Epaphroditus provides us a wonderful example of an ordinary Christian who was fully devoted to the Lord. May we follow in his steps!
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Epaphroditus: A Fully Devoted Life
Philippians 2:25-30
We return again this morning to Philippians chapter two. You will recall that Paul is exhorting the church to unity and peace. The path they must walk to reach that destination is to become humble selfless servants. After all, that is the path that our Lord Jesus Christ walked. He was the One who gave up everything to redeem sinners and accomplish His Father’s will. He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
So, Jesus is the ultimate model of humble selfless service. But Paul is not done yet. He knows that the Philippians might dismiss Christ’s example as one that is out of their reach. After all, He was God and did not possess a sinful nature like they do. So, Paul shows them three other examples of men who were just like them, but provide wonderful examples of humble selfless servants: Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus.
We have looked at Paul: A Poured Out Life and Timothy: A Christ-Centered Life. Today, we want to focus on the last of these examples. Epaphroditus: A Fully Devoted Life
Now, it must be admitted that we know very little about Epaphroditus. He only appears in Scripture, here in the book of Philippians in chapters two and four. His name is mentioned twice. There is so much we don’t know about him. We don’t know how he became a Christian, and how long he had been converted. We don’t know what his ministry was in the church. He just appears briefly and then is gone. However, we do know some things about him, and I believe what we do know about him is enough to inspire us to humble, selfless service.
As we move through our passage, I want to show you five things about Epaphroditus.
- His Name
- His Titles
- His Heart
- His Devotion
- His Reward
1. His Name
The name Epaphroditus was a common name. It is drawn from the name of a Greek God “Aphrodite”. “Aphrodite” was the goddess of love. The name Epaphroditus means “belonging to Aphrodite.” This tells us that he came out of a pagan home life, because believers in Christ would never name their child “belonging to Aphrodite”! His parents must have worshiped the many Greek gods, including Aphrodite. That means he would have been raised by his parents to know and worship the many Greek gods. He was a polytheist. But at some point, he had been arrested by the Lord Jesus, just as Paul himself had been arrested by Christ. The Lord had called and saved Epaphroditus, and he had joined himself to the brethren in Philippi. Epaphroditus was not one of those guys who was raised in a Christian home, and never got into any dark sin. No, he was pagan through and through, and so must have had a dramatic testimony of how the Lord had snatched him as a brand from the fire. When the Lord saved him, he went from “belonging to Aphrodite” to “belonging to Jesus.” His new birth had far more power than his physical birth, and was no longer under the spell of an idol.
2. His Titles
The apostle Paul identifies Epaphroditus with a 5-fold description. Let’s look at the titles he uses for him.
My brother. I love that. Epaphroditus was a nobody in the early church. There is no evidence that he was a pastor, or evangelist or prophet. No evidence that he preached sermons or wrote books, or traveled and evangelized. He was just a regular Christian who made himself available to the Lord to use Him in whatever way He wanted. And Paul calls him, “my brother.” In this way, Paul lifts him up and places him on his level. All true believers in Christ are brothers and sisters, regardless of the role they play in the kingdom. One might be an apostle, and another someone who cleans the building where the church meets. But they are both brothers.
One of the great joys of the Christian life is meeting our extended spiritual brothers and sisters. I love it when Debbie and I are on a trip, and we get to know someone and it turns out that they are a Christian. We have just met part of our family! That’s how I feel when I get to know Timothy in Vietnam or Pastor Ray in Bangladesh. We are getting to meet our family members. I really think part of the joy of heaven will be in getting to know the rest of the family – not just those that lived when we did, but those that have lived since the creation of the world!
I like the fact that Paul was not big on flashy titles. When he referred to himself as an apostle it was only to identify the role and job that the Lord Jesus had called him to. It was not to set himself on a pedestal as better or more important than others. Paul had learned well what Jesus taught in Matthew 23:8-10, “But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ.”
Paul called Epaphroditus, “my brother”. They shared a common Father and family.
Fellow worker. This is actually a very common way that Paul referred to those that labored in the furtherance of the gospel with him – “fellow workers.” I think it is a beautiful expression. It implies that Epaphroditus was not just a hearer of the Word, but he was a doer of the Word. Faith had produced works in his life. He was not a sideline Christian. He was fully in the game. He was active in the cause of Christ.
If the apostle Paul were alive today and knew you, would he call you a “fellow worker”? What are you doing in the work of the Lord? How are you laboring for Christ? Brothers and sisters, don’t be content to sit on the sidelines and watch your Christian life go by. Get involved! Seek God and find out what He wants you to do, and do it! Be a fellow worker.
Fellow soldier. Not only did Paul and Epaphroditus share a common family, and a common work, but they also shared common enemies – Satan and his demons, false teachers and all those who attacked the church of Christ. Paul will describe some of these in 3:18-19, “For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.” He spoke of these enemies in 1:28-29, “in no way alarmed by your opponents – which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.”
Epaphroditus may not have been an apostle or prophet or evangelist or pastor, but he took his stand with Paul and struggled against the enemies of the gospel. He took a stand for truth, and stood against false teaching. He struggled against Satan and his demons. He put on the armor of God and having done all, he stood firm.
