Epaphroditus - A Model of Service (Father's Day 17')

Well, take your Bible this morning, turn with me to the book of Philippians. Philippians chapter 2. If you get to Ephesians, you're close. You get to Colossians, you're close. But Ephesians chapter 2. Now I'm going to go ahead and be honest with you. As a pastor, your pastor is really hard for me to be in Philippians this morning. This week I spent quite a bit of time in John chapter 13 and I was really anxious to go ahead and proceed in our study in the Gospel of John. But I ran across this in some of my own study and it really struck with me and I did want to speak to us as men, as fathers. Some of you are young men.

You might say, "Well, Brother Chris, I'm a teenager. You need to hear this too." So I'm going to speak to us today on Father's Day. You ladies take notes, pray this for us and I believe these verses will speak to us today. Now before we get into chapter 2, we'll be in verses 25 through 30. I feel the need to give you some background material concerning the message. This will help you grasp with greater clarity the message that I feel like God has for us today. Now I encourage you not to see this as boring. Sometimes historical context can be boring for some, but I want you to see that this will help you have a fuller picture.

It will have a brighter picture which will help us see the message. Now we need to see that the book of Philippians is categorized. It is categorized in what we call Bible commentators of Caulford years, the prison epistles. The book of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon were written while Paul, the Apostle Paul, was in prison. This was written during his first imprisonment which was in Rome. Now evidence of that can be seen in a reference in the Scriptures in Philippians. A couple to be honest with you. In chapter 1 verse 13 there is a reference to the palace guard that's speaking of his imprisonment.

And then in chapter 4 verse 22, Paul refers to the saints in Caesar's household. That again references to that imprisonment. Now there are similar details of Paul's imprisonment in Acts as well as all throughout the prison epistles. And that leads us as readers to believe that Paul was writing from Rome in that first imprisonment. We see this in Acts chapter 28 verse 16 and verses 30 through 31. We see this in Philippians chapter 1 verse 13 through 14 and in chapter 4 verse 18 as well as Ephesians chapter 6 and Colossians chapter 2. What do we see here?

There is ample evidence in all of these passages to say that the letter there in Philippians was written during this first imprisonment which was in Rome. Now this can lead to a question for some of you. What bearing does this information have on the message today? We will be studying one of the visitors who was allowed to come see Paul. See during this first imprisonment Paul had a little more freedom. And we're going to study an individual who was allowed to visit Paul and he seems to have ministered to Paul and with Paul during that time. Now we also need to see some information about the church. The church that this letter was written to.

Philippians was written to the church there in the city called Philippi. Now Philippi factors greatly in Roman history. One of the greatest Roman battles was fought there and one which marked the end of the Roman Republic and then it marked the beginning of what is called the Roman Empire. See after the Empire was formed then you had all of these emperors who came on the scene. Now after this battle Philippi became a Roman colony with all of this taking place around 40 years before Christ. It was in this very Roman city, very Roman, very few Jews there that Paul founded this church while he was on his second missionary journey.

Now we find that activity in the book of Acts 16 verses 12 on down to verse 40. Now it seems that this work began when Paul met a group of devout Jewish women meaning outside of the city. If you look in Acts 16 you'll see there was a group of women who were meeting outside of the city there near the river for a time of prayer. Now as Paul preached the gospel to them there was a wealthy woman named Lydia. She was a dealer in cloth goods and she seems to have come to faith in Christ. And it seems that the beginnings of the work of this church was centered around this woman and her home.

Now Paul again visited Philippi two times while on his third missionary journey. And it was about five years after these last visits when Paul was in prison there in Rome. And it was during this imprisonment when Paul received a group from the church, that church at Philippi. And this church had a habit of being very generous in their support. They had supported Paul in the past. We see that in chapter 4 starting in verse 15. And they had even supported needs, Christians, brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. And we see that referenced in 2 Corinthians chapter 8 verses 1 through 4.

