Learning from a Small Church : The Church at Philippi
This and other studies are available in my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@dr.madanakumarphd2193
I have a fascination for studying small churches. It may be because in His mercy, God has always protected me from being a member of large mega churches. It is this fascination for small churches that led me to the study of Thessalonians a few months back. I was thoroughly encouraged by that study, and hence when an opportunity was given this time to come back to the pulpit, I was drawn to another small church, the church at Philippi.
The church at Philippi was not and never became a big church. A study of early church history will reveal that the from among the churches that the original apostles established, a few became big. These included the Church of Jerusalem, the Church of Rome, Antioch, Ephesus, Alexandra and Corinth. The Thessalonian church (the one we studied in our last series) did not become big, but it sustained itself for several centuries. In contrast, the church at Philippi was neither big, nor did it last long. Historical evidences point to a moderate church size at Philippi. Philippi, as a city itself did not thrive for too long. By the 6th century AD, the decline of Philippi had started due to earthquakes, invasions and economic changes. By the 14th century the city itself was completely abandoned. It became an archaeological site and we hear about Philippi only in 2016, when UNESCO declared it a world heritage site.
Not withstanding the relatively small size of the congregation and the short tenure of the congregation, the church at Philippi achieved great significance and the letter to that Church is a lesson in many things . There are quite a few gems in the letter to Philippians, that we often use in our exhortations. Among other things the Philippian Church teaches us the following
1. Rejoice in the Lord Always: I am sure all of us all familiar with the verse Philippians 4:4. The Joy in Christ rings out in several parts of the letter. A quick word count will indicate that the term rejoice or joy or glad is repeated about 16 times in this letter highlighting the centrality of Joy in Christ.
2. Unity of believers: Several passages highlight the need for unity among believers , examples are Stand firm in one spirit (Phil 1:27), same mind, same love, full accord, one mid (Phil 2:2), don’t be selfish, look after the interest of the others (Phil 2:3-4)
3. Humility and Service: Paul exhorts us to follow the divine example of Jesus Christ in Phil 2:5-8. Then he provides human examples of Timothy (Phil 2:19-22), and that of Epaphroditus (Phil 2:25-30) to drive home his point
4. Attitude of Gratitude : Paul expresses gratitude to the Philippian congregation in Phil 1:3-5, Phil 1:7-8 , Phil 4:10 and Phil 4:18. But the central verse is what we are most familiar with Phil 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
5. Perseverance and Faith: The call to persevere and strengthen our faith is loud and clear in this letter. In Philippians 1:6, Paul affirms his confidence in God's work. In Philippians 1:27-30, he exhorts us to persevere in the face of opposition. In Philippians 2:12-13, he encourages us to work out our faith with perseverance. In Philippians 3:12-14, he urges us to press on toward the Goal. In Philippians 4:1, he challenges us to standing firm in the Lord. In Philippians 4:11-13, Paul uses his own example to demonstrate how we can derive contentment and strength in all circumstances
6. Generosity: Paul commends the Philippian church for their generosity. The Philippian church supported Paul’s ministry financially and otherwise significantly. In Philippians 1:3-5, Paul Thanks them for their partnership. In Philippians 2:25-30, he specifically calls out the excellent service provided through Epaphroditus. In Philippians 4:10, he expresses his joy in their renewed concern. In Philippians 4:14-18, he acknowledges their Generosity and financial support. In Philippians 4:19, Paul assures them of God’s provision in response to their generosity.
These topics in themselves could be a series of lessons on Philippians. But today, I am not going to go deep into those topics. Today what the Lord has laid upon my heart is to examine how such a small church , a church which did not last long in the history, could make such a significant contribution to spreading the gospel. To understand this, we need to dig deeper into the circumstances under which this church was established. Keep your Bibles open to Acts 16 for this study.
The Philippian church was established by Paul in his second missionary journey, probably around AD 50. As we discussed in our earlier study of Thessalonians, Paul’s arrival at Philippi was a result of the Macedonian call he had (Acts 16:6-12). As seen earlier, Paul and team were all set to go to Asia to preach the Gospel, but the Holy Spirit prevented them from going to Asia. We do not know the exact reasons why God thought that Paul was needed in Macedonia than in Asia. I have an interesting theory about this. Philippi was a Roman colony. Even though the population consisted of a mix of Romans, Greeks, natives, slaves and a handful of Jews, because of is status as a Roman colony, Roman religion and Roman culture were dominant. And because of the generally oppressive nature of Roman empire towards others and especially towards Jews, the jews had a natural enmity to Romans. It would be only fair to assume that Jews hated Romans more than any other Gentile groups. The audience in Asia would probably been easier to handle because they did not have a history or baggage between them. But God does not want us to choose the easy path. So, God asks Paul to drop his Asia plans and go the place where the enemy lives. Jesus did ask us to love our enemies.