My friends, I challenge you today to be a soldier of the cross. When false teachers are twisting and perverting the gospel, take a stand. Speak up! Defend the truth. Pull out the sword of the Spirit, and use it against the enemies of Christ, cultists who would deny the Deity of Christ and the gospel of grace, and Satan who would like to destroy your faith. Attack evil and defend the truth!
Your messenger. The Greek word is “apostolos” from which we get the word “apostle.” Now, Paul was not saying that Epaphroditus was an apostle of Jesus Christ. He is using the word in its generic sense of “messenger” or “one is sent.” You see, the church at Philippi had sent Epaphroditus on a mission. They deeply loved Paul and wanted to support him while he was under house arrest in Rome. So they chose Epaphroditus and sent him to Paul to deliver a gift. We know that from 4:18, “But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.”
Evidently in those days you didn’t just mail a check, or transfer money from one bank to another. You had to hand deliver the money. And, as I said before, it would have taken Epaphroditus at least 7 weeks just to get to Rome.
And when Paul sent Epaphroditus back home, he gave him this very epistle and charged him to deliver it to the church upon his return. He was a messenger, an errand boy.
Your Minister to my need. After Epaphroditus arrived and gave the church’s gift to Paul, he was to stay on in Rome and help Paul in whatever areas he needed it. Did you know that just doing simple tasks for others and being a servant is spiritual ministry? You might think that running errands for an apostle who is imprisoned is nothing special, but God looks upon it as valuable spiritual ministry.
3. His Heart
2:26-28, “because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you.”
What an amazing example we have here! I would have thought it would say, “he was distressed because he was sick.” But Epaphroditus is not thinking of himself and his suffering and his pain here. He is thinking about the mental and emotional suffering and pain of the Philippian church. Somehow, they had heard that he was sick. Perhaps Paul had written another letter to them and sent it to someone who was traveling from Rome to Philippi, and he had explained how Epaphroditus had become deathly sick. He knew how the believers in Philippi were going to feel when they got this news. They are going to feel terrible! They had chosen him, and commissioned him, and sent him to be their representative and messenger to bring Paul this financial gift, and then remain to minister to his personal needs. And now he has gotten extremely sick, and for all they knew, he might have even died.
Epaphroditus feels like he must return. He needs to be among them in person. He needs to relieve their distress. He is longing for them. Do you see the true, spiritual, supernatural love that exists between Epaphroditus and the rest of the church?! How would we feel if we chose Anthony Aguiar to take a financial gift to the church in Vietnam, and then we heard that he was really sick, and no one knew if he was going to live or die?! That might help you to understand what was going on here.
Epaphroditus was true living example of Philippians 2:3-4, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”
This is a beautiful scene! Everyone is concerned for someone else. Epaphroditus is concerned for the Philippians. The Philippians are concerned for Epaphroditus. Paul is concerned for both of them. Nobody is concerned about themselves! Here is that selfless humility that we have been talking about. Here is that non-complaining spirit that we read about in 2:14.
4. His Devotion
Think for a moment what Epaphroditus had set out to do. He was embarking on a journey that would cause him to be away from home for many months. If he was married with children, he would have to leave them. He would have to leave his job. He would have to sacrifice financially. He would have to go through the hardships of traveling for many weeks just to make it to Rome. On top of that, he was putting himself in harm’s way. No one knew what would become of Paul. He could be released or he could be imprisoned indefinitely or he could be put to death. Paul was not popular with the Roman government. And anyone who was helping Paul might also be suspect by the Roman government. Epaphroditus, for all he knew, could be arrested by the Romans as well.
Verse 30 says “he risked his life to complete what was deficient in your service to me.” He put his own life on the line in order to complete this mission and serve the apostle Paul.
What a great example for us. Here is a nobody. As far as we know, he held no office, preached no sermons, wrote no books. He was just a humble servant. He was willing to do what needed to be done in order to further the gospel of Christ. No task was too menial, no sacrifice too big, no risk too great.
Friends, none of us are going to be an apostle Paul, or even a Timothy. But all of us can be an Epaphroditus. All of us can simply make ourselves available to the Lord. All of us can be fully devoted to the cause of Christ. All of us can just be a humble servant.
5. His Reward
What was Epaphroditus’ reward for his faithful humble service? Paul charges the church to do two things:
1) Receive him then in the Lord with all joy. When he returns, receive him with all joy. Show him how glad you are to see him! Celebrate! Throw a party. Show him your appreciation for what he has done on behalf of the church.
2) Hold him in high regard. In other words, esteem him. This is the kind of language that Paul uses to encourage the Thessalonian church to appreciate their spiritual leaders. 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13, “But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work.”
His reward was not money or riches. It was not worldly fame or popularity. It was not an empire or crown. But I have a feeling Epaphroditus didn’t much care about those things anyway. His reward was to return to a church that love him and appreciated him, and held him in high regard. That was it. But that was plenty.
Conclusion
Folks here at The Bridge, consider the example of Epaphroditus and apply it to your own life.
I want all of you to find someone that you can discuss this message with. I want you to think about Epaphroditus’ example. Try to put your finger on what you admire most about him. Then tell the other person what is holding you back from living that way. Both of you share these things together, and then pray for one another.
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