So here this church at Philippi they are sending more support to Paul and along with that monetary support they are sending a man. And this man's name is Apaproditis. And I know that's a strange name for you, but Apaproditis is his name. So the background of our message today is Paul. Paul is in prison. This is a fairly relaxed imprisonment and he was there in Rome. And we see this church, this beloved church in Philippi reaching out to minister to their beloved Apostle who administered to them so much in the past. Along with their support, the church sent a man named Apaproditis.

And we will see that Paul receives much more than monetary support. And we will see that Paul does more than receive their support. He gives support back to them, this church there at Philippi. Now the title of the message this morning is rather simple. It is Apaproditis, a model of service, Apaproditis, a model of service. We're going to be in verses 25 on down to verse 30. And you see how we're going to divide these verses rather simple. We will focus on his relationship to Paul, his relationship to his church, his real love for his church, and his real sacrifice for ministry.

That will come out of these verses, easy to follow, very obvious. So let's read these verses together starting in verse 25. Paul writes, "But I thought it necessary to send to you Apaproditis, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also my messenger or your messenger and minister to my need." Verse 26, "Because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. For indeed he was sick to the point of death. But God had mercy on him, and not him only, but also on me. Least I should have sorrow upon sorrow.

Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly in order that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you." Verse 20-9, "Therefore receive him in the Lord with all joy and hold me unlike him in high regard because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was deficient in your service to me." Now you see how we're going to divide these verses? So let's notice truth number one. His relationship to Paul. His relationship to Paul. Now to fully understand Apaproditis' relationship to Paul, we must see this church's relationship to Paul. Remember this church there at Philippi.

They knew Paul well and he knew them well. As a church they knew Paul's physical and spiritual needs. They knew the kind of man Paul could use in his ministry. They were sending more than money. They were sending more than a man of God. They were sending a man of God that was useful to Paul. This man, Apaproditis, was not just a delivery boy. He didn't just come with an envelope. He was a useful man of God. Now I want you to notice how Paul describes this man. Go back to verse 25. But I thought it necessary to send you Apaproditis, my brother, and fellow worker, and fellow soldier.

So with that I want to make three observations out of this verse. First of all, Paul says he was a brother. Paul says he was a brother. Isn't that what he said? My brother. All the translations that we use, use this word brother. This means they were both born again into the family of God. They were both part of the body of Christ. This speaks of a common relationship to Christ, a common love for Christ, and a common love for His service. The meaning of this word here speaks of their personal relationship to each other. This speaks of affection. This speaks of friendship. But this speaks of a spiritual common bond.

He was not just a strange fellow Christian, but he was a friend with whom he shared Christian affection. So he was a brother to Paul. Second notice, he was a worker with Paul. Isn't that what we see? He says my brother and fellow worker. Now all of the modern translations use the same word fellow worker, same wording. Now the King James reads companion and labor. It's obvious it means the same thing. Now this term in the original is used by Paul in other places. This is very often used. Paul used it in Romans 16.3 and also in verse 9 and 21 of chapter 16. He uses this again in Philippians chapter 4 verse 3 and then in 1 Thessalonians 3 too.

This term is used by Paul to describe individuals who worked alongside him in his apostolic ministry. Paul is saying here that a piperidotus is working alongside him, so this tells us he was much more than a delivery boy delivering monetary support. Even much more than a brother in Christ. He was a worker, a coworker with Paul. Then third I want you to see that he was a soldier alongside Paul. What does the passage say? Paul says my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier. Now all of the translations that we refer to use the word soldier. Paul used similar language to describe workers in other places in his writings.

In Philemon chapter 1 verse 2 and 2 Timothy 2 verses 3 through 4. But here Paul is elevating a piperidotus. A piperidotus is not an apostle but he is elevating him. This term was used in Greek culture in relation to soldiers and military life. In Greek culture this term was used to elevate a common soldier to a commander in special occasions. So Paul is saying that a piperidotus is a fellow soldier and a commander alongside him in his ministry. He is a leader at times functioning equally alongside Paul. One writer said he would have been a fellow ministry strategist with Paul.

Now we know that Paul was an apostle, an apostle to the church, but Paul is elevating this man as a fellow soldier alongside him in his work. So what are we seeing here? A piperidotus related to Paul, not just as a delivery boy. Now this monetary support was needed. Paul would have needed these funds. But Paul relates to a piperidotus in a greater way. He was a needed and valuable partner in his ministry. He did not work under him but he worked alongside him. He would have been a valuable asset to the ministry there in Rome as Paul was ministering even while he was in prison. So what are we seeing here?

