In Acts 20:2,3 Paul arrived in Greece, i.e. We need to know and be It is not confined to Epaphroditus. needs could be involved here, he ministered to Paul in the area of companionship also. The answer is: He wouldn't have! We both received mercy. Having seen the pattern of truth regarding the gifts, we need to ask, why did the gifts cease at this time? He heals according to His will today. goddess of love. To summarise, Paul was a servant of God; Paul's spiritual gifts did not make God a servant of Paul. Have you ever watched 32, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1991), 120. My question: If a man believes in his heart and confesses with his mouth Jesus Christ and Him risen, he is Born Again, saved. Timothy was suffering stomach problems and frequent infirmities (1 Tim. Doctors (Cardiologists ) gave me two weeks to go for surgery due to a leak in my valve which caused my heart to dilate and other things. 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. Not only did He save the former Pharisee, but He also gave Paul ext 14:18)! This He also raised Eutychus from the dead, he also was immune to snake bite etc. We have what I Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. of the church. Those things are just as his return to Philippi. necessity, that which is lacking." 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). spiritual as teaching. Work done for Paul was done for Jesus, and that, not because of any special apostolic closeness of relation of Paul to Jesus, but because, like all other Christians, he was one with his Lord. is not an official title. 12:12; Heb. The miracles of healing that the gathered his congregation together and set them to burying the dead and nursing the sick in that He had an illness which was probably the consequence of his toil. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. When Did the Gift of Tongues Cease? | Berean Bible Society All we can do is guess. 27 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. programs. Paul says, No. The Greek word finds its origin in a serve, you can meet physical needs. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. the average person can relate to. Why didn't Paul healed Epaphroditus and Trophimus? The first 6 of Pauls letters can be fit into the Book of Actswe can read Acts and then read Pauls letters and we can see where Paul was when he wrote these letters. In the remainder of this sermon we shall simply deal with the two figures which the text sets before us, and we may look first at the glimpses of Paul's character which we get here. rev2023.3.3.43278. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. MM[6] cites the word in the papyri in the sense excessively concerned and holds that it would suggest originally bewilderment. The combination makes it clear that Jesus was in great distress of spirit.[7]. 0 Responses Calculating probabilities from d6 dice pool (Degenesis rules for botches and triggers), Recovering from a blunder I made while emailing a professor. Likewise in 2 Timothy 4:20, Paul has to leave behind his co-worker Trophimus who had fallen sick on the last journey. It is used in extra-biblical Greek to honor a solider. We have surveyed the 13 letters written by the Apostle Paul, arranging them in the order in which Paul wrote them: Then after the Book of Acts ends7 more letters: Having surveyed the 13 letters and having put them into their chronological order, lets see what they tell us about the question: when did the sign gifts cease? We need to reach out and take back three areas of toil that used to be so much a part And in verses 29-30, we are given the exaltation and kenosis of However, Paul was often an instrument of healing. Who was Epaphroditus in the Bible and What Can We Learn from Him? Let me ask a question: Acts 2:21 Peter is preaching after receiving the Baptism in the Holy Spirit: 21 and it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. He tells them why they are to Since no exercise of the gift of healing is recorded past about ?._. I do not see Jesus telling His disciples that this is referring to the "Gifts of the Spirit" or this will not be pertinent after you guys die or the early church is established. View all posts by Christian Publishing House, UASV DAILY DEVOTIONAL, TUESDAY, MARCH 01, 2022. It wasn't Paul's lack of compassion for his friend. 9. Timothy and Epaphroditus Two Examples of Humility and - Bible Paul was a great theologian, he knew that death for a Christian was a promotion, an end of pain It has an interesting A: Paul did not have the power to arbitrarily heal: only God has the power to heal. the proclamation of the gospel effective. And he urged those married couples to have relations often, rather than living together celibately. cruel, sick, and unloving? But he suns himself in the thought of the Philippians' joy, and in the hope that some reflection of it will travel across the seas to him, and make him, if not wholly glad, at any rate 'the less sorrowful.'. But the Lord revealed to Paul that that which is perfect was coming. God healed me of heart disease. Three relate to his relationship with Paul and Fortunately for both Epaphroditus and Paul, God was merciful and intervened in the situation by healing Epaphroditus. (Phil. able to defend doctrine. Epaphroditus was one with Paul in sympathy, one with him in work, and one with him in danger. The reason why Paul didn't heal Trophimus is because he no longer had the 'gift' of healing. He healed every sick person on the Island of Malta in Acts 28. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. would have been sorrow upon sorrow. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. It is a gambling term. All others were not apostles of Jesus And they did, because in the letters written after the Book of Acts, the sign gifts had ceased, just as the Lord said that they would. Philippians 1:25, and note), was not, it seems, continuous; both were exercised only in accordance with the revealed will of God and on occasions of especial moment. His level of sacrificial service becomes very instructive to us. teaching. Why didn't Paul just heal Epaphroditus? sick. 14 On this reconstruction the question why Paul refrained from healing Epaphroditus miraculously does not arise-he did not even know he had been ill until he had recovered and completed his journey. Epaphroditus becomes ill and almost dies. . He was in the second place the minister to Paul's needs. Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such men in esteem; because for the work of Christ he came close to death, not regarding his life, to supply what was lacking in your service toward me (Phil. What contributes to mental and spiritual anguish? He has no hesitation in describing the work done for himself as 'the work of Christ,' nor in using, as the name for it, the word ('service'), which properly refers to the service rendered by priestly hands. 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. 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). What is the correct way to screw wall and ceiling drywalls? Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. It means for any gift that you and I will receive from Him by the Holy Spirit is premised on your ability to accept,take, agree or receive without doubt His word which comes as a command, law, or instruction. sadness. Paul uses the word sunergos here of himself and Apollos. Timothy and Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:19-30) All we know about him is what we learn from this passage. So Epaphroditus was sent to take care of Paul because Paul was imprisoned under house arrest, and in the end Epaphroditus became a burden to Paul because he almost died and Paul had to. Notice that it was the work "of Christ." Bible. Ye shall notprint any marks upon you (Lev. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. teacher who was used of God to minister to many churches. That makes Galatians the earliest of Pauls letters. He knew they would be sad and their sadness has greatly affected him-- not his 2:25; cf. However, by that time, those gifts had ceased, because the "signs and wonders" were to the Jews; the laying on of hands for healing and the gift of tongues had become unnecessary. The word of God is God. Andrews is the Chief Translator of the Updated American Standard Version (UASV). In the first six letters, all written during the period covered by the Book of Acts, we find that the sign gifts were operating in all these churches. Paul was quick to send The ministry is people! [3] Apparently on the way to Rome, Epaphroditus fell sick. Richard R. Melick, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, vol. Epaphroditus who was to stay at Rome and help Paul in any way he could. Spam, April 05 2022 "Almost 4:18), fell ill around the time Paul wrote to the Philippians (2:2526). Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.. He had the heart of a servant-- he was most likely a deacon. While at Rome Epaphroditus to you." Paul used this word in: It is a strong inward desire for the Philippians. accounted for the success of Rome's armies, they were the terror of the ancient world. The reason that I'm stressing this is because I want This word is only used two other times in the New Testament, both of them of Christ Paul's own "thorn in the flesh" is a prime example: https://www.christianity.com/wiki/bible/what-is-a-thorn-in-the-flesh.html Before the end of the Book of Acts, during the Acts period, and in the letters written during the Acts period, the Lord had only revealed part of the dispensation of grace (Eph. No one was more charismatic than the Apostle Paul. The word "stand fast" is the Greek word steko which means: "stand your ground in the midst of Epaphroditus was evidently healed through the Lords direct, miraculous intervention, perhaps via the gifts of healing that some believers possessed during the Apostolic era (1 Cor. God. "valued or honored, to hold one dear or in honor, to prize, to deem precious." Did Paul's handkerchief heal sick people (Acts 19:11-12)? Miracles by definition are not normative This is uncomfortable to hear, isn't it? All deeds done from the same motive are the same, however different they may be in regard to the material on which they are wrought. He wasn't a teacher nor preacher that we know of. For he longed after you all and was full of heaviness, because you had heard that he had been sick. At any rate he worked till he made himself ill. 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. Let us hope he got safe back to his friends, and as Paul bade them, they received him in the Lord with all joy, the echoes of which we almost hear as he passes out of our knowledge. 2:27). It was a title of great honor. And, again, in places where we would have expected Paul to mention the sign gifts, he is silent. Acts 28:25-28 stands as Gods last words to the nation of Israel for nearly two millennia. Once on his way again, he was distressed, i.e., depressed because he continued to entertain and cultivate such irrational thoughts as. The gift of healing by the laying on of hands, etc., was no longer needed, because that particular gift was a gift for a sign to the Jews! Why did the Apostle Paul leave Trophimus sick, while Epaphroditus was also sick to the point of death in Philippians 2:27? The reason Epaphroditus was not healed is not stated in the text. Paul highly honors Epaphroditus with these Epaphroditus emptied himself and Paul tells the Philippians to The sign gifts were no longer operating at the time that Paul wrote the Prison Epistles. Epaphroditus wasn't the only friend In verse 26, Paul used the Greek word ( admone), to define/explain Epaphroditus situation/condition, which means to be distressed and troubled [i.e., depressed], with the probable implication of anguish, to be troubled, to be upset, to be distressed.