Mother’s Day 2024

Philemon 1–3 KJV (WS)

1 Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer, 2 And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house: 3 Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Introduction

Could we try to think spiritually this morning?

Our society will spend today focusing on all that women give up in order to be a mother.

They will focus on the sacrifice she makes for her husband.

They will focus on the sacrifices she makes for her children.

Yes, motherhood requires sacrifice.

Motherhood and marriage are also chances for multiplication.

A Christian mother’s ministry is multiplied through her family.

We see this in Philemon.

This one of the first pictures we get of a Christian family.

There are few differing opinions

Most likely, what we are reading about is Paul’s greeting to three members of the same household.

Philemon and Apphia are husband and wife.

Archippus is their son.

It takes a little digging, but there are some encouraging examples being presented to us today.

If we will take the time, we will find encouragement for moms.

We will also find encouragement for the whole Christian family.

Family like what we see here is under attack because it offers God’s people the opportunity to multiply their impact on the kingdom.

A Christian family should be the ideal expression of what family can be.

Let’s see what we can find in this family.

We’ll start with Apphia.

Apphia, is the mom of this Christian household.

Paul calls her beloved, agapetos.

Agapetos is a term of endearment.

It is related to the term agapao which means to love.

It is only used to indicate someone who is considered dearly loved and valued.

Her name is related to the word Appha.

This is a word used in the affectionate address of a brother or sister.

It is a Phrygian name, same as her husband’s.

Phrygia was the region that housed Colossae.

Paul addresses Apphia because of her role in the household.

If you are familiar with the book of Philemon, you may recall that it is written in regards to a runaway slave named Onesimus.

Onesimus had met Paul in prison and had gotten saved.

Paul is writing to ask for re-admittance and forgiveness for Onesimus.

This would have directly affected Apphia.

Her role in the house would have been the management of the household servants, including Onesimus.

This is very much a full-time occupation.

To Apphia this role within the family business was another way for her to invest in the lives others.

In order for Onesimus to be able to return, Apphia will need to be on board with his return.

Paul is addressing Apphia just as much as he is addressing Philemon.

Apphia has an important role in this letter all on her own.

She is fully realized member of this church in Colossae.

She is a leader not just of women.

She has responsibilities.

She has value.

So much so that Paul appeals to Apphia, our dear and beloved sister.

But, her ministry does not end with her abilities and resources.

Her impact is multiplied by her family.

Her relationship with her husband.

This Christian couple were partners in their religion.

It was not her religion or his religion.

They worked together.

In their relationship, we see the power of a Christian couple united in single purpose to serve God.

Philemon & Apphia had offered their house as a gathering place for the church at Colossae.

Think of the amount of sacrifice this took on the part of Apphia.

We do not know how this came about, who’s idea it was, or so on.

We do know that special buildings were not widely used for church meetings until the 3rd Century.

Early churches didn’t have the kind of schedule that we have today.

It was a much more demanding schedule.

Apphia would have been the one to try and maintain the house in a state of readiness for the church to utilize.

Main gatherings

Men’s gatherings

Women’s gatherings,

Even youth gatherings.

Philemon and Apphia’s relationship to their church was so strong, that Paul had included them as part of their household.

It was his expectation that the church either be in on this decision or they would fulfill a support role in this decision.

There were not clearly defined lines between your church life and your home life.

At least, not when the church is meeting in your home.

This was not a cringe thing for Apphia’s family.

This was how they wanted it.

In this way, Paul felt a commonality with Philemon and Apphia.

They felt just as strongly as Paul did about the church.

Paul viewed them as equal partners in the ministry.

They may have had a little sphere.

He may have had a wider sphere.

But, he does not refer to them in lesser terms.

They are co-laborers with him.

The first man who dug a shovel of earth for the Cologne Cathedral and the man who fixed the last stone on the tallest spire 632 years later were co-laborers though separated by centuries.

Paul does not belittle this couple.

Nor does he refer to Apphia in lesser terms than Philemon.

Both are beloved to Paul.

Remember, beloved is a term that communicated value.

Much attention is given to this letter and Paul’s view of slavery.

The gospel, fully followed, eradicates slavery.

The gospel also elevates wives to an equal standing with their husbands.

Here is a serious fact of life, 9/10 if you see a man fully devoted to serving God, you can almost always assume there is a devoted wife serving alongside him.

Apphia was beloved because of her co-service with her husband.

She served alongside her husband.

She encouraged/enabled her husband to do more things for God.

But that’s not the only affect she had on her family’s ministry.

To learn more about that, we need to look at her relationship with her son.

As we said at the beginning, Archippus is most likely the son of Philemon and Apphia.

Archippus’ name means the master of the horse.

Roman heroes were celebrated for their skill in taming horses.

Most likely, Philemon and Apphia were more wealthy than the average.

Could they have made their living running an equestrian farm?

We know that raising horses was not Archippus’ future.

Colossians 4 makes it seem as though Archippus may have been the pastor of the church in Laodicea.

Colossians 4:17 “17 And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.”

Yet, he is clearly mentioned here as a part of his parents household.

Laodicea and Colossae are very close.

So close, in fact, that he could have kept living at home while he traveled back and forth to Laodicea.

He may have been comparatively young to be in such a position.

Not too young to be called a fellow-soldier by Paul.

This is because Archippus had endured conflict and trouble for the sake of the gospel.

How could this young man grow up to be a principled and steadfast pastor?

You have to give some credit to his parents and the mother that had her own ministry, multiplied her husbands ministry, and supported her son in his ministry.

Pastor’s live off the gifts of the people they minister to.

Just as the Levites did in the OT.

In a pioneering work such as the early church experienced, it is doubtful that a new church understood their responsibility to care for their pastor.

So what does Archippus do?

He relies on the continued care of his family.

You realize that Apphia had an investment, not only in the church that used her house but in the church whose pastor used her house too.

Think of the far-reaching effects of this solitary mother’s ministry.

She is making it possible for a church to meet in her house.

She is supporting and working alongside her husband.

She is making it possible for a church in a neighboring town to have a pastor.

Apphia was a mother who not only made an impact through her own ministry but also through the way she multiplied the ministries of her family.

Application

Moms and wives that are here with us today.

We celebrate you and your ministry today.

So many of our mothers are involved with the ministry and outreach of this church.

We benefit from your teaching, counsel, and giving in all areas of ministry.

We also thank you and recognize you for the multiplication of your ministry.

You support and magnify the ability of your husbands’ ministry.

As one flesh you and your spouse prove what is possible when a husband and a wife are not vying for individualism.

Only God knows how our sons and daughters will continue to multiply the impact of our ministry in the years to come.

The application is pretty straightforward today.

If you are Christian wife and/or mother this morning, don’t you dare belittle the work that God has given you.

You are beloved by your church family.

Conclusion

Legend says that this entire family was martyred during the reign of Nero.

After being whipped, they were buried up to their wastes and stoned to death.

Supposedly…

I know this may seem like a morbid way to end this message.

But they left this life as they lived this life, together.

When they crossed the threshold into heaven, it became clear that God had used their ministry greatly in his harvest.

You may think your impact is little, but one day God is going to show you just how big of an impact your life has had.