Tag Archives: Epaphras

EPAPHRAS – FAITHFUL PRAYER WARRIOR

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EPAPHRAS – FAITHFUL PRAYER WARRIOR

Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. I vouch for him that he is always working for hard for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis (Col. 4: 12-13).

Epaphras – this is the second time his name was mentioned in Paul’s letter to the Colossians. Who was this man?

Paul described him as a ‘dear fellow servant’ and a ‘faithful minister of Christ on our behalf.’ Paul took his responsibility to fulfil his commission so seriously that he regarded Epaphras’s ministry in Colossae as being carried out on his behalf. Paul was only one man. It was impossible for him to take the message of Christ to every city, town and village in the Roman Empire. Therefore, every person who shared the gospel of Jesus with others did it for him – being an extension of his ministry wherever they went.

Epaphras was Paul’s mouthpiece in Colossae and, through his faithful witness, a church was born there. But Paul still regarded it his responsibility to teach the people and warn them not to fall for the heresy of the Gnostics that threatened to lure them away from their pure faith in Christ.

As a faithful minister to them, Epaphras went to Paul in Rome when the alarm bells began to ring. He needed Paul’s understanding of the gospel and his ability to explain it clearly to the church to help him deal with this threat among his beloved church family members.

Epaphras took his role as leader so seriously that he also worked hard in his prayer closet for them. He was neither prepared to allow error to steal them away from Christ, nor would he allow them to fall away through the fear of persecution. These two threats were very real in the infant church. They were a small band of vulnerable people who were at the mercy of ruthless opponents of Jesus and His message from two quarters – the unbelieving Jews and the Roman government.

Both Paul and Epaphras had no means of protecting these people except through prayer and to prayer they turned to enlist the aid of the greatest power on earth. Night and day Paul prayed for the churches all over the empire, and night and day Epaphras prayed for the Colossians. Paul described his prayer as ‘wrestling’. With whom was he wrestling? Surely not with God because God was on his side.

Epaphras understood that the enemy of their souls was a liar. The devil would use every trick in the book to deceive believers and to lure them away from faith in Jesus when their circumstances seemed as though He had abandoned them. Fear was the great enemy of faith and Epaphras knew how easily they could be overcome by fear.

He was also aware of another equally dangerous enemy – the enemy within. The old sinful nature was always lurking in the shadows, waiting to trip them up in unguarded moments. Through guilt and shame, they might shrink from the Father who loved them and, instead of running to Him for pardon and reconciliation when they fell into temptation, they might pull away and become reabsorbed into the world system which pandered to their evil desires.

And so, the faithful prayer warrior wrestled in prayer, building a wall of protection around and within his people through his intercession for them. It was not that he could add anything to what Jesus has done on the cross. Jesus has unmasked and defeated the devil and rendered him powerless to deceive them but he was still around, trying to obscure the truth with his lies.

What did Epaphras pray? Did he ask God to keep them safe from their persecutors? No! Was he concerned about their earthly circumstances? No! Did he ask God to keep them from sickness and trouble? No! What was his greatest desire for them? Paul spelt it out so that his readers, and that includes us, would know what was most important for them and for us. To the Colossians he wrote, ‘that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.’

Above all the earthly comforts and conveniences they craved, one thing mattered more than everything else, that they would be so secure in God, who He is and who they were in Him that nothing would be able to lure them away from dependence upon and obedience to Him. As for them, so with us also.

Imagine how different the church of the Lord Jesus Christ would be if, firstly, its leaders, instead of seeking fame and fortune for themselves, would wrestle in prayer for its members. Secondly, if their prayers were answered, the church would be a body of people standing firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. What then?

We need many an ‘Epaphras’ to wrestle in prayer before the church ever becomes an instrument of transformation in a messed-up world.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

THE GOSPEL OF GOD’S GRACE

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THE GOSPEL OF GOD’S GRACE

“In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world – just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. You learned it from Epaphrus, our dear fellow servant who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.” Colossians 1:6b-8.

How did the gospel of God’s grace get to be what it is today in so many places across the world? What happened that the gospel became “God wants you rich” or “God wants you to walk in divine health” or even “receive Jesus as your personal Saviour so that you can go to heaven when you die”?

Please don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that there should not be rich Christians or,healthy believers or that we don’t go to be with Jesus when we die. But is this what our faith is all about? What is the heart of the good news that Jesus came from heaven to bring and to demonstrate? He called it “the good news of the kingdom of God”, and it’s nothing new.

God’s people had forgotten who was in charge. They gave themselves to idols and reaped the fruit of it – messed-up lives and conflict all around them. Isaiah had to remind them of the truth:

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.'” Isaiah 52:7.

The good news is that God is still in charge – even though it may not seem like it. People everywhere are trying to find out who rules this planet, or who rules their country or their city or their family. What a relief, when we discover that God is still here, that He has not abdicated or gone somewhere else, and that His plans are still on track! The ones who believe that He is working everything out according to His will are learning to relax and allow Him to steer the ship.

Although Jesus came to die for our sins, He did much more than that while He walked among men. He came to reveal the Father, to take us to the Father and to reconcile the whole disjointed universe to Himself so that He can restore everything to its former glory and purpose. God did not abandon His plan in despair when Adam derailed it. It was already on His agenda to provide a solution from before the beginning of creation.

