Pastor's Sermon Notes: From Phrygia to Philippi - The Sovereignty of God in Action (Acts 16:6-15)

From Phrygia to Philippi, or

~ From the National to the Personal ~

~ From Closed Doors to Opened Hearts ~

The Sovereignty of God in Action

Acts 16:6-15

⁶ Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, ⁷ After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. ⁸ And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. ⁹ And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. ¹⁰ And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them. ¹¹ Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis; ¹² And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony: and we were in that city abiding certain days. ¹³ And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. ¹⁴ And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. ¹⁵ And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.

Introduction:

The focus of Scripture does not just move across the timeline of history, it moves in very specific and discernable patterns such as from one individual to the cosmic, then back to another individual, and on to a nation, etc. Over and over again certain eras and days, nations and persons are focused on with a narrative expansion and contraction as if the shift were back and forth from a telescope to a microscope. This movement from the macro to the micro, from the national to the personal is found in a compressed expression in the verses we are to consider this day, as we pick up “The Trail of the Spirit” once again on Paul’s Second Missionary Journey. Perhaps if we imagine that we are following this journey using Google Maps with its zoom feature and “Street View” function it would give us an idea of what we are confronted with here.

Outline:

I. The Redirection of the Mission (16:6-10)

II. The First Sabbath in Macedonia (16:11-13)

III. The Conversion of Lydia (16:14-15)

Transition:  “The whole account is related at breathtaking speed, to convey some impression of the irresistible sweep of events that took Paul to Macedonia.” [1]

I. The Redirection of the Mission (16:6-10)

          - Subtitle 1: From Phrygia to Philippi

⁶ Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, ⁷ After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. ⁸ And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. ⁹ And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. ¹⁰ And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.

1. The Forbidden Attempt for Plan A in Asia (16:6)

2. The Blocked Detour for Plan B in Bithynia (16:7)

3. The Envisioned Call for Plan C in Macedonia (16:8-10)

The place names to be mapped out in this part of the 2nd journey:

1)      Phrygia

2)      the region of Galatia

3)      Asia

4)      Mysia

5)      Bithynia

6)      Troas

7)      Macedonia

The significant verbs expressing what did and did not happen in this part of the 2nd journey:

1)      forbidden (Holy Spirit)

2)      assayed

3)      suffered not (Spirit) [2]

4)      endeavoured

5)      gathering

6)      called (Lord)

1. The Forbidden Attempt for Plan A in Asia (16:6)

Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,

Does this mean that the people in Asia where the team wanted to minister would not hear the Gospel? No! The seven churches addressed in Christ’s letters in Revelation 2-3 were planted there in the interim, undoubtedly involving the ministry of the Apostle John.

2. The Blocked Detour for Plan B in Bithynia (16:7)

After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.

Again, does this mean that Bithynia would be devoid of the Gospel, as if God had something against them in no allowing the team to have success in this attempt? No! Peter mentions believers being at Bithynia in 1 Pet. 1:1.  Also, two of the places that the members of the team  might have had in mind as centers of ministry were Nicea and Chalcedon. Both of these will figure prominently in the centuries following as centers for dealing with heresies and composing creedal affirmations in the face of false teaching (Nicea in 325, and Chalcedon in 451). [3]

2 Pet. 1:1-2 - 1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

the Spirit - there is a textual issue here, and many texts and modern translations that follow the eclectic approach to textual criticism read here “the Spirit of Jesus” [4]. The Byzantine and Majority texts do not include the word for “Jesus”.

3. The Envisioned Call for Plan C in Macedonia (16:8-10)

⁸ And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. ⁹ And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. ¹⁰ And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.

1) The Place of the Vision - Troas is a port city on the Aegean Sea.

2) The Plea in the Vision - “Come over into Macedonia, and help us.”[5]

3) The Plan from the Vision - attempt to go to Macedonia based on the firm assurance of the Lord’s call to preach to the people there

we - 16:10-17; 20:5-21:18; and 27:1-28:16 [6]

II. The First Sabbath in Macedonia (16:11-13)

          - Subtitle 2: From the National to the Personal

 ¹¹ Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis; ¹² And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony: and we were in that city abiding certain days. ¹³ And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.

