Paul's Love Letter from Prison
A Study of Philippians - 1 Foundations
In this series we will be considering the Apostle Paul's letter to the Philippians. I've called these talks, "Paul's love letter from prison". I've used this title because, as we shall discover, Paul dearly loved the Christians at Philippi.
The city of Philippi was in what is today modern Greece, but in Paul's day was East Macedonia. It took its name from King Philip, the father of Alexander the Great. Its chief interest for those interested in studying the Bible is that it was the first place in Europe to be reached by the good news - the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The very interesting account of this is found in the book of the Acts and chapter 16. It will be helpful if you have a Bible to have it open at Acts chapter 16.
Twenty years after the return of the Lord Jesus to heaven, Paul was on his second great missionary journey. His call to go to Macedonia had come from God in a vision. He saw a man of that region and heard him saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us". So, along with Silas, his faithful co-worker in the spreading of the gospel, Paul arrived in Philippi on the Sabbath Day. Going down to the riverside they found some women meeting together for prayer. Among them was Lydia, a business woman from Thyatira. She was a trader in the expensive purple cloth worn by the more wealthy people of that time.
We are also told that Lydia was a "worshipper of God". It is clear that Paul started to talk to these women about the Lord Jesus Christ and explain to them the gospel. Lydia listened intently as Paul told how Christ had died so that her sins could be forgiven. She listened as he said that she could only truly know God through the person of His Son, the Lord Jesus. And in verse 14 of Acts chapter 16 we read: "The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message". Lydia became the first known convert to Christianity on the continent of Europe.
This woman believed in God, she prayed to Him and met with others of like mind, but she did not know him as a loving heavenly Father. Before she could enter into such a relationship with God, her sins had to be forgiven. This only became possible as she heard the gospel and God himself opened her heart to respond to it.
Listening friend, have you responded to the message of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ? Have you received Him personally and experienced the joy of your sins forgiven? It is not enough just to believe in God, as Lydia certainly did, for sin must be dealt with before we can truly know God and be his child.
This was to be the first ofseveral interesting and crucial encounters that Paul and Silas were to have in Philippi. God was going to establish His church in that place, and He was going to bring to salvation people from very different backgrounds. Lydia was probably a quite wealthy business woman, but the next convert was very different.
For several days, Paul and Silas found themselves being followed and tormented by a slave girl who was possessed by an evil spirit. This agent of Satan recognised who these men were and it caused the girl to cry out continuously: "These men are serving the Most High God". Finally we read that Paul became troubled by this and in the Name of Jesus Christ he commanded the spirit to leave the girl. The Bible says, "At that moment the spirit left her".
Here was the power of God at work against the forces of the evil one. The Lord Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth, and that includes authority over Satan and his evil minions. It was in the Name of Jesus that the demon was cast out of this sad, ill-used girl. We must never fear the devil for his power is limited and through Christ we can be sure of victory.
Because of Paul's action, the evil masters of this girl complained to the authorities and had Paul and Silas stripped and beaten and thrown into prison. Satan is always at work in opposition to the gospel and the work of God's servants. But, as we have just discovered, although Satan is powerful, our God is omnipotent - He is ALL powerful, and His sovereign will must prevail. Even in this trial that befell Paul and Silas, God was at work and arranging another encounter with another completely different person - the Philippian jailer.
The jailer was commanded to guard these two servants of the Lord very carefully, so he put them in a high security cell and chained their feet in the stocks. It was no doubt a dark, dirty and damp place, but it always touches me to observe the reaction of these fine servants of Christ to their situation. Instead of mourning their probable fate, and complaining about what had happened to them, we are told, in verse 25 of Acts 16, that "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing praises to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them."
What a great testimony to the grace of God in the lives of these men! What a witness it must have been to the others in that awful place! Surely there is a lesson for us to discover in this! No, it is not easy to sing and pray in adversity, but the man or woman whose confidence is wholly in the Lord can know such strength and peace, even in the darkest hour. Take courage from this if you are passing through a time of trial, and praise God that He is with you in the midst of it all, and will deliver you in His good time.
The Lord did deliver Paul and Silas for as they were singing and praying a great earthquake shook the prison so that all the doors flew open, and the prisoners' chains fell off. What a shock that was for the jailer as he was awakened and thought that all his prisoners had escaped. Knowing that he would be held responsible he was about to kill himself when Paul shouted out, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!"
What would go through the mind of this man at that moment? He doubtless knew why Paul and Silas had been arrested and brought to his prison. Perhaps he too had heard their singing and seen their quiet confidence in their God. So, he rushes into the prison and falling down trembling before the men of God, he asks the most important question it is possible to ask: "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" Given such an opportunity, Paul and Silas do as they did down by the riverside to the women, they explained the gospel. They tell this trembling, fearful jailer that he needs to be saved from his sins and that the only way is through Christ. "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved", they tell him, and if your family also will believe, they too will be saved. Verse 32 goes on to say, "Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house." The gospel is a message of hope and forgiveness and salvation for all of the family, for all who will repent and believe the gospel.
A fine gospel preacher once said to his audience, "You must all be prepared to understand the "ABC" of the Christian gospel if you are to become children of God." The "ABC" is this:
- ACCEPT that according to the Word of God you are a sinner.
- BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God Who died for your sins.
- COME just as you are in faith to Him, receive Him as your Saviour, and ask Him to receive you, just as you are.
Did you get that? Accept, Believe and Come, just like the Philippian jailer and his family did, and you will be blessed with God's great salvation.
Shortly after this Paul and his companion were requested by the authorities to leave Philippi, but they left behind the foundations of a church that would later grow and become a living testimony to the saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have discovered just three of the encounters that Paul and Silas had in this city. Three completely different people, from different backgrounds, yet they all had to come to God the same way - through faith in Christ. Three people whose lives were transformed when Christ came in.
It was some ten years later, while Paul was again in prison, that he wrote his letter to the Philippian church. It is, as we shall see in this series of studies, one of the most personal and affectionate of his letters. It shows clearly that this local church had a very special place in Paul's heart. They in turn had a great love for this servant of God who had brought the gospel to them.