Receive Him with All Joy

Introduction: The Power of a Verbal Picture

0:04 This sermon was preached on Sunday morning, August 16th, 1981, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. May I encourage you to turn with me to the second chapter of Philippians, Philippians chapter 2, and follow as I read again, and for the last time, no doubt for some time to come, at least in our public worship, Philippians 2, verses 25 through 30. But I counted it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier,

0:49 and your messenger and minister to my need, since he longed after you all and was sore troubled because he had heard that he was sick. For indeed, he was sick. Nigh unto death. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only, but on me also, that I might not have sorrow upon sorrow.

1:15 I have sent him therefore the more diligently, 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 joy, and hold such in honor, because for the work of Christ he came, nigh unto death, hazarding his life to supply that which was lacking in your service towards me.

1:48 Now I would be very surprised if there is anyone here this morning, from the youngest to the oldest, who has not heard at least once and probably many times the little saying, one picture is worth a thousand words. Now I don't know if our English friends, say one photograph is worth a thousand words, but I have had them look at me wondering what in the world I was talking about when I talked about a picture, but we here in American East say, one picture is worth a thousand words. Now when we use that saying, or when we hear it used, what is the intention of its use?

2:34 Well I think most of us, at least after a fashion, could describe and define the meaning of that saying. Perhaps you might spend five minutes trying to describe a given object, and then in your frustration, when the person looks at you with that kind of glassy, no savvy stare, you say, oh, well wait a minute, I've got a picture of what I'm trying to tell you, and you go off somewhere, and you come out with a picture, you hold it in front of them, they look at it for two seconds, and they say, ah, now I understand what you're talking about. In other words, seeing a drawing, or a photograph, a picture of that object, made it much easier for the person to comprehend that object

3:16 than your five minutes of constant speaking. So when we use the terminology, one picture is worth a thousand words, we mean simply that having a replica in a visible representation is often more helpful, than a mere verbal description. Well, when we turn to the question, what does it mean to be a true disciple, and a true servant of Christ? Or, what are the outstanding characteristics of one who is sold out to Christ?

3:56 A passage such as Ephesians 2, 25 to the end, or we might even say inclusive of verses 19 and following, is a beautiful, verbal picture. It is a picture in words of these two men, Timothy, verses 19 to 24, and Epaphroditus, verses 25 to 30. And as we gaze at these pictures, we understand, in a way perhaps we cannot otherwise understand, what it means to be truly sold out to Jesus Christ. What it means to be a true servant, a true servant of the living God.

Context of Philippians 2:25-30

4:39 And as we conclude our study in this passage this morning, let me very briefly remind you of the circumstances in which it was written, and then the immediate context. Paul is under what we would call house arrest in Rome. It is not certain as to whether or not he will be sentenced to further incarceration or to death, or whether he will be released. While there at Rome, the Philippians send Epaphroditus to Paul with a gift, chapter 4 and verse 18, and as a gift to minister to his needs.

5:17 While there, Epaphroditus becomes sick, even to the point of death. But God wonderfully intervenes and heals him. And after his healing, the apostle is concerned to send Epaphroditus back to his home church at Philippi, and to send him back with this letter, conveying something of the deepest concerns of his heart. And when he speaks of the man Epaphroditus, he describes him in verse 25, in relationship to himself, and in relationship to the Philippians.

5:52 In verses 26 to 28, he gives the reasons for the decision to send him back to Philippi. And now our text this morning, verses 29 and 30, the manner in which Epaphroditus is to be received, or, if you prefer, the duties of the Philippians towards Epaphroditus. Having described the man in verse 25, having given the reasons why he has decided to send him back, he now gives words of direction to the Philippians, saying, Receive him therefore in the Lord, with all joy,

The Philippians' Duty Defined: Receive Him

6:37 and hold such in honor, because for the work of Christ he came nigh unto death, hazarding his life to supply that which was lacking in your service toward me. Now in the text there are basically two units of thought. We have first of all, the duty defined, that is, the duty of the Philippians with respect to Epaphroditus, their duty, their duty defined in verse 29, and then in verse 30, the reason for that duty explained. Let us then examine the text, and having opened up the text, as time permits,

7:21 I wish to draw out three or four lines of vital application from the text. First of all, then, their duty defined. And the text contains three simple, clear units of thought. First of all, their duty defined in its essence.

7:42 What is the essence of the duty of the Philippians when Epaphroditus comes through the door of the place where they meet? Well, the essence of the duty is bound up in the imperative verb, Receive him.

