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Number 85 | October 3, 2006
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Number 85 | October
3, 2006
Co-workers: Epaphroditus
This is the sixth in a continuing Ekklesia Then & Now series on the individuals Paul referred to as sunergos sunergos (co-workers). Previous installments have been Priscilla and Aquila (ET&N 62), Aristarchus (63), Euodia and Syntyche (66), Clement (70), and Demas (79). The purpose of the series is to examine the biblical and extrabiblical information about these people and their lives to determine what lessons they hold for today's Christian. Additional installments of this series will include Jesus Justus, Luke, Mark, Philemon, Timothy, Titus, and Urbanus.
Among the obscure characters of the New Testament, barely known to most Christians, the name of Epaphroditus surely deserves our profound respect as one of the great models of ancient faith. When we read Paul's letter to the church in Philippi, do we gloss over the scant verses devoted to this man, eager to encounter the more famous theological nuggets from the pen of the apostle? To be sure, Philippians contains many scriptural gems; for example:
The Letter to Philippi
Traditionally, Philippians has been assigned to the "prison epistles" written during Paul's confinements in Rome in 62-65 A.D., but recent biblical scholarship has suggested an Ephesus imprisonment, perhaps in 56-57. There are two primary arguments in favor of Ephesus over Rome:
Ultimately, it doesn't really matter whether Paul wrote Philippians from Rome or Ephesus (or, in fact, some other city), and one should not be concerned with questions about the traditional attribution of the letter. Questions about interpretations do not challenge the inspiration of Scripture itself.
Wherever Paul was at the time, the Philippian church heard of his confinement, decided to send a monetary gift, and chose Epaphroditus to deliver it: "I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God" (Philippians 4:18). This fact demonstrates the regard with which Epaphroditus is held by his own congregation. He may have been an elder of the church, a diakonos (deacon/servant), or perhaps just a man recognized for his integrity and commitment.
Some time during his journey or his stay with Paul, Epaphroditus became gravely ill, nearly dying. News of his condition reached Philippi, and word of their grief has gotten back to Paul and Epaphroditus, causing him distress. [Note: this is further evidence of the relative proximity of Philippi and the site of Paul's imprisonment.] Paul decides to send Epaphroditus back home and, together with Timothy (1:1), writes a letter to this church that has been a faithful partner in the ministry of the gospel (1:5; 4:15). In it, he writes of Epaphroditus:
"I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need..." (2:25).
In this single verse, Paul applies five different, highly significant labels to Epaphroditus, identifying him as one worthy of their honor (2:29):
Brother (adelphos)
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The companion Greek
terms adelphos (brother) and adelphē
(sister) both derive from delphus (womb) and therefore mean
a person or persons deriving from the same womb. The analogy of the
church as a family is far and away the most commonly used of the many descriptors
(see ET&N 43 What's in a Name) applied
to the church (ekklesia), and it is important because it properly
focuses the reality of the church on the people, rather than our current focus
on church as a building.
In one sense, all humans are brothers and sisters, owing their very existence
to God, but Christians experience a special familial relationship. In
calling Epaphroditus his "brother," Paul is acknowledging him as a
faithful member of the same family, both having been adopted by God as sons
through Christ Jesus (see Romans
8:15; Galatians
4:4-5; and Ephesians
1:5).
Christians are part of an adelphotēs, literally translated
brotherhood, but in the New Testament the term is used in reference
to all who have been adopted in the family of God, without regard to gender.
As such, the terms adelphos and adelphē
carry with them a common hope, a common inheritance, and a common responsibility
to serve as ambassadors through whom God is making his appeal to humanity (2
Corinthians 5:20).
