Is Glycogen A Reducing Sugar, Articles W

The ministry is people! 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. A place where magic is studied and practiced? We both received mercy. ministry. they also may know the joy of loving the Lord Jesus Christ." Testament use of this word. Epaphroditus was sent by the church at Philippi with gifts of support to bring to Paul who was living under house arrest in Rome. Paul was saved in Acts 9 when the Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus. In Acts 13,14 Paul and Barnabas went on their first apostolic journey which took them into Galatiacities like Antioch, Lystra, Derbe, etc. This is because the word of God is living and active. In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul prays that a " thorn in the flesh " would be removed, but God refuses to do this. Is it suspicious or odd to stand by the gate of a GA airport watching the planes? And, again, in places where we would have expected Paul to mention the sign gifts, he is silent. It was his brethren who were exhorted to receive their own messenger back again 'in the Lord with all joy, and to hold him in honour.' In this case, Paul did pray for healing, but his request was denied. In other words, he is suggesting to use "medicine." rev2023.3.3.43278. What is the purpose of this D-shaped ring at the base of the tongue on my hiking boots? Thanks. ), 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. His name appears twice in the Bible (Philippians 2:25; 4:18). View our current career opportunities. Let me give you a little background: Paul is in prison at Rome, under house arrest, good friend. It wasn't Paul's lack of compassion for his friend. do without." The answer: The sign gifts ceased at the end of the Book of Acts. Epaphroditus lived out Philippians 2:1-16, he is the "Loving Gambler.". His level of sacrificial service becomes very instructive to us. My question: If a man believes in his heart and confesses with his mouth Jesus Christ and Him risen, he is Born Again, saved. In fact, we are so accustomed to recovering from sickness that we are often surprised when we or others take a long time to get over what we regard as routine illnesses. We need to labor to reach the lost: Paul was willing to suffer to reach the elect with the gospel. Maybe you can't preach or teach, maybe you're not a leader or an administrator, but you can But we have also seen that with the close of the Book of Acts, the gift of healing ceased to operate. What year did Ezra leave Babylon and arrive in Jerusalem? who were ill with dangerous and infectious diseases. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Paul teaches us: 17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things have passed away; behold, all things are become new. This illness, as we will see in tomorrows study, occurred as Epaphroditus journeyed from Philippi to Rome with the gift for Paul, and it was so severe that word of it had spread back to the Philippian Christians (v. 26). He modeled the kenosis, he That implies that all which the Philippians' ministration lacked was their personal presence, and that Epaphroditus, in supplying that, made his work in a real sense theirs. We can now give a scriptural answer to the question that we started with: when did the sign gifts cease? means: "to intensely crave, desire greatly." The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? [4] Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 314. Answer (1 of 9): EPAPHRODITUS [handsome, charming]. They had prophesied in Jesus name, they had cast out demons and done miracles in His name. sacrificial. The reason that I'm stressing this is because I want How many times was the apostle Paul in a prison in Rome? The words "not regarding" are from the Greek word parabouleuomai. emptied himself. Here is Epaphroditus, the loving gambler, risking it all to minister to Paul's needs. While at Rome Paul could no longer heal anyonenot Epaphroditus in Philippians 2, not Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:23, not Trophimus in 2 Timothy 4:20. View all posts by Christian Publishing House, UASV DAILY DEVOTIONAL, TUESDAY, MARCH 01, 2022. God owes us nothing! Epaphroditus had nearly died in bringing the Philippians' gift to Paul in Rome, but God spared the apostle from great sorrow by healing him. Epaphroditus is one of the less known of Paul's friends. He says that Epaphroditus risked his life to 'supply that which was lacking in your service toward me.' 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's probably one of the greatest Christians that ever lived. It comes from two But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. He was a man of courage-- anyone who would offer himself as the personal attendant of a accounted for the success of Rome's armies, they were the terror of the ancient world. Paul says, in essence: "I will continue to do those signs IF God permit." 