A piperidotus comes but he comes to engage in this apostolic ministry. So we see his relationship to Paul. And it is Paul who is explaining this. Now how might we apply this to us in our day and in our life? How might we apply this to our church? Now we do not believe in what's called apostolic succession. When the apostles died, the office died. There will never be another Paul. There will never be another living apostle. But this very much applies to us and the life of the church today. Because God does ordain men to govern the affairs of the church. We understand that those are elders.

Brother Keith and I are in the position of being elders in the life of the church. We're shepherds, we're elders, we're pastors, we're ministers. All of those terms describe our role and what we do. But we cannot do this work alone. I cannot do this work alone. I say this to you. We need men of God who will be like this man, Epiproditus. Who will come along beside us and who will be brothers, yes, but workers, yes, but even more soldiers alongside us. That's what Epiproditus was. For a short window of time there, it seems that he came to Paul and was a very, very valuable asset to his ministry.

And I want to say to you, please pray that God will raise up men to come alongside us. I was reminded of that this week. I have gotten to know a man, a church planner. His name is Jason Reasoner. He lives in the state of Wyoming. He is originally from Alabama and he is part of the Anchored in Truth ministry that we are seeking to partner with. He has come out of Grace Life Church of the Shoals as a church planner. He pastored several churches in Alabama, but through a process he felt led to pick up his life and go to the state of Wyoming. He is in a small town called Pinedale. Now there's not much gospel witness there.

There's a church there that I believe from what he has communicated is an apostate church. You have mostly nominal Mormons, but it's mostly untouched with the gospel. I've talked with him and visited with him several times just getting to know him and his ministry. But one of the things that he said to me this week was this. He said it's not hard being away from family. He said the hard part is being away from the saints. The hard part is being away from brothers and sisters in Christ. Then he begins to describe the hard part of seemingly doing the ministry alone. Very difficult thing when you're a minister of the gospel and you feel alone.

Epiproditus was a partner. He was a brother. He was a worker and he came alongside Paul and he was very valuable. And let me tell you something, Nola. You begin to pray if you do not already pray that God will raise up men who will come alongside your elders because they are much needed in the life of the church, not just today, but in the days and the years to come. Let's move on. I want us to see the second main truth and that is his relationship to his church. His relationship to his church. Now we know that Epiproditus was sent out from his church to minister to Paul. This was the church there at Philippi.

They did not send a delivery boy. We've already learned that. They did not even send an average man out of their church. They sent a very capable man of God, capable and called to serve alongside the great apostle Paul. But we must see that he was that kind of a man within his church as well. He didn't just exercise those gifts and abilities on the mission field. Paul describes Epiproditus and how he related to his own church. Go back to the verse, verse 25. But I thought it necessary to send to you Epiproditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier. Now here's a transition, who is also your messenger and minister to my need.

Two observations here, how he relates to his church. First of all, he was a faithful messenger. Isn't that what the text says? Now all the translations read messenger. But we see more fully the depth of this description when we are able to look in the original language. Here this word literally means your apostle. Now we've come across this previously in our studies in books like 1 and 2 Timothy. This is not apostle Big A. Now what I mean by Big A, this is not apostle like the apostle Paul. Paul was an apostle Big A, meaning he was designated an apostle to the church. He was appointed by Christ.

And once those apostles died, the office of the apostle died. Now we have the office of the apostle in the writings of the scriptures. But what do we see here? Why does the text say your apostle? Here this means that he was a messenger. And when you run across this language, little a apostle, we see that there were messengers from the church. Barnabas was not an apostle Big A, but he was an apostle little a. And here we see that a piperidotus was chosen by his church and sent out by his church to deliver a monetary gift as well as a message to Paul and to others. He was sent out as a faithful messenger. Go back to the text. What does he say?

