The Beginning of the Church at Philippi

One of the things I love about the book of Philippians is the very backdrop and beginning of this church is joy-filled confidence, despite circumstances, because of the work of God.

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Over the next several months I am going to be teaching through the book of Philippians. In this post, I want to look at Acts 16 to see how this church started.

 

Plans Redirected

In Acts 16 Paul and Silas begin what is now known as their second missionary journey. The plan was to encourage the churches they started on their first journey. As they begin retracing their steps a young man named Timothy joins the team in a city called Lystra. Paul’s plan was to travel through the region of Galatia up to Asia but the Holy Spirit stopped them. The Holy Spirit also prevented them from going into Bithynia so they go to the city of Troas. It was in this city that Paul has a vision of a Macedonian man pleading for help.

So in Acts 16:10 Paul and his team begin their journey and eventually land in the city of Philippi. While Philippi was not the capital of Macedonia but it was a leading city in the region. In many ways was considered a miniature version of Rome. After being in the city several days the team joins a ladies’ prayer meeting and Paul leads them to Lord. One of these ladies was a businesswoman named Lydia. She then opens her home to them and her home became the meeting place for the Philippian Church.

 

A Difficult Start

Then they meet a slave girl who was possessed by a demon that would predict the future. This slave girl made a large fortune for her owners. However when Paul meets her he cast the demon out of her, she places her faith in Christ. This infuriates her owners because they just lost their source of income. So they have Paul and Silas beaten and thrown in jail. But notice how Paul and Silas respond.

Acts 16:25-30About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God,

One of the things I love about the book of Philippians is the very backdrop and beginning of this church is joy-filled confidence, despite circumstances, because of the work of God. Paul and Silas are literally singing while their feet are in stocks. A very early and prolific Christian author was a man named Tertullian. He was born in 160 AD and he lived in Carthage, a Roman Province in Africa. He said about this passage “The legs feel nothing in the stocks when the heart is in heaven.” – Tertullian1

Joy-filled confidence is not based on our circumstances, but on God. Back to Acts 16, God sends an earthquake that immediately frees everyone. The jailer realizing what has happened gets ready to kill himself, but Paul stops him saying that they are all still in their cells. At this point, the jailer and his entire family get saved.

 

The Spirit At Work

Well, the next morning Paul tells the city officials, “we’re Roman citizens and you guys just beat us and threw us in jail without a trial. You can’t do that under Roman law.” So in order to appease Paul and Silas they come and escort them out of jail and urge them to leave town. But before they do, Paul and Silas head back over to Lydia’s home to encourage this brand new church. Verse 40 indicates that there are now more people who have placed their faith in Christ through this entire ordeal because it says Paul encouraged the brothers and sisters before he departed.

This is not the way you want to start a church. Persecution and oppression. Beaten and thrown into prison. But what I find amazing about this story is the way the Spirit of God worked mightily through it all. A group of ladies trusting in Christ, demons being cast out, joy in the middle of persecution, earthquakes, chains literally being broken, and a church begins. Every difficult and hard season is an opportunity for the Spirit of God to move.

 

The Need For Joy

Fast forward about 10 years. Paul is back in prison, awaiting trial to determine if he will live or die. Epaphroditus, a faithful, Spirit-filled man in the church at Philippi, nearly dies while bringing an offering from the Philippians to Paul. And now Paul sends this letter back with Epaphroditus to arguably his favorite church. He writes the book of Philippians to encourage the hearts of believers and urges them (AND US) to rejoice in the Lord.2 Joy is a spiritual grace that we all need to experience.

If we are not careful we will allow seasons of stress, anxiety, hurt, betrayal, anger, to steal the joy of God from our hearts. We need an abundant, overflowing joy to fill our souls. As we work through the book of Philippians the Spirit of God is going to point us to that joy.

 

 

This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Thriving In Exile.

Featured Image by Pexels from Pixabay

 

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About the Author

Nick Minerva lives in Fresno, California with his wife, Sarah and their four children. He currently serves as the Associate Pastor of Fresno Church where he has been on staff for over 10 years.