As Paul closes out the second chapter of his letter to the Philippians, he concludes his thoughts on his coworker Epaphroditus.

You can see his comments in Philippians 2:29-30:

In spite of the fact that Paul was sending Epaphroditus back to Philippi, apparently without fulfilling his task of service to Paul, he commends this coworker to the church in Philippi.

As he returned home, the church there was to welcome him in the Lord, and with great joy. His efforts were satisfactory, given the circumstances, and the church in Philippi was to show their love and care for him as he returned. And again, Paul tells them to be joyful as they do so. After all, Epaphroditus could have died in his service, but did not, and is now being restored to the Philippians.

Such men require honor. He risked his life. The Greek phrase here is a gambling term. Epaphroditus staked his life on his service to Christ, and to Paul. He gave no thought to his own personal comfort or safety and served the sake of the Gospel with everything he had, almost to the point of dying. This is self-sacrifice to the uttermost!

This was an effort that the Philippians themselves could not give, since they were such a long distance away, and Epaphroditus was working on their behalf in his efforts. His efforts are to be commended.

Epaphroditus was sent to help Paul, and Paul recognized that he was sent representing the desire of the entire congregation at Philippi. His final words here imply no criticism of the Philippian believers, but just the simple fact that they were too far away to be of any help. Epaphroditus was sent to help on behalf of the entire church.

Although we know very little about Epaphroditus, and most of that knowledge comes from this short passage in Philippians, his life is worth emulating. Here we have a man who serves the sake of the Gospel, serves Christ, and assists Paul, with no regard to his own personal safety or even his life. He was willing to do whatever it took to serve faithfully.

And even though we know so little, he reveals so much to us of the manner in which we should also live. Epaphroditus was sold out to Christ. Nothing was more important to him. When things did not go as planned, I imagine he was disappointed. But I also believe that he would not have let this hinder his efforts.

Church history informs us that this man became the first bishop of Philippi. This is not certain, but it certainly fits the description of a man who was completely dedicated to the mission of the Gospel.

So should we be.

Question: Though we know very little about Epaphroditus, what stands out about this man to you? You can leave a comment by clicking here.