Col. 4:12-13

Morning Meditation 6/5/2015

Verse 12-14 says, ”Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis.”

EPAPHRAS, THE MAN WITH A PASSIONATE HEART FOR THE COLOSSIANS

Paul says in verse 12, “Epaphras, who is one of you.” This identifies him with the Church in Colosse. He is believed to be the founder of the Church there. It is strongly implied in chapter 1:7 where Paul says of him that he is “for you a faithful minister of Christ.” What Paul says of him in verses 12-13 is consistent with a pastor’s heart for his people.

The words “a servant of Christ” describes a voluntary volitional act of submission of a believer to the Lordship of Christ. No one is ever pushed into the Kingdom of God. One enters by an act of faith in the truth of God concerning the death of Jesus on the cross for the sins of the world. Not every Christian, or even every preacher, is a servant of Jesus Christ. Some are servants of their own lusts and their own opinions. There are some things about a servant that will help us understand the phrase “a servant of Christ.” The following is true of a servant in a literal sense and to a voluntary servant of Christ in a spiritual sense:

1.A servant is one owned by another; 1 Cor. 6:19-20.

2.A servant is one who is not free to choose what he does. His master assigns him his tasks.

3.A servant does not furnish what he uses to do his work. Those things are provided by the Master.

4.The servant does not provide his clothes and food. The master does that.

5.The servant does not work for his own interest. His labor is for the benefit of his master.

6.The servant is not free. He is in bondage to his master.

7.The servant is not subject to anyone’s judgment but his master’s. Gal. 1:10.

EPAPHRAS IS A MAN WITH A SERVANT’S HEART

Epaphras is “a servant of Christ.” Then Paul says to the Colossians that Epaphras, “saluteth you.” This is the translation of a word that was used for greetings on the streets or when one entered a home. Paul says, “Epaphras asked me to greet you for him.” Then he says that Epaphras is “always labouring fervently for you in prayers.” The word “always” means “at all times.” This was his habit. The Colossian Church was very blessed to have someone who was constantly praying for them. Then Paul describes his prayers with the words “labouring fervently.” This is the translation of “agonizomai” and means “to enter a contest: contend in the gymnastic games, to contend with adversaries, to fight.” I wonder if a person were called on to pray in a public service, and how he prayed could be described by this Greek word, if he would not be ushered out of the church. You can tell by the way Paul expresses how Epaphras prays that he is impressed! And approves! I was a man’s pastor for several years. I loved to hear him pray. There was a tone of sincerity about the way he prayed that made me know that he was not just praying because he was called on to do it. It was coming from the very depths of his soul.

Paul says Epaphras is praying that two things will happen in your lives. This is brought out in the words, “that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.” “That” starts a purpose clause, i.e., this is the thrust of his prayers. This is what he is praying for. Let’s notice,

1.The words “ye may stand ” translate “histemi” and means, “to cause or make to stand. This word is used to describe one standing in the presence of others, or in the midst, before judges, before members of the Sanhedrin, etc. It refers to a fixed position” It is an aorist active subjunctive verb. The aorist tense is referring to a point of time. Here it is taking a snap shot of their whole lives and means that he is praying that in any and every situation in life, no matter where they are, or before whom they stand, that God will enable them to maintain a fixed position relative to their faith. Then the subjunctive mood is the potential mood. This means that standing is possible but it must not be taken for granted. This man knew the difficulty of standing against a majority and paying the price. The word “perfect” translates “teleios” and means, “brought to its end, finished, wanting nothing necessary to completeness, maturity.” What is the Lord’s goal for the Christian? 1 Peter 1:7 says, “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” The goal is to remain faithful through trials until we meet Him either by death or in the rapture.

Unger in his dictionary of the Bible says that, “The Martyrologies make Epaphras to have been the first bishop of Colossae and to have suffered martyrdom there.” We must not take for granted that we will be able to stand when occasion arises just because we are Christians. We need to pray for ourselves and one another that we will be in a fixed position unmovable when the trial comes. I believe many failures take place because the Christian thinks he can get by without spending time in prayer. Prayer strengthens and when trial comes we have the strength to remain in a fixed position. Epaphras believes this, so he labors fervently in prayers for them.

2.Next, Epaphras prays that they will stand “complete in all the will of God.” The word “complete” translates “pleroo” and means, “to make full, to fill up, i.e. to fill to the full.” This word is probably used to describe one that is perfectly assured and without doubt of the whole will of God. It is a perfect passive participle. The perfect tense is completed action in the past, that completed action having present results. The passive voice means that the subject is acted upon and they are the subjects of this prayer. I take it that these saints at Colossae had been given God’s revelation that covered all His will at least up to that point in time. And because they had been exposed to the teaching of Scripture in the past that they would be caused by that teaching (the teaching would act on them) to be fully assured of the whole will of God and be able to testify to it.

That is some prayer. This man had confidence that their exposure to the Word was sufficient to equip them to stand, and God in answer to prayer was able to enable them to stand. Praise God and the Lamb forever!!!

Then Paul says, “For I bear him record.” This translates “martureo” and means, “to be a witness, to bear witness, i.e. to affirm what one has seen or heard or experienced something, or that he knows it because taught by divine revelation or inspiration.” The present tense suggest that Paul continued to witness that this man’s manner of life was zealously spent in the Colossian’s behalf. The word “zeal” means, “excitement of mind, fervor of spirit.” Epaphras was dedicated to a love for and an interest in the Colossians that was expressed in a burning zeal.

Then Paul adds, “and them that are in Laodicea and them in Hierapolis.” John Gill says these are, “cities in Phrygia, which lay near to Colosse, the one being situated by the river Lycus, and the other by the Maeander; here were many believers, for whom Epaphras had a like zeal and affections as for the Colossians, and to whom very likely he had been useful, either in conversion or edification, or both.”

Epaphras was a man with a compassionate heart and burning zeal for a group of Christians in a local Church. Only eternity will reveal the good this great man did for these Christians. Prayer is warfare with Satan and his organized kingdom of evil. He can be resisted in this manner. If you think prayer will not make a difference, just look around you at the dead formal church services where the members do not know what they believe. There is a general lack of the kind of prayer that is spoken of here. Satan has won in many cases. May the Lord help us to turn this around.

In Christ

Bro. White