Epaphroditus: An Epitome Who Completes Christ’s Afflictions
Versi Bahasa Indonesia dari tulisan ini dimuat di WarungSaTeKaMu.org dengan judul Epafroditus, Rekan Paulus yang Melengkapi Penderitaan Kristus.
Entering the final week of Lenten period, also known as the Holy Week, you may often hear these words: Christ, life, death, cross, resurrection, persecution, suffering,...
Suffering.
I know that Lord Jesus bore all kinds of persecution before and while He was crucified, but those words above, especially the last one, are often mere words which have no meaning to me. The setting of our age which upholds the visual sense – e.g., all gadgets have features to limit our screen time – compels us to demand concrete examples so we can understand a concept or an abstract word. I am no exception. For instance, I once used the Dark and Light Sides of the Star Wars series to illustrate the two sides of the reality of service and ministry. As such, in this writing, I’d like to present God's response to the challenge of our age which demands a concrete example of Christ’s suffering. I'm not referring to the film "The Passion of the Christ" or the like, which your church might show during this Lenten period (although such movies can indeed assist our imagination). Certain passages in the Scripture point us to the present evidence of Christ's suffering, which I accidentally discovered one fateful night while listening to John Piper’s sermon. To follow the trail of this evidence, we must first acquaint ourselves with a New Testament character named Epaphroditus.
Who is Epaphroditus?
Among 31,171 verses in the Bible, Epaphroditus’ name is only mentioned in two verses and Paul practically only talks about him in seven verses. Do you know in which letter Paul wrote about Epaphroditus?
25 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, 26 for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. 29 So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honour such men, 30 for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.
(Php. 2:25–30 ESV)
Paul was most likely imprisoned in Rome when he wrote this letter. His relationship with the Christians in Philippi was rather unique as they were the first churches he planted when he served in Europe (Acts 16:6–40). So when the Philippians heard of Paul's captivity, they at once sent offerings with Epaphroditus as their messenger (v. 25, cf. 4:18). Unfortunately, he became seriously ill on the way to Rome (which was about 1,250 km from Philippi and took up to six weeks to travel) and was already dying when he arrived there (v. 27). Thank God, he healed Epaphroditus so he could serve Paul and convey the Philippians’ message (v. 25). Sometime later, after being made aware of their concern about Epaphroditus and seeing his reaction, Paul planned to send him back so that the Philippians "may rejoice at seeing him again" and Paul himself could be less anxious (v. 28). This short passage ends with Paul's instruction to the Philippians to receive Epaphroditus in the Lord with joy and to honour those like him who risked their lives for the work of Christ (vv. 29–30).
Up to this point, you may be able to perceive that “God's response to the challenge of our age which demands a concrete example of Christ’s suffering” is fellow followers of Christ who suffer and “nearly [die] for the work of Christ” (v. 30). Your guess is correct. I don't need to write any further. This article stops here...
…but did you know that the combination of phrases in verse 30 has a counterpart in Paul’s other letter and that their pairing spells out the Biblical principle which underlies the suffering of Christians in the present as witnesses of Christ's afflictions in the past?
I thank God for John Piper, who in his sermon 16 years ago unravelled His hidden glory in these two texts:
30for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete [αναπληρωση / anaphlerohose] what was lacking [υστερημα / husterema] in your service to me. (Php. 2:30 ESV)
24Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up [ανταναπληρω / antanaphleroho] what is lacking [υστερηματα / husteremata] in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, (Col. 1:24 ESV)
Here we need to clarify that when Paul wrote that his sufferings “[fill] up is lacking in Christ’s afflictions” (Col. 1:24), he was not claiming that Christ’s death on the cross of Christ couldn’t completely redeem humanity from sin and death. On the contrary, as evidenced in his other letters (e.g., Romans 5, 1 Corinthians 15, Ephesians 2), Paul believed that Christ's salvation work through His suffering on the cross is perfect and sufficient. In John Piper’s words, “The beauty, the wonder, the value, the worth, and the merit of Christ crucified to cover sins is infinite. You can't add anything to it. There’s nothing missing from it. There’s no lack in it.”
So, what did Paul mean by that verse in his letter to the Colossians? In Philippians 2:30, we find Epaphroditus' afflictions doing the same thing that Paul's did in Colossians 1:24, namely “[completing] what was lacking in [the Philippian church’s] service to [him].” The combination of the words “complete” and “what is lacking” in these two verses expresses the gap which separates the two parties, both in physical and temporal senses. The Christians in Philippi loved Paul and wanted to serve him in Rome, but since it was impractical for all of them to go there, they sent Epaphroditus to express their love for him. Who would have thought that Epaphroditus needed to "suffer" to carry out his mission?! So it’s not a coincidence that Paul saw the parallel between the sufferings in his service to Christ and Epaphroditus’ afflictions in service to the Philippian congregation and Paul so that he used the same pair of words to explain his willingness to live under the constant threat of afflictions (cf. 2 Cor. 11:16–33), because through it all he was bearing witness to Christ who suffered for His church.
The afflictions of Epaphroditus and Paul, both disciples of Christ, are the physical proofs that Lord Jesus and His disciples suffered for the good of the church and His enemies. And this affliction is not in vain, for we know that Christ has risen and triumphed over all suffering, sin, and death (cf. 1 Cor. 15).
