Red Letter Revolution

There are very few passages in the bible that are more reassuring than Paul’s Macedonian call and the foundation of the church in Philippi. Whatever your take on the free will controversy, these passages affirm and even boldly declare that God has a plan for the salvation of men. Christians can take comfort in the fact that there is an omnipresent, omnipotent God ensuring the salvation of his chosen sheep. Paul is on his second missionary journey, and at this point he is in Derbe and Lystra spreading the Good News. These two cities are west of Tarsus and Antioch and northwest of the Palestine region. While in the area, Paul picked up Timothy and circumcised him and decided to bring him on the journey.

So, Paul went about the area preaching and strengthening the church. When it came time to leave, the Holy Spirit did not permit them to preach in Asia. So, they passed through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, and came to Mysia. They then attempted to go to Bithynia and again the Spirit did not permit it. Acts 16:6-7 They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; (7) and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; Then, they passed through Mysia and came to Troas.It is worthy of note that in Troas Paul also picked up Luke. In verse 10, he starts using the word we in description of their movements.

Matthew Henry comments, “Observe, though their judgment and inclination were to go into Bithynia, yet, having then extraordinary ways of knowing the mind of God, they were overruled by them, contrary to their own mind. We must now follow providence, and submit to the guidance of that pillar of cloud and fire; and, if this suffer us not to do what we assay to do, we ought to acquiesce, and believe it for the best.”(Henry) Here is where we get to the meat of the passage. Acts 16:9 A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”

There is much conjecture on the nature of the vision and any symbolism it may have in connection with Old Testament visions. However, the majority of the orthodox agree on many points. Wesley describes it thus, “A vision appeared to Paul by night – It was not a dream, though it was by night. No other dream is mentioned in the New Testament than that of Joseph and of Pilate’s wife. A man of Macedonia – Probably an angel clothed in the Macedonian habit, or using the language of the country, and representing the inhabitants of it. Help us – Against Satan, ignorance, and sin.”(Wesley)

Here we have God intervening, having seen their need for direction and so his will might be done. He imparts to Paul, presumably through the use of an angel, a vision of a man distinctly Macedonian. God having sent the vision also imparts to Paul the ability to understand it. So, with a fresh sense of direction they set sail from Troas and headed to Neapolis by way of Samothrace. At Neapolis, it was a very short journey to Philippi. They stayed there awhile, and on the Sabbath sought some place to pray. Acts 16:13 And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled.Let us not assume that they came to this place randomly, for God’s will to be done, they must have come to the right place at the right time, and so we must assume it was at the behest of the Holy Spirit.

“In Jewish Law, a congregation was made up of ten men. Wherever there were ten male heads of households who could be in regular attendance, a synagogue was to be formed. Failing this, a place of prayer under the open sky and near a river or the sea was to be arranged for, though rabbinic sources do not explicitly say it must be by water. But Philippi apparently did not have the quorum and so was without a synagogue. On the Sabbath therefore, Paul and his companions walked outside the city in search of a Jewish place of prayer, probably heading toward the Gangites River about a mile and a half west of the city.” (Gaebelein 460) Here they meet a woman by the name of Lydia or possibly “a Lydian lady” (she was from the province of Lydia) who was a seller of purple cloth. Given the expense of such cloth, we can rightly surmise that she was, if not wealthy, at least financially secure. Acts 16:14 A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. Lydia is called a worshipper of God, because she converted to Judaism. She was probably single or widowed, and had converted her servants.

Special examination should be given to the meaning of the phrase, “The Lord opened her heart.” Robertson’s Word Pictures gives a brief but detailed look at the Greek word translated opened. “First aorist active indicative of dianoigoÌ„, old word, double compound (dia, ana, oigoÌ„) to open up wide or completely like a folding door (both sides, dia, two). Only the Lord could do that.” (Robertson) We see other examples in scripture of this kind of opening of the heart. In Luke, Jesus imparts to the apostle the ability to understand the scriptures, and the same verb is used there as is here. Luke 24:44-45 Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” (45) Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

This opening is also similar to a verse in Ephesians. Ephesians 1:18-21 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, (19) and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might (20) which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, (21) far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

So we have God flinging open wide the door of Lydia’s heart, imparting to it knowledge and sight of the truth. In the words of Adam Clarke, “As she was a sincere worshipper of God, she was prepared to receive the heavenly truths spoken by Paul and his companions; and, as she was faithful to the grace she had received, so God gave her more grace, and gave her now a Divine conviction that what was spoken by Paul was true; and therefore she attended unto the things – she believed them and received them as the doctrines of God; and in this faith she was joined by her whole family, and in it they were all baptized.” (Clarke)