Fellow worker (sunergos)
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As noted in other
installments of this series, sunergos
is a term applied sparingly by Paul. Having received his inheritance as a brother,
Epaphroditus did not sit back, content with his own salvation. The kind of work
engaged in by Paul and his sunergos is that of sharing the
gospel with others through both evangelism and exemplary living. One can reasonably
assume that Epaphroditus worked side-by-side with Paul in his native Philippi
during Paul's three probable visits to the city (see Acts 16, 20). In addition,
when he reached the city of Paul's confinement (whether Rome or Ephesus), he
certainly took opportunities to share the gospel. In fact, Paul says that it
is that activity that contributed to Epaphroditus' illness, writing "he
nearly died for the work of Christ" (2:30a). It seems that after he
delivered the gift to Paul, he worked so hard that he fell victim to one of
the many diseases prevalant in the unsanitary conditions of ancient cities (see
ET&N 17 Disasters).
For Paul, of course, the "work of the Lord" in which he and other
disciples engaged had no impact on one's salvation, but that did not mean it
was unimportant. His letters are filled with exhortations to good works. Salvation
is not the product of good works; rather, good works are the product of salvation:
"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which
God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10).
Epaphroditus walked so thoroughly in good works that it almost killed him.
Fellow soldier (sustratiōtēs)
While
it is true that the Christian life requires one to wage war against the forces
of evil (see Ephesians
6:12), but that battle is not primarily one of the violence and glory of
military action in the misguided tradition of the unfortunately-popular militaristic
hymn, Onward Christian Soldiers. Instead, the analogy he uses here
is probably more related to his later words to Timothy: "Share in suffering
as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits,
since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him" (2 Timothy 2:3-4).
The life of the soldier is one of self-sacrifice and hardship in the service
of one's commander. Epaphroditus has personally and profoundly experienced such
hardship in his service.
Messenger (apostolos)
When
Paul refers to Epaphroditus as an apostolos, he is using the
same word he applies to himself in the salutation of nine of his letters (Romans,
1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, 1 Timothy, 2
Timothy, and Titus. He claims his apostleship as a "calling" (klētos)
or "by the will of God" (thelēma theos), citing
his Damascus Road vision of the risen Christ, as well as later revelations.
Today, some make much of the distinction between "Apostles" and "apostles,"
relegating anyone not among the original twelve (minus Judas Iscariot, plus
Matthias, see Acts 1:16-26) to a lesser status. Paul's frequent defense of his
own apostleship proves that even in his time there must have been those who
insisted there could only be twelve Apostles. Yet, in Scripture itself, the
descriptor apostolos is applied to people not among the Twelve:
Paul, Titus (2
Corinthians 8:23), Jesus' brother James (Galatians
1:19), Barnabas (Acts
14:14), perhaps Andronicus and Junia (Romans
16:7), and even Jesus Himself (Hebrews
3:1).
The literal meaning of apostolos is one who is set apart and sent out (as a delegate or a commissioner). An apostolos is sent to carry out the orders of the one who commissioned him or her. In some sense, every Christian could therefore be considered an apostolos because we are all set apart and sent out to spread the gospel (evangelize). However, Paul strongly implies that not everyone is an apostle (2 Corinthians 2:29; Ephesians 4:11), so he must reserve the term for a special service. At the same time, "messenger" is probably a weak translation of apostolos since someone who merely carries a message need not have any particular stake in the message or broad commitment to the sender.
The difference between an Apostle and an apostle seems to lie in who sets apart and sends out the individual. In the case of an Apostle, the commission comes directly from God. This is what Paul was arguing when his Apostleship was challenged. After Paul left Corinth, other teachers appeared who apparently questioned his right to call himself an Apostle. In Paul's painful and indignant response, he points out that he performed the "signs of a true apostle" - "signs and wonders and mighty works" (2 Corinthians 12:12) that proved the authority he received from God.
