Twin Givers
They weren’t related by blood, but they had the same heart. Both of them had an unselfish, giving spirit. Bible readers usually recognize one of their names, but they don’t know much about the second. Yet Paul paid to each of these men some of the highest compliments he ever gave anyone outside of the Lord Himself. They stand out in the New Testament among the saints, but not because they were smarter than others. Not because they were better preachers. Not because they had more spiritual gifts than others. What stood out to Paul about them was their care for others and their willingness to sacrifice for the work of the Lord. They truly practiced what Paul said earlier in Philippians 2:4—“Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”
Timothy and Epaphroditus raised the bar high by their selfless service to the Lord. Best of all, they did so gladly. This episode will challenge you not just to learn more about these men but also to learn more about yourself and grow in the giving nature these men had.
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- Scriptures: Philippians 2:19-30; Matthew 22:1-5
- “Present Your Bodies”
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Transcript
Kerry Duke: Hi, I’m Kerry Duke, host of My God and My Neighbor podcast from Tennessee Bible College, where we see the Bible as not just another book, but the Book. Join us in a study of the inspired Word to strengthen your faith and to share what you’ve learned with others.
Do you know someone who is truly unselfish? Someone who puts others ahead of himself. Someone who gives his time, his money, and his care to people who need it. Most of us only get to know a few people like this in a lifetime. These are rare individuals. And oh how we need people like this today. We live in a selfish world. It always has been. The prophets of God in the Old Testament and the apostles of Christ in the New Testament saw a lot of selfish people. But they also saw a few men and women that had a very giving nature. And, it’s a great thing that we can read about them in the Bible.
When you think about unselfish, giving, sacrificial people in the Bible, what names come to mind? Today we will look at two men that were great examples of putting other people first. Both of these men are in the book of Philippians. They are not as well-known as others in the Bible, but they had a heart for serving other people, and they didn’t do it for attention. They didn’t do it for money. They sacrificed their own interests for the needs of others out of pure love.
It’s hard to miss the importance of being unselfish when you read the book of Philippians. The greatest example is Jesus. In Philippians two verses five through eleven, He gave up His perfect home in heaven to live and die in a land of sin and suffering. There’s no better example to imitate. There’s no purer love than the love Jesus had and still has. Then there is the example of the apostle Paul. He truly gave his life for the Lord. He gave his life to serve other people. In the book of Philippians, you see Paul as one who is willing to be full or be hungry in his service for the Lord. He was willing to go to prison or to death. His life was not about him. It was about Jesus. His famous words are in Philippians chapter 1, verse 21: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
And now in Philippians chapter two beginning in verse 19, Paul adds two other men to the list. The first one is Timothy. Here’s what Paul says about him: “But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state. For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus. But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel. Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it goes with me. But I trust in the Lord that I myself shall also come shortly” (Philippians 2 verses 19 through 24).
The first time you read about Timothy is in Acts chapter 16. The Bible says Paul “came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek. He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium.” Timothy came from an interesting family, a mixed family. His mother was Jewish and his father was Greek. We know from what Paul said in Second Timothy chapter one verse five that Timothy‘s Jewish mother and grandmother raised him well. They taught him the Scriptures and they taught him by their example of faith. We don’t know much about his father, except that he was a Greek. We don’t know what kind of father he was. He evidently didn’t practice the Jewish religion. So the main influences in his life where his mother and grandmother. And they did their job well. No sooner do we start reading about Timothy in Acts 16 than we see that he had a good reputation among the brethren.
Paul really had a lot of confidence in Timothy. In fact, there was no one else he had more confidence in than Timothy. Notice what Paul says. He’s waiting to see if the Roman officials will let him go free from prison. He believes that they will. He even says he believes they will release him soon. When that happens, Paul said he was going to send Timothy to Philippi to see how they were doing. It’s been a while since he’s been there. And, the Holy Spirit didn’t tell him much about this church. It’s hard for us to imagine the world Paul lived in. He couldn’t pick up a phone and call. He couldn’t send a text or email. He couldn’t even drop a letter in the mail and be assured that it would get there within a day or two. When email was first invented a few years ago, we started calling regular mail “snail mail” because it was so slow compared to email. Well, back in the days of the apostles, communication was slower than we can imagine. Travel was much slower than what we’re used to. So one of the first things Paul wants to do when he’s released is to send Timothy to the church at Philippi.
