Gratitude for Co-Workers

3 keys to viewing each other with gratitude

I. Think of Each Other in a Christ Centered Way (v. 25)

Philippians 2:25 “But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need…”

When I was a student at the Master’s Seminary, I was required to take courses in biblical Hebrew. One particular Hebrew class involved the singing of a song in modern Hebrew. No sooner than we entered the class that our professor Dr. Barrick would have us sing a song based out of the book of Psalms 133:1 It was very important that we learned the song and sang it together. It went something like this…

Chorus 1
Hineh ma tov u’ma’naim
Shevet achim gam yachad

Chorus 2
Hineh ma tov
Hineh ma tov
Lai, lai, lai

Translated: "Behold, How good and how pleasant it is brethren to dwell together."

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When the people of Israel sang that song together, it was more than just dwelling together in unity. When they sang Psalm 133, it appeared to be done while preparing their hearts for spiritual unity under the living God.

Now, consider this – perhaps one of the occasions for David to write this psalm was because his family was not united, but divided. You see his sons were antagonistic toward one another while another son wanted him dead. But the purpose of the song was to rejoice and be spiritually happy together under the living God – and it was under the God of Scripture that one learned to have…gratitude.

In application, it’s a trickling down affect. One would see the God of Scripture – one would see his character – and upon seeing his Person/character that one is changed, and then that man or women of God desires the unity that God alone can bring.

So then for the Apostle Paul – while in prison – has much gratitude. He has much to be thankful for and he wants the Philippian church to know how appreciative he because this church, which had been so supportive of the Apostle Paul sent to him a man named Epaphroditus to comfort the Apostle while in chains.

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We don’t know much about this man at all. What we do know is that the Philippians sent Epaphroditus to Paul to which Paul responded by letter and said that he had

“But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.” – Philippians 4:18

Paul then goes onto describe Epaphroditus as a “fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice” In other words, it was a big sacrifice on the part of the church to send this man to the Apostle.

Epaphroditus doesn’t appear to hold a position in the church. He wasn’t a pastor. There’s not much know as to who he was. So what does our Lord do? God marked out for us this man’s courage and faithfulness by serving the needs of the Apostle Paul while sitting in a roman prison. He was a man marked by courage and faithfulness.

Epaphroditus was well aware of the danger by marking himself as a follower of Christ in those days, when being a Christian in those days could get you arrested or killed.

“Epaphroditus understood that this situation could change overnight. If Caesar decided that Paul was indeed a threat to him as had been charged, he would not hesitate to order his immediate execution. That would put Paul’s associates in danger of arrest, imprisonment, and perhaps execution. Epaphroditus knew that the risk he was taking was real.” (John MacArthur, MacArthur Commentary on Philippians, pg. 202)

You know some thing, church. I hope and pray that we don’t miss that implication/application and challenge – that being a follower of Christ entails at times a reckless courage to serve Him, especially when the Gospel is out of season, i.e. when it is not popular to be a Christian at all because everything we stand against the spirit of the age champions!

Yet here, Epaphroditus serves as a cross of hope to remind us in the words of AW Tozer who said..

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the “Holy Spirit never enters a man and then lets him live like the world. You can be sure of that.” Epaphroditus was that kind of man who was so changed by the Spirit of Grace that he risked his life for the apostle Paul.

Something else our Lord wants us to know about this man through the inspired pen of the Apostle, and he said it was necessary to send Epaphroditus back to the Philippians, and then gives to us 4 glowing features about this man.

A. My brother – Grk “adelphos” – “brother” That is to say, he’s a fellow believer in Christ. Not

only is he a brother in the Lord. If you didn’t notice it already, many of us who name the name

of Christ call one another “brother” or “sister” because it spiritually links us together as fellow

children of God the Father, and we represent him as ambassadors on this earth.

This is what believers are.

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of

God’s household,” (Ephesians 2:19, NASB95)

Unbelievers have no right to that title. That is something that is knighted to them by the

Father of lights.

When we call one another “brother” or “sister”, we are thinking of one another in a Christ-

Center way, but also of our spiritual bond we share. Not only does Paul call him a brother in

the Lord, but he also says that he is a…

B. Fellow worker – Grk. “synergos.” - companion in work .

In other words, Epaphroditus was a fellow co-patriot to the ministry of the Gospel. I want you to start noticing that when Paul mentions someone in Scripture, he does this because he is grateful for their service to the same cause.

The Gospel is a labor of love and work. I will have you know that many of the parables of Christ on the kingdom of God always entail a level of work that is done by followers of Christ. You can’t get away from it, church – serving Christ involves work.

