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 circ*mstances
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 circ*mstances 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.