Who is also your messenger? Second observation, notice he was a faithful minister. Paul says, who is also your messenger and minister. This word speaks of service. It is generally applied to those who were rendering service much like a priest. This word could also speak of services that would have been rendered by a citizen, maybe for patriotic reasons. So this speaks of ministerial duties that he would have performed out of a love for his church. This is Christ's church. The church at Philippi. So what are we seeing here? A piperidotus was a man of God and he was much more than that.

He was a gifted man of God, a gifted minister and a gifted messenger sent out from his church. He was doing these things in his church and sent out to do those things on the mission field. He went out to Paul to minister to him and to take him a message. And as he ministered with Paul, he ministered to those in those circumstances. He had a message for Paul and all of those he would come in contact with. So that is his relationship to his church. Now how might that apply to us today? We desperately need God to raise up men in our church who are messengers and ministers. Men who have a message from the Word of God.

Men who can divide the Word of God and teach the Word of God. But not only they have the ability to divide the Word of God, the Word of God is in their life and in their heart and in their mind. They've got something to say. That's the kind of man a piperidotus was. Whether he was in the pew or on the mission field, he was a messenger because he knew the Word and it was fleshed out in his life and he was capable. But also he could minister. He could roll up his sleeves. We need men in the life of our church who can roll up their sleeves and get busy in the work of the church kingdom work.

We need men just like this and they will relate to us and our church like a piperidotus did to his church. Now notice, this was a testimony given by the Apostle Paul concerning this man. Look at the verse. "But I thought it necessary to send to you a piperidotus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier who is also your messenger and minister to my knee." This was Paul's testimony about this man. But here's an interesting note. Nowhere is a piperidotus ever listed as an elder in the church or a deacon in the church. In my study, I have seen where some have speculated that he was a deacon. But there's no way we can say this for certain.

It seems that this man could have been what we call today a layman. Not a pastor or an ordained minister. Not even a deacon. It seems that this man could have been a layman. And that adds another layer because if that was the case, he had a unique relationship to Paul and he had a unique relationship to his church. I'm going to tell you, he was a diamond. And we need men like that. But see, sometimes people, when they hear preaching like this, they say, "Well, you know, I'm not called to the ministry." A piperidotus might not have been an elder or a deacon, but he definitely had a call and a work of God in his life.

And church, we need laymen just like this. Please pray that God will raise up men who are just like a piperidotus. Let's continue on. I want us to see main truth number three. His love for his church. His love for his church. Here we see the reason why Paul sent this partner in ministry back to his church, back to his people. We see that a piperidotus had gotten sick. He almost died. It was through or because of this sickness that the church was, if I can use this language, very worried about him. Now this is an interesting thing here. It seems the church loved him as much as he loved his church. Some of you need to hear that.

It seems that a piperidotus loved his church, and his church loved him the same way. And there seems to have been a great spiritual bond there. Let's look at verse 26 together, "Because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you heard that he was sick." So what do we see? The reasoning why Paul sends him back. Verse 25, "But I thought it necessary to send to you a piperidotus." Two observations I want us to see here. First he was longing for them. And that what verse 26 says? All of the translations say the same thing here. This is very simple. It simply tells us that he was desirous to see them and to ease their hearts.

He was desirous to ease their spiritual worries. They were concerned for him and he was concerned for them. He longed to see them. Second, I want you to see that he was distressed for the situation. Go back to the verse. Verse 25, "He said, 'I sent him to you because he was longing for you. He was hungering for you all and he was distressed because you had heard that he was sick.'" Our modern translations read distressed. The King James reads full of heaviness. This word means a restlessness. It means to be distracted. It means to have a distracted heart which is poured, which is produced by mental or physical distress.

Now interestingly, this same word is used in Matthew 26, verse 38. This is used of Christ and his condition while he is in the garden. Listen to what it says. Jesus says here, while he is in the garden, he's praying. And what does he say? "My soul is very sorrowful even to death. Remain here and watch with me." What is he saying? He is very, very distressed. One commentator said that this distress, it follows a great traumatic shock. So what do we see here? His church, his people, they have heard the news that he was sick and that he nearly died and they were very, very concerned for him. And he is very, very concerned for them.