29 Therefore receive him in the Lord with all joy, and hold men like him in high regard; 30 because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me. statements that address the actual question with Biblical text to analyze) Thanks. Timothys return from Macedonia mentioned in Acts 18:5 is also reported in 1 Thessalonians 3:6. In the days of the Early Church there was an association of men and women called the He as a spiritually mature man. 4: 19 . Paul goes on to say: "My companion in labor" -- the Greek word for companion is sunergos. But the So, please don't tell me that Divine Healing ceased. Epaphroditus was also a common noun. A worker must be a warrior, in the work of the gospel you encounter many foes. Since no exercise of the gift of healing is recorded past about ?._. The congregation in Philippi loved this man so much, they did not want him to die. "distressed"ademoneo, it means: "to be depressed or rejected, be troubled, full of anguish or Epaphroditus was serving as a representative of the Philippian congregation and the apostle Paul. were no longer in operation by the time Paul wrote the pastoral epistles. That is an incredible thought; we are workers together with In fact, it is the words we tell ourselves about people, self, experiences, life, in general, God, the future, the past, the present. A man who never opens his lips but to censure or criticise, who fastens on faults as wasps do on blemished fruit, will never be surrounded by loyal love. honor him. When is the last time that this happened to you? When we arrange the letters in the order that they were written, all becomes clear! goddess of luck. Epaphroditus felt extreme guilt as though he had failed in his mission from the Philippian congregation, having to let them down, so he grew depressed. Paul might have no longer had the use of it, but even if he did, it was not intended for believers. Stop speaking in the tongue because it is not from the Holy Spirit. And as for the gift of healing, we read of a co-worker of Pauls, Epaphroditus, who fell seriously ill during this time (Phil. 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 . Epaphroditus wasn't the only friend 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. The name later came to mean: Epaphroditus emptied himself and Paul tells the Philippians to And are we offering up spiritual sacrifices to God through our service? teaching. In our ministry, we (my wife and I) operate in the Gifts of the Spirit almost every Sunday and Wednesday. Finally at the end of his life he is again in prison. It does not contain doubt, but refers to a decision arrived 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. 25 But I [Paul] thought it necessary to send to you [Philippians] Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need; 26 since he has been longing for all[2] of you and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. 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. This word is only used two other times in the New Testament, both of them of Christ Ministering to others' physical needs is a spiritual priestly The word "receive" means: "to receive to one's self. 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. But Paul uses leitourgos here. We need to labor in the area of evangelism. 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? Healing was a sign gift that I believe faded away as the great commission was accomplished. Why didn't Paul just heal Epaphroditus? The fact that Paul performed many miracles means that he exercised divine power at the behest of the divine will. 11:14). As we have seen, Paul was able to heal many sick people all through the Book of Acts. 20 Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. WHAT DOES THE BIBLE REALLY TEACH ABOUT ________? derived from Aphrodite, the Greek goddess, better known by her Roman name , Venus. 1 Corinthians 7:5. Perhaps over-exertion in travel, or perhaps his Macedonian constitution could not bear the enervating air of Rome, or perhaps Paul's prison was unhealthy. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.. We, as believers, are to be constantly practicing the kenosis of ourselves. There no longer needed to be "signs and wonders" later on when Paul revealed to them that he had received the "revelation" from Jesus Christ on what they all were to go on preaching from them on, which is "the gospel" according to 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (which Peter and the others agreed to in Acts 15 at the Council of Jerusalem). Actually, suppose we regularly cultivate and entertain slights against us or the deeper personal affronts. The difficulty of communication would sufficiently account for the partial intelligence. A caressing hand on a horse's neck is better than a whip. great opposition." You can help further this work by your prayer and by contributing online or by mailing to: Berean Bible Church Longer letters are first, shorter ones later. everyone will be glad and not sad.". you to understand that he was there to serve Paul by meeting his physical needs. Why is there a need for healing leaves from the tree in Revelations? If our hearts are set to 'hallow all we find,' the most secular duties will be acts of worship. It is a compound word from But when Epaphroditus fell sicknear to deathPaul was no longer able to heal him because the gift of healing had ceased to operate. Back to Romans 10: 9 that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. To summarise, Paul was a servant of God; Paul's spiritual gifts did not make God a servant of Paul. James put In the remainder of this sermon we shall simply deal with the two figures which the text sets before us, and we may look first at the glimpses of Paul's character which we get here. 0 Responses What should they do? Look at: Here he uses chreia to speak of physical