1. The remaining legs of this portion of the 2nd journey to Philippi (16:11-12)

2. The first meeting in Philippi (16:13)

1. The remaining legs of this portion of the 2nd journey to Philippi (16:11-12)

1)      Troas to Samothracia - They overnight on an island in the Aegean Sea (69 sq. mi., 11 mi. long, incl. a mt. over 12 mi. high, but no natural harbor)

2)      Samothracia to Neapolis - This is a Macedonian port city

3)      Neapolis to Philippi - Scrolling the mouse and rolling the zoom in on the map we now focus on one particular city

2. The first meeting in Philippi (16:13)

If you were using Google Maps to follow this journey you would now be accessing “Street View”! This place was named for Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great.

1)      on the sabbath - Finding rest for their souls in the true “Sabbath”, the Lord of the Sabbath

2)      outside of the city

3)      on the side of a river

4)      where corporate prayer was conducted

5)      women gathered there

            Why were they meeting outside of the city on a river side?

            Why no synagogue?

            Why women?

III. The Conversion of Lydia (16:14-15)

          - Subtitle 3: From Closed Doors to Opened Hearts

 ¹⁴ And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. ¹⁵ And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.

1. The Identification of Lydia (16:14a-b)

2. The Response of Lydia (16:14c-15b)

3. The Hospitality of Lydia (16:15c-g)

1. The Identification of Lydia (16:14a-b)

a seller of purple - a businesswoman

of the city of Thyatira - houses and business interests in both Thyatira and Philippi?

which worshipped God - Was Lydia an Old Testament saint like Cornelius and others?

2. The Response of Lydia (16:14c-15b)

opened - an opened heart is the opposite of a closed heart

cp. Lk. 1:66; Acts 5:31; 11:18, 21; 13:48; and 14:27.

Also, cp. Lk. 24:45; 2 Cor. 4:4; and 1 Th. 1:5-6. Also, Eph. 6:17; Tit. 3:5.

Minds are closed, eyes are blind, ears are deaf, and hearts are hardened until the Spirit of God heals, illumines and softens. We are utterly dependent upon God to deliver us from the devastating effects of the Fall, and the debilitating consequences of sin. It is folly to assume or imagine otherwise. The boast of the believer is, “Behold, what wondrous works my God has wrought!” [7]

attended - An open heart does not just pay attention and receive the things of God, but welcomes them!

Rom. 10:17 - So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

3. The Hospitality of Lydia (16:15c-g)

Might this verse be in the minds of Paul, Silas, and Timothy?

Gen. 24:27 - And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren.

Conclusion:

Remember that the focus of Scripture does not just move across the timeline of history, it moves in very specific and discernable patterns such as from one individual to the cosmic, then on to another individual, and then to a nation, etc. Over and over again certain eras and days, nations and persons are focused on with a narrative expansion and contraction as if the shift were back and forth from a telescope to a microscope. This movement from the macro to the micro, from the national to the personal is found in a compressed expression in the verses we considered today, and “The Trail of the Spirit” was once again evident in Paul’s Second Missionary Journey as it is in our lives. If we grasp the significance of what happened here, as elsewhere in the Biblical history we can keep ourselves and our times in perspective.

God must be viewed just as much the “Sovereign of the Nations” as the “Sovereign of the Human Heart”! He is the opener and the closer of the many and the one, the corporate entities and the individual.

I. The Redirection of the Mission (16:6-10)

1. The Forbidden Attempt for Plan A in Asia (16:6)

2. The Blocked Detour for Plan B in Bithynia (16:7)

3. The Envisioned Call for Plan C in Macedonia (16:8-10)

II. The First Sabbath in Macedonia (16:11-13)

1. The remaining legs of this portion of the 2nd journey to Philippi (16:11-12)

2. The first meeting in Philippi (16:13)

III. The Conversion of Lydia (16:14-15)

1. The Identification of Lydia (16:14a-b)

2. The Response of Lydia (16:14c-15b)

3. The Hospitality of Lydia (16:15c-g)

[Sermon preached 27 JUL 2014 by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.]

Resources on Acts:

G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson, eds., Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007), pp. 513-606.