8:01 And this word receive means to take up, to welcome, to receive. And it's the word used of our Lord Jesus in the form of an accusation from the Pharisees, Luke 15, 2. This man receives sinners and eats with them. This man welcomes.

8:25 This man enters into this intimate relationship with sinners. And this comes in the form of an imperative, and this is why I have entitled the exposition, Their Duty Defined. Paul did not suggest that they welcome him. Paul did not merely intimate that it might be a nice thing to welcome them as an apostle of Jesus Christ commissioned to lay upon the consciences of new covenant believers the law of that covenant.

9:04 He binds their power, their consciences with their Christian duty, and he says, Receive him. Now notice, he did not say, Receive his ministry, nor did he say, Receive those personal characteristics about him that you happen to like, those elements of his appearance, of his bearing that are aesthetically pleasing to you, those mannerisms that are acceptable to you. No, no. The essence of their duty was to receive him.

Qualifying Characteristics of Their Duty: In the Lord with All Joy

9:42 That is, all that Epaphroditus was as a redeemed servant of Christ, they were to receive the whole man. That is the essence of their duty. But then we have their duty described not only in its essence, but in its qualifying characteristics and there are two prepositional phrases. Notice them.

10:11 Receive him therefore in the Lord with all joy. And you see, some of you wonder why I'm not enthusiastic about some of the modern translations that are very popular. And if you look at the translation of one of the most popular, you'll notice that it says, Receive him joyfully in the Lord. As though you had an adverb, joyfully, and then a preposition, a prepositional phrase in the Lord.

10:37 But that isn't what the Holy Ghost dictated. The Holy Ghost moved the Apostle Paul to use two prepositional phrases. You are to receive him in the Lord with all joy. And those two things are the qualifying characteristics of the manner in which they are to receive Epaphroditus.

11:04 Now what do they mean? You are to receive him, Paul says, in the Lord. And when you find that little phrase, in the Lord, you must remember that it points to nothing less than that great reality of the union with Christ which these Philippians enjoyed and which Epaphroditus enjoyed and which is the unique privilege and the fountainhead of all all the blessings which the people of God enjoy. You remember in verse 1 of chapter 1, Paul describes the people of God at Philippi in this way.

11:49 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus that are at Philippi. And you see it is union with Christ, which not only constitutes the basis and the orbit of all of our privileges and blessings as Christians, but also the reference point for all of our duties and our responsibilities. In other words, he says to the Philippians, receive him therefore in the full consciousness

12:31 of all of the wonder and glory of this reality, that you share with Epaphroditus a common bond of vital spiritual union with the Lord Jesus Christ himself. So your welcome is not to be a mere fraternal welcome. It is not to be the kind of welcome that is given even to soldiers who return from the battlefield having defended home and country. He said you are to receive him in the Lord Jesus Christ.

13:05 In the Lord, in the consciousness that that which marks him out from all other people who might happen to come and visit you, who do not share in this unique Christian privilege, you are to receive him as self-consciously reunited to the same Lord, self-consciously submissive to the same Lord, self-consciously grateful to the same Lord. But then you have a second, prepositional phrase. You are to receive him, he says, with all joy. You see, not with a minimal amount of joy, but with abounding joy.

13:46 And time does not permit to trace out how central is this grace of joy in the Christian life. Suffice it to quote just two texts. The fruit of the Spirit is, Galatians 5.22, love, joy, peace, long-suffering, first, I'm sorry, Romans 14 and verse 17.

14:09 The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. And perhaps one text from the Old Testament, the joy of the Lord is thy strength. And so the apostle, in giving these qualifying characteristics of their primary duty, tells the Philippians, you are to receive Epaphroditus in the Lord in the consciousness of your common union with Christ and with all joy. That is, with a joy that is in some measure commensurate with what it means to have Epaphroditus back amongst you.

14:54 Joy in the fact that God had mercy upon him and healed him. Joy in the knowledge that he who was your proven servant, whom you sent to me, will be back among you with the fragrance of his Christ-like life and with the blessing of his gifts given by the Holy Spirit. And so their duty in its essence is to receive him in its qualifying characteristics in the Lord and with all joy. But then thirdly, their duty is defined in its extended scope.

