Philippians 2:19-30 - Men of Great Faith

Intro

Last time we went over Philippians 2:12-19. We were talking about “Shining Bright for Christ.” How God works in us, to produce good fruit. We can’t serve him or do any truly good works without Him. In this process God also changes our desires to conform to His.

Today we are going to walk through Philippians 2:19-30. In this section we’ll be reading about two great men of faith. Paul commends Timothy and Epaphroditus in these scriptures. As men of faith they deserve to be honored and are great examples of how to live, especially after discussing last time on how to shine for Christ. These are men who did just that, by the power of God.

Body

Philippians 2:19–30 NLT

19 If the Lord Jesus is willing, I hope to send Timothy to you soon for a visit. Then he can cheer me up by telling me how you are getting along. 20 I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare. 21 All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ. 22 But you know how Timothy has proved himself. Like a son with his father, he has served with me in preaching the Good News. 23 I hope to send him to you just as soon as I find out what is going to happen to me here. 24 And I have confidence from the Lord that I myself will come to see you soon. 25 Meanwhile, I thought I should send Epaphroditus back to you. He is a true brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier. And he was your messenger to help me in my need. 26 I am sending him because he has been longing to see you, and he was very distressed that you heard he was ill. 27 And he certainly was ill; in fact, he almost died. But God had mercy on him—and also on me, so that I would not have one sorrow after another. 28 So I am all the more anxious to send him back to you, for I know you will be glad to see him, and then I will not be so worried about you. 29 Welcome him in the Lord’s love and with great joy, and give him the honor that people like him deserve. 30 For he risked his life for the work of Christ, and he was at the point of death while doing for me what you couldn’t do from far away.

The way Paul starts out here is a great example of how he viewed his life and the ministry. He says “If the Lord Jesus is willing” Instead of going right to what he plans or wants or what they should expect, he starts with “If the Lord Jesus is willing.” Even if it something that would seem to be a good thing, in this case Timothy being able to visit these believers in Philippi, Paul says it all depends on the Lords will. The Lord’s will is all he wants to take place, and he knows that’s all that will happen in the end.

This is an important message. Whatever we have planned in life, even if we have the best of intentions, even it’s what we think would be best for the ministry, if it is not God’s will we need let go and trust the Lord. This doesn’t mean giving up the second anything goes wrong and think it must not be God’s plan. But just knowing that when we pursue things with pure motives, if it doesn’t happen, don’t get discouraged. Rest in your submission to God.

Paul knows that his ministry is subject to the sovereignty of God’s will.

James 4:13–16 NLT

13 Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” 14 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. 15 What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” 16 Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil.

This is a challenging scripture. James is saying really any plans you make in life, should be done with acknowledging that God is in control. If we don’t acknowledge God, we are claiming power and shifting the glory to us. Which is evil, as we read here. Of course whatever we do say, God knows our hearts and prayers and knows if we are relying on Him, so it’s not so much the words we say but where our heart is at. But a lot of times what we say is a reflection of our heart. This was a great reminder to me.

I think I used this verse in one of the recent weeks, but it fits very well here Proverbs 16:9.

Proverbs 16:9 NLT

9 We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.

And as we read at the beginning of chapter 2, even Jesus humbled himself in obedience to God when he died on the cross. Being fully God He knew what was to come, and being fully man as well, he wasn’t too excited about what he was going to experience. But being obedient to the Father, He prayed:

Luke 22:42 NLT

42 “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

As always, Christ is our example.

Now Paul talks about wanting to send Timothy to those in Philippi, and why is that?

Paul says because sending someone to see how they’re doing and reporting back to him will cheer him up. Paul cared deeply for them.

And 2, why was Timothy the perfect one to go check on them? Because Timothy lived how Paul commanded others. Selfless, looking out for others.

Timothy actually cared about those in Philippi. Caring about other’s can be easy to fake. But Timothy was sincere. And Paul knew this, because he had spent a lot of time with him on mission trips. He knew Timothy well and how dedicated he was in serving God. Paul refers to him like a son. Paul discipled Timothy, and he persevered through the trials with him. Paul says he has proved himself.

Now in verses 23 and 24, Paul says he wants to wait to send Timothy until he knows what’s going to happen with him in prison. In the meantime though he wants to send someone else. And this brings us to the next person that Paul wanted to talk about.

This other man is Epaphroditus. And Epaphroditus actually came to Paul from Philippi, to help him. We talked about this a little bit when first got into the book of Philippians. Epaphroditus came to Paul out of the love all of those in Philippi had for him. Epaphroditus gave Paul gifts from the believer’s in Philippi and to comfort him. However, he got really sick during his visit. We don’t get a lot of information about it. All we know is that Paul says he almost died. So it was very serious.

Paul acknowledges the dedication of Epaphroditus. He refers to him as a true brother, a co-worker, and a fellow soldier. And this is coming Paul who had experienced many kinds of sufferings for Christ. So when Paul commends someone, you know they’ve made a lot of sacrifices.

In his time of being sick, those in Philippi heard news and they were worried and that made Epaphroditus distressed. So there was a lot going on, and Paul wanted to get him back to them. And Paul acknowledges God’s goodness in bringing healing to Epaphroditus. He didn’t get discouraged with God. He said God had mercy on Epaphroditus and himself, because then he didn’t have to undergo sorrow after sorrow. He gave praise to God in the struggles by always acknowledging God’s mercy in the midst of everything.

Reading this scripture may seem like what’s the point of reading about Paul commending others. But At the end of this passage, when Paul talks about sending Epaphroditus back to those in Philippi, he says “Welcome him in the Lord’s love and with great joy, and give him the honor that people like him deserve.” When he say’s people like him, he’s referring to people that sacrifice for God. He says Epaphroditus risked his life for the work of Christ. That’s what Paul wanted to see out of people. Complete dedication.

These people, Timothy and Epaphroditus, are worth talking about because they sacrificed for God. Because of the work that God did through them. We live in a world that likes to give honor to people for all sorts of things, a lot of things that have nothing to do with the gospel or even go directly against the gospel. But these men are worth talking about. When you look at their lives, they followed what Paul asked of those in Philippi up to this point. Live selflessly, humbly, putting God’s will above your own. Paul uses them as great examples of believer’s who committed their lives to Christ. Who demonstrated everything he was exhorting of those in Philippi, and what is exhorted to us as we read these scriptures as the very Word of God.