|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TWO
MACEDONIAN WOMEN (Ac 16:11-18)
04/12/15 Grace Bible Church,
Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert I. PAUL IS CALLED TO PHILIPPI (11-12) A. [10] Paul, having been given a vision by
the Holy Spirit, understood that God was calling them to preach the gospel in
Macedonia. Luke had joined Paul’s missionary team indicated by the first use
of the pronoun “we” in Acts. B. Macedonia lies to the north of Greece and
became a Roman province by NT times. C. [11] From Troas, they crossed the Aegean
Sea to Samothrace, an island found midway on their trip. They spent the night
before sailing to Neapolis the next day. D. [12] Apparently not stopping to preach at
Neapolis, they proceeded to Philippi, approximately ten miles northwest of
Neapolis. Luke includes the information that Philippi was a “leading city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman
colony.” They stayed there for several days. E. Philippi was formerly called Krinides,
meaning “fountains,” because of its thermal waters. Today it has been renamed
Krinides and is popular for its therapeutic Grecian mud baths. It was named
Philippi after Philip II who secured the land in approximately 359 BC. The location
was favorable to the neighboring gold mines as well as the strategic passage
between Amphipolis and Neapolis. The Romans took possession of Philippi in
168 BC and it became a Roman colony in 42 BC. Under the reorganization of
Emperor Augustus, Philippi was established as a “miniature Rome” in 30 BC.
The colony consisted especially for veteran soldiers from the Praetorian
Guard. F. Paul’s second missionary journey, which
included his visit to Philippi took place in AD 50-53 (cf. Ac 16:9-40; 1Th
2:2). Paul wrote to the church at Philippi during his imprisonment in Rome in
AD 60-62. II. LYDIA’S HEART IS OPENED (13-15) A. [13] On the Sabbath day, the missionaries
went outside the city to the river where they expected there to be a “place
of prayer” (proseuchē - prayer or a place of prayer) and worship.
Obviously, there were no synagogues in Philippi, or at least active
synagogues. One of the reasons for this could have been that in AD 49,
Emperor Claudius expelled Jews from Rome for religious disturbance. It could
be that Philippi, the “miniature Rome,” was following Rome’s Jewish
intolerance. Yet it seems that at least Gentile proselytes were permitted to
worship outside the city by the river. B. A group of women was assembled and Paul
was welcomed to speak to them, which means he shared the gospel. C. [14] A woman named Lydia was present, a
Gentile from Thyatira. Thyatira was in Asia, approx. 100 miles southeast of
Troas. Thyatira was a thriving entrepreneurial district consisting of
numerous guilds, coppersmiths and fabric dyers among the most prominent. Many
of the dyers applied purple dye to fabrics. This purple dye came from
shellfish or an herb called madder-root. The purple fabrics were exquisite,
expensive, and often reserved for the status quo. Most likely, Lydia was
wealthy by being a “seller” of this purple cloth and by the fact that she
owned her own house. D. She was a Gentile “worshipper of God”
though probably not a full proselyte. She was listening to the gospel and the
Scripture says that the “Lord opened her heart” (cf. Lk 24:45). E. This is an interesting phrase used by Luke
that revealed the early church’s view on the sovereignty of God in salvation.
This expression should not be reduced to a cliché that she merely believed.