We are left with but one conclusion: God exercised his power and authority to bring Lydia into the fold and bring about his purpose in election. John Gill, a contemporary of Charles Spurgeon, gives a masterful portrayal of the work God did in Lydia’s heart. “‘whose heart the Lord opened’; which was before shut and barred, with the bars of ignorance, hardness, and unbelief. The heart of a sinner before conversion, is like a house shut up, and wholly in darkness; whatever degree of natural or moral light is in it, there is none in spiritual things; it is empty of the grace of God, of the fear of him, and love to him; it is without proper inhabitants, without God, Christ, and the Spirit; and is the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, who delight in dark and desolate places; it is bolted and barred with unbelief, and walled up, and even petrified and hardened with sin, and is guarded and garrisoned by Satan, and its goods are kept in peace by him: and this had been the case of Lydia; but now the Lord opened her understanding, and put light into it, which was before darkness itself; as to spiritual things; by which she saw her wretched, sinful, and miserable state by nature, the insufficiency of all ways and means, and works, to justify and save her, and the necessity, suitableness, and fullness of grace and salvation by Christ; which was done by the same divine power, that at first created light in darkness: moreover, the Lord wrought upon her affections, and engaged them to divine and spiritual things; creating love in her soul to Christ, to his people, truths and ordinances; which was done by his almighty hand, taking away the stony heart, and giving an heart of flesh.”(Gill)

It is also worth noting, that God chose a woman as the foundation of the new church in Philippi. This is, in the Author’s opinion just one piece of the evidence proving the Bible is not sexist. After this mighty work of the Spirit was accomplished, Lydia was baptized and her household with her. That is not to say that Lydia forced her servants into baptism, but rather they were brought to repentance also. Some also, have tried to use this as a justification for the baptism of infants, but it is apparent Lydia was either single or widowed. However, even if she was married and had children, it was still customary to only baptize those that could voice a belief in the truth. “Some have held that this implies the baptism of infants. It rather implies that her servants and friends also accepted the gospel. There is no ground for the inference that she was even married, or had children. Meyer, himself a German Lutheran, says: “If, in the Jewish and Gentile families which were converted to Christ there were children, their baptism is to be assumed in those cases, when they were so far advanced that they could and did confess their faith on Jesus as the Messiah; for this was the universal, absolutely necessary qualification for the reception of baptism. . . . Therefore the baptism of the children of Christians, of which no trace is found in the New Testament, is not to be held as an apostolic ordinance.” (Johnson)

As we look at how these events have unfolded, one must marvel at the awesome work of God through his servant Paul. The methodology of Paul’s ministry was simple but incredibly effective. They went from place to place praying and conversing with whoever would listen. They had humble hearts, but also had the confidence that comes from the guiding hand of the Spirit. Paul’s greatest example in evangelism is his simple willingness to listen to the call of God. His heart was determined not only to serve, but to serve in any way required by God. He also founded his ministry upon a simple yet powerful foundation. “Paul stakes his life upon the truth of what he says about the death and resurrection of Jesus.” (Water 716)

Many of us modern day Christians need to learn this lesson. Our theologians are just as content to fight about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, as to spread the Gospel. The Author must confess that he too has been wooed by the prospect of debating endlessly upon subjects that simply don’t matter. We are left to wonder what kind of impact we could have if we all had the attitude of early Christians. The Bible describes those filled with the spirit as blown by the wind. No one knows where they are going or where they came from. Such men are the agents of our Sovereign God. We should strive to be as they are, trusting in the wisdom of our God. God has planned all things from the end to the beginning to the smallest detail. When are we going to wake up and realize that the watchmaker knows the watch better than we do?

The Author is reminded of a story he heard long ago from his Scoutmaster. There was this naval captain that had worked his way up from the ranks. He was revered by all for his skill in warfare and in management. Every day he had a routine. He would walk to the front of the ship and pull from his pocket his journal. He would read something from it and place it back in his pocket. Soon, people began to wonder what was written in the book. His subordinates noticed that he locked the book up in his cabin every night. As time passed, the crew became even more curious. Until one day, the captain passed away. It was not long before someone remembered the book in the captain’s cabin. The second in command broke the lock on the captain’s chest and eagerly rifled through its contents. He found the book and quickly searched through it. Page after page he looked at was blank. So, he went to the beginning and found a single entry: Port left. Starboard right. It was not fancy tactics or detailed methods that made the captain great; it was his foundation in the simple truth.

It does not matter if we know Greek or Hebrew or how many degrees we have. What makes us powerful tools for God, is our faith in the basic principles of Christianity and his touch in our life. Flowery speech and expensive education do not make someone an evangelist. A heart on fire for God, and for those in darkness goes much farther than simply having knowledge. So, you are left with the words of Irenaeus. “Not a single thing that has been made, or will be made, escapes the knowledge of God. Rather, through His providence, every single thing has obtained its nature, rank, number, and special quantity. Nothing whatever has been produced (or is produced) in vain or by accident. Instead, everything has been made with precise suitability and through the exercise of transcendent knowledge.” (Bercot 628)