Philippians 2:25,26To: Philippians Main MenuTo: Grace Notes Home Page Philippians 2:25Yet I considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, but your messenger and the one who ministered to my need.Chapter two of Philippians gives four examples of authentic biblical mental attitude. The first was the inimitable, matchless, peerless Lord Jesus. Then Paul turned to three lesser examples. First, he gives himself as an example, he was willing to pour himself out as sacrifice. Timothy was a selfless servant. Now he turns to Epaphroditus. YET I CONSIDERED IT NECESSARY TO SEND TO YOU EPAPHRODITUS Ephaphroditus only occurs twice in the Bible, here and 4:18. From verse 25 to 30 Paul presents one of the least known yet spiritually powerful men in the Bible. Even the venerated apostle Paul held him in high regard. Epaphroditus probably came from a non-Christian background. His names means "belonging to Venus." Venus was a goddess. He may have been a polytheist (worshiper of many gods) before he became a Christian. After he became a Christian he emerged into a leading member of the Philippian church, maybe even its pastor. He was charged to deliver a love gift to Paul (4:18) and to stay and help him (2:25,30). On his trip and stay in Rome he became dangerously ill "for the work of Christ." He almost died (v.27). After his recovery Paul sent him back home. Upon his return he delivered the epistle to the Philippians. PRINCIPLE: Here is another example of a person whose attitude was determined to serve others. He was willing to serve even to the point of death. APPLICATION: It is one thing to hold a nice thought about serving others. It is another to hold a conviction so deeply as to form an orientation, a bearing that is willing to not only to give, but to sacrifice for others. Epaphroditus' name only occurs twice in the Bible (2:25; 4:18) yet he was chosen by Paul as a sterling example of someone who gives of himself. Paul "sent" Timothy. Now Paul sees it necessary to "send" Epaphroditus. Paul was in the habit of sending people. He utilized people, multiplied people for ministry. Unleashing and facilitating people for ministry multiplies the cause of Christ. MY BROTHER, FELLOW WORKER, AND FELLOW SOLDIER, BUT YOUR MESSENGER AND THE ONE WHO MINISTERED TO MY NEED Now Paul turns to a fivefold description of Epaphroditus. Like Paul and Timothy he is a man to be held up as a shining example of someone to imitate. This is a thumbnail sketch of how the apostle views this man. Epaphroditus was viewed as a companion from a number of perspectives. First he is a brother. He had the same spiritual roots. That means God is our Father, Jesus our Savior and the Holy Spirit our comforter at the moment we exercise faith in Christ. At the moment of conversion we become a child of God. God the Father is the creator of all people but he is not their Father. Only the Bible makes that distinction. Paul saw Epaphroditus as a spiritual brother. That made their relationship distinct. There is a commonality among believers not found outside Christ. They are family with family prerogatives. Our flabby age of unprecedented latitude says "everyone is your brother." Our age loves to break down biblical distinctions. Yet the Bible talks about the sons of God and the sons of the Devil. Paul viewed Epaphroditus primarily as a brother, not as a fellow churchman. Church connection was not what made this affinity. Christ was the bond which united them in the same spiritual league. "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:26). PRINCIPLE: Fellow Christians are to be held in a unique place in our hearts as people bound together around Christ. APPLICATION: Do we view fellow Christians as acquaintances and other members of the human race? Do we picture them as family members who hold special place in our hearts? Fellow Christians are to have a special place in our hearts because of our joint connection to Christ. The second of five descriptions of Epaphroditus, a selfless servant, is "fellow worker." FELLOW WORKER Epaphroditus was a made who was not afraid of work. Someone has said that there are two kinds of work among Christians. Those who are willing to work and those who are willing to let them work! "Well, I am going to serve Jesus Christ as soon as my children are grown." By then you will have less to contribute and be burdened with entrenched patterns of selfish living. Paul viewed this man as a companion in labor for Jesus Christ. People who serve the Lord together have a special fellowship: "For we are God's fellow workers" (I Co. 3:9). When God called Paul into ministry he challenged him with "work," "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them" (Acts 13:2). Note the sequel, "From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had completed" (14:26). At the commencement of the second missionary expedition Paul did not take John Mark to "the work," "But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work" (15:38). John Mark did not take the work of Christ seriously. Paul did not