Epaphras - Colossians 4:12-13

Notes

“Prayer grows where prayer is not the object of contemplation, but God. Talk to me about prayer, and my prayer life remains stubbornly unmoved. Show me God, and prayer ignites unbidden.” - Dane Ortlund

Tychicus carried letters and encouragement to recipients; Epaphras carried prayers up to God

Epaphras means ‘lovely’

“We give thanks to God (1:3)… since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus (1:4)… just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit,” (1:7-8.

Epaphras

a Colossian for he was ‘one of (their) number’

another who was living only for the pleasure of Jesus, the Master, for he was ‘a bondslave of Jesus Christ’

‘servant’ (ESV)

labored earnestly in prayer for the Colossians

‘always struggling on your behalf in his prayers’ (ESV, LEB)

‘wrestling in prayer’ (NIV)

‘laboring fervently for you in prayers’ (KJV, NKJV)

‘prays earnestly for you’ (NLT)

‘wrestling for you in his prayers’ (CSB)

‘always striving for you in prayers’ (YLT)

‘tireless in his prayers for you’ (MSG)

that they’d stand perfect

that they’d be fully assured in all the will of God

had a ‘deep concern’ for the Colossians and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis

NASB text note, “much toil” or “great pain”

‘worked hard’ (ESV, CSB, LEB, NIV)

‘great zeal’ (NKJV, KJV, LEB)

‘prays hard’ (NLT)

His Labor - Prayer

His Intensity - Earnestly

His Heart - Deep Concern

[ILLUS] A friend of mine is always on the road for some ministry reason. He might be preaching in this church. He might be training youth ministers in this state. He might visiting with pastors in the local association that he leads. Like I said, he’s always on the road.

Once when he was leaving his apartment building, heading to his car to head back out onto the road, he passed between two other tenants on the sidewalk.

As he did so, one of the tenants said to other, “There goes the hardest working minister I know!”

That’s the kind of thing that people would’ve said about Paul.

Paul was a hard working minister.

In 1 Corinthians 15:10, Paul said that God’s grace wasn’t wasted on him; it caused him to work hard in his service to Christ.

Paul surround himself with hard working ministers.

In Colossians 4:11, Paul said that he had fellow workers with him.

He called them workers because he saw them working hard in ministry as Paul did.

But working hard in the ministry doesn’t always involve backbreaking work.

Sometimes the work is brain-busting as a minister tries to discern just the right word of counsel.

It is often eye-straining as a minister studies to rightly divide the Word of God.

But labor in the ministry should be even more often knee-bending work.

Paul was a minister who bent the knee in his work.

Epaphras was likewise a minister who engaged in this knee-bending work of prayer.

Epaphras was a worker.

His Method - Prayer

His Manner - Earnestly

His Matter - Perfect and Fully Assured