Background
Php 1:1,2 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
It was on his second missionary journey that Paul first went to Philippi, which lies in Macedonia, having received a vision to do so, crossing the Aegean Sea. A vision appeared to Paul in the night. There was a man of Macedonia standing, begging him, and saying, "Come over into Macedonia and help us." When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go out to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them. Setting sail therefore from Troas, we made a straight course to Samothrace, and the day following to Neapolis; and from there to Philippi, which is a city of Macedonia, the foremost of the district, a Roman colony. We were staying some days in this city. Acts 16:6-9 He journeyed there with Silas and Timothy.
The Aegean Sea represented a significant cultural boundary in the progression of the gospel westward towards Rome. To the east of it the culture was more oriental. Ideas were communicated more in the form of stories, parables, utilizing more of one's intuition. As so we note of the rhetoric utilized in the Old Testament and in Jesus' teachings. To the west was Greece, the intellectual and cultural center of western civilization. It was said that in conquering Greece, the Romans themselves were culturally conquered. There was the home of Plato and Aristotle. How would the gospel be received in such an environment?
And as if the cultural boundary weren't significant enough, Paul's first encounter across the Aegean also involved a gender boundary as he preached to a Philippian woman - Lydia.
Acts 16:13-15 On the Sabbath day we went forth outside of the city by a riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down, and spoke to the women who had come together. A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, one who worshiped God, heard us; whose heart the Lord opened to listen to the things which were spoken by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and stay." So she persuaded us.
They ran into trouble in Philippi after casting out a demon and were imprisoned which became their next mission field. They prayed and sang hymns publically. An earthquake then occurred which opened their cells. But rather than viewing this as a means of escape, as Peter had utilized earlier in Acts, they remained. Their jailer was so impressed with them that he and his household became Christians. And this was a significant issue the Lord dealt with as the gospel progressed closer to Rome. The Lord was directing them to submit to the governing authorities rather than trying to illegally escape. In fact Paul used his status as a Roman citizen to secure their freedom. And the Lord blessed their ministry. Such was the beginning of the church at Philippi.
Php 1:1,2 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
It was on his second missionary journey that Paul first went to Philippi, which lies in Macedonia, having received a vision to do so, crossing the Aegean Sea. A vision appeared to Paul in the night. There was a man of Macedonia standing, begging him, and saying, "Come over into Macedonia and help us." When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go out to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them. Setting sail therefore from Troas, we made a straight course to Samothrace, and the day following to Neapolis; and from there to Philippi, which is a city of Macedonia, the foremost of the district, a Roman colony. We were staying some days in this city. Acts 16:6-9 He journeyed there with Silas and Timothy.
The Aegean Sea represented a significant cultural boundary in the progression of the gospel westward towards Rome. To the east of it the culture was more oriental. Ideas were communicated more in the form of stories, parables, utilizing more of one's intuition. As so we note of the rhetoric utilized in the Old Testament and in Jesus' teachings. To the west was Greece, the intellectual and cultural center of western civilization. It was said that in conquering Greece, the Romans themselves were culturally conquered. There was the home of Plato and Aristotle. How would the gospel be received in such an environment?
And as if the cultural boundary weren't significant enough, Paul's first encounter across the Aegean also involved a gender boundary as he preached to a Philippian woman - Lydia.
Acts 16:13-15 On the Sabbath day we went forth outside of the city by a riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down, and spoke to the women who had come together. A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, one who worshiped God, heard us; whose heart the Lord opened to listen to the things which were spoken by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and stay." So she persuaded us.
They ran into trouble in Philippi after casting out a demon and were imprisoned which became their next mission field. They prayed and sang hymns publically. An earthquake then occurred which opened their cells. But rather than viewing this as a means of escape, as Peter had utilized earlier in Acts, they remained. Their jailer was so impressed with them that he and his household became Christians. And this was a significant issue the Lord dealt with as the gospel progressed closer to Rome. The Lord was directing them to submit to the governing authorities rather than trying to illegally escape. In fact Paul used his status as a Roman citizen to secure their freedom. And the Lord blessed their ministry. Such was the beginning of the church at Philippi.