Paul Barnett, The Birth of Christianity: The First Twenty Years, After Jesus, Vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2005).

Darrell L. Bock, Acts, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, eds. Robert W. Yarbrough and Robert H. Stein (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007).

                                                  

F. F. Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text with Introduction and Commentary, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1951, 1952).

I. Howard Marshall, Acts: An Introduction And Commentary, Vol. 5 in Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, gen. ed. Leon Morris (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1980; 2008 reprint).

David G. Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles, The Pillar New Testament Commentaries, gen. ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009).

John B. Polhill, Acts, Vol. 26 in The New American Commentary, gen. ed. David S. Dockery (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, Publishers, 1992).

Eckhard J. Schnabel, Acts, Vol. 5 in the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, gen. ed. Clinton E. Arnold (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012).

William H. Willimon, Acts, in Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, series ed. James Luther Mays, New Testament ed. Paul J. Achtemeier (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010).

Resources on Paul:

Kenneth E. Bailey, Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes: Cultural Studies in 1 Corinthians  (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2011).

F. F. Bruce, Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1977).

D. A. Carson, The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), pp. 496-501.

W. J. Conybeare and J. S. Howson, The Life, Times and Travels of St. Paul, 2 vols. in 1, unabridged American ed. (New York: E. B. Treat U Co., 1869); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=Bn1CAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 12 FEB 2013].

Adolf Deissmann, Paul: A Study in Social and Religious History, 2nd ed., trans. William E. Wilson (New York: Harper Torchbooks, n.d.).

F. W. Farrar, The Life and Work of St. Paul (New York: E. P. Dutton and Co., 1889); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=RB2KeCSM6KsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 12 FEB 2013].

Bruce N. Fisk, “Paul: Life and Letters”, in The Face of New Testament Studies: A Survey of Recent Research, ed. Scot McKnight and Grant R. Osborne (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004), pp. 283-325.

Richard B.Gaffin, Jr., "Acts and Paul", 46 lectures (MP3 format), WTS Resources Media Center on Westminster Theological Seminary at http://wts.edu/resources/media.html?paramType=audio&filterTopic=5&filterSpeaker=10&filterYear=2005 [accessed 20 MAR 2013].

Frank J. Goodwin, A Harmony of the Life of the St. Paul According to the Acts of the Apostles and the Pauline Epistles (New York: American Tract Society, 1895); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=YgpEAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 12 FEB 2013].

Richard N. Longenecker, The Ministry And Message Of Paul (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1971).

Richard N. Longenecker, Paul, Apostle Of Liberty (New York: Harper & Row, 1964).

Richard N. Longenecker, ed., The Road From Damascus : The Impact Of Paul's Conversion On His Life, Thought, And Ministry (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997).

Richard N. Longenecker, Studies In Paul, Exegetical And Theological (Sheffield : Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2004).

J. Gresham Machen, The Origin of Paul's Religion: The James Sprunt Lectures Delivered at Union Theological Seminary in Virginia (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1925).

Leon Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1955).

John Pollock, The Apostle: A Life of Paul, 3rd ed. (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 1969, 2012); also published as The Man Who Shook the World (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1972; originally The Apostle: A Life of Paul, New York: Doubleday, 1969).

Stanley E. Porter, Paul in Acts, in Library of Pauline Studies, gen. ed. Stanley E. Porter (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1999; 2001 reprint of The Paul of Acts: Essays in Literary Criticism, Rhetoric and Theology, in Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 115, by Mohr Siebeck, Tubingen).

W. M. Ramsay, The Cities of St. Paul: Their Influence on his Life and Thought (New York: A. C. Armstrong and Son; London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1908); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=JryEbmKool0C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 13 FEB 2013].

W. M. Ramsay, Pauline and Other Studies in Early Christian History (New York: A. C. Armstrong and Son, 1906); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=-1ZJAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 13 FEB 2013].

W. M. Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveler and the Roman Citizen, 10th ed. (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1907); on Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/ramsay/paul_roman.html [accessed 13 FEB 2013].

W. M. Ramsay, The Teaching of Paul in terms of The Present Day: The Deems Lectures in New York University (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1914); on Internet Archive at http://ia600404.us.archive.org/2/items/teachingofpaulin00rams/teachingofpaulin00rams.pdf [accessed 13 FEB 2013].