He chose Timothy for this job for a special reason. He said he had no one else like Timothy he could send. He didn’t say he had no one else he could send. He said there was no one else who was like-minded. There was no one else who had the kind of heart Timothy had. Paul didn’t say he was sending Timothy because there was no one else who had the knowledge Timothy had. He didn’t send Timothy because Timothy had a better spiritual gift than anybody else had. He didn’t send Timothy because he was a better preacher than anyone else Paul knew. Paul said he sent him because there was no one else who would care about them like Timothy did. The King James Version says Timothy would “naturally care” about them. The New King James Version says he would “sincerely” care for them. Timothy wasn’t going because he needed a job. Paul and Timothy didn’t preach just to get paid. They were genuinely concerned about these Christians. Paul had high regard for Timothy. And what he said about him here is one of the highest compliments you’ll see anywhere in his epistles about anybody. Paul didn’t want to send someone that didn’t care about them to Philippi to preach and work with these people. He wanted to see someone go who would take a genuine interest in them. And Timothy was that kind of person.
Paul had one man who fit that description. When he says he had one person, and that was Timothy, remember that he’s under house arrest. But he could have visitors. A lot of people came to see him. According to the last few verses of the book of Acts, he taught people the gospel while he was under house arrest. Now isn’t that ironic? The very reason he had been arrested was that he had been preaching the gospel. That’s what stirred up the Jews in the first place. But the Romans didn’t have any particular interest in proving whether the religion of Jesus Christ was right, or whether the traditional Jewish religion was right, at least not until the fire of Rome when Nero Cesar declared Christianity to be an illegal religion. But from everything we’re told, especially in Acts chapter 28, they didn’t put any restrictions on Paul about teaching the Gospel while he was under house arrest. So, other Christians could come and visit with him. Paul could send some of those men to different places. That’s what you find him doing in the book of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon. Those are the books he wrote while he was under house arrest. You also see him sending brothers to different places in the book of Second Timothy, which is the last book that he wrote.
My point is this. Paul had different experiences with different brothers he worked with. Some were more dependable than others. Do you remember who went with Paul and Barnabas on the first missionary trip? His name was John Mark. The Bible says in Acts chapter 13 and chapter 15 that John Mark went with them, but he quit right in the middle of the work. That caused an argument later between Paul and Barnabas. They agreed to go on another missionary trip. Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with him again, and Paul told him that was not a good idea because of what he did the first time. What we find in the book of Colossians chapter 4 is that John Mark was Barnabas’ nephew. But thankfully, in that same chapter, Colossians chapter four, Paul said John Mark was doing better. He commended John Mark. That was some time after the first missionary tour when John Mark left in the middle of the tour—to do what we’re not told. But he had grown up spiritually speaking and was more dedicated. Demas was another worker with Paul. The books of Colossians and Philemon say that he was a faithful worker—for a while. The last thing we read about him is in the final letter Paul wrote: the book of second Timothy, which Paul wrote shortly before he died. Paul said in chapter 4 verse 10 of that epistle, “For Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world.” That’s one of the saddest verses you’ll find in Paul’s writings. He said just a few verses before this that the time of his departure was near. That means he was going to die soon. When he writes the book of Philippians, he expects to be released. And he was. But in the book of Second Timothy, it’s years later, and he is in prison, not under arrest, and he knows the end is soon. He needed all the encouragement he could get. He needed workers to send to different places. Paul had sent Demas to work in different places, but this time he couldn’t do that because
Demas was doing the very thing the Bible tells us not to do in First John chapter 2 verse15. He loved the world.
I bring these brothers up by way of contrast. Timothy was not like them. He was dependable. You don’t find Paul saying anything negative about his work ethic or his dedication. There might’ve been other brothers he could’ve sent to the church in Philippi, but there was nobody like Timothy. It was not just that Timothy would finish the work Paul sent him to do. It’s that Timothy would be genuinely concerned about them. He would be sincerely interested in their well-being.
