-We already know that God used Epaphras to plant this church. Paul tells us several other things about Epaphras now.
-First, we learn that Epaphras IS a Colossian himself. He would most likely have trusted Christ through the preaching of Paul, presumably while Paul was in Ephesus at one point (that three year stay in Acts 20.31 and Acts 19.9-10), and had returned to his hometown with the Good News about Jesus. And apparently he helped to plant at least three assemblies, not only this one in Colossae but also one in Hierapolis and one in Laodicea (who also receive a letter from Paul at this time - cf Colossians 4.16 - and who get a direct warning from Jesus about being lukewarm in Revelation 3.14-19). How these assemblies were birthed we don’t know exactly, yet we do get an idea of Epaphras’ faithfulness with the Message and how it had changed his life.
-Paul adds that Epaphras is a slave of Jesus. Paul uses this phrase sparingly in his letters, even in this one. He actually mentions eight people who are with him, but only two are described as slaves of Jesus. A rare and significant compliment, this. Not a slave who serves out of obligation, but willingly, freely, because they want nothing more, nothing else than what Jesus wants. Their life is His. Their time is His. Their freetime, all their stuff, all His. Their kids, spouse, career - His. What they want most is to be with Him and do what He is doing and to do whatever it takes to show off how breathtakingly good He really is. A slave of Jesus. Oh to find the grace to truly live into that, to be able to call Him Lord and live a life that truly and fully reflects that reality.
-The other thing we learn about Epaphras flows from his heart for Jesus, and it is his heart for these assemblies which he helped to plant. He is praying for them, and not just a little-dab’ll-do-ya. He is described as literally and always agonizing for them. Does this sound like an apt description of our own prayer lives? Is there anyone or anything over whom we are always agonizing in prayer, constantly wrestling with God and against the forces of darkness on behalf of someone else or on behalf of an assembly or even a nation or an unreached people group perhaps?
-And note what he is asking God to do: to cause these believers to stand complete and having been fully brought in everything He wants. Fully set, fully assured. Remember, this is precisely what Paul is praying for these believers (Colossians 1.9). Imagine being at the place where you are completely confident of everything that God wants for you. Imagine what your relationship with the Lord would be like in that place? Of course there’s still the doing part that you would need to address, but isn’t the knowing part half the battle? Much of the time it seems we are unsure of what God wants, we don’t know what He wants. Surely we would do well to be praying thus...!
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