Paul described the good news as “the gospel of God’s grace”. Before He ever revealed Himself to humans, He was unknown and unknowable. He is so “other” than His created universe that it would take supernatural revelation for humans to recognise Him in the world around us and in our spirits. On top of that, because we have inherited Adam’s nature, our minds are in rebellion against Him and darkened in our understanding.

God sent Jesus to be a mirror image of Himself so that we could actually see Him in a person of flesh and blood. For what purpose? To know and experience a part of His nature that is unknowable outside of our imperfect humanity – His grace. How can we know God’s grace unless we need it? How could Paul experience grace unless he felt his weakness? In his desperate prayer to be free from his persecutors, God assured him:

“…My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9.

It was good news that God was in charge. It was a relief to know that He was still ruling His world. He was still giving people the power to live among ungodly people in ways that reflect Him when they choose to turn away from trying to run their own lives. This good news was spreading like wildfire across the world and Paul was elated. It had reached the people in Colossae and they had embraced it. It was changing their lives and their community.

The good news is not 9nly about heaven by and by. It’s also about heaven coming to earth here and now because God’s in charge. It’s about loving instead of hating; it’s about forgiving instead of getting even; it’s about sharing instead of grabbing; it’s about doing life together as God’s children in God’s family; it’s about cleaning up our messy lives, burying our differences and living in peace and safety with one another because we can.

It’s about showing the world what life can look like when we let God rule us. It’s about bringing heaven to earth now in preparation for the day when Jesus returns to take charge here forever. He will restore everything, throw out and destroy everything and everyone that disrupts including the devil and his minions, forever.

No, He will not abandon the earth. He will make everything new just as He said He would and we can be part of it if we get involved now.

SCRIPTURE TAKEN FROM THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Epaphras – Faithful Prayer Warrior

Bible Study, ,

EPAPHRAS – FAITHFUL PRAYER WARRIOR

Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. I vouch for him that he is always working for hard for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis (Col. 4: 12-13).

Epaphras – this is the second time his name was mentioned in Paul’s letter to the Colossians. Who was this man?

Paul described him as a ‘dear fellow servant’ and a ‘faithful minister of Christ on our behalf.’ Paul took his responsibility to fulfil his commission so seriously that he regarded Epaphras’s ministry in Colossae as being carried out on his behalf. Paul was only one man. It was impossible for him to take the message of Christ to every city, town and village in the Roman Empire. Therefore, every person who shared the gospel of Jesus with others did it for him – being an extension of his ministry wherever they went.

Epaphras was Paul’s mouthpiece in Colossae and, through his faithful witness, a church was born there. But Paul still regarded it his responsibility to teach the people and warn them not to fall for the heresy of the Gnostics which threatened to lure them away from their pure faith in Christ.

As a faithful minister to them, Epaphras went to Paul in Rome when the alarm bells began to ring. He needed Paul’s understanding of the gospel and his ability to explain it clearly to the church to help him deal with this threat among his beloved church family members.

Epaphras took his role as leader so seriously that he also worked hard in his prayer closet for them. He was neither prepared to allow error to steal them away from Christ, nor would he allow them to fall away through the fear of persecution. These two threats were very real in the infant church. They were a small band of vulnerable people who were at the mercy of ruthless opponents of Jesus and His message from two quarters – the unbelieving Jews and the Roman government.

Both Paul and Epaphras had no means of protecting these people except through prayer and to prayer they turned to enlist the aid of the greatest power on earth. Night and day Paul prayed for the churches all over the empire, and night and day Epaphras prayed for the Colossians. Paul described his prayer as ‘wrestling’. With whom was he wrestling? Surely not with God because God was on his side.

Epaphras understood that the enemy of their souls was a liar. The devil would use every trick in the book to deceive believers and to lure them away from faith in Jesus when their circumstances seemed as though He had abandoned them. Fear was the great enemy of faith and Epaphras knew how easily they could be overcome by fear.

He was also aware of another equally dangerous enemy – the enemy within. The old sinful nature was always lurking in the shadows, waiting to trip them up in unguarded moments. Through guilt and shame, they might shrink from the Father who loved them and, instead of running to Him for pardon and reconciliation when they fell into temptation, they might pull away and become reabsorbed into the world system which pandered to their evil desires.

And so, the faithful prayer warrior wrestled in prayer, building a wall of protection around and within his people through his intercession for them. It was not that he could add anything to what Jesus has done on the cross. Jesus has unmasked and defeated the devil and rendered him powerless to deceive them but he was still around, trying to obscure the truth with his lies.

What did Epaphras pray? Did he ask God to keep them safe from their persecutors? No! Was he concerned about their earthly circumstances? No! Did he ask God to keep them from sickness and trouble? No! What was his greatest desire for them? Paul spelt it out so that his readers – and that includes us – would know what was most important for them and for us. To the Colossians he wrote, ‘that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.’

Above all the earthly comforts and conveniences they craved, one thing mattered above everything else, that they would be so secure in God, who He is and who they were in Him that nothing would be able to lure them away from dependence upon and obedience to Him. As for them, so with us also.

Imagine how different the church of the Lord Jesus Christ would be if, firstly, its leaders, instead of seeking fame and fortune for themselves, would wrestle in prayer for its members. Secondly, if their prayers were answered, the church would be a body of people standing firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. What then?

We need many an ‘Epaphras’ to wrestle in prayer before the church ever becomes an instrument of transformation in a messed up world.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.