bear half committed team members. To some Christians almost anything comes before the work of Christ. But the Bible stresses the importance of work for the Lord, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord" (I Co. 15:58). There are two qualifications to the work of the Lord: time and dynamic. The time is "always" and the dynamic is "abounding." PRINCIPLE: The work ethic is indeed biblical! It takes great effort to execute God's plan for the believer in time. APPLICATION: To most Christians their church or ministry is just a hobby. They do not take it seriously. "If it is convenient, if I have time, I will give a squirt of time and two squirts of money to the Lord's work." Clearly, ministry "work" is in God's plan. We live in a day where this perspective is under assault. As a result never have so many owed so much to so few. Very few churches have more than 20% of their people involved in ministry. The third report Paul gave of Epaphroditus was that he was a "co-soldier" to the apostle. AND FELLOW SOLDIER Paul says, "Epaphroditus and I were in the same spiritual outfit. We sloshed through the spiritual mud together; we slugged it out with the enemy together; we were in sick bay together; we went through the war together." Some Christians act surprised when they end up in spiritual war. Alas, many Christians do not even engage the enemy. The battle is raging and they are sitting off in the hills where there is little danger. They care little for the consequence of who will win. The impact may be disastrous for the cause of Christ but they are off in lala land. Granted, not all belong at or are fitted for the front lines. Some should be in the supply lines, others support for those who are flying the jets. But everyone should be a soldier, not a sitter, a soldier. The Christian life is a war. We have a great enemy. He is powerful and his troops are many and well trained. To hold no defense against that force is calamitous to the Christian cause. There are many metaphors of soldiering in the Bible. "This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare" (I Tim. 1:18). "Fight the good fight of faith" (I Tim. 6:12). "You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ" (II Tim. 2:3). We operate on three fronts: the world, the flesh and the devil. We need to know both ourselves and the enemy. In the book The Art of War makes that point, "If you know yourself and your enemy, you need not fear the results of a 100 battles. If you know yourself but not your enemy for every victory gained you will suffer one defeat." PRINCIPLE: We cannot call every believer a "fellow (co) soldier." Only those engaged in spiritual warfare can be called that. APPLICATION: Only those who are actively engaged in spiritual war we can genuinely call soldiers. That is, those who are employed winning people to Christ, caring for the spiritually wounded, giving support to the troops on the front lines (missionaries, preachers, lay leaders). When Satan attacks us personally we must put on our spiritual armor. This involves both defensive (spirituality) and offensive measures (advancing the cause of Christ). Are we at the center of the spiritual battle? Do we view ourselves as engaged in a spiritual war? The fourth portrait Paul presents of Epaphroditus is that he was "your messenger." BUT YOUR MESSENGER Epaphroditus was the messenger of the church at Philippi to Paul. The word "messenger" in the Greek is the word "apostle." He was not an apostle of the Lord but an apostle of the church at Philippi. He was a representative of the church at Philippi to find the apostle Paul and help him. Notice the only other place where Epaphroditus' name occurs, "I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God" (4:18). This man was an ambassador of the local church to help a missionary in a difficult situation. We are both representatives of the Lord and of his church. The emphasis of one to the neglect of the other is an error. There are some who think that they are representatives of Christ but do not think that they are representatives of the church. Their attitude is "let the church be hanged! Put the church on the shelf. It is no longer relevant in winning people for Christ." They put almost everything before the ministry of the local church. God has called us to be representatives of both the Lord and his church. To emphasis only one side of that truth is to distort the biblical perspective. We get off on a tangent if we do not emphasize all aspects of that truth. Tending all the truth keeps us from becoming lopsided. We will not limp on the right side or the left. PRINCIPLE: The balance of God's truth is that God has called every believer to be a representative of the church as well as a representative of the Lord. APPLICATION: Are you involved in a local church ministry? In business dealings do you view yourself as representing both the Lord Jesus and his local church? The fifth and final characterization of Epaphroditus is that he cared for needs. Winston Churchill twitted one of his political