An apostle, on the other hand, is commissioned by other Christians. This is the sense in which Barnabas is called an apostle - he was set apart and sent (along with Paul) by the church in Antioch (Acts 13:1-3). James seems to be received in apostleship by the acclimation of the Jerusalem church, probably because of his blood relationship to Jesus. Others could be called apostles; for example, Paul commissioned Phoebe to carry his letter to the church in Rome (Romans 16:1-2); he sent Timothy to Corinth on his behalf (1 Corinthians 4:17); and he sent Tychicus to Ephesus (Ephesians 6:21-22, 2 Timothy 4:12) and Colossae (Colossians 4:7-8). The 2 Timothy passage about Tychicus shows this meaning: "I sent [Greek, apostellō, the verb form of apostolos] Tychicus to Ephesus"
It is in this sense that Paul refers to Epaphroditus as an apostolos - he is the (officially) commissioned delegate of the Philippian church to carry a love offering to Paul in his confinement. This certainly does not imply less responsibility and may represent a higher commendation. The Apostles were entrusted with their commissions because of what God gave them; an apostle like Epaphroditus is entrusted because of the qualities the church saw in him. This is probably also true of Andronicus and Junia (Romans 16:7). They may have been commissioned by the church in Rome to carry the gospel to areas outside the city.
Minister (leitourgos)
Epaphroditus
provided service to Paul, fulfilling his need. We do not know precisely what
was involved in this service beyond the delivery of the gift from the church
in Philippi but we can assume at the least that Epaphroditus' presence comforted
and encouraged Paul. Paul's use of the term leitourgos, as
opposed to diakonos, which he used more often in referring
to those who provided Christian service, is unusual. He uses the term in only
two other instances: in Romans 15:15-16, he applies leitourgos to
himself; and in Romans 13:6, he calls
human rulers leitourgos of God (Romans 13:6).
This last use more reflects the literal meaning of leitourgos, which is derived from laos (people) and ergon (work) - the peoples' work, or public service. Consequently, Epaphroditus' leitourgos is related to his apostolos in that he faithfully carried out his mission as a public servant of the ekklesia in Philippi. Paul therefore gives Epaphroditus double praise, affirming that the Philippians' commission was done.
The Value of Suffering
"...{Epaphroditus) has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me" (Philippians 2:26-30).
The question that begs to be asked is "Why didn't Paul heal Epaphroditus?" There are several possibilities.
1. Perhaps he did. Paul certainly had the gift of healing. He healed the crippled man in Lystra (Acts 14:8-10). He banished an unclean spirit from the divining slave girl in Philippi (Acts 16:16-18). In Ephesus, even pieces of cloth he had touched had curative powers (Acts 19:11-12). In Malta, he healed the father of the island's leading man (Acts 28:8-9). The text of Philippians does not tell us how Epaphroditus recovered - just that he did. Perhaps Paul healed him and simply didn't say so because he did not want his comments to focus on himself, but the context does not seem to support this interpretation.
2. Perhaps Epaphroditus had already recovered by the time he reached Rome (or Ephesus), but Paul seems to have observed Epaphroditus' illness firsthand,
3. Perhaps Paul was incapable of healing him. A few online articles I encountered in researching Epaphroditus (for example, this one at the Petersburg (IN) Gospel Center website) offered the theory that Paul's gift of healing had ended, using 1 Corinthians 13:9 ("when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away"). That interpretation of the verse, which I've heard before and used to accept, equates the "perfect" with the Bible, but a straightforward reading of the verse belies that meaning. The Greek word translated "perfect" (teleios) literally means "complete," which fits with "partial" (meros): "For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when (completion) comes, the partial (knowledge and prophesy) will pass away" (8-9). Even if the passage did refer to the Bible, the Bible hadn't even begun to be assembled when Paul wrote Philippians. Furthermore, while Paul says prophesies, tongues, and knowledge "will pass away" (13:8), he says nothing about healing.
4. Paul chose not to heal him or, more precisely, God chose not to heal him miraculously. Every instance of healing in the New Testament is clearly attributed to God. The human healers were only instruments of God's will. Furthermore, healing is a sign specifically designed to certify the authority of disciples. Unless Paul had hauled the ailing Epaphroditus into a public place and healed him before a crowd, it would have served no evangelistic purpose. The power to heal through the Holy Spirit (or any other miraculous gift) is not something a believer can choose to display when s/he desires, as Paul teaches:
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills (1 Corinthians 12:7-11, emphasis mine).
