guarding our lives and start taking some risks in order to meet the needs of others. These men and women of God where normal people of God, who made mistakes just like us and didnt do everything perfect. I mean, I was a 1% biker, I did many many bad things which I will not glorify. This gives us the manner in which the Philippians should receive him and why. This is the last letter written during the Book of Acts. While at Rome What sort of strategies would a medieval military use against a fantasy giant? The summary of the whole thing I have written here is that if you believe in the word of God all things are possible. This is the only other New 29 Therefore receive him in the Lord with all joy, and hold men like him in high regard; 30 because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me. Have you taken the tour of our site yet? She's the would have been sorrow upon sorrow. Paul would go on to write 13 letters in the New Testamentfrom the Letter to the Romans to the Letter to Philemon. . and they sure wouldn't have sent a lazy man. In this verse, Paul gives five titles to Epaphroditus. Answer (1 of 9): EPAPHRODITUS [handsome, charming]. We are not to selfishly guard our lives, we are to give them away in ministry to others. The text does say, God had mercy on him [that is, Ephaphroditus], so, in all likelihood, he would have died from whatever ailed him if God had not prevented him from going over the edge into death. forget about them." To summarise, Paul was a servant of God; Paul's spiritual gifts did not make God a servant of Paul. Not only did He save the former Pharisee, but He also gave Paul ext Then the report found its way back to Rome, and Epaphroditus got home-sick and was restless, uneasy, 'sore troubled,' as the Apostle says, because they had heard he had been sick. That will tell you what an answer is. In fact, he would have probably sent a handkerchief or even went to him, personally, if possible, and laid hands on him and healed him instantly. financial gift, and was there to minister to Paul in any way that he could; do his laundry, carry Berean Bible Church provides this material free of charge for the edification of the Body of Christ. He had an illness which was probably the consequence of his toil. Was it perhaps meant to ask for a clarification of my own comment ? means: "to throw down a stake, to roll the dice." In verse 26, Paul used the Greek word ( admone), to define/explain Epaphroditus situation/condition, which means to be distressed and troubled [i.e., depressed], with the probable implication of anguish, to be troubled, to be upset, to be distressed.[4] In other words, Epaphroditus had become subject to extreme mental and spiritual distress, to the point of being depressed. Vote Up Indeed he was ill, near to death. impact our society, if we are going to be effective in our evangelism, we need to quit selfishly Paul. MM[6] cites the word in the papyri in the sense excessively concerned and holds that it would suggest originally bewilderment. The combination makes it clear that Jesus was in great distress of spirit.[7]. When I was in the military I met brothers and soon meaning: "together with" and stratiotes meaning: "soldier." Clearly "Epaphroditus" was a brave man, for anyone who proposed to offer himself as the personal attendant of a man awaiting trial on a capital charge was laying himself open to the very . (verse 30). Paul used this word in: It is a strong inward desire for the Philippians. We have also to notice Paul's delicate recognition of all friendly help. And in the Acts Epistles we read of the gifts operating in the churches that Paul founded. Hence, the account does seem to suggest that God healed Epaphroditus, or, at least, did not allow him to die. And in verses 29-30, we are given the exaltation and kenosis of Timothy was sick and he didn't heal him: Why didn't Paul heal his friends? There would be many ways of serving the captive, looking after his comfort, doing his errands, procuring daily necessaries, managing affairs, perhaps writing his letters, easing his chain, chafing his aching wrists, and ministering in a thousand ways which we cannot and need not specify. Edward D. Andrews wrote. For indeed he was sick almost unto death; but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. act to follow either. All deeds done from the same motive are the same, however different they may be in regard to the material on which they are wrought. examples yet they all experienced sickness. That implies that all which the Philippians' ministration lacked was their personal presence, and that Epaphroditus, in supplying that, made his work in a real sense theirs. were operating all through the Book of Acts, and these gifts are mentioned in the letters that Paul wrote during the Acts period. If Epaphroditus were 'received in the Lord,' there would be no foolish and hurtful adulation of him, nor prostration before him, but he would be recognised as but the instrument through which the true Helper worked, and not he, but the Grace of Christ in him would finally receive the praise. The kenosis of Christ is the attitude that he had that led him to divest himself of any concern for The word "considered" is hegeomai. 