Anyways, whatever is the reason, Paul and team is redirected to Macedonia and the first city in Macedonia that they come to is Philippi. Even though their arrival at Philippi was in response to a divine invitation, there was no welcoming party waiting there for Paul and team. They arrived without any fanfare. They had to make their own arrangement to stay till they found Lydia later on. Acts 16:12 says that they stayed in the City for some days. This is first point I would like us to note . Imagine if we were going somewhere after a proper invitation, and we find on arrival hat there is no one to welcome us or receive us. How will we feel? This is where Paul's call for perseverance becomes relevant. Paul persevered in spite of the cold welcome he received there, because he was focused on the ultimate aim of preaching the gospel to those who have not heard it so far.
Those of us who have studied Paul’s missionary journeys will know that wherever Paul goes, he starts his preaching work in synagogues. But in Philippi, there is no mention of a synagogue. Philippi was predominantly a Roman colony. The Jewish population was very small. Jewish customs required a minimum of 10 men to set up a synagogue. So it is safe to assume that Philippi’s Jewish population was less than 10 families. That is why those who wanted to pray had to assemble by the river side to offer prayers. Paul and team start their first preaching at this “congregation” of women who gather near a river to pray. This is the second key aspect of Philippian church tat I want to highlight. The founders of the church namely Paul and team were not complaining about what they did not have. They were angry with the small number of people. They were not discouraged by that fact that the group they had were all women. Instead they focused on what they had. This is the contentment that Paul spoke about in his letter to them (Phil 4:11-13). Paul decided that instead of complaining about what he did not have, he will see what he can do with what he had.
In Acts 16:14-15, we see the first conversion at Philippi. It was not a mass conversion. It was just one person, one woman by the name of Lydia, a business woman, from a far away city of Thyatira, a woman who worshipped the God of the jews, but was not a jew. The jews called people like Lydia , “proselytes”. They were not fully accepted into Judaism, but were worshippers of YHWH. Lydia heard the message, believed in Jesus Christ and invited the team to start staying (and meeting at her house). That is how the church in Philippi was founded. What can we learn from here? We don’t need a village to start a church, we need just one person, whose heart is opened to the gospel. We don’t need a building to start a church. An open home is a great place for starting a church.
We do not know how many conversions took place in Philippi after Lydia’s conversion. But the story of the next big conversion is that of the Philippian jailer, explained in Acts 16:25 -34. Unlike Lydia, the jailer was most probably a Roman. The conversion of a Roman is more difficult because of many theological and cultural issues. But the Lord is able to bring about this conversion through a series of events. The beginning of this conversion story is a scene where Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns. In short they were rejoicing. This acti of rejoicing in the Lord ultimately leads to the conversion of the Philippian jailer and his family. Now, when we hear about Paul and Silas praying we might not give it much importance. Jews were known for their praying and singing hymns. So what is different in this event? To know that we need to understand the events that took place before the jailers conversion.
Please follow with me as I read from Acts 16: 16-25.
Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour. Seeing this the masters of the girl were very pleased and profusely thanked Paul and Silas. They showered them with costly gifts. They carried Paul and Silas on their shoulders, they arranged an air-conditioned carriage to take them to the nearest five star hotel. Paul and Silas had a great and satisfying meal at the hotel, and then retired to their cozy rooms where they sank into the soft and fluffy beds and were relaxed. Then they started rejoicing and praying and singing hymns”
Oh… am I doing something wrong? Am I reading from the wrong book? You are looking at me differently? Your Bible dies not say so? Your Bible says differently? May be I am reading from the “Prosperity Bible”.
But you get the point. When you read the actual bible, you will realise that Paul and Silas were not rejoicing because everything was great and they were comfortable and well. They were rejoicing at midnight, in a prison where they were lodged after severe beating with rods. They were lodged in the inner prison, dirty, cold, and isolated. They were imprisoned with stokes on their feet. In case you do not know what stokes are, let me explain. Stokes are wooden devises with holes to put your feet in. The stokes are expected to curtal your movements, and also to humiliate you. It causes the wearer into an uncomfortable and painful position. It causes cramps and extreme physical torment. This was the situation of Paul and Silas. In short they had every reason to feel miserable. But the Bible says that they chose to pray and sing hymns in this condition.
So when Paul says Rejoice in the Lord always (Philippians 4:4), he is speaking from his experience. This should teach us something. The church at Philippi was founded on the principle of rejoicing in the Lord despite one’s sufferings.
Going back to the question we started . What made this small and short tenured church so significant in spreading the gospel? The answer is in the founding principles of the church. We have seen three specific foundations of this small church
1. Perseverance in the face of discouraging circumstances.
2. Focusing on what can we do with what we have, rather than complaining about what we do not have.
3. Rejoicing in the Lord always, no matter what your circumstances are.
May the Lord guide us through the coming days, as we continue to seek His will for this small congregation and our lives.
Let us pray.