I'm sure Paul empathized with Epaphroditus' suffering since he was apparently physically weak (2 Corinthians 10:10), and he attests to being "often near death" during his ministry (see 2 Corinthians 11:23-27), but Paul had learned the value of suffering. He understood that God's power is most dramatically displayed in human weakness because it demonstrates His power. He had to repeat this lesson several times for some in the Corinthian church who boasted of their gifts, perhaps even failing to give the credit to God: "...God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong...so that no human being might boast in the presence of God" (1 Corinthians 1:27b, 29). He insisted on equality within the church, pointing out that "the parts of the body (the church) that seem to be weaker are indispensable" (1 Corinthians 12:22). He used weakness as a significant evangelistic strategy: "To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak" (1 Corinthians 9:22a).
Appropriately, Paul's most powerful testimony of his own weakness comes immediately after his description of an event in which he might be justifiably proud. Forced to defend his apostleship and his ministry against detractors, Paul revealed a sublime mystical experience - a vision of the third heaven (see 2 Corinthians 12:1-4) - but then he tells of his famous "thorn in the flesh," usually interpreted as some physical infirmity. Paul's vision occurred in about 42 A.D., during the years he remained in Tarsus after his first visit to the apostles in Jerusalem and years before his great missionary journeys.
The thorn in the flesh was given to him specifically "to keep (him) from being too elated," (2 Corinthians 12:7), but the then-immature Paul pleaded three times for its removal. In a lesson Paul almost certainly shared with the suffering Epaphroditus, the Lord's response was, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (12:9). Paul understood the lesson and shared the insight with the Corinthians: "For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (12:10). Regardless of the severity of Epaphroditus' illness, his spirit must have soared when Paul related that wisdom - the Philippian had traveled in loving Christian service to bring a gift to a prisoner. When he became weak for the sake of Christ, he became strong. In their respective suffering, Paul and Epaphroditus came to identify even more closely with Christ Jesus who, as Paul wrote, "was crucified in weakness" (2 Corinthians 13:4).
Orthodox and Catholic tradition claims that Epaphroditus was the first bishop of three cities: his native Philippi, Andriacia (in Lycia, on the south-central coast of modern Turkey), and Terracina, Italy. If so, perhaps it was his experiences in traveling to Rome and serving Paul in his own suffering that strengthened his faith and give him the strength and humility required of an early leader of the church.
Surely one of the most challenges concepts in Christianity - and one which is contrary to human wisdom - is the value of suffering. "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds," James wrote (1:2). It's one thing to advocate tolerating suffering; it's quite another to suggest that suffering should be a source of joy. Another article I read while investigating Epaphroditus opened, "Suffering is the supreme service," but that misses the point. Suffering in of itself has no intrinsic value. Stoic philosophy, somewhat popular in upper Roman classes during the early years of the church, taught that suffering was to be endured and overcome. "If you are distressed by any external thing," Marcus Aurelius (121-180) wrote, "It is not this thing which disturbs you, but your own judgment about it. And it is in your power to wipe out that judgment now" (Meditations 8.49) - the ancient equivalent of "Get over it!"
In Christianity, however, the value of suffering lies not in getting over it, but in allowing God to use it to strengthen His followers. "(T)he testing of your faith produces steadfastness," James explains (1:3). The fruit of suffering comes when one places complete trust in God, confident that His purposes will produce a positive outcome, even if it's not one the sufferer himself or herself may ever see.
Similarly, there are those today who claim the gospel is about wealth and prosperity, a skewed version of Jesus' words in John 10:10b ("I came that they may have life and have it abundantly"), apparently forgetting that Jesus also said, "one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions" (Luke 12:15b). The abundance of like Christ Jesus offers lies neither in wealth and prosperity nor in suffering, but rather in every aspect of life and the glory one gives to God, regardless of the circumstance.
Paul wrote precisely this near the end of his letter to the church in Philippi: "I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:12-13). When Epaphroditus returned to Philippi, perhaps he read Paul's letter aloud to the assembled Christians. When he read those words, he must have smiled and nodded.
(New
Testament Apocrypha: Apocalypes)
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