So much so that he is under great, great distress for them. This was heart-wrenching distress which would have caused a great, great disruption in his life. That application, I want to ask a question. Do you love your church the way this man loved his church? Do you love God's people the way these people loved their brother? Do you have a relationship with your church and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ like this man did? Oh, these people had a great bond. They had a great bond of Christian love. They were unified in such a way that only Christ could have unified them. And the question bags us. The question needs to haunt us.

Do we love each other? And do we love this church? Do you love the people next to you and across the aisle from you like this? One of the sad things in ministry is watching friends and others be in a distressful place where they can't find a church. I've watched people leave churches for theological reasons, staff reasons. I've watched people search for a church and hunger for a church. I have watched people literally with a broken heart agonize for a real Bible church. Listen people. Do not take this thing called the church for granted.

This is where God has put you, asked God to develop and work in you a love for the church and a love for each other that is exactly like this. And let me tell you, if you were to remove me, if you were to remove my family from the life of the church and tell me that I could never be engaged in the life of the church, it would destroy us. I've been in this place before. I have been in a place where I was looking for a place to serve, a place to pour my life into and let me tell you, I was exactly like this, broken. Has God done this work in you? Do you have a real love for His church?

The fourth main truth I want us to see is His real sacrifice for the ministry. His real sacrifice for the ministry. Here we see the great risks that this man took, the great sacrifices he made for the ministry for church, for Paul. We have already learned of his serious illness, but this must be examined a little further. Go back with me to the text. Look at verse 27. "Yes, or for indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only, but also on me, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow." What is Paul saying? God blessed him because he would have been heartbroken if Epaphroditus would have died.

And then look at verse 30. "Because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was deficient in your service to me." Three observations I want to make here. First I want us to see that he sacrificed in sickness. That's obvious from the verses. Really from verse 25 all the way down to verse 30, we see that he had a great sickness. Now in those days, people did not have modern medicines. They did not have modern doctors. Or an understanding of how these things worked. We take these things for granted.

They lived knowing that they could get sick and die really without any explanation or any time or any ability to understand what had taken place. And here in verse 27, Paul says that he was sick. We do not know if he became ill on his journey. We do not know if he became ill after he was there with Paul. We simply know that he came down with a serious sickness and this was a very real risk in that day. When he took the risk, he sacrificed in sickness. Second observation, notice he sacrificed in possible death. He sacrificed in possible death. Now here, this seems obvious. Paul says in verse 27 that this sickness was to the point of death.

But this risk of death was from more than sickness. There were risks in that day, especially with travel. Many people were robbed and killed on journeys such as this. To travel in those days meant to take great risk. In verse 30, Paul uses an interesting word here with this word risk. We'll go back and look at the verse. Verse 30, "Because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life." This word here, risk, tells us a lot because this word risk literally means to roll dice. It seems that Paul was saying that Epaphroditus gambled or took a chance in dying for what? For the ministry. He rolled the dice with his life.

Then third, I want us to see that he sacrificed in possible imprisonment. He sacrificed in possible imprisonment. There was a risk of imprisonment in associating with Paul. Paul was surely considered by some to be worthy of death. We know that later many, many people deserted him as he was in prison. But what we see is that this man, Epaphroditus, was taking a risk by ministering to Paul the risk of imprisonment. So what do we see here? This man, Epaphroditus, gambled with his life in several ways. He did what some in our day would say was foolish. He gambled and almost lost. He gambled and almost lost his life. But what did he risk for?

Go back to verse 30. Paul says because he came close to death for the work of Christ. Risking his life to complete what was deficient in your service to me. So verse 30 says that he was foolish. Gambling with losing his life for the work of Christ. My question would be was that truly foolishness? Now in application, what can we learn here? We see the real sacrifices that this man, Epaphroditus, made. But my question for you, my question for us is this. Do we truly sacrifice for kingdom work? Do we truly sacrifice for the work of the church? Do we truly sacrifice with the gospel? I mean truly church, we live in a very comfortable day.

