Philippi

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=Introduction =

= = Philippi was the first site of Paul’s active extensive missionary journey in Europe, and Paul’s first time ministering to a purely Gentile region. The account of Philippi is found in 16:11-40. Paul later wrote an epistle to the church in Philippi that he founded.

=Exploring Philippi in the book of Acts =

The Second Missionary Journey
It was on the second missionary journey that Paul ministered in Philippi. Towards the beginning of the second missionary journey, Paul, Silas and Timothy settled in Troas, after ministering in Asia Minor and being urged by the Holy Spirit not to go to Asia (Acts 16:6-7). While in Troas, Paul received a call in a vision to go to Macedonia, so Paul and his companions set sail from Troas to Neapolis and from there voyaged to Philippi (Acts 16:9-12). During this time, Luke had also met up with Paul, Silas, and Timothy and they “remained in the city for some days” (Acts 16:12). It is here that Paul and his companions preaches the gospel message to the Gentiles in true Gentile territory and the beginning of the Philippian church is established through Lydia and her household, the slave girl, and the Philippian jailer.

Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi (Acts 16:11-15)
On the Sabbath day, Paul and his partners set outside of the city gate to the river in search of any Jews who might have been there to worship. The absence of a synagogue within Philippi displays how deeply Gentile this city was, and the lack of Jewish men may explain the lack of synagogue, as Paul and his companions only find women gathered at this place of prayer. It is here that they meet Lydia, who is described as “a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God” from the city of Thyatira (Acts 16:14). As Lydia was a “seller of purple goods,” she must have been relatively wealthy, as it was a luxury trade.[|[1]] Lydia as a “worshiper of God” also meant that she was in close connection to the Jewish faith, but she was not a proselyte. But her faith and association with the God of the Jewish faith prepared her for the gospel that was shared with her and “the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul” (Acts 16:14). This led to the conversion of her and her household, that not only broke the barrier against Gentiles, but also the fact that the Gospel was extended to and preached to women, which further displayed the fullness of the Gospel in the mission through Paul that is to extend to everyone, regardless of standing or gender. [|[2]]

Paul and Silas in Prison (Acts 16:16-40)
Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke continued to go to the place of prayer to minister to the women there, and it was there that they encountered “a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling” (Acts 16:16). Being possessed with this spirit, she kept shouting that these men were “servants of the Most High God,” announcing the Way of Salvation. She followed Paul and his company a number of times, crying out and making them the center of public attention, which caused Paul to become “deeply troubled,” and he commanded the spirit to depart from the girl. Soon after the girl’s owner saw that they could no longer profit from their slave through fortune-telling, and the crowds seized Paul and Silas and brought them to the magistrates, for advocating “customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice” (Acts 16:21). This may have been in reference to the Roman law forbidding Roman citizens to practice any foreign cult not permitted by the state, though there isn’t evidence that being a proselyte was forbidden.[|[3]] likely was that these men were using racial prejudice in order to prosecute Paul and Silas, as they distinctly noted that “these men are Jews.” Nonetheless, their harassment worked and the magistrates seized Paul and Silas, beating them and put into prison. While Paul and Silas were in prison, they continued to be a testimony of the Gospel by “praying and singing hymns” with the prisoners listening, when suddenly a strong earthquake that was purely sent from God, as it was so violent that it broke all the prisoner’s free. This escape was clearly to show the authority and power of the name behind the Gospel message that Paul and his companions proclaimed. This event happened late into the evening, as the Philippian jailer had awoken to the sight of the prison doors being open, and when he thought the prisoners had escaped he was going to take his life before he could be punished for allowing the prisoners to escape. Through this miraculous escape, however, Paul and Silas were able to testify to the Philippian jailer with the fear of the “Most High God” put into the jailer, and he and his household were saved. The account of Paul and Silas in prison closes with the Romans setting them free, as they may have seen this event as an omen. There was still the matter, however, that they were unlawfully beat without trial, which was illegal to do to a Roman Citizen. But Paul did not bring purely for his defense, but for the protection of the remaining believers, ensuring that they too would not be unlawfully persecuted.[|[4]] Thus, instead of secretly letting Paul and Silas go, they apologized to them when they found that Paul was a Roman citizen, and they “took them out and asked them to leave.” Paul and Silas then leave the city after visiting and encouraging “Lydia and the brothers” that clearly consisted of the household of Lydia, the Jailer, and the slave girl. =Background of Philippi =