In fact, after I finish preaching, Pastor Rod is going to stand up here and offer some ways you can serve here at faith church. It shouldn’t be hard to find workers for Christ. It should not be hard at all because God gives to his people a spiritual gifts to use among his people.

So for the Apostle Paul, he had a fellow worker in Epaphroditus. He was brave. He was a hard worker. Then he said he was a…

C. Fellow soldier - Grk “sustratiótés.” In a spiritual sense, Paul has in mind a person who is an

associate in labors and conflicts for the cause of Christ^[1]

Finally, Paul wrote of Epaphroditus as one who is a…

D. Your messenger – Grk “Apostolos.” Refers to one who is sent out on a special commission.

In a technical sense this refers primarily to the 12 Apostles because they were hand-picked by

Christ Himself and were “sent ones” because they had the specialized task of setting the

foundation of the church (Ephesians 4:11-12).

They received divine revelation. They wrote divine authoritative Scripture superintended by the Holy Spirit, and were divinely confirmed by powerful signs and wonders (Acts 8:6-7; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Hebrews 2:3-4)

Now, in a non-technical sense, this word can refer to Pastor Viars, Pastor Folden, Pastor

Greiner and Pastor Birk who are “sent ones” in that they just left for Guam with a specialized

task to train other pastors and lay leaders for biblical counseling. They’re not laying the

foundation of church. They don’t receive divine revelation no write divine Scripture – they are

merely building upon the foundation previously laid out by the Apostles, do you see the

difference?

So then, my friends, there were (past tense) apostles of Christ and there are messengers of the

churches (present tense) Epaphroditus was the latter – he was sent out by the Philippian church with the specialized task to serve Paul. Whatever Paul needs, get him for him! That’s how much this church trusted this man. He truly had a proven servants heart.

In summary

1) He’s a brother in the Lord

2) He’s a fellow worker

3) He’s a fellow soldier

4) He’s a messenger

5) He’s a minister of needs. [E]

E. Minister to my need

This is precisely the kind of men and women we are looking for at Faith Church. They are not afraid to get their hands dirty. Behold how beautiful and how pleasant it is for us to be together, bearing the message of the Cross to the next generation. And when times get tough, or when one of us falls, we see the need and we meet it to the best of our ability.

So when Pastor Rod or myself give announcements, we hope that many of you who bear the message of the Cross on your hearts will find the time to serve in some specialized way here “to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature ^[f^]which belongs to the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13)

You know what would be great? It would be great if we could get a group of men here with the specialized task of setting up and tearing down the chairs and electronics on Saturday. It would be great to get one or two men to lead this, who would in turn mobilize at least 20 other men and women to handle this task and to do it faithfully. This church plant has been here for over 3 years now and it would be a blessing to see the Lord send to us men who are willing and able to fulfill the task in a Christ Centered way.

Epaphroditus was a person who was tried and proven. And I believe there people here today who are serving in this way, but there may be some who for whatever reason have not yet proven themselves faithful, even though God has granted them everything they need to perform their spiritual service.

We have a bus ministry here at Faith Church where Lynn Calwell travels down around the LTCH area to pick up people for church. I’m sure he could use a backup person to help him drive the bus or to even rotate with him to serve in this way. Not too long ago, he fell sick and we had to find a person who was able to pick up a number of people for church and we were able to find a good and faithful Epaphroditus to cover this needed area.

What a blessing it is to serve – God doesn’t forget your labor of love.

Hebrews 6:10 “For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.”

My friends, when we serve – You know what happens? You begin to…

II. Cultivate a Genuine Care for Each Other (vv. 26-27)

Philippians 2:26-27 “…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 on him

only but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow.” (stop)

Notice

A. Epaphroditus care for the Philippians and their care for him

This is precisely what the Apostle has in mind when he said to the Corinthians that there should be…

“…no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.” – 1 Corinthians 12:25-26

The Corinthian were marked by immaturity and division – and Paul was teaching them to be a one souled people. That’s what the Philippians were. They were a mature church who genuinely loved one another.

That’s essentially how I see our church. We’re not noted for our division, but our unity and love and care for one another.

Not too long ago, I had said that when Paul the Philippian church received word that the Apostle Paul was in prison for the cause of the Gospel, they sent Epaphroditus to deliver a love offering to the Apostle that was more than sufficient to cover whatever need the Apostle had while under house arrest in Rome.

Now, it’s Epaphroditus who was so sick that he used the Greek word in verse 26

Astheneó – to be without strength to describe Epaphroditus’ condition. It means to be without strength. Just a quick footnote here – if you remove the word “a” the word is changed to refer to one having strength, but if you add the “a” it refers to one who has none at all.

