used for minister is deokonos -- deacon. These men and women of God where normal people of God, who made mistakes just like us and didnt do everything perfect. we living as sent ones? The word "sick" is astheneo, it means: "to be feeble, weak, sick. For those people, he believed it was best to get married and satisfy their urges legally. The facts are simple; if we look at the context and the account, there was actually nothing for Paul to heal. others. 'The cup of cold water' given 'in the name of a disciple' is grateful to the lips of the Master. empty ourselves to make ourselves of no reputation. When is the last time you set aside something on your agenda 14:18)! Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professors, theologians, and those interested in exegetical analysis of biblical texts. It is used again in: Paul says that he used his own hands to meet his physical needs. In Gaiuss home, in Corinth, Paul wrote the letter to the Romans (see Rom. The miracles of healing that the Those thoughts would have contributed to his feelings of frustration, mental anguish, distress, or low self-worth. When would these gifts cease? needs. This is not to say that medicines are not good or doctors are not helpful. And they did, because in the letters written after the Book of Acts, the sign gifts had ceased, just as the Lord said that they would. In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul prays that a " thorn in the flesh " would be removed, but God refuses to do this. We simply don't know why Epaphroditus was so sick, aside from the statement in v. 30 that "he came close to death for the work of Christ." They were sent by Jesus Christ. Of all the inhabitants of Philippi at that time we know the names of but three, Euodias, Syntiche, and Epaphroditus, and we owe them all to Paul. If they wanted to It only takes a minute to sign up. In verse 25, we have a description of Epaphroditus. It means for any gift that you and I will receive from Him by the Holy Spirit is premised on your ability to accept,take, agree or receive without doubt His word which comes as a command, law, or instruction. Vote Up Paul would go on to write 13 letters in the New Testamentfrom the Letter to the Romans to the Letter to Philemon. Epaphroditus wasn't sick because of sin, he was sick because of the work of Christ Do you have questions about the Bible? Timothy, whom we looked at last week, was a gifted preacher and When we are having an experience that we learn from the Scriptures is not from the Lord, it is time to keep silent, and remember that our spirits are to be under our own controlthe spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.. Epaphroditus was serving as a representative of the Philippian congregation and the apostle Paul. 3:2) to the Apostle Paul, but He had not yet revealed the entire message to him. (2 Timothy 4:20), The power to heal was present in Paul's ministry as described in the book of Acts, 8 At Lystra a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mothers womb, who had never walked. They had prophesied in Jesus name, they had cast out demons and done miracles in His name. [5] Lightfoot John Lightfoot, A Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Hebraica, 4 vols. He wrote to the Corinthian church that they came behind no other church when it came to the gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. The word "necessary" is the Greek word anagkaios, it means: "indispensable, what one cannot at after carefully weighing the facts. 12:9). Epaphroditus but passes across the illuminated disc of the lantern for a moment, and we have scarcely time to catch a glimpse of his face before it is lost to us. The word "stand fast" is the Greek word steko which means: "stand your ground in the midst of Paul is honoring Epaphroditus with these titles. Therefore, if the Holy Spirit did not want someone healed or raised from the dead, no amount of effort by Paul could do so. Epaphroditus' service to Paul was a spiritual priestly function. Since no exercise of the gift of healing is recorded past about ?._. He has authored ninety-five books. We need to labor to reach the lost: Paul was willing to suffer to reach the elect with the gospel. Weak in the faith is another use. Therefore, Paul sent Epaphroditus back with his letter to the Philippians so that they could stop worrying and rejoice too (2:25-30). Does ZnSO4 + H2 at high pressure reverses to Zn + H2SO4? >From this verb we get the John 1:12 ). Many were saved, but Paul was driven out of town. In other words, he is suggesting to use "medicine." 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. Epaphroditus was evidently healed through the Lords direct, miraculous intervention, perhaps via the gifts of healing that some believers possessed during the Apostolic era (1 Cor. This is no fleshly or "secular" work in ministering to Likewise in 2 Timothy 4:20, Paul has to leave behind his co-worker Trophimus who had fallen sick on the last journey. This is not a rebuke, it literally means: "to complete your service to me." It is possible for us in the ordering of our own lives to fulfil the great prophecy with which Zechariah crowned his vision of the Future, 'In that day shall there be on the bells of the horses Holiness unto the Lord'; and the 'pots in the Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar.'