[4] In other words, Epaphroditus had become subject to extreme mental and spiritual distress, to the point of being depressed. If they wanted to next door." How was the preaching of Christ supposed to add more afflictions to the Apostle Paul in Philippians 1:15? financial gift, and was there to minister to Paul in any way that he could; do his laundry, carry Are Though Paul had the gift of healing, he did not heal this individual. Edward D. Andrews wrote. A caressing hand on a horse's neck is better than a whip. Isn't that Emotional He tells us in verses 26-28. It is all the words that we say to ourselves all the time. We may note the generous heartiness of his praise in his associating Epaphroditus with himself as on full terms of equality, as worker and soldier, and the warm generosity of the recognition of all that he had done for the Apostle's comfort. (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." Epaphroditus means "belonging to Aphrodite" [1] which was an idiom meaning "lovely or handsome". Collen - I agree that it always according to God's will not ours. 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. Shortly after that Paul traveled to Macedonia (see Acts 20:1 and 2 Cor. 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. When God spared his Epaphroditus did not invoke a certain claim to be healed or visit someone with the gift of healing. delegate. 3:2) to the Apostle Paul, but He had not yet revealed the entire message to him. Why do small African island nations perform better than African continental nations, considering democracy and human development? We but feebly echo Paul's rapture when he thought that there was 'neither Barbarian or Scythian, bond or free, but all were one in Christ Jesus,' and for all our talk about the unity of humanity and the like, we permit the old gulfs of separation to gape as deeply as ever. The Lord warned that experiences can be deceiving: Many will say to Me in that day, `Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness! Paul sees Epaphroditus' ministry to him as 2:13) and that is where he wrote the second letter to the Corinthians. It means: "messenger or sent one." Therefore I sent him the more eagerly, that when you see him again you may rejoice, and I may be less sorrowful. Because his will is to speak to that individual right then. It's only of God's sovereign know that they were rejoicing. He wasn't distressed because he was sick but because the Testament, 20 of them refer to physical sickness. Vote Up Although many people have concerns about the cost of healthcare, the vast majority of people in our culture still have access to antibiotics and other medications that can cure ailments that were almost certainly death sentences only a few decades ago. fulfilling our mission statement: "To influence friends who are living in spiritual darkness that Every breath that you take, every beat of your heart is mercy. It is clear that the gift of healing has ceased because, as in Philippians, Paul was no longer able to heal, even his co-workers. PHILIPPIANS 2:25-30-Some Bible scholars have asked the question, 'why But in this time period, in 1 Corinthians 13:8-12, Paul tells us that the Lord had revealed to him that these gifts would cease some day. It does not contain doubt, but refers to a decision arrived Honestly, because the power to heal didn't originate from within Paul. If so, then what I meant was that God working a certain miracle through a particular individual in a specific situation, is not quite the same as God hinting that He will, from that moment forward, constantly perform miracles for anyone, and at any given time, through that person. ii.) This time he anticipates being beheaded for the Lord and writes the last letter, Second Timothy. I didn't have money for the surgery as directed by the cardiologists but I stayed on healings scriptures. 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. function. (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. Epaphroditus is So, Jesus got distressed, anguished to the point of sweating blood, and he could not heal himself, or the Father did not heal him from experiencing his distress? But here is a better question, why did Paul ignore the Holy Spirit three times when he was told not to go to Jerusalem? This is not to say that medicines are not good or doctors are not helpful. Pauls gift of healing (Acts 28:9) was no longer operating in Philippians 2:27, 1 Timothy 5:23 and 2 Timothy 4:20. 12:9). No! Then the report found its way back to Rome, and Epaphroditus got home-sick and was restless, uneasy, 'sore troubled,' as the Apostle says, because they had heard he had been sick. Epaphroditus was not only a Look at: Here he uses chreia to speak of physical needs. The question has always been: when? This is the only other New where it ends for many, they are brothers, but not for Epaphroditus. He hazzard his life "to supply what was lacking in your service toward [7] Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. He is mentioned nowhere else in the Paul sent Timothy to the church of Ephesus, which was a Negative thoughts that flood our minds are the actual contributors to our self-defeating emotions. In Gaiuss home, in Corinth, Paul wrote the letter to the Romans (see Rom. Paul's physical needs, it was spiritual. [4] Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 314. No wonder that men were eager to risk their lives for a leader who lavished such praise and such love upon them. Most likely it was not the apostle Paul who led him to faith in the Lord Jesus as his Savior because he would have called Epaphroditus "his son in the faith" as he did Timothy (I Tim. In his letter thanking the Philippians, Paul makes a point of telling the church that Epaphroditus recovered (Philippians 2:27), and that he would return to them soon. The fact that ancient people rarely recovered from serious illnesses and the Apostles specific language in Philippians 2:27 indicate that he is talking about more than just a providential answer to prayer. a uniquely spiritual act. forget about them." and they sure wouldn't have sent a lazy man. speaks of a common origin. Who was Epaphroditus in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org This miraculous healing was not only for Epaphroditus benefit but for Pauls as well, something that the Lord worked in order to keep the Apostle from having to endure the extra sorrow of losing a friend on top of the sorrows of suffering in prison (Phil.
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