Let’s talk about how this applies today. First of all, let’s think about preachers. If you’re a preacher, it’s good to stop and look at yourself when you look at Timothy. We preachers need to do that. We need to look at our attitude. We need to look at our words. We need to look at our life. And we need to look at our teaching and preaching. Are we doing it for the right reason? Do we truly and sincerely care about the people we are ministering to?
If you’re not a preacher, look at yourself. Are you like Timothy? Are you striving to be like Timothy? Being a worker in the church is not always easy. That’s because the church is made up of people, and where you have people, you have problems. You have friction. You have disagreements. And sometimes you have hard feelings. And that can really test your attitude and your motive. The world wasn’t a perfect place when Timothy was alive. The church didn’t have perfect people in it. But he kept his mind on the work. And he didn’t let people problems make him bitter. He cared. He truly and sincerely cared.
Here’s something else to think about. How many times have you said it’s hard to find good workers today? It’s hard to find people you can depend on. It’s hard to find people you can trust. It’s hard to find people who will do what they say they will do and do their best at it. Too many people today just want a paycheck. They don’t care about the work. They don’t care about people. They’re just in it for the money. If you can find just one person to do the work and take, as we would say, some pride in his work, you’ve found something that’s rare in people. Timothy was dependable. He had the right kind of spirit and work ethic. He reminds us of one well-known young man in the Bible who was like this. That young man was Joseph. Read the story in Genesis chapter 39 and you’ll see that his master trusted him so much that he put everything he had in his hands.
Paul said about Timothy: “For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state.” Why? Why didn’t Paul have anybody else like Timothy ? Think about it. This was in the days of the apostles. They were working all kinds of miracles. But the apostles couldn’t give a man a good attitude. That has to come from the heart, and that’s a choice. So you might think when you first read this that Paul should’ve had all kinds of people he could give this job to. But he couldn’t. And he told us why. He didn’t pull any punches. The reason Paul didn’t have others like Timothy was because of what he said in Philippians chapter 2 verse 21: “For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus.” There was the problem. They were too busy seeing after their own affairs. They were more interested in what they wanted to do. And Paul tells it straight: they were not concerned about the Lord’s work.
You see the same kind of selfishness in Jesus’ parables. In Matthew chapter 22 verses three through five, listen to what Jesus said: “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.” But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business.” These people were more concerned about their farms and businesses than they were about the kingdom of God. I realize that Paul is talking to people who were already in the kingdom in the book of Philippians, but the problem is the same. The spirit is the same. You see it again in Luke chapter 14. Beginning in verse 16, Jesus said, “A certain man made a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready. But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’” Here was the same problem. This parable represents the kingdom of God and the blessings in it. But it shows that people will give up all that for passing earthly things. Land. Farming. Marriage. And the tragic part is, people can have land or a farm or a marriage and still be in the kingdom of God – as long as they don’t put those things above their God and His kingdom. But that’s what Christians do sometimes. Jesus said they become choked with the cares and riches and pleasures of this life (Luke 8 verse 13). And that was the very reason Paul talks about in Philippians chapter 2. Others were selfish. They were doing their own thing rather than doing what God wanted them to do. But Timothy was a giver. The first thing in his life was doing what His Lord said.
Now we come to the next great example of giving, especially giving his time and himself for others. Most Christians know little about him. Some might not even recognize his name. But here is what Paul said about him. “Yet I considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, but your messenger and the one who ministered to my need; since he was longing for you all, and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. For indeed he was sick almost unto death; but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I sent him the more eagerly, that when you see him again you may rejoice, and I may be less sorrowful. Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such men in esteem; because for the work of Christ he came close to death, not regarding his life, to supply what was lacking in your service toward me.”
Let’s notice how Paul described this brother. He said Epaphroditus was his brother, his fellow worker, and his fellow soldier. He was a brother in Christ with Paul. This man worked with Paul and fought with Paul. And, Paul says he was their messenger. What does that mean? It’s not just that the church at Philippi sent Epaphroditus to Paul in Rome to give him a message. They sent aid by this man to help Paul. Listen to what Paul said later about this man in Philippians chapter four verse eighteen: “Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you.” We don’t know what this man did for a living. We’re not told what he was doing before they sent him or how busy he was. What we do know is that this man was willing to travel for days to take supplies to Paul and help him while he was at Rome under house arrest.
By the way, there’s something interesting about this word messenger. It comes from the Greek word apostolos. Does that sound like a word in English? You guessed it. It’s the word for apostle. An apostle is someone who is sent. What they’re sent to do depends on the context. Usually we think of the twelve apostles when we hear this word. Jesus sent the apostles on a mission. But did you know that Jesus is also called an apostle in the Bible? In Hebrews chapter 3 verse one, the Bible calls him “the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.” Jesus was an apostle in the sense that God sent Him into the world. Epaphroroditus was a messenger. He was an apostle in the general sense that the church at Philippi sent him to Paul and now Paul is sending him back to the church there. I bring this up because it clears things up when you read Acts chapter 14. In that chapter, Paul went to the city of Iconium in verse one where they preached the gospel. The people there had a mixed reaction. The Bible says in Acts 14 verse 4, “But the multitude of the city was divided: part sided with the Jews, and part with the apostles.” The only preachers there were Paul and Barnabas, and Barnabas and Paul are both called apostles. Now we know that Paul was an apostle on the same level as Peter or any of the other special apostles of the Lord. He said in Second Corinthians 11 verse 5, “I am not at all inferior to the most eminent apostles.” But in Acts chapter fourteen, the Bible is just saying that he and Barnabas were apostles in the general sense. They had been sent on a mission. The Bible says in Acts chapter 13 verse 4 that they had been chosen and sent by the Holy Spirit on this missionary journey. Do you remember this verse in Romans 10 verse 15? That’s where Paul said, “How shall they preach unless they are sent?” That’s how the word is used in Acts 14. It means one who has been sent in the general sense. When it means apostles like Peter, John, Paul and others, it’s used in the special sense. It means a certain, limited group of men who were specially chosen and sent on a special mission with special authority from the Lord.
Think about it in this way. Take the word “disciple.” What does it mean? Who is a disciple? Well, in a general sense, it just means a learner, a follower, one who is taught. So in that general sense every Christian is a disciple. But when the Bible talks about the twelve disciples of the Lord, it means specially chosen and commissioned followers. Now, going back to Acts 14, you read this general meaning again in verse 14: “Now when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this…” So in Philippians chapter 2, you don’t see the word apostle, but it’s the same root word with the same general idea. The church at Philippi sent Epaphroditus to Paul, and now Paul is sending him back to Philippi.
But there was something that happened to this brother while he was on this mission that makes him a special man and a great example of sacrificing for others in the cause of Christ. Let’s notice verse 26. Paul said Epaphroditus was “longing for you all, and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick.” This man was on a mission literally. He was going to help Paul and deliver the aid the church at Philippi sent. But somewhere on his trip he got sick. That’s common, isn’t it? When you’re around different people and eat different foods it’s easy to catch something. But what Epaphroditus caught was no minor illness. It was not some kind of 24-hour stomach bug or a cold. He was deathly sick. In fact, he almost died. We don’t know what it was, but it almost killed him.
Now notice what Paul says about Epaphroditus. This man who had been sick was concerned about the people in the church at Philippi. They were concerned about him. But he was worried about them worrying about him! He knew these people and they knew him. They evidently were close. They sent Epaphroditus on his way with good feelings. They were glad to be a part of Paul’s work and happy to send one of their own to help. But then they heard that Epaphroditus had gotten seriously ill. So naturally they were anxious and concerned about him. And even though He’s better now at the time Paul writes this epistle, they’re still might be some concern about his health. So Paul sent him back to the church at Philippi to make them feel better.
This man is a great example of how to take sickness in our lives. The first thing we see about him is a great lesson. He didn’t feel sorry for himself and forget about others. He was concerned about them. He’s the one that had been sick, but he’s concerned about their hearts. He wants to make sure they’re not worried about him. When he found out that the church at Philippi heard about his sickness, he was afraid they would worry too much about him. That’s what we mean by being unselfish. That’s verse 26.
In verse 27, we get a glimpse into Paul’s heart. He said, “For indeed he was sick almost unto death.” Epaphroditus almost died on this trip to help Paul. You may have had that same experience. You or someone you know may have come close to dying. That ought to change a man. If he’s not a Christian, it ought to move him to repent and obey the gospel. If he’s already a Christian, it ought to make him better. If coming close to dying doesn’t move a man, what else would? Back in Job chapter 33, Elihu said that God sometimes allows a man to get to death’s door, and then pulls him back and lets him live. Job was hurting so bad he wanted to die and thought he was going to die. Elihu told him, “Behold, God works all these things, twice, in fact, three times with a man, to bring back his soul from the Pit, that he may be enlightened with the light of life” (Job 33, 29 and 30). The “Pit” he’s talking about is death. God has reasons for allowing us to live, and the main one is to seek Him.
In the same way, Paul saw God in what happened to Epaphroditus. He didn’t just say, “I’m sure glad he’s okay.” He didn’t think it was a stroke of good luck that Epaphroditus made it. He said God let him live. Paul said, “But God had mercy on him.” Paul saw the grace of God in Epaphroditus’ recovery from his sickness. He said that God allowed him to live. God saved his life. I wonder how much we really believe this. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 9 verse 1 that “the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God.” Is that how we see our life? Do we think that our life is in our hands, or in the hand of God? In Acts chapter 17 verse 25, Paul said that God “gives to all life, breath, and all things.” And if God gives it, He can take it away at any time. In that same chapter in verse 28 he said “For in Him we live and move and have our being.” That means that you and I are alive right now because of the grace of God. That means your family is alive by the grace of God. If we live another minute or another year, it will be His mercy. The Bible says we shouldn’t be cocky about what we plan to do. It says that we ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that” (James 4 verse 15). He doesn’t merely say that what we plan to do is subject to the will of God. He says that whether we live or die is subject to God’s will.
So Paul didn’t assume anything like so many of us do. He didn’t take things and people for granted. He knew they could be taken at any time. That’s why he said, “But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.” Now notice again what Paul did. He looked for the good in a bad situation. He didn’t complain about his troubles. He thanked God he didn’t have more. The situation with Epaphroditus could have been worse. He could have died. And that would have been one more thing on top of everything else he had to deal with. So today as you look at your troubles, think about what Paul said. He still had trouble. He still had sorrow. But instead of focusing on those problems, he was glad he didn’t have one more to deal with. Remember those words. Be thankful that you don’t have “sorrow upon sorrow.” Be glad that right now, regardless of the load you’re carrying, that you don’t have one more to carry today. When your ways please the Lord, He won’t let that load get too heavy.
Paul said, “Therefore I sent him the more eagerly, that when you see him again you may rejoice, and I may be less sorrowful.” Sending Epaphroditus back was good for everybody. It would give Epaphroditus relief to go back to Philippi. It would give them joy to see him alive and well. And it would take away some of Paul’s grief over all he was going through.
So Paul told them to welcome their brother Epaphroditus “in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such men in esteem”—that is, show honor and respect to men like him. He said to respect him “because for the work of Christ he came close to death, not regarding his life, to supply what was lacking in your service toward me.” This man almost died, but so do a lot of people. But Epaphroditus almost died because he was doing the work of the Lord. How many of us would’ve done that? How many of us would’ve turned back and said, “I’m sick; I can’t do this”? But not this man. The Bible says that he was determined to do the work of the Lord regardless. He wasn’t thinking about himself. He wasn’t thinking about dying. He wasn’t afraid of death. To him, that wasn’t the issue. The important thing was to help the apostle Paul spread the gospel to save souls. His life was secondary. That’s unselfishness. That’s giving. That’s putting others ahead of oneself. That’s the love that Jesus said we’re to have.
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