. We can make some deductions about Epaphroditus from what we see in this passage. When God spared his Paul had to do a very trusted voice to help Epaphroditus offset his irrational thinking and replace it with rational thoughts, resulting in Epaphroditus actually changing his mood. priestly functions that were performed in that system. Which apostles did Paul see while he was in Jerusalem after his conversion? It But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. Why did she weep? honor a solider, they would give him the title -- Sustratiotes. In believing the word of God, you have to. Epaphroditus was a godly humble servant of great courage. Paul was imprisoned in Rome for his faith. Is there a solutiuon to add special characters from software and how to do it, Minimising the environmental effects of my dyson brain. No, the answer is that God's program had changed. Paul uses this word again in: This is also primarily speaking of physical needs. 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. here with us can get a tape and those who were here but slept can go home and listen to the We need to work hard in intellectual areas; we need to toil in study. Acts 28:25-28 stands as Gods last words to the nation of Israel for nearly two millennia. No one was more charismatic than Paul, yet the Lord revealed to him that those sign gifts were going to cease: whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away (1 Cor. I think that in our day the church has lost the ergos, the work, toil, or effort that we should be apostolic delegate. When Jesus said in Mark 16:17-20 that these signs shall follow those who believe. 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. Once saved, his spirit is completely made Brand New, is this not a miracle? The close of the Book of Acts was also the close of Gods dealings with the nation of Israel for now nearly 2000 years. All our information about him is contained in this context, and in a brief reference in Chapter iv. ), 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. He was sent by them, he was their No wonder that men were eager to risk their lives for a leader who lavished such praise and such love upon them. We can now give a scriptural answer to the question that we started with: when did the sign gifts cease? 14 On this reconstruction the question why Paul refrained from healing Epaphroditus miraculously does not arise-he did not even know he had been ill until he had recovered and completed his journey. The pattern could not be clearer, and the contrast could not be sharper between the earlier letters and the later letters, between the time when all the sign gifts were operating, and the time when all the sign gifts had ceased. But, during this time in the Book of Acts, the Lord revealed to Paul that the sign gifts were going to cease1 Corinthians 13:8-12. The reason why Paul didn't heal Trophimus is because he no longer had the 'gift' of healing. 1:14). means: "to abase, naturalize, to make of none effect, of no reputation." His letter to the Philippians was just one of four "Prison Epistles" written during this time. The miraculous powers that Paul exercised were not his own; that is, they were not innate. means: "to throw down a stake, to roll the dice." A: Paul did not have the power to arbitrarily heal: only God has the power to heal. Why would the apostle Paul "delay" being baptized (Acts 22:16)? Most likely it was not the apostle Paul who led him to faith in the Lord Jesus as his Savior because he would have called Epaphroditus "his son in the faith" as he did Timothy (I Tim. Was it because he had lost his faith, as some would tell us? 2:25-30). 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. Having seen the pattern of truth regarding the gifts, we need to ask, why did the gifts cease at this time? Spam, January 24 2014 In his letter thanking the Philippians, Paul makes a point of telling the church that Epaphroditus recovered (Philippians 2:27), and that he would return to them soon. 3. I have hid them in my heart. All through the Book of Acts we read of tongues, the gift of prophecy, the gift of healing, etc.for example, tongues and prophecy in Acts 19:6, the gift of prophecy in Acts 21:10-14, the gift of healing in Acts 19:11-12 and 28:8,9, etc. The summary of the whole thing I have written here is that if you believe in the word of God all things are possible. Here is Epaphroditus, the loving gambler, risking it all to minister to Paul's needs. be guarded at all costs. That which is perfect had come and so the sign gifts had passed away. needs. Theoretically Correct vs Practical Notation. It is a pathetic little picture of the Macedonian stranger in the great city -- pallid looks, recent illness, and pining for home and a breath of pure mountain air, and for the friends he had left. Epaphroditus means "belonging to Aphrodite" [1] which was an idiom meaning "lovely or handsome". the most complete healing is when we are taken home. "Epaphroditus is here to do what you can't do because you're so far away.". Besides, Epaphroditus was longing to see the church because he knew that they had found out that he had been ill (2:26). 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. Hebrews 11:6 we are taught: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
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