needs. Spam, November 06 2014 In that he had heard about the seeds of division that had been planted in the church at Philippi. It Because the tomb was empty! A trustworthy member of the congregation at Philippi, Macedonia, who was sent with a gift to Paul, then a prisoner at Rome (c. 60-61 C.E.). feel bad because he is sick. to worry about me. It has an interesting act to follow either. But, what happened? we don't know. But to understand when the sign gifts ceased, we need to read Pauls letters in the order that he wrote them. Living in the modern world, we enjoy the benefits of centuries of technological and scientific progress. Today God no longer gives the gift of healing, and there are no healers. But we should not think that God Himself no longer heals! We don't we living as sent ones? Self-talk is what we tell ourselves in our thoughts. Thanks. All things are possible to them that believe Mark 9:23. These Bible scholars[1] present the argument that Paul had healed the sick, even raising the dead. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. for a possible gain. When Paul wrote now I know in part, he used the common word for know, the Greek word gnosis. We do read of prophecies that had been made about Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:18 and 4:14 and 2 Timothy 1:6, but these were given years before. But the multiplicity of Paul's experience with his companions regarding healing is giving me a sort of concern. 14:18)! cruel, sick, and unloving? 2:27). Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. Why do small African island nations perform better than African continental nations, considering democracy and human development? In Gaiuss home, in Corinth, Paul wrote the letter to the Romans (see Rom. For some, Pauls instructions to the prophets at Corinth will be pertinent: If anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. He was in the second place the minister to Paul's needs. 2:25; cf. Also the casting out of 7 demons; Oh, by the way, I have the recording of this event. 2 Cor. 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). The gift of tongues and the gift of healing has ceased. Why would the apostle Paul "delay" being baptized (Acts 22:16)? This is a self-less man. him to the Philippians so they would rejoice to see that he was okay. Many say that Epaphroditus was homesick. 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. on Phil no. it this way: Epaphroditus is a model for all of us to follow. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (verse 30). >From this verb we get the The gift of healing had ceased to operate, along with the other sign gifts. Epaphroditus was not distressed, i.e., depressed because he got sick,[8] because he let down his brothers and sisters in the Philippian congregation, or because he felt as though he had failed Paul. his return to Philippi. were operating all through the Book of Acts, and these gifts are mentioned in the letters that Paul wrote during the Acts period. [5] Lightfoot John Lightfoot, A Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Hebraica, 4 vols. In English, as in Greek, this is a neuter pronounthat thing which is perfect. Paul was not writing about the coming of He who is perfect but of the coming of a thing which is perfect. sacrificial life. 0 Responses church each week. Pages 482-483. This is the depth of love and care. 7:22-23). Paul merely needed to help Epaphroditus to locate the negative thoughts he was having about his being sick, his feeling as though he let the Philippians down, or his feeling as though he had failed Paul. And in verses 29-30, we are given the exaltation and kenosis of Epaphroditus wanted to go back to Philippi so they would see that he was alright and end their For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. in the garden of Gethsemane (Matt 26:37; Mark 14:33). Parallel Commentaries . The reason why Paul could not heal toward the end of his life was that the gift of healing was a temporary gift to the apostles and was designed to authenticate that they spoke from God. We are to follow the example of Christ who "emptied The word of God is God. Paul was quick to send You were extremely upset and grieved over In each of these letters he writes of his chainssee Ephesians 6:20, Colossians 4:18, Philemon 13 and Philippians 1:13. Anonymous, January 21 2014 Why would he just leave him there sick, if he still had the gift of laying on of hands to heal someone? Clarify Epaphroditus was not distressed, i.e., depressed because he got sick, [8] because he let down his brothers and sisters in the Philippian congregation, or because he felt as though he had failed Paul. and stand against the social evils of our day. He is a co-worker, it's speaking of common effort, diligence. Once saved, his spirit is completely made Brand New, is this not a miracle? to meet someone's need? What to do? 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. Whether we are well or sick, whether we are like Epaphroditus or like Timothy, we can always claim this promise from the Lord that His grace and strength are sufficient for us. that Paul didn't heal. Take medicine, for example. He later returned to his home base at Antioch (Acts 18:22), and later in his third apostolic journey he arrived in Ephesus (his ministry in Ephesus extends all the way through Acts 19a period of more than two years, see verse 10).