Philippians
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The church
The church
Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
The church in Philippi is very unique. It is the only church written to in to the NT that isn’t being corrected for something. In fact, they are continually commended for their love, faithfulness and obedience.
Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.
I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.
I want you guys to catch this, Paul is comparing his love for this church body to Jesus love and compassion for people. Think about that for a minute. Jesus love and compassion drove Him to become human and drove Him to a humiliating, painful death on the cross. That’s a very intense, powerful love. This church must be pretty amazing, right? So let’s see how this church started.....
On the Sabbath we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank, where we thought people would be meeting for prayer, and we sat down to speak with some women who had gathered there. One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth, who worshiped God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying. She and her household were baptized, and she asked us to be her guests. “If you agree that I am a true believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my home.” And she urged us until we agreed.
Lydia was a fashionista from Asia. She had multiple homes in metropolitan areas. Think homes in NY, London, Mulan, Paris, LA. She was very wealthy and also very intelligent. Lydia was a God fearer which means that she had rejected the Gucci god and his gang for the one true God. Because she was intelligent Paul appealed to her reason to show her Jesus is the Messiah.
One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth, who worshiped God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying. She and her household were baptized, and she asked us to be her guests. “If you agree that I am a true believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my home.” And she urged us until we agreed.
One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. She earned a lot of money for her masters by telling fortunes. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.”
This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly it left her.
Her masters’ hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace.
The possessed slave girl was the complete opposite of Lydia. She was greek, not asian. She was poor, not rich. She was exploited and powerless, not influential. She was manic, not self controlled. This girl didn’t need a conference or an intellectual discussion. She didn’t need reason. This girl needed the power only God has. Paul eventually gets so frustrated with her that he turns around, casts out the demon, and she becomes a follower of Jesus. She need to experience God’s power. This caused problems for Paul though...
“The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews!” they shouted to the city officials. “They are teaching customs that are illegal for us Romans to practice.”
A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.
Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!”
The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.
The next morning the city officials sent the police to tell the jailer, “Let those men go!”
The jailer was a working class dude. He was ex-military, so he was completely loyal and faithful to Rome. In fact, when he was given these prisoners he was told to keep them safely. Instead, the jailer throws them in stocks. Stocks meant that their bodies were twisted and contorted them locked into place in chains. This caused their bodies to cramp and convulse. But Paul and Silas and Luke are so frustrating. They started singing in prison. The night of the earthquake they could have escaped, but they didn’t. This is because if they had, the jailer would have died or killed himself. instead, the jailer sees God’s mercy, compassion and grace through Paul and Silas. This led to the jailer and his whole household being saved.
What does this all mean for us? So many times we try to make church or youth in our image. We try to only include the people that fit a specific idea or image we have in our head. Or a certain criteria we have made up. But God doesn’t care about all the cultural walls or barriers we try to put up. These people couldn’t have been more different. That’s is what make the church beautiful. All God cares about is your willingness to sacrifice all follow Him.