Together

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS

TOGETHER

Phil 2:25-30

25 But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. 26 For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. 28 Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. 29 Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor men like him, 30 because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me.

NIV

This is most definitely a personal note to the church in Philippi about their fellow Philippians who they must have sent to assist Paul while he was in chains in Rome. There is nowhere else in the scriptures which mentions this man, Epaphroditus. All we know about him is what is said here. Paul considers him a brother, a fellow worker, and a fellow soldier who was their messenger sent to take care of him. What we should see is the three descriptions and what they say about the Christian character. First, the Greek word translated brother implies the same one from the womb. There is nothing closer than being a brother of the same mother, and this is how Paul felt about Epaphroditus. What is miraculous about this is Paul is a Jew and Epaphroditus is a gentile, yet he is considered as close as a brother. Should we not also consider all our fellow believers as close as a brother or sister? Sure, us siblings might have our ups and downs, but in the end, we would do anything for our brother or sister, at least, we should. Second, Paul refers to him as a fellow worker, which again implies that Epaphroditus was not just sent to care for Paul, but was actually involved or had a hand in the work of the gospel, as he was also referred to as a fellow soldier. This says he ministered to others in the name of Jesus. All of these titles should be able to be applied to all of us within the body of Christ. We all work together as one family, for the furtherance of our Father's kingdom. What is also interesting is that Paul says that Epaphroditus almost died and that Paul was very sad over his illness. It appears no miracle of healing took place by the hands of Paul. That is, Paul did not simply anoint him and he was healed. There appears to be the natural mercy of God here. Sometimes we think we have to get anointed with oil by a pastor in order to be healed, but God is more than able to heal us all on his own. Now, we are admonished to come forward if any of us are sick so the elders, or pastors can anoint and pray and the sick person will get well. The letter James wrote to the church is very clear on this. What we have to know is we cannot put God in this box of having to do everything just the way we think he should. He is God and he can have divine mercy, healing someone, without having to be anointed, and he can heal someone because they are being anointed, seeking his divine healing, and the forgiveness of sin. There is also something else here in the life of this man which we should note. He almost died for the work of the Lord, risking his life for the sake of the Gospel, for the sake of helping Paul spread the Gospel. Maybe we have not done enough. Maybe we hold back more than we should. It does not matter how we feel. We should put it all on the line for the work of Christ, whatever we have been called to do in this work. Maybe we baby ourselves more than we should. However, the reason we should put ourselves at risk is not for our own benefit, but for the benefit of the kingdom, for the work of Christ. It certainly appears although Epahriditus did so, God in his infinite mercy healed him, making him well and able to continue in his labor. As long as we are doing the work of the Lord, he will either sustain us or heal us.  Let us keep our eyes on the Lord, on the passion he has sent before us. Let us not waiver from the task he has called us to and he will keep us. Then we also should note the concern Paul had for this man, to the point of being anxious about his health. Again, this should apply to all of us, in our concern for each other, our brothers and sisters, or fellow workers, our fellow soldiers in Christ. We are all together in this work of the Lord.