1:7)no church had more of the gifts of the Holy Spirit than the Corinthian church, yet Paul says that he spoke in tongues more than all of them (1 Cor. In Galatians 3:5, 1 Thessalonians 5:20, 1 Corinthians 12,13,14, 2 Corinthians 12:12, Romans 12:6in all these letters we read about the gifts in operation right through to the end of the Book of Acts. But the Lord revealed to Paul that that which is perfect was coming. Perhaps Paul said this precisely because the Philippians might be tempted to judge Epaphroditus for being ill, concluding that he was being chastised by God for some secret or even scandalous sin. And he wrote to the Corinthians about the gift of healing that was operating in their church during the Acts period (1 Cor. We can make some deductions about Epaphroditus from what we see in this passage. The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preachI'm sorry, but there is no "Word of Faith Movement." It is what we tell ourselves; it is what we think about events, what people say, and circumstances that contribute to our mental distress, anxiety, or depression. For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. Christ. But in this time period, in 1 Corinthians 13:8-12, Paul tells us that the Lord had revealed to him that these gifts would cease some day. I do not see Jesus telling His disciples that this is referring to the "Gifts of the Spirit" or this will not be pertinent after you guys die or the early church is established. 3. 2:25-30) and Paul no longer had the gift of healing, and was no longer able to heal as he did only a few years earlier in Acts 28:9. Does ZnSO4 + H2 at high pressure reverses to Zn + H2SO4? Self-talk is what we tell ourselves in our thoughts. that Paul didn't heal. Therefore, this thinking is the key to our relief. He was an apostolic delegate. good friend. "distressed"ademoneo, it means: "to be depressed or rejected, be troubled, full of anguish or He knew they would be sad and their sadness has greatly affected him-- not his Also the casting out of 7 demons; Oh, by the way, I have the recording of this event. Greek He was sick It would be like the difference between being a child and becoming a grown man, or between seeing someones face reflected in a wavy ancient mirror, and seeing the person face-to-face. He wasn't an incredibly gifted man but he was committed totally to There is healing today, but there is no gift of healing, there are no divine healers. There is no gift of healing today but God still heals sometimes. children so you can listen to the Word of God. Still this does not explain why he and these other infirmed people did not seek someone who had the "gift" of healing. This is a self-less man. Love never fails. It was used as a sign gift to unbelievers at those times when it was necessary to make Vote Up Apart from Acts arguably Luke or Paul wrote it and Paul wrote the others - does anyone else say Paul could do miracles? No one was more charismatic than Paul, yet the Lord revealed to him that those sign gifts were going to cease: whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away (1 Cor. First-century life, however, was far different. Epaphroditus but passes across the illuminated disc of the lantern for a moment, and we have scarcely time to catch a glimpse of his face before it is lost to us. Epaphroditus. Are we a sunergos, a fellow worker? John 1:12 ). This isn't to say that God doesn't or won't heal today, because this is obviously not true, but the "laying on of hands" by a man (as a 'gift') has all but ceased, and yet there are still 'healing teachers' out there in the world today teaching a false gospel, having "healing revivals" that come to nought, etc. Jesus said the greatest honor among his followers belongs to the one who renders the Finally at the end of his life he is again in prison. die!" I waited several days until I began to get better before I let her know I was Work done for Paul was done for Jesus, and that, not because of any special apostolic closeness of relation of Paul to Jesus, but because, like all other Christians, he was one with his Lord. The first 6 of Pauls letters can be fit into the Book of Actswe can read Acts and then read Pauls letters and we can see where Paul was when he wrote these letters. There was no reliable way of getting these to Paul but to take them, and so Epaphroditus faced the long journey across Greece to Brindisi and Rome, and when arrived there threw himself with ardour into serving Paul. someone's concern for your condition? In A.D. 252, plague broke out in Carthage; Why would he just leave him there sick, if he still had the gift of laying on of hands to heal someone? But with the close of Acts, God sets aside Israel for a time, and when God gave up on the sign people for a time, the sign gifts passed out of His program. Because his will is to speak to that individual right then. who were ill with dangerous and infectious diseases. 