opponents with "He has the genius for compressing a minimum of thought into a maximum of words." By contrast, Paul compressed a few telling words to reveal the genius of Epaphroditus. AND THE ONE WHO MINISTERED TO MY NEED Epaphroditus took it upon himself to care for the Paul. His ministry was to care. Paul in effect says, "He cared for me here in prison. Oh how he met my need. I was at the mercy of the Roman government who does not provide food or clothing in prison. He came and met those needs." The word "ministered" means pertaining to public service. It was used especially of ministering in the temple. It is the word from which we get our English word liturgy. The upshot of this word is that Epaphroditus gave himself publicly to serve Paul. The word "need" in the Greek means service, advantage and use. It came to mean that which is needed for use or service: want or need. Whether physical or spiritual needs, Epaphroditus met them all. He was a giving person. He brought an offering from the Philippian church but his ministry was more than that. He stayed in Rome to meet whatever need Paul may have. He probably conveyed messages to believers in Rome and made contact with Roman authorities for Paul. Paul sent him on evangelistic missions. Finally, he carried the book of Philippians back to Philippi in Greece. His ministry was to take care of little things. While little is written about Epaphroditus he was of immense support to the greatest missionary of the first century. While he never swayed multitudes, he could carry a briefcase. He toiled unappreciated, unsung yet faithful in his sphere of service. PRINCIPLE: All God requires of us is to do what we can with what we have. God has a plan for those minister with little things. APPLICATION: Do you diminish the little things you do for God? Paul could have never had the ministry he did without an Epaphroditus. Your support for others is strategic in God's economy. Can the eye say to the hand I have no need of you? This ministry is greatly needed in God's strategy. Because your name does not get in the church bulletin is your ministry any less in God's eyes? Philippians 2:26"Since he was longing for you all, and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick."Epaphroditus was of great service to Paul while he was in prison but he grieved for his congregation back in Philippi. SINCE HE WAS LONGING FOR YOU ALL Here is another glimpse into the heart of Epaphroditus. He cared for people. He could not wait to see his congregation again. He was homesick. The Philippian church must have been some church. Paul wanted to go back and Epaphroditus longed to see them again. When a church is what God designed it to be people love to be there. It is the people in the congregation that makes the atmosphere of the church. People who are proud of and happy in their church will attract others. The esprit de corps of a congregation is an essential factor in its growth. That is probably the most overlooked factor in church growth. In other words, it is the people that makes the difference between a cold church and a warm church. The esprit de corps comes primarily from the people, not the pastor. Obviously the pastor makes a significant contribution. Neither is it the music, although music is important in forming an atmosphere. If the people of the congregation cluster in little huddles when newcomers come no matter what the service is like the church will be deemed a "cold church." If the people do not smile and offer a warm hand shake strangers will feel like aliens. AND WAS DISTRESSED BECAUSE YOU HAD HEARD THAT HE WAS SICK The word "distressed" means grief, sorrow. Epaphroditus was grieving over the church back home. Notice that his grief was for them, not himself, because he had been sick. Now there is a switch! Most of us would have grieved if no one had heard we were sick. "No one sent me a card, no one cares. How sorrow I feel for myself. How I grieve for myself. No one cares about me I don't think that I will go to that church again." That is how most of us would think. Not Epaphroditus. He did not want to worry the Philippians. His care anticipated their hurt for him. He did not want to cause any undue anxiety for them. PRINCIPLE: The argument of chapter 2 is selflessness. The believer should be so oriented to others that he not only thinks about others but longs for them. We should care more about others than about ourselves. In this passage the context is church life. APPLICATION: Are we unfriendly? Do we neglect to talk to new people? If we are so busy with our own crowd that we do not involve ourselves with others, we contribute to the frigidity of our church. "That is a cold church, I have been here for four weeks and no one has talked to me yet." Do you care about others? Do you take an interest in others? If you do it will make a big difference to your church. ---------- Copyright © 1995, Dr. Grant Richison. All rights reserved. There is no charge for Grace Notes Materials. 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