This past week I was reading a blog post by a good friend of mine. She referred to a blog entry made by someone else who was struggling with her faith. This other person was having a crisis of faith so-to-speak. Now, not getting into the specifics of her problem, she found herself at odds with the church that she was associated with. She had grown up Catholic and found her personal opinions on certain social issues to be at odds with some stances that the pope and the Catholic church have taken over the last several years. She didn’t feel that the church should tell her who God was and how she should live. In other words, she wanted the church to be what she wanted it to be, and she wanted it to change to fit her beliefs instead of her changing to fit the church. How often is this our attitude? Not about the church per say, but about Christianity in general. There are some hard things commanded of the Christian life in Scripture. I know that over the last several months, numerous Bible studies with all of you have resulted in someone looking at the table shaking their head saying, “I’m sorry! That’s just too hard. I don’t know if I’ll ever get there.” And I understand that sentiment; believe me I do. As we continue to grow and continue to study the Bible, we realize that God wants us to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. We get a glimpse of his love, his compassion, his wisdom, his understanding, his holiness, and all of his other perfections. We see these things and they seem so unobtainable that we just sit back and say that we’ll just have to be content to live as we are. We just don’t see the point in trying if we can’t achieve our goals.
Well, that shouldn’t be our attitude at all. True, in this life we will never be completely like Christ. In fact, the more we grow in our faith the more we see how unlike him we are. But you ARE to become like him. You see, Scripture tells us that although God’s standards are high, and seem impossible, God provides supernatural resources to meet them. God helps us and works in us to put these principles that he calls us to have into practice. And this topic of humility that Paul has been talking about is no different. Paul knows that placing the wants and needs of others above our own is tough. He knows that it’s a struggle for us to look at others as being more important than ourselves. And so what he does is provide a case study of sorts. He provides three different examples for us to look at: himself, Timothy (a young minister), and Epaphroditus (a layman).
In true Pauline fashion, the Apostles reference to himself is the shortest of the three. Of himself he only says, “Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.” Here, Paul is referencing a pagan sacrifice ritual. A cup of wine would be poured on a fiery altar causing steam to rise from that point. Paul realizes that he may soon be killed by pagans, but he isn’t really concerned about that. Sure, he values his life, but he values the faith of the Philippians much more. He’s telling the Christians in Philippi that his life, his ministry, his achievements, and even his martyrdom are nothing compared to their faith. You see, Paul doesn’t suffer from our common problem of seeing ourselves as more than we are. Paul knew that others were more important than himself. Paul had learned humility in all of his years in ministry. It isn’t something that came overnight, but something that Paul had worked at. After years of practice, by God’s grace, Paul was finally able to live a life that showed true humility. This ought to encourage us. This news that someone who had been so proud before his conversion and who had done so much for the sake of the gospel since that time could change gives us great hope for our own ability to change.
So we say to ourselves, “Yeah, but I mean, this is the Apostle Paul we’re talking about. He’s so much more devote than we are. That’s almost the same as pointing to Jesus as the example.” Well, the second example that Paul gives us is a young minister named Timothy. Yes, that Timothy. The one who he wrote to in 1 & 2 Timothy. The same one mentioned in the Book of Acts who had accompanied Paul on various missionary journeys. Paul says of Timothy that he has “no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know Timothy’s proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel.” In these verses about this young minister Paul tells us that Timothy is very much like Paul in his humility. The Philippians need not look at Paul as this model of humility that was unequaled, because Timothy too displayed the humble servant attitude that we are to have.
Also, Timothy was concerned for others. This phrase “he takes genuine interest in your welfare” tells us this. Let’s call it Christian or pastoral customer service. If you’ve ever tried to call the cable, power, or phone companies and felt like someone was just blowing you off, you probably weren’t happy about it. If you are in need of medical assistance and the doctor starts saying that he or she will do all they can do until it’s time to punch out, so they may not be able to complete their task then you know they don’t care. They are simply doing a job. But if you have ever seen someone truly care for someone else, then it isn’t hard to identify. When my grandmother was in the hospital almost 6 years ago suffering through the final stages of lung cancer, I can remember her doctor coming in and sitting with her and my father. I can remember the doctor having the same blank look of impending loss on his face that my dad had worn for quite some time. It wasn’t hard to tell that he cared. And that’s what Timothy did, he cared. He didn’t just proclaim the gospel to them and end all care for them there. It’s what any pastor, or any Christian for that matter, worth his salt does. He doesn’t just preach to his congregation, but he cares for them, labors with them, and they are just as much a part of him as he is of them.
Timothy is also concerned greatly for Christ and the gospel. All other things are secondary to him. That’s not easy, especially for us. Placing Christ above our family, our success, or anything else is tough, but it is possible. For it is only when we place Christ at the center that we can come to enjoy all of these other things in their purest and greatest sense.