Christ’s afflictions, which we cannot see now because they occurred more than two millennia ago, are now visible through present-day Epaphrodituses and Pauls. Who are they? People who love us sacrificially, but more clearly brothers and sisters in faith who suffer because of their faith, both those we know in person and God's congregation in other parts of the world.
We may not experience persecution because of our faith, but because the Church of God is united as one body with Christ as the Head (cf. 1 Cor 12), we ought to partake in witnessing Christ's afflictions to the world. When even a small thorn pierces our hand, won't our whole body feel uncomfortable all day long? Thus we ought to support our brothers and sisters who are persecuted because of their faith.
There are many ways we can apply the principle from God’s Word above.
First, we can pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters in personal or communal settings (e.g., prayer meetings or worship services). In addition to friends or acquaintances, we can also pray for brothers and sisters in other parts of the world. You can find out more about them from various mission organisations, especially Open Doors International which serves followers of Christ who are persecuted in all corners of the world. It annually releases a World Watch List report on the 50 countries where it’s hardest to be Christian.
Second, following the Philippian congregation, we can send aid offerings to members of the body of Christ who are persecuted through mission organisations serving their area, such as Open Doors, World Vision, and Compassion International. God may send Epaphrodituses of the present day to channel our offerings to His people in need so that the witness of His Son's afflictions is more widely shared. I’m grateful for such opportunities from God where I can help other members of the body of Christ in need, including offerings to underground churches, support for social works in one of the most underdeveloped areas in Indonesia, and sponsoring foster brothers.
Finally, we can witness the afflictions of Lord Jesus through our own life. Christians through the ages have been following Paul’s example by committing themselves to share the Gospel and suffering for Lord Jesus. Through their sacrifices, the people whom they served received the complete Gospel: that God has come in the person of Jesus Christ to suffer and die so that He can redeem mankind, that this Jesus has risen in victory over sin and death, and that He is now sending His disciples to herald His second coming by living like Him, loving others unconditionally, including their enemies.
Most of us in our witness of the Gospel of Christ may never have to suffer like Epaphroditus or Paul, but God can use us to make Lord Jesus’ afflictions real to the people we meet. One such occasion occurred to me a few years ago. I am practically a younger brother to a pair of seniors at church. So often I visited them to discuss all kinds of topics, exchange life stories, and play with their son, that when I wanted to go home from their house my "nephew" would cry because he wanted to continue playing with Uncle Jeff. One day, my “elder sister” was afflicted with a rather serious disease and had to be hospitalised for a few days. As soon as I heard their situation, I immediately offered to help as best I could. So for two Saturdays in a row, I helped to babysit my “nephew” while my “elder brother” did the housework and visited his wife in the hospital. I only learned later from my “elder brother” that I was one of the few who offered to help them and that they as a family were very grateful to God for our helping hand, presence, and sacrifice for them amidst their difficult time.
After hearing my “elder brother” say it, and until now, I didn’t feel that I made any sacrifices. Sure, there were one or two appointments I had to rearrange to help them, but I didn't feel that I was being bothered at all. In fact, I felt blessed because I could help them. At that moment I understood Epaphroditus' example more completely, a concept which I had only understood with my head now I had put into practice myself: it was the love of Lord Jesus which sustained Epaphroditus through death’s valley when serving Paul on behalf of the Philippian church, and it was His love which drove me to reach out my hand to my “elder brother and sister” when they needed it.
Witnessing Christ’s (Affliction) until the World Listens and Believes
There is an interesting conversation in chapter 17 of Yann Martel’s novel “Life of Pi”. Pi was a Hindu who interacted with a Catholic priest called Father Martin during his teenage years. In one of their encounters, the priest told Pi about Jesus Christ, the Son of God who died to save humanity from sin. Pi struggled hard with this story and couldn’t accept it as the truth.
In their next meeting, Pi confronted Father Martin,
But once a dead God, always a dead God, even resurrected. The Son must have the taste of death forever in His mouth. The Trinity must be tainted by it; there must be a certain stench at the right hand of God the Father. The horror must be real. Why would God wish that upon Himself? Why not leave death to the mortals? Why make dirty what is beautiful, spoil what is perfect?
Do you know what Father Martin replied?
“Love.”
One word; nothing more, nothing less.
Pi continued swarming Father Martin with questions while comparing the Christian faith with Hinduism, but Father Martin’s answer was consistently short, “Love”.
Here is the Gospel which disciples of Christ witness through their sufferings and sacrifices: the crucified God who died and rose again, “a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks,... the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:23–24). It is thus no surprise that all true loves are shadows of Christ’s love, for only at His name will every knee bow, “in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Php. 2:9–11).
Like Pi, the world needs to know and be perplexed by the reality of the God who suffered to redeem sinners. And, like Epaphroditus and Paul, the Lord calls His people in the present to be afflicted for Him to fill up what is lacking in His Son’s afflictions in the witness of His body, that is the church (Col. 1:24). It is thus our mission as the other members of Christ’s body to ensure that the world hears this Good News, to support the members who are afflicted due to their faith, and, God willing, following Epaphroditus and Paul’s example to witness Christ (and His afflictions).
Thank God for Epafroditus!
The grace of Jesus Christ be with you, soli Deo gloria!
