Well, our Old Testament reading this morning comes from Isaiah 53. I'm going to be reading from verse one through 21. That's Isaiah 53, one through 21, excuse me, one through 12. Who has believed what he has heard from us and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? for he grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He had no form or majesty that we should look at, no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and is one from whom men hide their faces. He was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, And we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace. And with his wounds, we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and we He was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth, like a lamb that is led to the slaughter and like a sheep that before his shearer is silent. So he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment, he was taken away. And as for his generation who considered that he was cut off of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people. And they made his grave with the wicked and with the rich man in his death, although he had done no violence and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him. He has put him to grief. When his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offering, he shall prolong his days. The will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul, he shall see and be satisfied. By his knowledge shall a righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. And therefore I will divide him a portion with the many. He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors. Yet he bore the sin of many and makes intercession for the transgressors. Our New Testament lesson and reading this morning, which includes our sermon text, comes from Philippians chapter two. We're going to be reading from verse 17 through to the end of the chapter, that's verse 30. The focus of our sermon this morning is from verse 25 through 30. Even if I'm being poured out like a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise, you also should be glad and rejoice with me. I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon so that I too may be cheered by news of you. If I have no one like him, it will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know Timothy's proven worth. How as a son with a father, he has served with me in the gospel. I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me. And I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also. I thought it necessary to send you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need. For he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. Indeed, he was ill, near to death, But God had mercy on him, and not only on him, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I am the more eager to send him, therefore that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. So receive him in the Lord with all joy and honor such men. For he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me. This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, as we've heard the scriptures read and now hear them preached, may we listen with hearts of faith, with a willing mind, eager to obey your voice, for it is the very word of God. fit to do us good. Amen. Stereotypically, any introverts amongst us are said to need some space and a book to recharge one's batteries, whereas the extroverts want to be around others to replenish their energy. And most of us are somewhat in between. But one thing that is common to all of us is the genuine need for friendship, for that sense of belonging, for a sense of true camaraderie, one with another. We want to be known. We want to know others that reflects the way in which God has created us and made us. He has made us for relationship, relationship with Him, relationship with one another. And throughout the sermon series that's entitled Together for the Gospel, it's been quite evident that there is a remarkable relationship between Paul and this church in Philippi. It's the kind of relationship that we each desire. It's not superficial. And so Paul's letter is not filled with or written with the formality of dear church. yours faithfully or sincerely, Paul. The relationship's one of fondness. It's one of substance, of depth. Their hearts are knit together in the gospel. And they've been through the challenges and various ministry struggles that are common to the church. And the Philippians are the only church that Paul writes and refers to as his joy and crown. In other words, there's something that Paul has with the Philippian church that he just doesn't share in the same way with other churches. He doesn't talk like this when he's speaking or writing to the church in Corinth or to the churches in Galatia. This is what our text this morning brings into focus. We see this unique fellowship that is between Paul and this church in Philippi. And it's evidenced in the ministry of Epaphroditus to Paul, who is a representative of the church of Philippi itself. And so we need to consider the fellowship that is between this church and Paul first. See, Paul qualifies the fellowship, the relationship with the church, by a Greek word that's known as koinonia. And I mention this word simply because every few years, every five or ten years or so, within the broader church, there's always a new or another Greek word that seems to make the rounds. And the word koinonia certainly has its time in the spotlight. And it's frequently translated quite simply as fellowship. But the word fellowship, when abstracted from the context that Paul uses it, just doesn't do justice to what Paul is describing within the letter. There are concrete realities and factors that determine the kind of relationship or fellowship that they enjoy one with another. In our modern dictionaries, whether it's Merriam-Webster or others, they define