Part 6 - When the Holy Spirit Speaks to Women

Hello and Welcome to the Women’s Weekly Bible Challenge! I’m Lisa Ann Spencer.

It has been awhile since I’ve posted, due to our family’s move from Georgia to Kentucky.  I thank you for your patience, and I look forward to resuming this series consistently.  I'm glad you've joined me today for Part 6 of our series, When the Holy Spirit Speaks to Women.

Let’s do a quick REVIEW.

In the last lesson, I covered the Apostle Paul’s FIRST "MISSIONARY JOURNEY", which is covered in Acts 13:4 to Acts 14:28.

📔NOTE: It is not truly a “missionary journey”; it is an “apostolic journey”.  Apostle means “sent one” and particularly one sent directly by God: the Father, the Son, and/or the Holy Ghost. Paul was sent to the Gentiles by Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost (Acts 9:15; 13:2,46).  There are no Apostles in this dispensation.  They are not needed because we have a complete Bible. Today, missionaries are sent out by men, not God.

📖 GRAB YOUR BIBLES AND LET'S TURN TO ACTS 13 📖

Barnabus, Saul and John Mark (Acts 13:2, 5) preached in:

Salamis - on the island of Cyprus, in the synagogues of the Jews

Paphos, Cyprus - Saul, whose name is changed to Paul, performed his first recorded miracle of blinding a Jew for a season, because the Jew was attempting to prevent a Gentile from hearing the word of God.

JOHN MARK ABANDONS THE MINISTRY – As soon as they reach the biblical border of the nation of Israel’s inheritance, John Mark departs. Perhaps he is uncertain about Paul’s leadership and this ministry to the Gentiles.

Antioch in Pisidia – They enter the synagogue on the Sabbath, where Paul reviewed Israel’s history and present a clear gospel presentation; the Gentiles, many Jews and proselytes followed Paul and Barnabus. The unbelieving Jews blaspheme God’s word, and Paul makes his first declaration that he is turning to the Gentiles.  At the synagogue, the Jews stirred up the “honourable women” and chief men of the city to raise up persecution against them. These are the only women mentioned in Paul’s first journey.

Iconium – Paul preached in the synagogue of the Jews, where a great multitude of Jews and Greeks believed.  Again, the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles against them.  They stayed there a long time performing signs and wonders, but ultimately had to flee when the rulers of the Jews attempted to kill them.

Lystra – This is a pagan, idolatrous Gentile city where Paul healed a lame man, then the whole city attempted to worship Paul and Barnabus as pagan gods.  The unbelieving Jews from Antioch and Iconium came and persuaded the people of Lystra to kill Paul by stoning. 

📔 NOTE: Paul did die at Lystra, and God miraculously raised him up.  This is one of those instances when God does not tell us plainly exactly what happened, but it is plain to those who have understanding and believe the Scriptures.  We are told that Paul rose up, returned to the city and departed the next day to Derbe where he preached the gospel! That would not have been possible without a miracle from God.

Derbe – Here they preached the gospel; they then returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch to exhort the believers to continue in the faith, and to appoint elders in every church.

📔 NOTE: This appointing of elders in every city indicates to us the importance and emphasis of the local church.

Perga – Here they preached the word.

Antioch – Paul and Barnabus returned to home base where they stayed a long time.

📔 NOTE:  It is a good idea to use a Bible Atlas when reading through the book of Acts.  I recommend The Student Bible Atlas by Tim Dowley for its simplicity and affordability.

ACTS CHAPTER 15 – THE COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM

Paul travels to Jerusalem to attend a meeting with the leaders of the kingdom church (Galatians chapter 2 also describes this event).  This is approximately 17 years after Paul’s conversion based on Paul’s record in Galatians 1:18-2:2.  It is interesting to note that the believing Jews in Jerusalem are ignorant of what Paul has been preaching for nearly 2 decades!  This is clear proof for the distinctiveness of Paul’s gospel of grace to the Gentiles. This meeting is the pinnacle of the book of Acts in which God is transitioning from Peter to Paul, from Circumcision to Uncircumcision, and from Israel to the Body of Christ. God is making this known in Acts 15 to all believers who are in authority.  James, who is NOT one of the 12 apostles, is now in charge of the church in Jerusalem.  Peter is no longer the leader of the Little Flock (Luke 12:32), and he is not mentioned again in the book of Acts.

END REVIEW

WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT SPEAKS TO WOMEN

PAUL AND SILAS’S SECOND APOSTOLIC JOURNEY BEGINS – ACTS 15:36

We saw in our review, that on Paul’s first journey into the Gentile world, he preached the gospel in the city of Derbe.  In Acts 16:1, we learn something important about a CERTAIN WOMAN, Timotheus’s mother.

Acts 16:1 Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek:

Timothy’s mother was a Jewess married to a Greek, which is against the Law of Moses by the way.  However, we are told that she BELIEVED!  What did she believe if not the Law of Moses? She believes Paul’s gospel!

2 Timothy 1:5 when I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.

The unfeigned faith refers to Paul’s gospel, which Timothy’s mother and grandmother heard from Paul on his first journey. 

REMEMBER THAT IT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT SPEAKING THROUGH PAUL WHEN HE PREACHES THE GOSPEL (ACTS 13:2)! 

Eunice had trusted in the death, burial and resurrection for her salvation as did her mother, Lois, and her son Timothy.  This means Eunice is the first woman on record, whose name is preserved in Scripture, to be saved by Paul’s gospel! 

In this letter to Timothy, we also read that Timothy had known the Holy Scriptures from a child.

2 Timothy 3:15 and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Because of the record in the book of Acts and this letter to Timothy, we presume that it was very likely Timothy’s mother and grandmother that taught Scripture to Timothy, or at least saw to it that he would learn the holy scriptures. We are told that his father was a Greek, so it is unlikely that Timothy’s father promoted Timothy’s knowledge of scripture, though we are not told this for certain.

LIFE APPLICATION: Mothers and Grandmothers should learn the Holy Scriptures, so that they may teach them to their children and grandchildren. Thanks be to God that we have the words of God preserved in the Holy Bible that we hold in our hands!

THE CONVERSION OF LYDIA – The first European Convert

Acts 16:6-12 is the account of Paul, Silas and Timothy leaving the Eastern Hemisphere and bringing the gospel of the grace of God to the Western Hemisphere. His first stop is the principle city of Macedonia, Philippi, where there is NO SYNAGOGUE.

Acts 16:13 And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, 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 Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which 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.

Of course Paul is speaking to these women, but we understand that it is the Holy Spirit who is giving Paul the words of truth to which Lydia attended. 

Lydia, who appears to be an independent businesswoman that is the head of her own household, is the first European convert to Paul’s gospel.  It may be that she is wealthy. Because she was with other women praying by the river on a Sabbath day, we can assume she was a Jewess.  Lydia’s house is mentioned again in verse 40, and it appears as if the believers were meeting in her house.

Acts 16:40 And they [Paul and Silas] went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.

It is encouraging to me as a woman that God preserved this account in our Bible, that the first recorded convert to Paul’s gospel in Europe was this independent woman.  God’s word does not make women out to be of a lesser value than men, as many falsely believe and teach.  Christianity brings honor and value to women!

We will end our lesson here, and then next week we’ll consider why Paul was in prison and what that had to do with a woman.

There are still quite a few more women mentioned in the book of Acts, so we will probably take 2 more lessons to cover them.  I hope you’ll join me next time as we continue this series, When the Holy Spirit Speaks to Women, Part 7.

The material covered in this Blog can be viewed here: