-Epaphras is beloved. There would be no doubt that Paul had a special affection for Epaphras. He had led him to Christ and discipled him, had sent him out to plant the church in Colossae, and his protegé had now returned to serve alongside Paul and help him (wherever it was that Paul was imprisoned at this time).
-Epaphras is a fellow slave, a co-doulos with Paul. He had freely surrendered himself and his wants and desires to what Jesus might want, and was completely given over to do whatever the Lord asked of him.
-Epaphras is also a 'deacon' of Christ to Paul, a faithful waiiter if you will. Paul uses that word deacon. It is someone with a servant’s heart, someone who is willing to do the dirty work, doing what needs to be done, and in this case it includes serving Paul, taking care of his needs, probably even bringing him food, since a prison would normally not provide any.
-Servant - one who serves, who performs duties or services for another, someone who does things for others because they are unable or so that they won’t have to - is the standard posture and mindset for Christians (or should be), especially for those in a leadership position. It is doing things without being asked, things which may go unnoticed, often without gratitude. It is doing things with a view to how they benefit others, as opposed to how they benefit me. Some in this life are paid or are made to be servants in more of a temporary capacity; those who follow Christ do it for free for life. We are first and foremost to be a servant of the Lord (cf Deuteronomy 10.20, 6.13; Matthew 4.10, Psalm 18.0, 100.2; Daniel 6.20, 7.14; Malachi 4.1, Luke 1.74-75, 16.13; Romans 12.11, 2Timothy 1.3, Hebrews 9.14, 12.28 - which will in fact be our occupation in eternity, Revelation 7.15, 22.3)(serving Him with our whole heart - Isaiah 29.12 - as opposed to serving idols - Psalm 97.7, Jeremiah 5.19, Romans 1.25, 1Thessalonians 1.9), and by extension we are to be a servant of God’s people (John 13.12-15, Galatians 5.13, Ephesians 4.12). Jesus taught much on this and led by example (Matthew 20.25-28, 23.10-12; Mark 9.34-35, Luke 22.27, John 13.3-5).
-God calls only a handful of people in Scripture ‘My servant’ - Messiah (many times, cf Isaiah 42.1), the nation israel (many times, cf Isaiah 41.7-10, 44.1-3, albeit imperfectly - Jeremiah 11.10, 13.9-11), but then only David (Psalm 89.3), Isaiah (Isaiah 20.2) Moses (Malachi 4.4), Eliakim (Isaiah 22.20), Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 25.9), Zerubbabel (Haggai 2.23).
-WOULD ANYONE CALL ME A FAITHFUL SERVANT? A BELOVED FELLOW SLAVE? WOULD GOD CALL ME HIS SERVANT? Slave and servant. These words are not meant only to describe special friends of Paul. This is to increasingly be the posture and attitude of anyone who claims to follow Christ. Slave and servant. Think about those words. Unfortunately our culture does not in any way reinforce that kind of behavior or thinking. It is not something to which any normal red-blooded american would aspire. Slave is a four-letter word. No, for us it's all about freedom - the power or right to speak or act as I want without any hindrance or restraint. While I don't believe this was the kind of thinking that inspired many of those who founded this great nation, is this not the prevailing spirit in the USA? Honestly I'm not sure this is always such a good thing - it can feed right into a mindset of me-first me-better. Slave and servant. As much as anything that means me NOT first. Others better. Others first. Jesus foremost and first of all. May God give us grace today and every day, give us the strength to swim against this prevailing american ethos and like Epaphras before us channel a true spirit of Christ in submitting ourselves fully to Him, to whatever and everything He wants, towel wrapped around our waist and sleeves all rolled up at the ready to do the dirty work, to serve and meet the needs of those around us.
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