Let us consider briefly the interesting New Testament character of Epaphroditus. We are not told
very much about him, but in what we are told we see a great deal of what is lovely and pleasant.
We see much that makes us long for the same kind of men today. As we read about Epaphroditus,
may the Holy Spirit lead us to cultivate the same grace which shone so brightly in that dear and
honored servant of Christ!

"I supposed it necessary, writes the Apostle Paul, "to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and
companion in labor and fellow soldier, but your messenger, and he who ministered to my wants.
For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness because you had heard that he had been sick.
For indeed he was sick nigh unto death; but God had mercy on him, and not on him only, but on
me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I sent him therefore the more carefully that, when
you see him again, you may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful. Receive him therefore
in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation, because for the work of Christ he was
nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me" (Phil. 2:25-30).

We see that the inspired apostle bestowed upon Epaphroditus many high and honorable titles,
styling him his "brother and companion in labor and fellow-soldier." It is quite possible that some
of us, on reading this, may feel disposed to inquire if Epaphroditus was a great evangelist or
teacher, or some highly gifted servant of Christ. We are not told that he was a great preacher or
a profound teacher in the Church of God. All that we are told about him is that came forward in
a time of real need to "stop a gap," as we say. The Philippians had it upon their hearts to send help
to the Apostle Paul in his prison at Rome. He was in need and they longed to supply his need.
They loved him and God had laid it upon their loving hearts to communicate with his necessities.
They thought of him and longed to minister to him of their substance.

How lovely was this! How grateful to the heart of Christ! Listen to the glowing terms in which
the imprisoned apostle speaks of their precious ministry. "I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now
at the last your care of me has flourished again, wherein you were also careful, but you lacked
opportunity…. I have all and abound, having received of Epaphroditus the things from you, and
odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God" (Phil. 4:10-18).

Here we see the place which Epaphroditus filled in this blessed business. There lay the beloved
apostle in his prison at Rome and there lay the loving offering of the saints at Philippi. But how
was it to be conveyed to him? These were not the days of sending bank checks or postal money
orders. There were no railways. It was no easy matter to get from Philippi to Rome in those days.
But Epaphroditus, that dear, unpretending, self-surrendering servant of Christ, presented himself
to supply the missing link, to be the channel of communication between the assembly at Philippi
and the apostle in Rome. He did not aim at doing some great showy thing, something which would
make him very prominent and cause his name to be blazed abroad as some wonderful person. Ah,
no! Epaphroditus was a dear, self-hiding, lowly servant of Christ, one of that class of workmen
to whom we are irresistibly attracted. Nothing is more charming than an unpretending, retiring
man who is content just to fill the empty niche; to render the needed service, whatever it is; to do
the work cut out for him by the Master’s hand.

There are some who are not content unless they are at the head and tail of everything. They seem
to think that no work can be rightly done unless they have a hand in it. They are not satisfied to
supply a missing link. How repulsive are all such! How we retire from them! Self-confident, self-
sufficient, ever pushing themselves into prominence. They have never measured themselves in the
presence of God, never been broken down before Him, never taken their true place of self-
abasement.

Epaphroditus was not of this class at all. He put his life in his hand to serve other people; and
when at death’s door, instead of being occupied with himself or his ailments, he was thinking of
others. "He longed after you all, and was full of heaviness"_not because he was sick,
but_"because you had heard that he had been sick." Here was true love. He knew what his
beloved brethren at Philippi would be feeling when informed of his serious illness_an illness
possibly brought on by his willing-hearted service to them.

All this is morally lovely. It does the heart good to contemplate this exquisite picture. Epaphrodi
tus had evidently studied in the school of Christ. He had sat at the Master’s feet, and drunk deeply
into His spirit. In no other way could he have learned such holy lessons of self-surrender and
thoughtful love for others. The world knows nothing of such things; nature cannot teach such
lessons. They are altogether heavenly, spiritual, divine. Would that we knew more of them! They
are rare among us with all our high profession. There is a most humiliating amount of selfishness
in all of us and it looks so hideous in connection with the name of Jesus.

Let us again notice the very touching manner in which the inspired apostle commends Epaphro
ditus to the assembly at Philippi. "He longed after you all and was full of heaviness, because you
had heard that he had been sick. For indeed he was sick nigh unto death; but God had mercy on
him, and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow." What a tide
of divine affection and sympathy rolled in upon that unpretending, self-sacrificing servant of
Christ! The whole assembly at Philippi, the blessed apostle, and, above all, God Himself, were
all engaged in thinking about a man who did not think about himself. Had Epaphroditus been a
self-seeker, had he been occupied about himself or his interests, or even his work, his name would
never have shone on the page of inspiration.

Thus it will ever be. A man who thinks much of himself saves others the trouble of thinking
about him; but the lowly, the humble, the modest, the unpretending, the retiring, the self-emptied,
who think of, and live for others, who walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, these are the persons
to be thought of and cared for, loved and honored, by God and His people.

"For the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of
service toward me." Thus it was with this most dear and honored servant of Christ. He did not
regard his life, but laid it at his Master’s feet. Hence the apostle calls upon the church to hold him
in reputation. Thus the honored name of Epaphroditus has been handed down to us by the pen of
inspiration. His precious service has been recorded, and the record has been read by untold
millions. At the same time, the names and doings of self-seekers, the self-important, the
pretentious of every age and place are sunk in eternal oblivion.

(From Short Papers, Vol. 1, ©1975 by Believers Bookshelf, P.O. Box 261, Sunbury, PA 17801;
used by permission.)