Rather we see the sovereign work of the Lord in the hearts of people to bring
them to Christ. Paul’s salvation was sovereignly wrought by the appearance of
Christ (Ac 9:1ff) similar to James, the brother of Jesus (1Co 15:7). In fact,
those among the Gentiles who were saved were “appointed to eternal life” (Ac
13:48). So, in keeping with this view Luke records that the Lord opened
Lydia’s heart to “respond” (prosechō - often “pay attention,” but in
this context “respond” is preferred cf. NET note) to Paul’s gospel message. F. [15] It is apparent that the Lord opened
not only Lydia’s heart but also all the hearts of those present. Other
members of Lydia’s household were present and were converted. We know this
because they were baptized. The baptism did not save them, but gave
indication that they were already saved and now willing to obey the Lord’s
command to be identified with Him through baptism. G. We might also include her invitation to
the apostles to stay at her house as another evidence of salvation. She may
have been hospitable to many others before Paul, but it is doubtful that she
would have opened her home to those with a false message. In addition, she
was more concerned that Paul judged her to be a believer (“faithful to the
Lord”). III. DEMON-POSSESSED SLAVE GIRL (16-18) A. [16] Being in Philippi for “some days,”
they continued going to the place of prayer. On one occasion, their path
crossed a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination. The Greek word for
“divination” is puthōn from which we get our English word,
“python,” the large nonvenomous snake. The connection goes back to Greek
mythology that held that “Python” was a snake-like dragon that guarded the
temple and oracle (a shrine where a deity reveals hidden knowledge) of Apollo
at Delphi, Greece. The Greek god Apollo eventually killed Python. Later,
those who were demon-possessed were said to be individuals through whom the
spirit of Python spoke. This slave-girl then, was a person through whom the
spirit of Python spoke for the god Apollo. B. In particular, the slave-girl would
supposedly tell the future (manteuomai - to foresee the future) for
her masters. She must have been fairly accurate because they had gained much
profit through her predictions. C. Though she was indeed possessed by a
demon, that demon (or any other demon, including Satan) was not omniscient
like God, knowing the future (cf. 1Pe 1:12; Ep 3:10). However, demons have
great knowledge and are deceptively crafty. But Scripture teaches that only a
true prophet from God could be 100% accurate (Dt 18:20-22). D. [17] She continued to follow Paul closely
while crying out, “These men are
bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of
salvation.” It is interesting to note that the
demon recognized Paul similar to the demons recognizing Jesus in Lk 8:28. So
demons are acutely aware of authority in the spiritual realm. E. True as this demonic announcement was, it
was intended to be an annoyance and a distraction to the preaching of the
gospel. This illustrates that a strategy of Satan is to be an angel of light
that casts darkness on the gospel (2Co 11:14-15). F. [18] This continued for many days and
caused Paul to become greatly vexed (“annoyed” - diaponeomai - disturbed
and worn out by provocative activity). Having been proviked, Paul cast
out the demon from the slave-girl. G. The reason that Paul was able to have
power over demons was a sign of his apostleship (Mk 3:14-15; 2Co 12:12). This
was not recorded as an example to be followed by the church as illustrated by
the lack of ability in any other than apostles (cf. Ac 19:13-15). H. The use of the “name of Jesus Christ” was
not a formula to cast out the demon, but shows the basis of authority and the
sphere to those whom this authority was given. I. Furthermore, on the basis of Jesus’
authority, the demon was expelled “at once” (tē hora - at that very
time). IV. OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS A. Spiritual guidance produces spiritual
success. The missionaries followed the guidance of the Holy Spirit via a
vision. Today, believers are guided by the Holy Spirit through the Scriptures,
prayer, and the providential hand of God. When believers comply, spiritual
success follows. B. Salvation is of the Lord. All who
come to Christ do so only because the Lord opens their heart and gives them
the faith to believe. All men are spiritually dead and therefore their hearts
are closed. If men’s hearts are naturally closed, then men will not naturally
open it (Ep 2:1-3). The Lord must open it (Ep 2:4-8). C. With spiritual success comes spiritual
warfare. While the Spirit directs and produces spiritual success, Satan
is engaged in spiritual warfare to counter the God. The believer should
rejoice in the in spiritual success while at the same time stand firm against
the wiles of the Devil (Ep 6:10-13). D. Spiritual warfare should be thought of
in biblical terms. When speaking of spiritual warfare, the Scriptures do
not justify the present day Spiritual Warfare Movement but refutes it.
Scripture does not teach investigating, binding, and rebuking the Devil (Jam
4:7; Jude 1:9). E. A liberated woman is a woman freed in
Christ. |
|
|
|
|
Grace Bible Church · 4000 E. Collins Rd · PO Box #3762 · Gillette, WY · (307) 686-1516 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
