Lydia of Thyatira was Paul’s first recorded convert in Europe. She had moved from Asia Minor to Philippi in Macedonia. Paul had completed his first missionary journey, which had been limited geographically to Eastern Asia Minor, including Syria. Now on his second journey, Paul – with Timothy - crossed Asia Minor and in obedience to the Holy Spirit sailed across the northern Aegean Sea to Philippi. It was AD 50, and the Gospel was already moving out from Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria into the “uttermost parts of the earth,” where it was being delivered to “the nations.” (Acts 1:8; Matt. 28:19).
Lydia was a woman of means. She was in the textile business, dealing in an upscale product for which Philippi was known. Lydia may well have moved to Philippi in order to place her product closer to its relevant markets and/or closer to the main trade route connecting Asia and Europe. Philippi, being a Roman Colony and a trading center, was home to retired and highly respected Roman military families, who would presumably have been part of Lydia’s customer base.
The text at Acts 16:14-15 reads, “The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. ‘If you consider me a believer in the Lord,’ she said, ‘come and stay at my house.’ And she persuaded us.”
Several observations:
The Lord (not Paul or Timothy, and not even Lydia) opened Lydia’s heart (willingness, attitude, perception of truth, faith, repentance) to respond to the Gospel; as always, God did the electing, and He dispensed the gifts of faith and repentance; Paul’s job, being Christ’s ambassador, was to deliver the Gospel and teach the truth of God’s word;
Paul’s message throughout the Biblical record was consistently the Gospel of Christ, including centrally the fact that after Jesus was crucified as the ultimate sacrifice for sins and was totally, physically dead, He rose again from death to life, the firstborn of many brethren; the risen Lord appeared to many, and He ascended to the Father’s right hand to make intercession for the saints and to send the Holy Spirit to regenerate, comfort and guide believers;
Lydia was baptized when she believed the Gospel and received the Spirit; her household was also baptized. This would typically have included children, extended family members (possibly, for example, a grandparent, older parent or a single/widowed relative), and all house slaves. When the head of a Roman household adopted a religion, it was expected that all members of the household, including slaves, would do likewise. Our understanding of this enlightens Paul’s statement to the Philippian jailer at Acts 16:31;
Lydia was a “worshiper of God,” a Gentile who had been drawn to Judaism and the true God. In the mid-first century, engaging with women on matters of philosophy and religion was counter-cultural, even outrageous. The Good News was being extended to Gentiles and the nations! As Jesus Himself ministered to people - whether men, women, Samaritans, or whomever - so Paul and his companions ministered inclusively, in obedience to the “all nations” mandate of Christ, and to the calling of Paul as “Apostle to the Gentiles”; and
Lydia immediately manifested the gift of hospitality. God granted this woman faith in Christ and the Gospel, and he granted repentance; then the Spirit immediately called and empowered her to extend hospitality to Paul and Timothy, who were truly in need of it. We see also the beginnings of a life of faith, wherein Lydia was already learning to obey the commands of the Lord, as she enters a life of unity and fellowship among the believers.
We find in Dr. Luke’s account of the conversion of Lydia the following components of the Great Commission, which we can and should learn from:
(a) In going to Macedonia, Paul obediently moved when and where he was directed by the Spirit (“Going” Matt. 28:19 and “obey” Matt. 28:20); (b) the Gospel was preached (Mark 16:15, Matt. 28:19) inclusively to women, Gentiles, and the nations; (c) Lydia was baptized when she repented, changing her mind to believe the Gospel (Matt. 28:19); (d) Lydia began to obey the commands of Christ (Matt. 28:20). Her first and most important act of obedience, granted to her by God’s grace, was to believe the Gospel, whereupon she received the gift of the Spirit (Acts 2:38); and (e) they all obeyed the command of Christ to pray (Acts 16:16).
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