi, sharing the good news of forgiveness through Jesus' sacrifice to a jailer and his household. This is an important verse. Some passages, like Acts 16:15, can be casually misread to suggest that if the head of the household accepted Christ for her or his savior, the rest of the household will automatically be saved. That sentiment has stretched today into a common belief that those who are "raised in a Christian home" are Christians even if they have not made a personal decision to accept Christ. To an extent, Judaism is a community religion and salvation is in some sense communal. Christianity is not. Each individual must accept God's offer of grace to be saved.

Even this passage does not specifically say that each member of the jailer's house believed although they were all baptized (Acts 16:33). In situations like this, "baptized" is a figure of speech called a synecdoche. It is a part that is used in place of a whole. A modern example might be if someone gets a "haircut," we know they may also get their hair washed, dried, and styled. The statement that the family members are baptized assumes they also accepted salvation through Jesus.

In fact, they must do so. In a culture that has gods for everything, becoming a Christ-follower is a serious decision. You will no longer sacrifice and eat to the civil gods; because of that, your neighbors will believe you no longer care for the welfare of your city. If you are in a trade, your guild may divert business away from you. And if you refuse to worship the emperor, you may be executed. A family cannot be half-pagan and half-Christian and stay together. The jailer makes an important decision for his family, and the family members follow. Despite the dangers, they know they are making the right choice and praise God (Acts 16:34).

Acts 16:25–40 records Paul's first imprisonment. The Philippian magistrates arrested Paul and Silas and had them beaten for spreading the news about Jesus. The two are now chained in a cell, praying and singing to God. An earthquake shakes the prison, releasing all the doors and chains. Paul assures the jailer no one has left, and the jailer tends to the pair's wounds. They share Jesus' offer of forgiveness of sins, and the jailer and his household accept Christ. In the morning, the magistrates attempt to release Paul and Silas, only to be confronted with their own crime: they have illegally punished two Roman citizens. After apologizing, the magistrates ask Paul and Silas to leave town.

Acts 16 follows Paul and Silas as they take the letter of Acts 15 into modern-day Asia Minor and Macedonia. They collect Timothy in Lystra and Luke in Troas. In Philippi, they meet Lydia and baptize her family. After expelling a demon from a fortune-telling girl, city officials illegally beat and imprison Paul and Silas. An earthquake frees them of their chains, but they stay and bring the jailer and his family to Christ. The next morning, Paul and Silas refuse to leave quietly, politely insisting that their civil rights have been violated. The officials apologize, and Paul, Silas, and Timothy go to Thessalonica.

Acts 15 ends with Paul and Silas spreading the news that Gentile Christians don't have to be circumcised. Acts 16 begins with Paul circumcising a Jewish man, Timothy, to prevent difficulties in preaching to older Jews as the boy grows into church leadership. Paul's second missionary trip finds the church growing east, into Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and Corinth (Acts 16:11—18:18). On his way back to Syrian Antioch, Paul will stop by Ephesus and soften the Jews for the extended ministry of Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos. During his first trip, Paul planted churches and ordained elders; in his second, he commissions more missionaries.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.