Beyond the Call of Duty

Series on Philippians

IV Paul’s Co-workers

B Regarding Epaphroditus, Text: 2:25-30

Title: Beyond the Call of Duty

Introduction

As I mentioned in my first Sermon on Philippians, Philippi was a city in Macedonia, named after its founder, the Father of Alexander the Great, and was located in what we call modern Turkey. In this foremost Roman city of Macedonia Paul preached to a mostly gentile audience. Epaphroditus is a Gentile name. Actually it comes from Aphrodite, the Greek godess of love. He was sent by the church in Philippi to help an aging Hebrew Rabbi who was imprisoned in Rome. This was the Rabbi that had introduced them to the Gospel of Christ. So the first lesson you can learn from this text is Romans 1:16 and 17, I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

I The Help

We begin with a helper in verse 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. Epahroditus was a brother who shared a common sympathy, He was a common worker who labored, and he shared a common danger as a soldier of the cross willing to endure hardness. He was sent to do this and he did it. I am not ashamed to say that I need helpers, just as Paul did. When I retired from Lansdale PCA they gave me all these accolades. Then when I finished my 2 year tenure as stated supply at another church they gave me more. Other people did the work and I got praise I did not deserve. If the Apostle Paul needed help, I need it more. Are you willing to help? We lived with Dorsey’s aged parents. Her Father is 92. Recently our adopted greyhound died. I called animal control, vets, and whoever I could think of, and they offered no help, and the dog weighed about 100 lbs. They told be to bury Dutch on my own property, and so we did. My Father-in-law was out their helping to dig. He digs his own garden so I thought this was not a problem, but he was overcome with the heat and had to sit down and recover. He is a simple farmer with an eighth grade education. He believes and he is always willing to help. He cares for his wife who is a difficult woman. Although some times frustrated, he never gives up. He is an Epaphroditus. Are you willing to help?

II The Healing

The story is in verses 26-28, For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. 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. 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. This was a providential healing. The age of signs and wonders and miracles was slowly passing. They existed to authenticate God’s revelation in Christ. But even in that age of marvels not everyone was miraculously healed. In Acts 28:7-10 we see Paul healing on the Island of Malta. Look at the remarkable account, There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and for three days entertained us hospitably. His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. They honored us in many ways and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed. Yet in II Corinthians 12 Paul himself has a sickness, a thorn in the flesh, and instead of being healed, God says “My grace is sufficient for you.” Likewise, here, Paul does not heal Epaphroditus. It is good to realize that all gifts are subject to God’s sovereign plan. Still God spared Paul further anquish by providentially healing Epaphroditus. And the most remarkable thing about this account is not his recovery. It is his character. Here he was nigh to death and what was he concerned about? It was the distress of his church in Philippi that caused him distress. He was a man on a mission and he was more concerned about the mission than his own welfare. There was once a large oil company that needed a public relations man for the orient. After interviewing the candidates they decided on a local missionary. But whatever they proposed he said NO. They asked, “What’s the matter, isn’t the salary big enough?” He said, “The salary is big enough but the job isn’t.”

III The Honor

In verses 29 and 30 Paul does not say that they should merely honor Epaphroditus, but they should honor all men like him, Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor men like him, because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me. He risked his life for the sake of the gospel. There is no end to the list of honor. The Vietnam Memorial is a great thing, but it pales in comparison to the honor roll of the saints. In Hebrews 11:13-16 we read about the heroes of the faith. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua and others, All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country-a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. And then in Chapter 12: 1 and 2 the author adds, Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Please note that he says that God is not ashamed to be called their God. What ís the opposite of shame? If you thought “honor” you were correct. Honor men like him. Our greatest military honor is the congressional medal. It is given to men who risked life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy. God does the same thing in His Word.

Conclusion

Epaphroditus made his life count for eternity. How are you doing? Do you want to be remembered as an accountant, a salesman, a laborer, a lawyer and a nurse or physician or as an Epaphroditus? When Steve Jobs the founder of apple computer recruited the president of Pepsi-Cola, John Sculley, this is the memorandum he sent, “Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water, or do you want a chance to change the world?” There you have the challenge. It comes from Epaphroditus.