A. T. Robertson, Epochs in the Life of Paul: A Study of Development in Paul's Character (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1974).

Eckhard J. Schnabel, Paul The Missionary: Realities, Strategies And Methods (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008).

Udo Schnelle, Apostle Paul: His Life and Theology, trans. M. Eugene Boring (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003; trans. from Paulus: Leben und Denken, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co., n.d.).

Thomas R. Schreiner, Paul, Apostle of God's Glory in Christ: A Pauline Theology (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2001).

James Stalker, The Life of St. Paul, (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1885; rev. ed. 2010 by Kessinger Publishing from 1912 ed.); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=vT0HAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 7 FEB 2013].

James Ironside Still, St. Paul on Trial (London: Student Christian Movement, 1923).

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[1] I. Howard Marshall, Acts: An Introduction And Commentary, Vol. 5 in Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, gen. ed. Leon Morris (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1980; 2008 reprint), pg. 277.

[2] Due to a textual issue involving a difference between the Byzantine/Majority text and the modern Critical/Eclectic texts most modern translations read “Spirit of Jesus” here.

[3] “Sometimes the Spirit guided messengers not to go into a certain area (16:6-7), showing again that the Spirit was steering the church in its mission.” Thomas R. Schreiner, The King In His Beauty: A Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013), pg. 490.

[4] “…the resurrected Christ’s sending of his Spirit on people, not only in Acts 2 but also in subsequent chapters, identifies them with the resurrected Jesus and thus as resurrected people. Thus, all the various functions later in Acts are functions of the Spirit of the resurrected Jesus.” G. K. Beale, A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011), pg. 577. Beale then cites Eduard Schweizer’s linkage of Lk. 12:12/21:15; Acts 10:14/19; 16:7 as demonstrating that “the Spirit becomes parallel to the Risen Lord…” on Lk. 24:49 and Acts 2:33. Ibid.,  note 63, citing Schweizer’s article on πνεῦμα in TDNT 6:405-6.

[5] John Owen took this verse as his text when he preached 29 APR 1646 before the House of Commons at the end of the first civil war following the defeat of Charles I: “Sermon I. A Vision of Unchangeable, Free Mercy, in Sending the Means of Grace to Undeserving Sinners.” in The Works of John Owen, ed. William H. Goold, 16 vols. (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, n.d.; 1976 reprint of ed. by Johnstone & Hunter, 1850-1853), 8:5-41; on Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/owen/sermons.ii.i.v.html [accessed 31 JUL 2014]. The information on the occasion for this first sermon of Owen’s before the House of Commons see ibid., pg. 2; on Christian Classics Ethereal Library at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/owen/sermons.ii.i.ii.html [accessed 31 JUL 2014].

[6] “Since the text states that “we got ready,” the first certain occurrence of the narrative first-person speech in Acts, the most likely assumption is that Luke joined the missionary party at this time.” Polhill, J. B. (1995). Vol. 26: Acts. The New American Commentary (346). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers. Polhill’s footnote 17 at this place: “For the significance of the “we” passages, see the discussion on authorship in the introduction. Recently V. K. Robbins has argued that the “we” is a literary device associated with sea narratives (“By Land and By Sea: The We-Passages and Ancient Sea Voyages,” Luke-Acts: New Perspectives from the SBL Seminar, ed. C. Talbert [New York: Crossroad, 1984]), 215–42. The difficulty with this is that the “we” extends into the narrative far beyond the voyage (cf. 16:17) and only occurs in three of the ten or twelve voyages in Acts. See G. Krodel, Acts, PC (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1981), 303.”

[7] “Luke emphasizes God’s sovereign purpose not only in the events of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, but also in the way in which people receive salvation through Jesus….Acts underscores the decision of God not only in Jesus’ redemptive work, but also in people’s reception of its benefits.” Dennis E. Johnson, The Message of Acts in the History of Redemption (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 1997), pg. 151.  See also James M.  Hamilton Jr.’s “Table 5.26. God’s Sovereignty in Salvation in Acts”, in God’s Glory In Salvation Through Judgment (Wheaton: Crossway, 2010), pg. 434.