Tag Archives: Co-worker

PAUL’S HAPPY LETTER…EPAPHRODITIS – 11

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“Meanwhile, I thought I should send Epaphroditus back to you. He is a true brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier. And he was your messenger to help me in my need. I am sending him because he has been longing to see you, and he was very distressed that you heard he was ill. And he certainly was ill; in fact, he almost died. But God had mercy on him—and also on me, so that I would not have one sorrow after another. So I am all the more anxious to send him back to you, for I know you will be glad to see him, and then I will not be so worried about you. Welcome him in the Lord’s love and with great joy, and give him the honor that people like him deserve. For he risked his life for the work of Christ, and he was at the point of death while doing for me what you couldn’t do from far away.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭25‬-‭30‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Epaphroditus…another of Paul’s fellow soldiers! New names keep popping up…real people who littered Paul’s path with companionship, assistance, partnership, labour…and suffering.  Paul called this man “a true brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier“. What a commendation! A brother…spiritually, of the same family, the same blood! A co-worker…on the same team! A fellow soldier…fighting on the same side! 

With people like Epaphroditus, Paul was never alone. These men and women…a growing number, names mentioned in most of his letters..didn’t start their own missions. They teamed up with Paul, followed his example, submitted to his authority, accompanied him on his journeys, and carried his vision wherever they went. 

Some, like this man, Epaphroditis, put his in life on the line for the gospel, as Paul had done. Somewhere along the way he fell into serious danger.  He became seriously ill. He contracted a deadly medical condition that could have ended his life. 

Life, in Paul’s day, was a daily risk. Medical expertise and facilities were non-existent. Diseases were everywhere, just waiting for someone with a compromised immune system…and Epaphroditus became a victim. 

Paul gives no details…the sickness had no name…but enough to make this man’s dedication clear. Whatever risk he took, whatever interrupted his journey, Epaphroditis had survived…and Paul was grateful. 

It was not medical intervention but God’s mercy that saved Epaphroditus that time…and every time someone got sick and recovered. 

Just reading through Paul’s description of Epaphroditus’ experience makes me realise how interconnected believers were under Paul’s watch. There was continual coming and going between people in the churches…news being exchanged…visitors being welcomed, hosted, refreshed, and sent back to share resources and encourage one another. 

One would think that movement was easy…but it was not! Yet, the people in these small congregations, across many miles, were more connected, then, than the people in small congregations in one town or city today. Why?

Was it because they were people who lived apart from the world, in it but not of it? They were separated by conversion and conviction, and their only safety lay in staying together…doing life together and protecting one another. 

In today’s world, God’s people are distracted by many attractions and not threatened much by their hostile environment. It’s easy to blend in, not to be noticed, to be lost in, and to be part of the crowd. 

From God’s perspective, there is great benefit in being separated and distinct…not only because of His  favour…

“Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said. In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and always thought about the honor of his name. “They will be my people,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “On the day when I act in judgment, they will be my own special treasure. I will spare them as a father spares an obedient child. Then you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”

‭‭Malachi‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture.”

‭‭Malachi‬ ‭4‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

…but because it is a matter of life and death…

“Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭2‬:‭15‬-‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In today’s world, we have opportunities and privileges far beyond those of Paul’s day… communication and travel being among the most advantageous. Let’s not become lazy or complacent in the administration of our faith. Let’s do the “Paul thing”…use our connectedness to foster fellowship, love, and service…to God’s glory. 

To be continued

PARTNERS IN HELP

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Philippians 2:25, 28-30 NLT
[25] “Meanwhile, I thought I should send Epaphroditus back to you. He is a true brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier. And he was your messenger to help me in my need…
[28] So I am all the more anxious to send him back to you, for I know you will be glad to see him, and then I will not be so worried about you. [29] Welcome him in the Lord’s love and with great joy, and give him the honor that people like him deserve. [30] For he risked his life for the work of Christ, and he was at the point of death while doing for me what you couldn’t do from far away.”

Epaphroditus…another name on God’s honour roll!

Despite his incarceration, Paul had loyal friends and partners who gladly extended his presence where he could not go. Epaphroditus, a member of the Philippian church, was one such partner. He was, to Paul, a representative of the whole congregation of believers in Philippi.

Since his name is of pagan origin derived from “Apaphrodite”, a prominent pagan goddess, Epaphroditus must have been born into and born again out of a pagan background. By God’s grace, he had been rescued from his old life and transformed into a loyal and loving partner in Christ whom Paul called, “a brother, co-worker and soldier”.

Epaphroditus had undertaken the arduous journey from Philippi to Rome with the contribution of money from the Philippian church that Paul so greatly valued. Paul saw their gift as much more than financial assistance. Their gift was a sacrifice, a fragrant offering to the Lord.

Somehow, somewhere, Epaphroditis contracted an illness that almost took his life, possibly a fever that was prevalent at that time. To Paul’s great relief, he survived and recovered from his near-death sickness.

Despite the dangers of travel in the Roman empire in those days, Paul had fellow believers who accompanied him on his missionary journeys, or travelled back and forth as fellow missionaries or messengers to keep the churches in contact with one another. They brought news to encourage, pray and support each other in the face of opposition and persecution.

It amazes me how Paul had such a network of helpers across the churches that he knew personally and valued as fellow workers in his labour for God’s kingdom. Time and again, he greeted them in his letters and expressed his appreciation for their work in helping him to spread the gospel.

Through the “glue” Paul supplied in his relationship to the churches, he linked each fellowship to the others until the church of the Lord Jesus in the Roman empire became a network of believers who functioned as a unit in a very hostile world.

As individuals moved around, the churches were encouraged to welcome and receive them, to offer them hospitality and protection from the outside world, and to pray for them, as members of one big family.

This may seem like an impossible model to follow in a known world much bigger than Paul’s world today. However, we have a tool which is both relatively new and unheard of in Paul’s day, the internet, which has opened up unimaginable avenues of interconnection. We may not see or know each other by name, but we can connect with true believers around the world to encourage and support one another in an ever-increasingly hostile environment.

We all have access to the internet in one way or another, and we have search engines that can direct us towards those who are true followers of Jesus. We can form groups of fellow believers who encourage and support on another in prayer through a simple device called a cellphone. The Holy Spirit, who is our divine Helper, will give us the discernment, through our knowledge of the Word, to recognise and follow truth in the midst of deception.

Yes, unfortunately, the church of the Lord Jesus is hidden inside a false system that masquerades as His bride. Their teachings are shot through with false doctrines, additions, subtractions, mistranslations and misinterpretations that give us the clue to its identity. This part of the “church” is the apostate church, the great prostitute, the scarlet woman of Revelation, made up of those who willingly follow deception for the sake of convenience.

We have the assurance that the true church belongs to Jesus. He knows His sheep and they know Him. They follow Him and He preserves and protects them. He gives them eternal life and they will never perish.

John 10:27-30 NLT
[27] “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. [28] I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, [29] for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. [30] The Father and I are one.”

Jesus told a story to illustrate that true believers and pseudo believers will exist side by side until judgment day when their fruit will reveal their nature.

Matthew 13:24-30 NLT
[24] “Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. [25] But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. [26] When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew. [27] “The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’ [28] “‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed. “‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked. [29] “‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. [30] Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’”

So, we who remain true to the Word of God, preserving and protecting its integrity, passing it on to the next generation, and living by its instructions, are part of a vast network of family members around the globe. Let’s recognise our connection beyond ourselves, let’s love and pray for one another, partnering where we can as helpers and fellow workers in growing God’s glorious kingdom on earth.