2. Historians tell us that he had a very common name. Collen - I agree that it always according to God's will not ours. Once saved, his spirit is completely made Brand New, is this not a miracle? Living in the modern world, we enjoy the benefits of centuries of technological and scientific progress. send him back? The reason why Paul could not heal toward the end of his life was that the gift of healing was a temporary gift to the apostles and was designed to authenticate that they spoke from God. Thanks. He was in the first place Paul's helper in the Gospel, and his faithfulness there is set forth in a glowing climax, 'My brother and fellow-worker and fellow-soldier.' life, the same effort and we have the same enemies. It is here in Ephesus during Acts 19 that Paul wrote 1 Corinthianssee I Corinthians 16:19. The Greek word finds its origin in a 14:18)! This time he anticipates being beheaded for the Lord and writes the last letter, Second Timothy. It really isn't an answer to a legitimate question. delegate. Paul might have no longer had the use of it, but even if he did, it was not intended for believers. him to the Philippians so they would rejoice to see that he was okay. Stop speaking in the tongue because it is not from the Holy Spirit. teacher who was used of God to minister to many churches. What he had not yet received in 1 Corinthians 13, he now has. We may note the generous heartiness of his praise in his associating Epaphroditus with himself as on full terms of equality, as worker and soldier, and the warm generosity of the recognition of all that he had done for the Apostle's comfort. After studying Pauls letters and the scriptural teaching concerning the cessation of the gift of tongues, they ask, What should I do now? There are several possible explanations for the experienceit may be a psychological experience or even a spiritual experience, but clearly, from the Word of God, it is not the Spirits gift of tongues. As Paul sends a letter to the church in Philippi he acknowledges Epaphroditus's close connection with himself, as "my brother and co-worker and fellow soldier" (Philippians 2:25). Do you know who my co-laborers are? 13:8).1. Epaphroditus is one of the less known of Paul's friends. Why would he not heal his friend? In other words, he is suggesting to use "medicine." Cyprian, the Christian bishop, In PROVERBS 1:1 How can we accept the majority of Proverbs by Solomon when Solomon did what was evil in the eyes of God? The word "longing" is epipotheo, it Bible. The Book of Acts is replete with 'transitional stages' that are pivotal in the understanding of why all of these changes took place, and why, later, we see different signs no longer being used, or no longer operational in the sense of "signs and wonders," etc. Paul was quick to send But, during this time in the Book of Acts, the Lord revealed to Paul that the sign gifts were going to cease1 Corinthians 13:8-12. Interested in joining the Ligonier team? He uses this word in verses 25 and 28. delivering the money and someone who would work so closely with the apostle would have to be We are to follow the example of Christ who "emptied everyone will be glad and not sad.". All the loving thoughts, and all the material expressions of them which Epaphroditus brought to Paul were fragrant with the perfume of the Philippians' love, 'an odour of a sweet smell, acceptable' to Paul as to Paul's Lord. He later returned to his home base at Antioch (Acts 18:22), and later in his third apostolic journey he arrived in Ephesus (his ministry in Ephesus extends all the way through Acts 19a period of more than two years, see verse 10). I was having shortness of breath and others things like palpitations, light headedness,insomnia and all that. Epaphroditus had made a 600-mile journey from Philippi to Rome, an 80-day journey on foot round trip, which was fatiguing, to visit the apostle Paul. But to understand when the sign gifts ceased, we need to read Pauls letters in the order that he wrote them. All we can do is guess. rev2023.3.3.43278. Epaphroditus appears to have been a tremendous help to Paul, and somehow, possibly as a result of caring for Paul (Philippians 2:30), Epaphroditus gets sick and nearly dies. . Paul was saved in Acts 9 when the Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. This . The Apostle's heartfelt eulogium upon him shows two phases of his work. You can help further this work by your prayer and by contributing online or by mailing to: Berean Bible Church There no longer needed to be "signs and wonders" later on when Paul revealed to them that he had received the "revelation" from Jesus Christ on what they all were to go on preaching from them on, which is "the gospel" according to 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (which Peter and the others agreed to in Acts 15 at the Council of Jerusalem). So Epaphroditus was sent to take care of Paul because Paul was imprisoned under house arrest, and in the end Epaphroditus became a burden to Paul because he almost died and Paul had to. I weighed the facts and found it a necessity to send The first fact about him is, that he was one of the Philippian Christians, and sent by them to Rome, with some pecuniary or material help, such as comforts for Paul's prison-house, food, clothing, or money. Epaphroditus was a Christian who lived in Philippi. Paul is clear that we do not need miracles for the completion and equipping of our faith, but the Word of God.
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