Skip to main content

Epaphroditus

 

While in a Roman prison, the Apostle Paul writes a letter to the Church in Philippi. In this letter he mentions a specific believer named Epaphroditus. Philippians 2:25, “Yet I consider it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier….”

Chances are, despite reading Philippians before, we may not have “caught on” to this man named Epaphroditus. After all, he really isn’t mentioned anywhere else in the New Testament other than this short recognition by Paul.

I find it interesting that what is said about Epaphroditus is worth mentioning. No, he may not have been a “famous Bible character.” No, he may not have had vivid and gallant stories written about him such as Moses, David, Daniel or Peter, but they are still worth recalling as he was a huge help to Paul.

Paul refers to Epaphroditus as his brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier. In his letter, Epaphroditus is described as a lover of people, a risk taker, tireless worker, and one who had a heart of a “servant-leader.” If it weren’t for the zeal and dedication of this man, we may not have gotten this letter to Philippians in the Bible! How is that? Paul was in prison. He was in chains. He had no other connections in Philippi to get help.

Epaphroditus, despite being very ill, makes the journey from Philippi to Rome to visit and care for Paul while in prison. During his visit there, Paul writes his letter to the Philippian church. Once completed, it was his trusted brother, Epaphroditus, who took the letter and hand-delivered it to the Philippians. Epaphroditus played a key role.

Can you relate to Epaphroditus? Maybe you feel that what you contribute and have to offer seems mostly obscure to other people. Do you struggle with thoughts of quitting or “letting someone else do it” because you wonder if you are even making a difference? I am very confident that Epaphroditus answers those concerns for us!

Yes! Epaphroditus shows us that everything we do is vital to God’s Kingdom! Everything done for God’s glory, building His Kingdom, and bringing others to Christ is significant and should be considered priceless.

Therefore, we have no right to label anything “too small” or petty. We cannot pass judgment on an effort as “failure” just because “only 20 people came” to an event that we planned for 100 to attend. We must never shun anything that is an act of service or sacrifice unto the Lord.

I believe this is what makes the Gospel story of the “Widow’s Offering” so powerful. Mark 12:41-44, “Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

It’s not the size, amount, grandeur, results, or impact that really matters the most. In fact, what “it” is that I’m doing isn’t even the focus. It is the heart which is the seedbed of intentions. It isn’t “what” I am doing, but “why” I am doing it. The motivation for wanting to please God, do the right thing, and to love my neighbor as myself.

That’s why I must adopt the attitude of Epaphroditus that there are NO acts of service that would be considered “beneath me” to do. That is why I can pick up debris off the bathroom floor or take a bag of garbage to the dumpster. I can do all kinds of things such as direct traffic/parking for a large funeral service, volunteer to help in the nursery, or be an adult presence in a children’s Sunday School class. Like, Epaphroditus, we can be a brother, sister and “fellow soldier” for someone else’s sake.

The bottom line is that we should all be found doing something for God’s glory. Do what you know to do. Do what you have the ability and means to accomplish. The Holy Spirit will reveal those things to us, but we must still respond and do them. The worst thing that could happen is if we choose to do nothing at all. Be an Epaphroditus!

Galatians 6:9-10, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

Popular posts from this blog

Learn from Lydia

  There are a lot of interesting mentions of women in the Bible. Whether it is the Old Testament or New Testament, there are many strong, yet oddly missed, lessons from women that we can familiarize ourselves with to strengthen our faith.   One such woman is named Lydia. She provides a very powerful lesson for us. We find one particular mention of her in the book of Acts. Acts 16:14 , says that Lydia “reverenced God, and the Lord opened her heart to accept what Paul was saying.”   Lydia is actually a significant person in the New Testament. She is described as “a dealer in purple goods” (Acts 16:14). Pointing that out is quite a clue. Dealing in “purple goods” was considered a luxury in the ancient world.   It is probably safe to say that she was both a woman of great financial means and able to deal successfully with the influential people of her time. She was also noted as having a great gift of persuasion.   I think she might have been the only perso...
Read more

Tetelestai!

Just before Jesus gives up His spirit on the cross, He utters a very powerful word. The word that He cries out is “ tetelestai” (tih-tellis-tie). When literally translated, this word means, “It is finished.” It can also refer to something completed or accomplished. The word occurs in  John 19:28  and 19:30 and these are the only two places in all of the New Testament where it is found. In the John19:28 passage, it is translated, “After this, when Jesus knew that all things were now  completed , in order that the scripture might be fulfilled, he said, ‘I thirst.’” Two verses later, he utters the word himself: “Then when he received the sour wine Jesus said, ‘ It is finished ,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”   Did you know that the word  tetelestai  was also written on business documents or receipts in New Testament times to show indicating that a bill had been paid in full? The Greek-English lexicon (by Moulton and Milligan) sa...
Read more

Asking "What" Instead of "Why"

Life is not easy and it is not void of struggle, challenges, pain, sorrow, loss, grief, and suffering. I am sure I can come up with more words than that, but this article would soon blossom to two to three pages in length. I am sure we are familiar with the trials and frustrations of Job in the Old Testament. Some of us might even be familiar with the words of Habakuk in 1:2 , “How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen?” When things don’t go well or something tragic or unfortunate befalls us, we are faced with the struggles of crying out to God, “why me?” “Why, God, did you let this happen?” Many times, we too, grow frustrated and angry at God, for how He chooses to work within our situations and circumstances. We sure do end up asking God a lot of “why” questions. I believe “why” could be the wrong word to be using. Asking “why” seems to imply a lack of faith, ungratefulness, and, somehow, that we think God owes us an explanation, an answer or reaso...
Read more