And finally, Timothy has learned to work with others. How often do we just do things ourselves? I know I do. I think it’s easier for me to do something myself and so I put it all on my shoulders. Paul looks at Timothy as a son, but he doesn’t just serve Paul. He works with Paul. They labor alongside one another. How often do we try and labor over those whom we feel some sense of superiority. Or how often do we settle for serving someone else. Our goal, in Christian service, ought to be to work side-by-side with one another. No one, not even ministers, are above any other when it comes to service of the kingdom.
The third example in this case study that Paul gives us here of someone other than Christ living in a Christian manner is perhaps the most helpful of the three. He gives us Epaphroditus. Epaphroditus isn’t a great apostle and missionary like Paul. He isn’t a young minister who has had some experience on the mission field or in the “pulpit” like Timothy. No, Epaphroditus is a layman. In other words, he isn’t a minister in any sense of the word. He hasn’t been trained. He doesn’t have the experience, but he is an everyday average run-of-the-mill person. You ought to find him quite easy to identify with. And Paul has no shortage of accolades to attach to Epaphroditus. “My brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need.” Now you have to almost imagine these phrases as an introduction. If you’ve ever seen the movie “A Knight’s Tale” starring the late Heath Ledger then you can picture this. The character that plays Jeffery Chaucer is known for his way with words and his lengthy introductions. He gives these striking introductions to Ledger’s character before each jousting event that leaves the crowd so enthralled that they have no choice but to come to their feet and cheer him on. It’s similar to that. Or perhaps it might resonate more by saying that it’s similar to the introduction given to a fighter as he makes his way to the ring. The point is that the list of accomplishments builds, with the greatest of achievements coming at the end. All of these statements come together here in giving us a good summary of what the Christian life should be.
Epaphroditus is a brother. Now we commonly call our fellow Christians brothers and sisters in Christ. But you have to remember, we’ve also had over 2000 years to develop this mindset. This would have been a new thing in Paul’s day. We’re only about 30 years removed from Jesus’ death. The phrase Christian would have only been formed in the last several years in Antioch. The only groups that would have had a sense of comradery and closeness like this would have been armies. This would have come from the dangers that they faced together. And there were some political groups that shared common ideals, but hardly to the level where they would have referred to each other as brothers. Paul sees this man as his brother. Do we? No, not Epaphroditus. Do we see other Christians as our brothers and sisters? In our world today, where we say that others are our brothers and sisters in Christ, do we look to them as we do our own family with all of our compassion and loving affection? This man named Epaphroditus did.
Paul also says that Epaphroditus is a fellow worker. And more importantly, he’s a worker. Somewhere along the lines churches stopped working. No, they haven’t closed, but many have taken on the wrong attitude. So many churches have turned their focus to keeping the business going and doors open. Small churches have worried so much about budgets and staying afloat financially while larger churches have concerned themselves more with programs geared at those who are already within their own church. They have caused their purpose to be geared towards their own desires instead of what God wills for them. It’s no wonder why so many of these churches have had to close their doors. When Christians or churches operate without Christ as their focus and goal then they aren’t working properly. Do you still work for the gospel? Or have you taken the settled in approach to your faith?
In addition to being a fellow worker, Epaphroditus is a fellow soldier. He wasn’t just a hard worker who labored for Christ, but he labored hard. He labored so hard that it was almost like this work was battle. And that’s because it was. It was spiritual warfare. And it isn’t true just of things during Paul’s time, but ours as well. We are still engaged in the war that has been waging on since the book of Genesis. We, as Christians, are to fight side-by-side against the forces of sin and the evil one until such time as Jesus Christ returns. Are you still fighting? Do you feel like you’re in a war against sin?
All of these traits thus far (brother, fellow worker, and fellow laborer) build up to the climactic phrase telling us that he was the messenger of the church at Philippi and that he took care of Paul’s needs. Epaphroditus had devoted so much of himself to Christian service that he had sacrificed himself and his health. He spent so much energy caring for the needs of the Philippians and Paul that he had himself become ill. “You heard that he was ill. Indeed he was ill, near to death…for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.” Now don’t think that I’m charging you to go out and work yourself sick or literally work yourself to death, but I am challenging you to work. I’m challenging you to put yourself second and put others first. I’m challenging you to devote yourself to Christ more than anything else in this world.
Taking all of this in, we should have a sense of hope about us. We know that we’re not Christ. We know that we’re not even Paul or Timothy. Although, these were just men so there is nothing that they were capable of that we can’t do. But this man, Epaphroditus, we can relate to him. This man, who is mentioned nowhere else in Scripture other than this epistle, is proof for us that we too are capable of living a truly Christian life. We are capable of living the life that God calls us and commands us to live in Scripture. Let this be an encouragement to us all. Let us never settle with where we are and stop our striving for perfection. Even though we know that we will stumble. Even though we know we will fail at times. Let us never stop striving forward. Let us continue to live lives that glorify of Creator. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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