Extended Scope of Their Duty: Hold Such in Honor

15:32 Look at the latter part of the verse. And, I haven't fully defined your duty yet, Paul says, hold such, that is, such as Epaphroditus in honor. In other words, you see, Paul goes beyond the definition of their duty with regard to Epaphroditus and extends the scope of his injunction and says, hold such in honor. In other words, all who like Epaphroditus manifest this spirit of abandonment to Christ and his work, who manifest the graces

16:16 that he has manifested as my fellow soldier, my brother, my fellow laborer, your messenger, and your servant, all who manifest those same spiritual graces, he says you are to hold such in honor. Now notice he does not say you are to worship them, you are to idolize them, but he does say you are to honor them. In other words, you are to give them a place in your estimation, affection, and attitude, commensurate with their proven worth and stature. That's what it means to honor.

16:59 It was my joy yesterday at a family gathering, the first one in which all ten of my parents' children were together in ten years. And I was asked several weeks ago to prepare a formal tribute on the occasion of their fiftieth wedding anniversary.

17:17 And what a joy it was for some thirty-five minutes to look my mother and father in the eye in the presence of all of their ten children and their various sons-in-laws and daughters-in-law and some grandchildren and one great-grandchild. And to say to my own mother and father, we honor you. And then to list the things for which we honor them and esteem them. And what we were attempting to do was to make it evident that we have given them a place in our estimation, affection, and attitude, commensurate with their proven worth and stature before us as their children.

18:03 Now that's exactly what Paul's says to the Philippians. Your duty, Philippians, is not only to receive Epaphroditus, to receive him in the Lord with all joy, but there is an extension of your duty. You are to honor him. Give him a place in your estimation and attitude and affection, commensurate with his proven worth.

18:25 But don't let it stop with Epaphroditus. Everyone, regardless of personality, regardless of the measure and diversity of gift, regardless of the lack or presence of experience, whatever the differences may be, all who are such as Epaphroditus in their fundamental spiritual stature, you are, he says, to hold such in honor. Now that's their duty. Now having defined their duty, he gives them in verse 30 the reason for their duty.

Reason for Their Duty: For the Work of Christ

19:02 And I'm just expounding. I'm not applying, simply attempting to open up the text. Notice the text begins with the word because. In other words, Paul was not arbitrary in laying this duty upon their consciences.

19:16 There was a rationale behind his giving those directions. And the reason for the duty is very clear in the text. Epaphroditus came on a specific mission. It's described in these words, to support, apply that which was lacking in your service toward me.

19:41 Now that's not a put-down of the Philippians saying, you know, you were kind of tight-fisted and narrow-hearted and Epaphroditus came along and did something you didn't do. No, no. What he is saying is, because of distance and providential circumstances, there were things you would have done if you had been in a position to do so, but you could not. But when you sent Epaphroditus, he became the instrument through which that which was lacking in your service, service you desired to render, there was no narrowness of heart, but there was a hindrance of providential circumstances, and he came to supply it.

20:21 And chapter 4 in verse 18 tells us what that service was. He came with this gift from the Philippians. I have all things in a bound I'm filled, having received from Epaphroditus the things that I need. I have all things in a bound I'm filled, having received from Epaphroditus the things which came from you.

20:39 But now in the course of that mission, he took some unusual risks. Notice the text. Paul says, because for the work of Christ he came nigh unto death, hazarding his life. And as I intimated a few weeks ago, this word for hazarding his life is a word from the gambling world.

21:05 He put down his life, as it were, as his stakes.

21:11 There was what one author has called an imprudence of holy devotedness. Not impudence, impudent, you know, somebody being a bit cheeky. But imprudent. That is not wise.

21:27 And one has said that Epaphroditus, if he was guilty of any fault, it was the imprudence of holy devotedness. In other words, he was so consumed with a passion not only to fulfill the mission on which he was sent in the delivering of the gift to Paul, but in all likelihood, further service, whether identified with Paul in running the risk himself of being imprisoned and ultimately slain, whether preaching the gospel in the midst of opposition, we do not know, but this much is clear. There was an element of holy recklessness about this man Epaphroditus, he was willing to hazard his life

22:10 for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ and for his work. Hendrickson, in his commentary, describes it this way. By saying that for the cause of Christ, Epaphroditus had exposed himself to the peril of losing his life, Paul probably had reference to more than the violent illness which seized his loyal friend, bringing him to death's door. Likely the phrase also points to the danger involved in the delegate's very presence in Rome in the capacity of the constant and intimate attendant and assistant of a prisoner who might be on his way to execution.

22:53 And so the apostle describes him not only in terms of his mission, but his risks, and then notice in terms of his real activity, what was it? It says, because for the work of Christ. And there's the key phrase. For the work of Christ.

23:17 You see, he was the messenger of the church at Philippi. Yes. He was the instrument through whom this gift would come to the apostle. Yes.

23:29 But above all, and beneath all, and through all, he was a man consciously doing, the work of Christ. And in pursuit of that work, he hazarded his life. And the apostle says, in the light of his proven commitment to Christ and his work, his abandonment to that work and to his person, receive him. Receive him in the Lord.

Application 1: A True Standard of Ministerial Excellence

24:01 Receive him with all joy. Hold such in honor. Now that, that basically is the meaning of the words of the text. Now then, you say, what in the world does all of that say to us?

24:15 What is the living line between the apostle Paul sitting in a Roman prison with his pen in his hand or dictating to someone who takes down these letters and these words? What is the connection between that scene that produced this epistle and those gathered here this morning in Trinity Baptist Church? Well, let me suggest first of all that the text articulates a true standard of ministerial excellence. The text articulates a true standard of ministerial excellence.

24:56 It is both amazing and disturbing to me to discover the various notions people have concerning this issue of what makes a man an acceptable minister of the gospel of Christ.

25:13 All one need do is tune in to the few programs that are still acceptable on television such as Little House in the Prairie and one or two others. And whenever they typecast a reverend one gets an idea of the notions people have as to what makes a good parson. He's usually soft-handed. You can never picture him rearing back in his hind legs.

25:40 and roaring out a holy no.

25:45 A bit saccharine. A few degrees in the direction of effeminacy.

25:52 But this element that we find in Epaphroditus this element that finds no other parallel but that of military hardness military courage my fellow soldier it finds some parallels in a reckless gambler. Who doesn't hedge his bets. He said this is all I've got and I'm going to throw it down. If I win I win if I lose I'm through.

26:24 And when Paul saw that in Epaphroditus it touched something in him. You know why? Because he was made of the same cloth. I count not my life as dear to myself and when he saw a man who was willing to hazard his life for the sake of the gospel he said oh you Philippians listen to me Philippians hold such in honor hold a man like Epaphroditus in honor and all who share in his spirit and as we saw in our study two Lord's days ago that does not mean that here is a man with no heart I sought to amplify something of the tremendous ability of Epaphroditus

27:09 to empathize when he hears that his beloved Philippians have the knowledge of his sickness but they do not have the knowledge of his healing he's so disturbed so burdened with their burden that he becomes a distracted man here's a man with a large heart a man who could weep a man who could feel but a man who's willing to throw down his life for the sake of Christ a man who is willing to count the very giving of his very life's blood a privilege that he might have that he might serve his Savior here's one whose love for Christ almost consumed him

27:53 one whose knowledge of Christ compelled him to go beyond the mere limits of expected duty and service one from whose life there was a fragrance that is only smelt in the presence of one to whom Christ is all and in all do you want a standard of ministerial excellence you young men preparing for the ministry you live much in this paragraph that's God's estimation of ministerial excellence you children forming a concept of what do you expect in a pastor what shall you look for when the time comes

28:37 when in the providence of God you are taken to other places and you must seek to select a church where your own soul and the souls of your family members will be fed what do you look for? do you look for the man who simply makes you feel comfortable and makes you feel at ease and who has all social graces and all of these other things perfectly innocent and in some cases very desirable in themselves here's what you look for above all else one who not for the advancement of his own reputation not for the promotion of his own name but who for the work of Christ is willing to hazard his very life

Application 2: A Fundamental Principle of Christian Duty

29:21 put his reputation his energy his strength his very life on the line and say for Christ's sake no cost is too great to serve and honor my blessed Lord but then in the second place this text not only articulates a true standard of ministerial excellence but the text illustrates a fundamental principle of Christian doctrine it illustrates a fundamental principle of Christian duty and what is that principle? well it's given to us by our Lord in Matthew 10 and verse 40 Matthew 10 and verse 40

30:05 our Lord is sending out his twelve disciples giving them a special commission and then he says in verse 40 he that receives you receives me and he that receives me receives him that sent me he that receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward and he that receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward now turn over to John 13 where our Lord expands this from a special commission

30:49 to the twelve and speaks in the most general terms John 13 and verse 12 John 13 and verse 12 John 13 and verse 12 truly truly I say unto you he that receives whomsoever I send receives me and he that receives me receives him that sent me he that receives whomsoever I send receives me you see the principle of Christian duty illustrated in our passage in Philippians as Paul thinks of all the people of all the things he could say