We live in ease and security. We travel with ease. We have health at our fingertips. So the question begs, do we truly sacrifice for the work of the church and the gospel? In comparison to this man, this layman, we would have to say no. And would we be willing? Would we be willing to take risks such as this? Would we be willing to seemingly be foolish for the work of the church and for the gospel and to reach the loss Epaphroditus was? Seemingly rolling the dice with his own life. Now as I move away from the text and begin to move towards the conclusion. This reminded me of one of my habits.

What I mean by reminded me in studying this man Epaphroditus, it reminded me of one of my habits and that is studying great men and great women in church history. I love to read biographies. I can't tell you how many missionary biographies I've bought. I've given most of them away or loaned them, usually never getting them back and that's okay. I love to read biographies about what men and women have done in the past. I love to read biographies about great revival in the past.

But you know when you look back in church history, maybe in times of revival or great missionaries who have done good things and great things, you will notice that they are great and then they are small. It's easy to focus on men like Jonathan Edwards. Adam Arum Judson, William Carey, Jim Elliot. But you know occasionally we will come across some who are seemingly unknown. One of my favorite is a missionary who is named Tommy Tidcombe. Very simple man, too sickly for the mission field but around the turn of the century in the early 1900s went through the white man's grave. He went into the interior of Africa. Ununknown, rejected by many.

So we see that there are some in church history who have been famous. There are some who have been great. But we must see that there are some who are not so famous and not so great. And I think today we need to see the great need for many men like a Papariditis in the church. He was never spoken of as an elder. He was never spoken of as a deacon. It seems that he was just a man in the church but man, what a man! I like how John MacArthur puts it. He says there are very few Pauls, some Timothys, but there can be many a Papariditis. Let that sink in. There are very few Pauls, some Timothys, but there can be many men like a Papariditis.

But better than how John MacArthur puts it, I like how Paul puts it. Go back to the verses. Look at verse 29. Remember Paul's writing to this beloved church, taking such good care of him, successful ministry with him, sending a Papariditis back. What does he say? "For receive him, receive him in the Lord with all joy, and behold men like him in high regard." What is Paul saying? Hold him in high regard. Now you might say, "Pastor, today's Father's Day, how does this apply to Father's Day?" I'm not a betting man, but I'll say it tongue in cheek.

I'll be willing to bet you, but if you'll become a man like a Papariditis, you'll be a very good father. You'll be a very good husband. You'll be a very, very good boss, a very good employee. But you know, I think about it like this. Father's Day always alludes to children, does it not? Can't be a father without children. I believe that if you'll be a man like a Papariditis, you will impact your children for Jesus. I believe what children need to see today is their fathers loving the Lord and pouring their life into kingdom work. Now listen people, listen men, our children watch us. They don't just notice what we say.

They notice what we pour our lives into. You know, Papariditis poured his life into the church. And I believe we can impact our children if we will be men like a Papariditis. What about the children that God's brought us? You know, we've been blessed to have many children from our community that are seemingly orphans. We call them spiritual orphans. There are many children who desperately need to see a real man of God. There are many children that come into the doors of our church who desperately need to see a real family. And if you are to be a man like a Papariditis, what kind of impact could you make on one of those children?

I remind you, I remind you what kind of impact Paul made on a dysfunctional young man. Remember Timothy? He had a godly mother and a godly grandmother, but it seemed that his father was a pagan. Dysfunctional! And oh, what an impact Paul made on Timothy. How might you impact these children that God has brought us if you will be a man like a Papariditis? But what about our church? What about the ministry that God has before us? What about the great open door? What about the harvest that's among us between Monticello and Brookhaven and wherever we go?

If God were to form in you and make you a man like a Papariditis, what in the world could our church do for him? And sir, unless your wife is lost and desperately needs to be saved, she will be proud to have you be a man like a Papariditis. So what are we looking at this morning? The title of the message is "A Papariditis, a Model of Service." Now as I close, closing my notes, moving away, I want to speak to you just as your pastor for a moment. If our church is ever going to be and ever going to do what God wants us to do, we need a host of men just like this.

And as Brother Keith is my witness, I have been praying, praying diligently that God would raise up men just like this in our church. And I can't wait to see them appear and watch them be busy in the work alongside us for you and for him. Let's pray.