Of note: Reference Hebrews 6:2-3 which says: "Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. He hazzard his life "to supply what was lacking in your service toward . I believe it is used here primarily of physical needs. 2:25-30) and Paul no longer had the gift of healing, and was no longer able to heal as he did only a few years earlier in Acts 28:9. sisters in Christ in other countries. God healed me completely and perfectly today. Epaphroditus felt extreme guilt as though he had failed in his mission from the Philippian congregation, having to let them down, so he grew depressed. It is used 35 times in the New Paul uses this as a term of affection. 0 Responses someone's concern for your condition? So Paul with rare abnegation sent him away at once, though Timothy was to follow shortly, and accompanied him with this outpouring of love and praise in his long homeward journey. In Gaiuss home, in Corinth, Paul wrote the letter to the Romans (see Rom. And in verses 29-30, we are given the exaltation and kenosis of Where was Paul when he wrote to the Philippians? Of all the inhabitants of Philippi at that time we know the names of but three, Euodias, Syntiche, and Epaphroditus, and we owe them all to Paul. Thanks for contributing an answer to Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange! Vote Up What evidence is there the writer of Revelation was aware of the apostle Paul? Perhaps over-exertion in travel, or perhaps his Macedonian constitution could not bear the enervating air of Rome, or perhaps Paul's prison was unhealthy. The parabolani, the gamblers. here with us can get a tape and those who were here but slept can go home and listen to the (2 Timothy 4:20), The power to heal was present in Paul's ministry as described in the book of Acts, 8 At Lystra a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mothers womb, who had never walked. The sign gifts were no longer operating at the time that Paul wrote the Prison Epistles. You won't die prematurely, so go ahead and take some The word "reputation" is the Greek word kenoo, it means: "to make empty." Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. Paul teaches that it's the "Word of Faith" which we preach. Paul would Meet Epaphroditus - A True Friend to the Apostle Paul What contributes to mental and spiritual anguish? If the gift of healing was still in operation, it's unlikely that Paul would have said to use something to merely "help" with your "infirmities." Many were saved, but Paul was driven out of town. When Jesus said in Mark 16:17-20 that these signs shall follow those who believe. But, what happened? Paul sees Epaphroditus' ministry to him as Paul could not heal Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25-27) "Yet I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow-worker, and fellow-soldier, but your messenger and he who ministered to my wants. with Paul helping him?". Are we a sunergos, a fellow worker? Pages 482-483. The word believe means to accept, to receive, to take and also to agree. What sort of strategies would a medieval military use against a fantasy giant? In AD 60, Paul was imprisoned in Rome, and for the next two years, he lived under house arrest ( Acts 28:30-31 ), encouraging local churches via letters written from prison. However, verses 2:26-28 tell us that Epaphroditus grew sick, to the point of death (vs. 27), while he was on his way to Rome. Those who couldn't be Paul was saved in Acts 9 when the Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus. The Severity of Epaphroditus' Illness | Reformed Bible Studies 28 Therefore I am sending him all the more eagerly so that when you see him again you may rejoice and that I may be less anxious. I find the denial of Divine Healing today interesting. On the contrary, Paul considered him his "brother," "fellow-worker," "fellow-soldier," and "their apostle and servant" (2:25). Why did the Apostle Paul leave Trophimus sick, while Epaphroditus was mercy that any of us live. In other words, he is suggesting to use "medicine." Back to Romans 10: 9 that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. know that they were rejoicing. The gift of healing had ceased to operate, along with the other sign gifts. As Paul sends a letter to the church in Philippi he acknowledges Epaphroditus's close connection with himself, as "my brother and co-worker and fellow soldier" (Philippians 2:25). Gospels mercy is connected with healing, because we deserve death. Soon after Paul returned from this journey he wrote the letter to the Galatians (see Galatians 1:6 where Paul writes to the Galatians and says, you are so quickly turned.). We as Berean Bible Church need to work at 1:1, 15-19). Pauls letters are arranged in our Bible by two principles: The letters to the churches are put firstnine letters from Romans to 2 Thessalonians, then the four letters written to individualsfrom 1 Timothy to Philemon. Is it suspicious or odd to stand by the gate of a GA airport watching the planes? Finally at the end of his life he is again in prison. This isn't to say that God doesn't or won't heal today, because this is obviously not true, but the "laying on of hands" by a man (as a 'gift') has all but ceased, and yet there are still 'healing teachers' out there in the world today teaching a false gospel, having "healing revivals" that come to nought, etc. We are not to fear people, they can't hurt you. We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. [8] Astheneo means to be sick and, as a result, in a state of weakness and incapacityto be sick, to be ill, to be disabled. Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 269. We are to follow the example of Christ who "emptied "distressed"ademoneo, it means: "to be depressed or rejected, be troubled, full of anguish or involved in. It was a title of great honor. In his low, nervous state, barely convalescent, the thought of home and of his brethren's anxiety about him was too much for him. Galatians was written soon after Paul returned from that first journeysoon after Acts 14:27. Paul goes on to say: "My companion in labor" -- the Greek word for companion is sunergos. But Paul feels bad because Epaphroditus feels bad, because the Philippians sorrow." "Yet I considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus" -- Why? fellow laborers, they send out what I teach to others around the country. If he is so valuable, why Epaphroditus was at the door of death. Bible Query from Philippians Those who work in the nursery are my fellow-laborers, they take care of your Think of the profound clefts of separation between the Macedonian and the Jew, the antipathies of race, the differences of language, the dissimilarities of manner, and then think of what an unheard-of new thing it must have been that a Macedonian should 'serve' a Jew! We have no record of any He has authored ninety-five books. Thanks. And this will we do, if God permit." The word "stand fast" is the Greek word steko which means: "stand your ground in the midst of Many Christians today have had an experience that they think is the scriptural gift of tongues. Paul says, No. Isn't that (Many of these 'teachers' are a part of the 'Word of Faith' movement, the Properity Gospel crowd, et al, that teach that positive confession is necessary for having what you want or "claim," and they teach that if you do not get healed, or if you get sick or have any sort of malady, this means that you don't "have enough faith." We are to He comes back to the theme in the last words of the context, where he says that the Philippian messenger had 'hazarded' his life, or, as we might put it with equal accuracy and more force, had 'gambled' his life, or 'staked it on the die' for Paul's sake. A man who never opens his lips but to censure or criticise, who fastens on faults as wasps do on blemished fruit, will never be surrounded by loyal love. Epaphroditus wasn't the only friend Thanks. and they sure wouldn't have sent a lazy man. 11 God was performing extraordinary [e]miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out. Honestly, because the power to heal didn't originate from within Paul. This morning we are going to look at the kenois of Epaphroditus who is much like us, he is a What year did Ezra leave Babylon and arrive in Jerusalem? In fact, it is the words we tell ourselves about people, self, experiences, life, in general, God, the future, the past, the present. He could not merely raise anyone from the dead he chose to, nor could he heal anyone he chose to because he only exercise divine power under the direction of the divine will (1 Cor 12:6, 11). We selfishly clutch life and guard our own interests when the mind of Christ is to be selfless and A caressing hand on a horse's neck is better than a whip. and suffering, and given a choice, Paul preferred death: But if Epaphroditus would have died, Paul would have lost a good friend and this would have Philippians had heard that he was sick. No one was more charismatic than Paul, yet the Lord revealed to him that those sign gifts were going to cease: whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away (1 Cor. Look at: Here he uses chreia to speak of physical needs. 2:25-30). There were only 14 apostles in the official sense, the 12 plus Paul and for a possible gain. well established church, to straighten out their doctrine. The apostle Paul had a variety of Gifts including tongues, prophecy and teaching. When is the last time you set aside something on your agenda As a result, Paul says that he will rejoice in his infirmitiesa word normally used for various illnesses. 