31:32 with respect to Epaphroditus' return what duty does he lay upon the Philippians above all others receive him in the Lord why? because their reception or non-reception of Epaphroditus would be their reception or non-reception of the Christ who had formed him into an able minister of the new covenant and had sent him now when you begin to take that seriously it's a frightening thing as well as a comforting doctrine Jesus Christ regards your reception of his sent ones as your reception of him now he did not say receive him

32:17 if you happen to have a natural chemistry that makes your personality in his mesh it has nothing to do with the chemistry of your personalities it is impossible that one man should have a chemistry in his personality perfectly suitable to a congregation of larger than three people and when it becomes thirty and three hundred and four hundred it's unrealistic to think that in the chemistry between human beings that makes us naturally drawn to some more than others there would be that kind of a combination of chemistry between a vast multitude of people

33:01 and one person or two or three or four no no but that has nothing to do with what our Lord says if one is sent to the Lord he is to be received as being sent to the Lord and refusal to receive him is rejection of Christ himself that's serious business serious business if your elders are the gift of Christ to the church and that's only known when they meet the standard and the congregation recognizes that standard then when they come to you privately or publicly and you do anything other than open your heart to their whole person

33:44 you're on dangerous ground for to receive to refuse them is to refuse the Savior who sends them that's serious business when the Lord is pleased to send proven servants of Christ into our midst such as the beloved brother who stood in this pulpit last week and we do not wholeheartedly receive one cent of Christ we do not receive Christ himself so the text you see illustrates a very fundamental principle of Christian duty but then in the third place the text demonstrates a rare dimension of Christian virtue a rare dimension

Application 3: A Rare Dimension of Christian Virtue

34:29 of Christian virtue here's the great apostle Paul and what is he doing throughout this entire paragraph well he's praising two younger brethren of much less eminence in gift grace and usefulness and yet he can't say enough about them isn't that amazing here's the great apostle and he starts talking about Timothy and he says I have no man like-minded who will naturally care for your state and he extols the virtues of Timothy and then he speaks of Epaphroditus you see though he knew he was greatly beloved by the Philippians there wasn't a trace of jealousy

35:13 on the part of the apostle Paul there was no exclusiveness there was no spirit of rivalry he was glad to praise his fellow servants though he stood head-in-cheek shoulders above them in gift and grace and experience and many other things and sad to say that's a rare grace in the Christian church preachers abound they can be found by the dozens and the hundreds who are afraid to share the love and esteem of their people with anyone else let a preacher come into their pulpit whose ministry is so blessed that the people get excited and suddenly the eyes of the preacher

35:57 will begin to grow narrow and his mouth begins to go dry not because he's preaching but because he feels so uncomfortable that praise is being heaped in profuse measure upon another servant of Christ in ways perhaps he's never heard it from the lips of his own people narrow-hearted preachers the church is full of them I see them at pastor's conferences after a man of God has preached and poured out his heart instead of going down on their knees and into their closets and pleading with God that the word will be riveted they sit in little cliques

36:39 and criticize the man's homiletics or a fine point of his exegesis and it's simply a manifestation of a shriveled heart that cannot rejoice in gifts perhaps greater than their own I say to you men aspiring to the ministry if in the days of your preparation God doesn't give you a heart big enough to rejoice at the fellow who gets better grades than you do who can preach better than you do who can pray with greater fluency than you and if you cannot with inward joyful abandonment speak of him and those brethren in a commendatory way to others don't you ever let any group of elders lay hands upon you

37:24 and set you apart for the work of the ministry because no true eldership will ever develop under your ministry you'll be threatened by men of God you'll be a gift in stature you'll feel threatened when your people begin to love them and esteem them you'll speak in a very sparing way of their virtues and in a very free way of their shortcomings and vices because you want to make sure you have a special niche in their affections and their esteem I say that's one of the greatest curses I have beheld in ministers over many years of intimate interaction with them this carries over to the next chapter over to parents

38:08 how do you feel you young parents when somebody's praising somebody else's kids about the same age as yours can you say isn't that wonderful that so and so's kids or do you feel a little bit piqued and annoyed and say yes but my children hmm you see how relevant this text is Paul exemplifies a rare grace it is that grace of being willing more than willing counting it is to command whatever God had done in the life of another and to do it with joy

Application 4: The Essence of True Biblical Christianity

38:52 but then in the fourth place this text also celebrates the very essence of true biblical Christianity and I'm amazed when I see how it leaks out in the most unlikely places what is the essence of true biblical Christianity it's found in these words receive him in the Lord verse 30 because for the work of Christ what is the essence of true biblical Christianity when you boil it all down is it not this true biblical Christianity is union and communion with Jesus Christ the Lord as he's revealed in the scriptures