Geographical Background
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Philippi was an urban political center located in N Greece in central Macedonia along the Egnatian Way, dominating its commercial life. It originally bore the Krenides (“spring”) because of the abundance of streams in the area and was also located between the Strymon and Nestos Rivers. Its strategic location made it a great political center as it sat on the eastern side of a large agricultural plain, making it well protected by its acropolis. It was also about eight hundred miles from Rome and angling south from Philippi, about ten miles from it, was the Aegean seaport Neapolis. More important to the Roman government was that it was near Mount Pangaion on the northern side of the plain, in which it was abundant in mineral deposits, including gold.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|[5]] Other resources were abundant in the area, including water supplies, timber, and other metals. A large feature of Philippi was a 750-foot-high rock click that overlooked Philippi and also held many art carvings and dedication carvings sculpted on it, depicting the religious cults that were popular in Philippi.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|[6]] According to Luke, Philippi was “the leading city of that district of Macedonia and a Roman Colony” (Acts 16:12).

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Historical and Cultural Background
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Philippi was originally known as Krenides, as a part of a Greek Colony under the leadership of the exiled Athenian leader Kallistrator (360-359 BC). Because of its value in the gold-mining industry, Philippi was taken from the Macedonians, and it was renamed Philippi, after Philip of Macedon. Philip of Macedon expanded the settlement and fortified it, and its value, importance and recognition grew with it. This led to Philippi being the chief city of the district after it was annexed by the Romans in the battle of Pydna (168 BC), and Macedonia was divided into four districts. Philippi continued to expand and gain more prominence after the famous battle of Philippi (47 BC) with Octavian and Antony going against Brutus and Cassius, where it officially became a Roman Colony,<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|[7]] and the battle of Actium against the forces of Antony and Cleopatra. It was after this battle that Philippi had received a notable title of “Italic right,” in which the town had been favored by Italian colonists. This means that the colonists “enjoyed the same rights and privileges as if their land were part of Italian soil.”<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|[8]] As their prominence and importance grew, the nature of the town’s civic pride also grew and marks the background of the culture in Philippi in the Acts 16. The importance of citizenship is also something that Paul alludes to and discusses in his epistle to the Philippians.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|[9]] When Paul had arrived in the city (Acts 16:15-11), Philippi was the main political center of the eastern end of the Macedonian district, consisting of a population of both Roman and Greek, <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|[10]] though the population of the city was largely Roman at this time.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|[11]]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Religious Background
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Philippi was a Gentile city in the Roman Colony of Macedonia and thus, did not have a large Jewish population. For this reason, Paul and his companions set outside of the city to find a place of prayer near the riverside, as this indicates that there wasn’t a Jewish synagogue present within the city for them to initially proclaim the message of the Gospel. The presence of women at this “place of prayer,” also indicates that there weren’t enough Jewish men in the area to have a Jewish synagogue, as a total of ten Jewish were required to build a synagogue.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|[12]] Though there were those present within Philippi that were “fearers of God,” Philippi was a deeply pagan city. Along the base of the acropolis were a number of sanctuaries in quarried rocks that were dedicated to Roman gods.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|[13]] The acropolis also holds a large number of rock-cut reliefs with a number of deities associated with the carvings. These large reliefs overlooked the city of Philippi and those who entered the city were immediately confronted with the religious symbolism of the area.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|[14]] =<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Paul’s Letter to the Philippians =

= = <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Tradition holds that Paul wrote the letter to the Philippians during his first Roman imprisonment in about 60-62 AD. One of the reasons for writing this epistle is that he wanted to thank the Philippians for a gift he received for his support (Philippians 4:10-20). He also wanted relieve their concerns of Epaphroditus, whom they had sent from the church to aid Paul, but almost died as a result of a prolonged sickness (Philippians 2:28). The book of Philippians was written to encourage those in the Philippian church to rejoice in the Lord and to urge the believers to remain unified (1:27-2:18) in developing the mind and humility of Christ. In keeping with this theme of unity, Paul wanted to warn the Philippian church against false teachers that threatened the church (3:2-21). Many of the themes in Philippians are influenced by the mission of Paul initially set out to them. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The account in Acts displays that Philippi began as a largely diverse Gentile church. It held all the demographics with women, men, slave, free, wealthy, middle class, poor and converts. For this reason, years after Paul’s initial ministry to the Philippians there were threats to the unity that lay amongst these diverse believers. Paul had definite concerns he wanted to express to the Philippian church, as Paul was to testify of the fulfillment of Jesus’ work through His death and resurrection. The work of Christ was to be their initial source of joy and reason to remain unified, as they were to be a living testimony of the fulfillment through Christ. This is the driving force in how Paul is able to rejoice in his imprisonment and suffering, because his suffering and work for Christ advances the gospel (Philippians 1:12, 3:8-11). Thus, in his letter to the Philippians he provides examples of humility through Timothy (Philippians 2:19-24), Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25-30), and most of all Christ (Philippians 2:1-10), for it is the humility of Christ that led him to take the form of a servant and humble himself in human form and ultimately, to be highly exalted by God and “bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:9-11). =<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Importance of Philippi =

