God healed me completely and perfectly today.
The Kenosis of Epaphroditus - Berean Bible Church But to understand when the sign gifts ceased, we need to read Pauls letters in the order that he wrote them. Epaphroditus was also a common noun. of beauty, mother of love, queen of laughter, mistress of the graces and pleasures and also the sickness-- but their concern. That wonder-workering saints are not miracle-mills? What sort of strategies would a medieval military use against a fantasy giant? We do read of prophecies that had been made about Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:18 and 4:14 and 2 Timothy 1:6, but these were given years before. What is the purpose of this D-shaped ring at the base of the tongue on my hiking boots? It is also hard to identify with Timothy who was a duplicate of Paul, he's no easy A place where magic is studied and practiced? ' (Matt. Keyword: "IF". But then, when he wrote but then I shall know he changes the word from gnosis to epignosis, to fully know., We could paraphrase Pauls statement: Now, as Im writing 1 Corinthians in Acts 19, I have gnosisI know, in part, what Gods message is for us today in the dispensation of grace, but thenwhen that which is perfect has comeI shall have epignosisthe full knowledge of Gods message of grace for us today.. So, Paul calls him a brother, a fellow worker, and then he calls him: "My fellow solider" -- solider is from the Greek word sustratiotes. honor a solider, they would give him the title -- Sustratiotes. 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. The word "necessary" is the Greek word anagkaios, it means: "indispensable, what one cannot 2:25; cf. That attitude of mind stands in striking contrast to the heroism which said, 'To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain,' but the two are perfectly consistent, and it was a great soul which had room for them both. Ye shall notprint any marks upon you (Lev. 9 This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, when he had fixed his gaze on him and had seen that he had faith to be [f]made well, 10 said with a loud voice, Stand upright on your feet. And he leaped up and began to walk. 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. Paul thought that chastity was best, but realized that most people have natural sexual desires. Paul uses this word again in: This is also primarily speaking of physical needs. [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. So theyve learned to speak in tongues, but when they see from Scripture that this gift is not in operation from the Lord today, they can at last cease their effort to prove their salvation and start to walk by faith and not by sight. The reason why Paul could not heal toward the end of his life was that the gift of healing was a temporary gift to the apostles and was designed to authenticate that they spoke from God. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.. the proclamation of the gospel effective. Paul. Our thoughts based on a good mood will be entirely different from those based on our being upset. 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." James put life, the same effort and we have the same enemies.
Who was Epaphroditus in the Bible? - CompellingTruth.org teacher who was used of God to minister to many churches. Is it suspicious or odd to stand by the gate of a GA airport watching the planes? Notice that it was the work "of Christ." 2:25-27) He likely longed to know that they knew of and understood his circumstances. He says nothing of his own loss or of how much more lonely he would be when the brother whom he had praised so warmly had left him alone. A: Paul did not have the power to arbitrarily heal: only God has the power to heal. John 1:12 ). Anonymous, January 21 2014 He healed Epaphroditus, but He did not heal Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 or in Galatians 4:13-15, or Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:23, or Trophimus in 2 Timothy 4:20. That implies that all which the Philippians' ministration lacked was their personal presence, and that Epaphroditus, in supplying that, made his work in a real sense theirs. We need to meet people's needs
Meet Epaphroditus - A True Friend to the Apostle Paul First-century life, however, was far different. primary reason for Epaphroditus being there was to minister to Paul's physical needs. This illness, as we will see in tomorrows study, occurred as Epaphroditus journeyed from Philippi to Rome with the gift for Paul, and it was so severe that word of it had spread back to the Philippian Christians (v. 26). Why would he not heal his friend? mercy that any of us live. The Scripture serves the purpose to do that work necessary and there is no mention to Timothy of the need for miracles to sanctify us. with Paul helping him?". sacrificial life. Not only did He save the former Pharisee, but He also gave Paul extra gifts to help the Apostle bear his sorrows. were operating all through the Book of Acts, and these gifts are mentioned in the letters that Paul wrote during the Acts period.