To put it simply, Epaphroditus wasn’t just sick – he was so sick that whatever illness he had nearly drained the life out of him. Now, it’s Epaphroditus who needed help.

So sick was this man that it was as though he were dead – lifeless, without strength. We’re not sure how he became sick. Perhaps it was on the way to see the Apostle in Rome. He didn’t exactly fly there like our pastor did to Guam – it was essentially on foot while under the elements.

You could be exposed to a lot of things while travelling on foot and stopping from place to place to seek lodging. Ultimately, Paul doesn’t tell us how Epaphroditus fell ill, but suffice it to say Paul says that had it not been for the Lord’s mercy, surely Epaphroditus would have went home to be with the Lord.

Now, you’d think that the Apostle would have miraculously healed Epaphroditus, because he has at times, exercised “the signs of an apostle” which served as the credentials for his apostleship. But not even an apostle could perform miraculous powers at will, unless it was in God’s purpose to do so.

In fact, two years after Paul’s imprisonment, he wrote about a servant of the Lord named Trophimus whom he had no choice but to leave sick at Miletus (2 Timothy 4:20 ) which serves as a sign-post indicating that the miraculous era of Jesus and the apostles were coming to an end.

That’s essentially what cessationism means because the apostolic miracles were no longer routine or common place.

But God still had a smiling providence in showing mercy to Epaphroditus in restoring his health and to remain on in the flesh which was more necessary for the Apostle Paul and the Philippian church who knew that Epaphroditus as a gift to the Philippian church.

Church, I have to wonder if that is how we ought to view our pilgrim’s progress on this earth. Those who know me will often hear me say – today’s a great day for a rapture! What a day that will be, right church.

Yes, the desire to depart and be with Christ is much better, yet perhaps the Lord would have it so for you to remain on in the flesh which may be more necessary for the sake of his church until it is no longer necessary for you to remain any longer.

Do you look at your life that way? Do you look at your life as an hourglass of sand? Fathers, look at your life and ministry. Dear mothers, look at your life and ministry. Husband, look deeply into the eyes of the wife of your youth. Dear wife, look deeply into the eyes of your husband. You have a ministry to steward – are you running your race?

Look at your children and consider the baton you must pass on to them? Are you doing that? Single men and women – consider your life and ministry – yes, no sooner then you surrendered your soul to the King, your ministry to the Lord began. This means it will also come to an end.

My friends, all of us should cultivate a genuine care for one another, because we are the fellowship of light in Christ. In Christ, we are fellow soldiers in turbulent seasons of time. In Christ, we carry a message of redemption to the lost and God’s promises of the life to come.

Note these words from CS Lewis

“If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.” C.S. Lewis- Mere Christianity

My challenge to you is this: while we remain on in the flesh.

Galatians 6:10 “So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.”

That’s how we learn to cultivate genuine care for one another. Sometimes, people don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care…when you serve. So the Philippians had a deep concern both for the Apostle Paul and Epaphroditus.

B. Paul’s care for Epaphroditus

Transition: In other words,

III. Hold Gospel Partners in High Regard (vv. 28-30)

Philippians 2:28-30 “Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly so that when you see him again you

may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you. Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and hold men like 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.”

Take a look at the three actions Paul wants from the Philippians

• Receive

• Hold

• Recognize

Let’s look at the first action

A. Receive him then in the Lord with all joy

I scratched my head at first wondering why the Apostle would say this. Here’s the reason. The Philippians didn’t except to see Epaphroditus back anytime soon. Remember – he was sent to the Apostle to help him while in his chains. Now all of a sudden, Epaphroditus returns with Paul’s letter.

Paul was concerned that they would perceive Epaphroditus had somehow failed in his ministry, but he didn’t. So he says to receive him with all joy. Is that how we treat one another? Or, are we noted for our critical spirits?

Note the second action.

B. Hold men like him in high regard

In other words,

“appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13

To put it simply, appreciate what God has done for you in providing you with gifted servants in the church. Grow in Gospel gratitude.

And lastly,

C. Recognize the risk of gospel ministry

That is to say, when you serve the Lord, know that he will use ministry to sanctify you. Serving the Lord in ministry will expose the idols of your heart to which the apostle John said “little children guard yourselves from idols.” – 1 John 5:21

Do you want to be more like Christ? If so, then serve and the Lord will mature your gratitude who labor alongside of you in the ministry.

Behold, How good and how pleasant it is brethren to dwell together…in unity and Gospel ministry

[1] 4961. sustratiótés. Strong's Greek: 4961. συστρατιώτης (sustratiótés) -- a fellow soldier. (n.d.).

Retrieved March 22, 2022, from https://biblehub.com/greek/496...