39:36 that's the essence of it it's attachment to the Christ of the Bible in faith and love it is attachment to Christ in a reckless abandonment to his person and to his will and if that's the essence of true biblical Christianity there's precious little of it upon the face of the earth there is much that names the name of Christ there is even in our own congregational life much orthodoxy but all for a holy baptism of this kind of abandonment in love to Jesus Christ

40:19 who for the work of Christ hazarded his life so taken up with Christ that life itself was expendable my dear unsaved friend you know what it means to be a Christian it means to have such a revelation of Christ to your heart by the Holy Spirit through the scriptures that he becomes the most important commodity in your life that's right not job reputation standing pleasure fulfillment of ambition no no there's a new central son in your life

41:03 and that son is the son of righteousness who when he comes with healing in his wings comes with power to establish himself in our hearts as the one altogether worthy of our love and our devotion now my professing Christian friend is that the essence of your professing Christianity is it attached to Christ communion with Christ fellowship with Christ pleasing Christ you moms when you're seeking to fulfill your duties do you see beyond the specifics even the biblical specifics and is it doing the work of Christ you fathers you men in your position

Application 5: Correcting a Fallacious Notion

41:47 of administrative headship is it something more than simply trying to love your wife and nurture your kids is it loving your wife for his sake nurturing your children for his sake is it the work of Christ that you are doing can you with any degree of honesty say for to me to live is Christ you see the text celebrates the very essence of true biblical Christianity and then I'll close by just drawing out one further line of application the text corrects a fallacious notion you know what that fallacious notion is and it is rife in our day

42:31 within and without the church it's the notion that equality in one area negates the necessity for giving honor in another you see the idea that one man one vote we're all free men we live in the day when everybody's on a first name basis people are impudent enough to refer to the president as Ronnie well if his wife wants to call him that that's her privilege but to you and to me he's Mr. President ah you say that's old stuffy stuff out of the past no it isn't until God erases Romans 13 7 honor to whom honor is due both within and without the church

43:15 our text says hold such in honor that means an honor is to be given to Epaphroditus and men like him a proven worth that is not given to other men in the same congregation there's no doubt that the priesthood of believers means that everybody goes around on a first name basis that there is no sense of respect and honor to men of years and men of standing and stature it finds no substantial support in the word of God and a text like this corrects that foolish notion hold such in honor

43:58 and you dear children don't think that the names Mr. and Miss and Ma'am and Sir that that's just a bunch of baloney your mom and dad are trying to throw on you no no they're trying to teach you this principle this great biblical principle that there are those who are worthy of being honored and if one of the ways we honor them is by a title by an attitude we honor them in many ways this text I say corrects that notion well there are many other principles in the text but perhaps this will encourage you to make it a basis of meditation in the future Philippians Epaphroditus

Conclusion and Prayer

44:42 is coming back to you your duty receive him receive him not any old way but in the Lord with all joy your duty extends further than Epaphroditus hold such in honor you ask me why well because for the work of Christ he came near to death hazarding his life to supply that which was lacking in your service toward me oh may we look at this picture of a godly man and looking at that picture cry to God that to the extent that Epaphroditus followed Christ and became like Christ who did not merely come near death's door

45:26 to supply that which was lacking in us my friends he went into death's door even the death of the cross to supply that which we lacked namely a just basis of acceptance with God and having supplied it for us freely oh that we may love him and serve him and if necessary hazard our lives for his sake let us pray our father we are so thankful for these verbal pictures that you give to us of what real godliness is

46:10 in the concrete circumstances of life we thank you for the memory of this man Epaphroditus one who apparently did not have unusual preaching gifts that would have made him world famous for his endeavors yet we thank you for the fragrance of his memory as it comes down to us over the many hundreds of years and we pray that something of that union and communion with Christ that was his may be ours as well write then the words of the text upon our hearts and may it bear fruit in our lives

46:55 even unto everlasting life we thank you again for your presence for your word for your holy spirit we thank you for all of your good gifts to us Lord we would even thank you for the spirit of Epaphroditus shown in our brothers and sisters who worked into the wee hours of the morning for your sake that we might meet here today in comfort Lord we thank you that you continue to give that spirit to men and women oh that it may come upon us in copious measures that we may be a people who counted our joy to spend and be spent

47:39 for the sake of him who loved us and gave himself for us for the sake of him even our Lord Jesus Christ Amen