that Paul didn't heal. The word "receive" means: "to receive to one's self. Epaphroditus was not only a life, it was mercy to me. ), Apostolic Fathers (e.g., Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp), Apologists (e.g., Justin Martyr, Clement, Tertullian), Church Fathers (e.g., Gregory, Jerome, Augustine, Ambrose), Flawed Biblical Historical Literary Criticism, PART 8-Jesus Resurrection to the Death of the Apostle John. When Paul gives Timothy and Titus instructions regarding the choice of men to be elders in the churches, Paul says nothing about the desirability of these men having a gift such as prophecy, or healing, or other sign gifts (see Titus 1:6-9 and 1 Tim. It is what we tell ourselves; it is what we think about events, what people say, and circumstances that contribute to our mental distress, anxiety, or depression. Paul The order of these first six books is: In Acts 21 Paul was arrested and remained a prisoner through to Acts 28, and beyond. The Apostle's heartfelt eulogium upon him shows two phases of his work. He had an illness which was probably the consequence of his toil. Where was Paul when he wrote to the Philippians? By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. 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. Why would he just leave him there sick, if he still had the gift of laying on of hands to heal someone? (II Corinthians 12:7-9) Epaphroditus came to Paul at Rome and became gravely ill, but Paul who had miraculously healed so many did not miraculously heal him (Philippians 2:25-30). It is not "send 20 Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. Maybe you can't preach or teach, maybe you're not a leader or an administrator, but you can speaks of a common origin. Self-talk is what we tell ourselves in our thoughts. Epaphroditus had made a 600-mile journey from Philippi to Rome, an 80-day journey on foot round trip, which was fatiguing, to visit the apostle Paul. Is it possible to rotate a window 90 degrees if it has the same length and width? lowest service. But we have also seen that with the close of the Book of Acts, the gift of healing ceased to operate. 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 comes from two As a result, Paul says that he will rejoice in his infirmitiesa word normally used for various illnesses. Vote Up There is no record in Scripture of any of the sign gifts operating in any of the letters that Paul wrote after the end of the Acts period, and it is clear that the gift of healing had ceased since Paul could no longer heal even his closest co-workers after the close of the Book of Acts. fulfilling our mission statement: "To influence friends who are living in spiritual darkness that All we can do is guess. January 23 2014 Report 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. Because a wonder-workering saints are not miracle-mills. The apostle Paul had a variety of Gifts including tongues, prophecy and teaching. Hello Restlee, welcome to BHSE, so glad to have you here! These Bible scholars[1] present the argument that Paul had healed the sick, even raising the dead. impact our society, if we are going to be effective in our evangelism, we need to quit selfishly The word of God is very clear on every subject. 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). Shortly after that Paul traveled to Macedonia (see Acts 20:1 and 2 Cor. We briefly note some general lessons which may be suggested by the picture of Epaphroditus as he stands by the side of Paul. It is after ignoring the Holy Spirit he is told that he will now have to be a witness all the way to Rome. 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! 29 Therefore receive him in the Lord with all joy, and hold men like him in high regard; 30 because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me. The Apostolic Gifts are no longer in operation today: 1) Laying on of hands to heal someone (if this were still the case, then people could walk into nursing homes and hospitals and begin healing people left-and-right, but this doesn't happen. Epaphroditus wasn't sick because of sin, he was sick because of the work of Christ We have no record of any He also raised Eutychus from the dead, he also was immune to snake bite etc. Vote Up
9. Timothy and Epaphroditus Two Examples of Humility and - Bible cruel, sick, and unloving? it this way: Epaphroditus is a model for all of us to follow. we are all from the same womb, we're family. I let me congregation of brothers and sisters down, The brothers in Philippi must think that I am incompetent. 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." Even where we might have expected Paul to write of tongues in the passage about being filled with the Spirit in Ephesians 5:17, he has nothing to say about tongues.
Is It a Sin to Take Medicine? -- to Consult a Doctor? - La Vista Church Those thoughts would have contributed to his feelings of frustration, mental anguish, distress, or low self-worth.
Lesson #19 Why Paul Felt It Necessary To Send Epaphroditus 2 Responses
The Severity of Epaphroditus' Illness | Reformed Bible Studies The words "not regarding" are from the Greek word parabouleuomai. 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. Timothy was suffering stomach problems and frequent infirmities (1 Tim. Jesus said the greatest honor among his followers belongs to the one who renders the Epaphroditus had nearly died in bringing the Philippians' gift to Paul in Rome, but God spared the apostle from great sorrow by healing him. When is the last time that this happened to you? Epaphroditus was a godly humble servant of great courage. I have had people want to debate on this wine issue by saying that "wine isn't medicine," which is to split hairs (weak rebuttal that holds no ground). 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. act to follow either. In Acts 21:33 Paul was arrested in Jerusalem, and would spend the next 5 years in prison, right through the end of the Book of Acts. In English, as in Greek, this is a neuter pronounthat thing which is perfect. Paul was not writing about the coming of He who is perfect but of the coming of a thing which is perfect. In his low, nervous state, barely convalescent, the thought of home and of his brethren's anxiety about him was too much for him. We must not leave unnoticed the beautiful self-abnegation which sends off Epaphroditus as soon as he was well enough to travel, as a gift of the Apostle's love, in order to repay them for what they had done for him. Sustratiotes is a very honorable title used in Philemon 2 of Archipus. The word of God is a Spirit. 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. Stop speaking in the tongue because it is not from the Holy Spirit. The first fact about him is, that he was one of the Philippian Christians, and sent by them to Rome, with some pecuniary or material help, such as comforts for Paul's prison-house, food, clothing, or money. Little is known about Epaphroditus (much less than Timothy). In this case, Paul did pray for healing, but his request was denied. Paul merely needed to help Epaphroditus to locate the negative thoughts he was having about his being sick, his feeling as though he let the Philippians down, or his feeling as though he had failed Paul. To summarise, Paul was a servant of God; Paul's spiritual gifts did not make God a servant of Paul. emptied himself. Spam, March 31 2022 He provides a pattern that Because I am submitted and 2. Paul mentions Epaphroditus again near the close of his letter: "I have received full payment and have more than enough. Look at: Here he uses chreia to speak of physical needs. Besides, Epaphroditus was longing to see the church because he knew that they had found out that he had been ill (2:26). God's sparing of Epaphroditus' life was a tangible expression of His abundant grace to Paul. 12:9). The Lord does not deny that they had done these things. And as for the gift of healing, we read of a co-worker of Pauls, Epaphroditus, who fell seriously ill during this time (Phil. Interested in joining the Ligonier team? His name appears twice in the Bible (Philippians 2:25; 4:18). 2. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. In all the seven letters written after the close of the Book of Acts, Paul uses this word epignosisthe full knowledge. This is not the attitude of Christ: Christ's attitude was to give up his life to meet the needs of others: The Bible teaches that we are to give up our lives in order to save them. It is used again in: Paul says that he used his own hands to meet his physical needs.