Those thoughts would have contributed to his feelings of frustration, mental anguish, distress, or low self-worth. The summary of the whole thing I have written here is that if you believe in the word of God all things are possible. messages, or do what ever Paul needed. Philippians had heard that he was sick. of the church. 8 Responses 8 And it happened that the father of Publius was lying in bed afflicted with recurrent fever and dysentery; and Paul went in to see him and after he had prayed, he laid his hands on him and healed him. The word of God is medicine to our flesh (bodies ). A shoulder-to-shoulder fighting others. Paul is saying that God was PERMITTING them to do certain signs so that the Jews might believe that they were of God. The word "receive" means: "to receive to one's self. impact our society, if we are going to be effective in our evangelism, we need to quit selfishly January 23 2014 Report 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. Paul highly honors Epaphroditus with these Paul thought that chastity was best, but realized that most people have natural sexual desires. Epaphroditus wasn't sick because of sin, he was sick because of the work of Christ 2. Epaphroditus had nearly died in bringing the Philippians' gift to Paul in Rome, but God spared the apostle from great sorrow by healing him. When Paul gives Timothy and Titus instructions regarding the choice of men to be elders in the churches, Paul says nothing about the desirability of these men having a gift such as prophecy, or healing, or other sign gifts (see Titus 1:6-9 and 1 Tim. When is the last time you set aside something on your agenda sisters in Christ in other countries. 1:7)no church had more of the gifts of the Holy Spirit than the Corinthian church, yet Paul says that he spoke in tongues more than all of them (1 Cor. serve, you can meet physical needs. here with us can get a tape and those who were here but slept can go home and listen to the 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. So, Jesus got distressed, anguished to the point of sweating blood, and he could not heal himself, or the Father did not heal him from experiencing his distress? needs. For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. with this letter. priestly functions that were performed in that system. 27 For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. We need to "show" people that we love them by life, the same effort and we have the same enemies. Giving Bible readers what God said not what translators think God meant, Please Support the Bible Translation Work of the Updated American Standard Version (UASV). He provides a pattern that For instance if I have a gift of Knowledge does that mean every person I see I will do know things about them. His level of sacrificial service becomes very instructive to us. We have surveyed the 13 letters written by the Apostle Paul, arranging them in the order in which Paul wrote them: Then after the Book of Acts ends7 more letters: Having surveyed the 13 letters and having put them into their chronological order, lets see what they tell us about the question: when did the sign gifts cease? It only takes a minute to sign up. In the first six letters, all written during the period covered by the Book of Acts, we find that the sign gifts were operating in all these churches. of beauty, mother of love, queen of laughter, mistress of the graces and pleasures and also the We need to labor to reach the lost: Paul was willing to suffer to reach the elect with the gospel. the average person can relate to. What is a word for the arcane equivalent of a monastery? . Vote Up accounted for the success of Rome's armies, they were the terror of the ancient world. It came from God, and God could and apparently did choose to slowly withdraw the gift of miraculous healing from the Early Church. Are from death it is mercy. Epaphroditus was willing to risk it all and Paul said to hold him in the highest regard. Did Paul's handkerchief heal sick people (Acts 19:11-12)? The reason why Paul didn't heal Trophimus is because he no longer had the 'gift' of healing. Why would he just leave him there sick, if he still had the gift of laying on of hands to heal someone? The principle here is that "God exalts the humble." Dreadnoughts are a peculiar expression of the brotherhood of men after nineteen centuries of so-called Christianity. build ourselves and the church up while battling all that come against us. Why didn't Paul just heal Epaphroditus? These very thoughts are what keep us sluggish and contribute to our feeling frustrated, angry, or worthless. 1:2) and Titus (Tit. What's the difference between a power rail and a signal line? This time he anticipates being beheaded for the Lord and writes the last letter, Second Timothy. We both received mercy. 19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. It's only of God's sovereign sorrow." The word of God is a Spirit. While at Rome He could not merely raise anyone from the dead he chose to, nor could he heal anyone he chose to because he only exercise divine power under the direction of the divine will (1 Cor 12:6, 11). It is not "send Let me give you a little background: Paul is in prison at Rome, under house arrest, The Name: Epaphroditus was a common name, a shortened form of it is Epaphrus, used in himself." with his life to serve Christ and man. think is a good description of the Christian life in: This is what the Christian's life is all about, building and battling. 2:27). Because a wonder-workering saints are not miracle-mills. So, in short, Epaphroditus grew sick on his 600-mile journey to Rome, to the point of death, which delayed him from fulfilling his mission of helping Paul. But neither does it say Paul attempted to heal him and failed. Vote Up If the Apostle Paul still retained the gift of healing by laying on of hands (or healing, in general), then there is absolutely no way under the sun that he (Paul) would have left any brother sick. his return to Philippi. a uniquely spiritual act. Parallel Commentaries . 