by Larry Ferrell | February 23, 2018
Of all the men Paul honors in his Epistle to the Philippians, it is the layman named Epaphroditus who gets the most attention. Here is a man who is almost unknown to us. Yet Paul selects him as deserving highest honor because of his self-effacing service to another Christian. Paul spells it out clearly in the first verse that mentions him (v. 25). Epaphroditus is said to have been four things. He was a brother, a fellow worker, a fellow soldier, and a messenger of the Philippian Christians who ministered in their absence to Paul’s needs. These things build toward the final statement. Together they are an important summary of what the Christian life should be.

In the first place, Paul calls his Christian friend a brother. This is striking simply because the ideal of brotherhood was such a new thing in Paul’s day. To be sure, some aspects of ancient life and culture bore a faint resemblance to Christian brotherhood; but these, even at their best, were exclusive. For the most part the ancient world was sharply divided between Greeks and Romans, Jews and Gentiles, aristocrats and plebeians, citizens and soldiers. There was nothing that genuinely united all branches of this greatly polarizes society. Into this world came the gospel of Jesus Christ and with it Christian brotherhood. Christians knew that they had all been under the curse of God because sin and now were brought into a new relationship to God through their relationship to Christ. Due to this new relationship to Christ; regardless of their place in society, the Christians simply overlooked their differences.

Second, Paul praises Epaphroditus for proving himself to be a fellow worker. This reminds me of the praise Jesus Christ had for the little church at Ephesus. This was a working church, and it was praised for it. In Revelation Jesus says to the church, “You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary” (Rev. 2:3). Epaphroditus was this kind of worker. We need to reconstitute a working church in our day. We need to recapture a spirit of hard work in the social realm, for this is where the greatest action has taken place. We also need to work with renewed vigor in the area of evangelism. Perhaps you are saying that this is too much work for you. That may be true. But that is why we are to work with other Christians.

The third term that Paul uses to comment Epaphroditus is “fellow soldier.” Epaphroditus did not only work with Paul; he fought side by side with him also. Paul uses the words “fellow soldier” to say that the work they were doing was more like a battle than the normal labor of a citizen in peacetime. The Bible says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12). This warfare requires the shoulder-to-shoulder, aggressive forward motion of all Christians. We are to work together in harmony against the spiritual powers arrayed against us.

The climactic phrase of Paul’s tribute to Epaphroditus tells us that he was a messenger of the church at Philippi and that he took care of Paul’s needs. Paul says in verse 30 that Epaphroditus nearly died in fulfilling this ministry. Epaphroditus was a man who, Paul says, was to be held in the highest honor. Yet he grew sick in the midst of the most unselfish Christian service. Moreover, he was sick for some time, at least for three months. If the case of Epaphroditus is to teach us anything, it must teach us that sickness is often a badge of honor for God’s children.

This was the high point of Paul’s praise for his friend Epaphroditus – praise for the kind of life that sacrifices its own interests for others. But we must not think that Paul is praising a type of life that he himself did not practice. Paul was in prison, and most of his friends had deserted him. Only Timothy and Epaphroditus were left. These men were in Rome to help Paul. Yet Paul writes that he is going to send Timothy back to the Philippians because he thinks it is necessary for their well-being. He is willing to give him up. He is sending Epaphroditus back also, even though he thinks most highly of him. What was Paul thinking about during the dark days before execution? About himself? About his future? Not at all! He was thinking about the needs of his fellow Christians.

Philippians 2:25-30 Reflection Questions:
Do we have brotherhood and sisterhood in the church of Jesus Christ today?
Have you recently asked the Lord to enable you to become a fellow worker with other Christians?
Do you have challenges with your health that maybe you can work with still doing God’s work?
Are you willing to sacrifice your own interests for the concerns of other Christians?

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