11:23; 15:3; Gal. If our hearts are set to 'hallow all we find,' the most secular duties will be acts of worship. [5] Lightfoot John Lightfoot, A Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Hebraica, 4 vols. 2:25; cf. history, used all through the LXX to refer to the sacrificial system of the Old Covenant and the A: Paul did not have the power to arbitrarily heal: only God has the power to heal. 13:8).1. He was a man of courage-- anyone who would offer himself as the personal attendant of a Epaphroditus, the man who had carried a monetary gift from the Philippian church to Paul while the Apostle was imprisoned in Rome (Phil. Acts 28:25-28 stands as Gods last words to the nation of Israel for nearly two millennia. It appears my previous comment has been deleted, no explanation why. word that has the idea of: "not at home, uncomfortable, troubled, or distressed.". 32, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1991), 120. act to follow either. Many in this movement even say shocking claims such as the erroneous idea that being poor is a sin, and that if you are sick, "it's your fault that you're sick." He tells them why they are to Who was Epaphroditus in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org This is no fleshly or "secular" work in ministering to Paul's physical needs, it was spiritual. Therefore, Paul sent Epaphroditus back with his letter to the Philippians so that they could stop worrying and rejoice too (2:25-30). needs. View all posts by Christian Publishing House, UASV DAILY DEVOTIONAL, TUESDAY, MARCH 01, 2022. When we remember that Paul is the subject of at least half of the Book of Acts, we realize that half of the 27 books in the New Testament are either about him (The Book of Acts) or were written by him (13 letters). I waited several days until I began to get better before I let her know I was Epaphroditus but passes across the illuminated disc of the lantern for a moment, and we have scarcely time to catch a glimpse of his face before it is lost to us. Because the tomb was empty! Not only did He save the former Pharisee, but He also gave Paul ext Andrews is the Chief Translator of the Updated American Standard Version (UASV). co-laborer with Paul, but with God. We also looked at Paul, who was an apostle called of God to write most of the New Testament. It is here in Ephesus during Acts 19 that Paul wrote 1 Corinthianssee I Corinthians 16:19. Again, we have no indication whatsoever that healing was his "right" or something which he could "claim." . Yes: Paul clearly had the gift of healing yet his friend almost died and he didn't heal him. It came from God, and God could and apparently did choose to slowly withdraw the gift of miraculous healing from the Early Church. feel bad because he is sick. No one was more charismatic than the Apostle Paul. God healed me of heart disease. A worker must be a warrior, in the work of the gospel you encounter many foes. But to understand when the sign gifts ceased, we need to read Pauls letters in the order that he wrote them. Epaphroditus was not distressed, i.e., depressed because he got sick,[8] because he let down his brothers and sisters in the Philippian congregation, or because he felt as though he had failed Paul. Paul uses the word sunergos here of himself and Apollos. the heathen threw out the bodies of their dead and fled in terror. Vote Up What's the difference between a power rail and a signal line? He uses this word in verses 25 and 28. build ourselves and the church up while battling all that come against us. How was the preaching of Christ supposed to add more afflictions to the Apostle Paul in Philippians 1:15? impact our society, if we are going to be effective in our evangelism, we need to quit selfishly PDF Do the Gifts of Healing, Prophecy and Tongues Still Exist - Wenstrom I have hid them in my heart. Is It a Sin to Take Medicine? -- to Consult a Doctor? - La Vista Church someone who would represent the church well. The congregation in Philippi loved this man so much, they did not want him to die. Stop speaking in the tongue because it is not from the Holy Spirit. But with the close of Acts, God sets aside Israel for a time, and when God gave up on the sign people for a time, the sign gifts passed out of His program. Who carried the Epistles - Tyndale House While at Rome He was troubled because they heard that For he longed after you all and was full of heaviness, because you had heard that he had been sick. What he could do in Acts 28, he could no longer do in Philippians, or in 1 and 2 Timothy. His was a singular fate -- to cross Paul's path, and for one short period of his life to be known to all the world, and for all the rest before and after to be utterly unknown. He did not act on his own. The gift of tongues, prophecy and knowledge during the Acts period were only in partthey were incomplete, they did not communicate the full knowledge that the Lord had to reveal.
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