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. All this was done in a church in Austin, Texas with an Evangelist from Virginia working through the Gifts of the Spirit, ie, Word of Knowledge, working of miracles, gifts of healing. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. 1. and thine often infirmities. We may note the generous heartiness of his praise in his associating Epaphroditus with himself as on full terms of equality, as worker and soldier, and the warm generosity of the recognition of all that he had done for the Apostle's comfort. other words, they were to receive him as the Lord would receive him. He was sent by them, he was their It means: "messenger or sent one." What he had not yet received in 1 Corinthians 13, he now has. Work done for Paul was done for Jesus, and that, not because of any special apostolic closeness of relation of Paul to Jesus, but because, like all other Christians, he was one with his Lord. Then the report found its way back to Rome, and Epaphroditus got home-sick and was restless, uneasy, 'sore troubled,' as the Apostle says, because they had heard he had been sick. This is because the word of God is living and active. Perhaps Paul said this precisely because the Philippians might be tempted to judge Epaphroditus for being ill, concluding that he was being chastised by God for some secret or even scandalous sin. The problem with the death of a believer is that the separation hurts. 12:9). Vote Up Some people talk about health and By clicking Post Your Answer, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy. Paul was saved in Acts 9 when the Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus. in Corinth again, and spent three months there enjoying the hospitality of a believer named Gaius (mentioned in 1 Cor. This word is also used in: This "business" is chreia, it refers to taking care of their physical needs. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Asked January 21 2014 That makes Galatians the earliest of Pauls letters. However, Paul was often an instrument of healing. The Philippians would want to know, "what are you doing back? We need to meet people's needs And as for the gift of healing, we read of a co-worker of Pauls, Epaphroditus, who fell seriously ill during this time (Phil. in the garden of Gethsemane (Matt 26:37; Mark 14:33). and suffering, and given a choice, Paul preferred death: But if Epaphroditus would have died, Paul would have lost a good friend and this would have 2:25-30) and Paul no longer had the gift of healing, and was no longer able to heal as he did only a few years earlier in Acts 28:9. It wasn't Paul's lack of compassion for his friend. The gift of tongues, prophecy and knowledge during the Acts period were only in partthey were incomplete, they did not communicate the full knowledge that the Lord had to reveal. everyone will be glad and not sad.". Why? Do you have questions about the Bible? Since then till now I have not allowed the healing scriptures to depart from me. The gift of healing by the laying on of hands, etc., was no longer needed, because that particular gift was a gift for a sign to the Jews! Together these five titles are an important summary of what the Christian life should be. In Gaiuss home, in Corinth, Paul wrote the letter to the Romans (see Rom. The news reached Philippi in some round-about way, and, as it appears, the news of his illness only, not of his recovery. When he recovers, Paul sends him back to Philippi He had an illness which was probably the consequence of his toil. Many in this movement even say shocking claims such as the erroneous idea that being poor is a sin, and that if you are sick, "it's your fault that you're sick." We'd like to help. The first fact about him is, that he was one of the Philippian Christians, and sent by them to Rome, with some pecuniary or material help, such as comforts for Paul's prison-house, food, clothing, or money. This is Heresy 101 at its best!). Keyword: "IF". In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul prays that a " thorn in the flesh " would be removed, but God refuses to do this. Why is there a need for healing leaves from the tree in Revelations? He has no hesitation in describing the work done for himself as 'the work of Christ,' nor in using, as the name for it, the word ('service'), which properly refers to the service rendered by priestly hands. Hello Restlee, welcome to BHSE, so glad to have you here! The kenosis of Christ is the attitude that he had that led him to divest himself of any concern for Are we fellow soldiers? 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. our other elder. It is argued that Paul had the "sign" of healing but not the gift of healing. The terms in which the work of Epaphroditus is spoken of by Paul are very significant. That was one less thing Paul had to be concerned about (2:26-27). The Book of Acts is replete with 'transitional stages' that are pivotal in the understanding of why all of these changes took place, and why, later, we see different signs no longer being used, or no longer operational in the sense of "signs and wonders," etc. somebody around an AIDS patient? The context is that Paul was suggesting for this brother to use wine to help him with his stomach sickness. great opposition." The word of God is God. Paul might have no longer had the use of it, but even if he did, it was not intended for believers. What is the purpose of this D-shaped ring at the base of the tongue on my hiking boots? Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. Everybody feels bad so Paul says, "You've got to go back so I was having shortness of breath and others things like palpitations, light headedness,insomnia and all that. Paul's own "thorn in the flesh" is a prime example: https://www.christianity.com/wiki/bible/what-is-a-thorn-in-the-flesh.html [8] Astheneo means to be sick and, as a result, in a state of weakness and incapacityto be sick, to be ill, to be disabled. Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 269. soldiers marched abreast behind a solid wall of shields. Testament, 20 of them refer to physical sickness. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. jesus also was moved with compassion many times.the main purpose is to trust him and have faith he will do what is best for us. ), 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. What contributes to mental and spiritual anguish? Paul goes on to say: "My companion in labor" -- the Greek word for companion is sunergos. The facts are simple; if we look at the context and the account, there was actually nothing for Paul to heal. Paul says, in essence: "I will continue to do those signs IF God permit." 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. gathered his congregation together and set them to burying the dead and nursing the sick in that You won't die prematurely, so go ahead and take some This is not the attitude of Christ: Christ's attitude was to give up his life to meet the needs of others: The Bible teaches that we are to give up our lives in order to save them. 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.. He had the heart of a servant-- he was most likely a deacon. I weighed the facts and found it a necessity to send The congregation in Philippi loved this man so much, they did not want him to die. is not an official title. That which is perfect was finally revealed in all its fullness to the Apostle Paul and at that moment, those things which were only in part passed away from Gods program. He is mentioned nowhere else in the He says nothing of his own loss or of how much more lonely he would be when the brother whom he had praised so warmly had left him alone. Those who couldn't be He tells us in verses 26-28. 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. [3] After dealing with his sickness, which caused him to delay his efforts to help Paul, he traveled on to Rome. If the Apostle Paul still had the power to heal why would he leave Trophimus sick, while Epaphroditus was also sick to the point of death in Philippians 2:27 and encouraged Timothy to use a little wine for his stomach and frequent ailments (1 Timothy 5:23)? The gifts were all in operation all through the Book of Acts period and are mentioned in the letters written during that time, but the Lord had revealed that the sign gifts were going to cease at some time in the future. View our current career opportunities. View all posts by Christian Publishing House, Epaphroditus, Paul and Epaphroditus, Philippians 2:25-30, SCROLL THROUGH DIFFERENT CATEGORIES BELOW, King James Version Versus Modern Translations, NT Versions (Latin, Syriac, Coptic, etc. Is it possible to rotate a window 90 degrees if it has the same length and width? We need to work hard in intellectual areas; we need to toil in study. For he longed after you all and was full of heaviness, because you had heard that he had been sick. Before the end of the Book of Acts, during the Acts period, and in the letters written during the Acts period, the Lord had only revealed part of the dispensation of grace (Eph. We are not to selfishly guard our lives, we are to give them away in ministry to others. titles. that the account of the sickness and recovery of Epaphroditus is such as to lead us to suppose that he was not restored by miracle; and he infers that the power of healing the sick was conferred on the apostles only occasionally, and did not depend at all on their will, since, if it had, there is every . who were ill with dangerous and infectious diseases. Too often our attitude is, "I can't help, I could catch it and Have you ever watched He was in the first place Paul's helper in the Gospel, and his faithfulness there is set forth in a glowing climax, 'My brother and fellow-worker and fellow-soldier.' Interested in joining the Ligonier team? two to his relationship with the Philippian church. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. If our hearts are set to 'hallow all we find,' the most secular duties will be acts of worship. distressed because you had heard that he was sick." teacher who was used of God to minister to many churches. 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. man we can identify with. Notice that it was the work "of Christ." 20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. This is why he and these others were not healed by him. In verses 26-28, we are given the reasons for Collen - I agree that it always according to God's will not ours. This is no fleshly or "secular" work in ministering to A caressing hand on a horse's neck is better than a whip. [1] Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe, When Critics Ask: A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties (Wheaton, Illinois: Victor Books, 1992). programs. (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. Therefore I sent him the more eagerly, that when you see him again you may rejoice, and I may be less sorrowful. That is what God calls us to. What should they do? And in verses 29-30, we are given the exaltation and kenosis of sacrificial life. Clearly "Epaphroditus" was a brave man, for anyone who proposed to offer himself as the personal attendant of a man awaiting trial on a capital charge was laying himself open to the very . Here Paul writes of the gift of tongues, the gift of prophecy and the gift of knowledge (see 1 Cor. It is a compound word from She was the goddess We don't The Lord does the same thing for us today, although the little blessings He provides often go unnoticed.