= = <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The importance of Philippi lies in the fact that the Jews do not have any predominance in Philippi. Philippi is the first time that Paul crosses the Aegean Sea and breaks through into Gentile territory.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|[15]] Not only does Philippi serve as an anchor into the Gentile world, but also it demonstrates the making of a united humanity. The three conversions that are noted by Luke are of Lydia, the slave girl, and the jailer, encapsulating all those that the Jews held in contempt –women, slaves, and Gentiles. It had not only bridged land-masses, but it also bridged sexual, social, racial distinctions. So with Paul being urged by God to minister in Macedonia, and Philippi being the break through into the Gentile region, Paul was able to continue his mission westward to further unify Jews and Gentiles alike, regardless of race, gender, or status. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Work Cited <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">______________________________________________________ <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Bakirtzēs, Ch., and Helmut Koester. //Philippi at the Time of Paul and After His Death//. Eugene, Or.: Wift and Stock Publishers, 1998.

<span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Douglas, J. D., and N. Hillyer. //The Illustrated Bible dictionary//. Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1980.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Easton, M. G. //Illustrated Bible Dictionary//. Rev. ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1978.

<span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Fee, Gordon D.. //Philippians//. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1999.

<span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Freedman, David Noel. "Philippi." In //The Anchor Bible dictionary: Volume 5//. New York: Doubleday, 1992. 313-317.

<span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Gaebelein, Arno C.. //The Acts of the Apostles: An Exposition//. New York: Loizeaux Brothers, 1961.

<span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Gill, David W. J., and Conrad H. Gempf. //The Book of Acts in its Graeco-Roman Setting//. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1994. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Harrison, Everett Falconer. //The Apostolic Church//. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1985.

<span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Melick, Richard R.. "Philippians." In //Philippians, Colossians, Philemon//. Nashville, Tenn.: Broadman Press, 1991. 21-45.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Negenman, Jan H., and H. H. Rowley. //New Atlas of the Bible//. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1969.

<span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Phillips, Thomas E. //Paul, His Letters, and Acts//. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 2009.

<span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Reumann, John Henry Paul. //Philippians//. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Spencer, F. Scott, //Journeying Through Acts: a Literary-Cultural Reading//. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 2004.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Vos, Howard Frederic. //Nelson's New illustrated Bible Manners & Customs: How the People of the Bible Really Lived//. Nashville, Tenn.: T. Nelson Publishers, 1999.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Williams, David John. //Acts//. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1990.

<span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|[1]] <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">David John Williams. //Acts//. (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1990), 282. <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|[2]] <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">David John Williams. //Acts//. (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1990), 280. <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|[3]] <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">David John Williams. //Acts//. (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1990), 287. <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|[4]] <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Everett Falconer Harrison. //The Apostolic Church//. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1985), 185. <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|[5]] <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Gordon D. Fee. //Philippians//. (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 25. <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|[6]] <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Richard R. Melick. //Philippians, Colossians, Philemon//. (Nashville, Tenn.: Broadman Press, 1991), 23. <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|[7]] <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">David Noel Freedman. "Philippi." In //The Anchor Bible Dictionary: Volume 5//. (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 314. <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|[8]] <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">J. D. Douglas, and N. Hillyer. //The Illustrated Bible dictionary//. (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1980), 1215. <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|[9]] <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">J. D. Douglas, and N. Hillyer. //The Illustrated Bible dictionary//. (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1980), 1215. <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|[10]] <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Gordon D. Fee. //Philippians//. (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 27. <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|[11]] <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Everett Falconer Harrison. //The Apostolic Church//. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1985), 190. <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|[12]] <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">David John Williams. //Acts//. (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1990), 282. <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|[13]] <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">David Noel Freedman. "Philippi." In //The Anchor Bible Dictionary: Volume 5//. (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 316. <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|[14]] <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Richard R. Melick. //Philippians, Colossians, Philemon//. (Nashville, Tenn.: Broadman Press, 1991), 23. <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|[15]] <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">David John Williams. //Acts//. (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1990), 280.

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