April, 1944
137
In te rna t iona l Lesson Commentary
Outline and Exposition B. B. S utcliffe Points and Problems
H omer A. K ent — Golden Text Illustration
A lan S. P earce . Blackboard Lesson G retchen S ibley Object Lesson E lmer L . W ilder Childrens Division M ildred M . C ook
MAY 7, 1944 P A U L CROSSES IN T O EUROPE A cts 15:36 to 16:40; P h ilippians
Acts 16:13 And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river aide, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. 14 And a certain woman named Lydia? a seller of purple, of the city of Thyàtlra, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things wjiich were spoken of Paul. 15 And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me- to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us. Philippians 3:7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus m y Lord: for whom I have suffered- the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, * 9 And be found In him, not having mine own righteousness, which Is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith; 10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and thè fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. . 12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect; but I follow after, If that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, for- getting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, . 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. LESSON TEX T: Acts 16:13-15; Phil. 3:7-14. GOLDEN T E X T : ” 1 ■press toward the mark for the prize of the high e illln g 'o f God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14). DEVOTIONAL READING: Phil. 1:3-11. Outline and Exposition I. T he F irst E uropean C onvert ( A cts 16:13-15) P AUL CAME to Philippi, the chief made” (v. 13). C. I. Scofield says this portion might be translated “where prayer might legally be made.” Since there was no synagogue at Philippi, such a dace as this could be set apart city of Macedonia, and on the Sabbath went out of the city to a place “where prayer was wont to be
for prayer. Hence it was a place where God could make Himself known to those who desired Him, as Cornelius did (cf. Acts 10:21-33). Here Paul told the story of redemption, One of the hearers was “named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira” (v. 14). It may be that this full description of her is given because she had the distinction of be ing the first convert in Europe. She “worshipped God,” that is, she had respect for Him, looking to Him as the Creator, but not as yet as Saviour. As she listened to Paul’s speech, “ the Lord opened” her heart to receive the truth spoken. This fact indicates that mere knowledge in the mind is not sufficient for salvation; the heart also must receive the truth, and the Lord must open the heart before the truth is received. Thank God, He opens every heart that is ready to receive_the truth. This woman gave proof of the gen uineness of her faith in Christ. She was baptized, and her household with her. Then she opened her house for the evangelists, constraining them to use it. The action was evidence of her new birth. n. P a u l ' s E xample for N ew C onverts ( P h il . 3:7-14) Paul reminded believers of what he had lost and what he, had gained by following the Lord wholeheartedly. Before his conversion, he had pos sessed everything a man might desire
Lesson material is based on outlines of International Sunday S c h o o l Lessons, copyrighted by International Council of Reli gious Education; used by per mission. in the Way of human righteousness; he had reached the topmost rung on the ladder of human achievement, and could look down on others, saying “ I more” (v. 4). But when he caught a glimpse of the surpassing excellence of the righteousness of God in Christ, all that he possessed became as the refuse of the street, by comparison. To him, then, there was no sacrifice involved in his loss. He merely laid down what was inferior, .in order to lay hold upon that which was superior (vs. 7-, 8).- What he had of his own was good, but what 'he saw in Christ was so much better that the. good' ap peared as vile. , There were three reasons for Paul’s suffering the loss of what he had. First, he desired to have, not his own righteousness which was necessarily of the law, but the righteousness of God that could be secured in no other way than by faith in Christ (V. 9). Second, he desired to have fellowship with the Christ who had been revealed to him (v. 10). Not only to “ be found in him,” having that righteousness of God in Him, but also to know Him as the risen, glorified Lord whom he had met on the road to Damascus—this was the apostle’s ambition. Third, he desired to attain unto that resurrection from among the dead which was su perior to all the claims of death (v. 11 ). He knew he was not yet perfect, but he could say, “I follow after” (v. 12). The word “perfect” here means full perfection, and has a different mean ing than the word he uses later, in verse 15, where the meaning is “fit to engage in the effort”
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