fellowship as companionship, as when we speak of the fellowship of friendly people. or the fellowship of a father with his son. Another sense that we find is that fellowship is used to refer to a community of interest, as when your fellowship is around movies or music or golf or baseball. And this term koinonia and its cognate is actually used six times in Paul's letter to the church. And each time he uses it, He means a lot more than simply friendship or a community around a common interest. The context that surrounds these six usages certainly give added meaning to their commonality or to their communion, that which is common to them. And twice we find the word koinonia is translated as partnership. Twice it's translated as share. Once the word is used as participation and as partakers. So in chapter one in verse five, Paul speaks to the Philippians of them, of their partnership in the gospel koinonia. In verse seven, he says that they are partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in defense and confirmation of the gospel. Opening verse of chapter two, he speaks about the participating in the spirit. Chapter three in verse 10 of sharing in Christ's sufferings. Chapter 414 of the Philippians, sharing in Paul's trouble, koinonia. Verse 15 of the final chapter is that the Philippians are entering into partnership with Paul in giving and receiving. This is not the language of light banter around the water cooler, though I'm sure as good friends, any good fellowship evidences, there is much laughter and chit chat that was had. Paul's use of the term fellowship in his letter brings into view a sharing or participating in the gospel, participating in God's grace and the Holy Spirit and Christ's sufferings and Paul's trouble and in giving and receiving. Their mutual affection went deep. It was costly. As we can see, the fellowship was also purposeful. It was fueled by grace, filled with joy. And so the suffering, the financial cost, the spiritual opposition that came their way didn't separate them, divide them or split them apart. So when Paul find himself once again in trouble with unbelievers and the authorities, the Philippian church rushes to his aid. The genuine support of him was not an unusual thing for them. They had partnered with Paul from the very first day of their existence of being institute or coming into Christ, right up until this day in which this letter is written. In fact, earlier in Paul's ministry, We find that the Philippians had sent help when he was in Thessalonica, and doing so actually on multiple occasions, and each time it was to take care of his needs. One thing we must remember is it's not that Paul was lazy or he was looking for a free handout. Simply the demands of his ministry were substantial. We read in the opening verses in Paul's letter to the Thessalonians, that Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy worked day and night that they might not be a burden to any of the saints in Thessalonica, while they proclaimed to them the gospel of God. And even with all three of them working day and night, they still had need. And instead of being a burden to the church in Thessalonica, The Philippian church and their partnership with Paul in the advancement of the gospel comes to his aid. And so, as we've already seen in this letter, once again, Paul is in chains. Scholars actually say that Paul, 25% of his ministry time is actually in prison. And it's right here that Epaphroditus enters into the picture. We know very little about Epaphroditus. He is mentioned in only two places in all of scripture. First is right here in our text. And the second is later on in Paul's letter to the Philippians in chapter four. Nowhere else in all of the Bible is Epaphroditus mentioned. He's a member of the Philippian Church. He's a first-generation Gentile convert since Epaphroditus, a very common name at the time, actually comes from the word Aphrodite, the name of the Greek goddess of love. And one thing we need to be careful of is that we don't confuse Epaphroditus with another brother called Epaphrus. Epaphrus was a member of the church in Colossae. and not in Philippi, and he is mentioned in Philemon and in Colossians. But Epaphroditus is a Philippian believer. He's referred to as the messenger and minister to Paul's needs. And there's, when we see this language in our text before us, their messenger and minister to his need, there's something called hendiodes that's going on, and it's simply, hendiodes is a fancy term to convey a relatively elementary concept. I mean, you often find that in academic circles, right? And it's just simply two words that are joined together by the word and to express a single idea. Simply put, is that Epaphroditus is sent by the Philippian church to minister to Paul's needs. That's the purpose. And the Greek word here that is used in which we get our English word messenger is the word apostolos, from which we get the word apostle. And simply to be an apostle is to be a sent one. The 12 apostles, including Matthias, Matthias was the one who took the place of Judas Iscariot. We see that in Acts chapter one, they were called to the office of being an apostle as we find in Ephesians chapter four. And Paul himself refers to himself as a, an apostle of Christ Jesus. He was sent by, he was a sent one, sent by Christ to minister the gospel to the Gentiles as Peter, that is Simon Peter, an apostle of Christ, was sent as an apostle to the Jews. One thing we've got to be careful of is that we don't confuse Epaphroditus with the apostolic office of the apostle. He was not an apostle of Christ, he was an apostle, lowercase a, of the church in Philippi. He was a messenger, a sent one of the church, in distinction from of Christ, formal office, uppercase A. And so what we find here is Epaphroditus is sent to minister on behalf of this church to the needs of Paul as he's in prison. And we ask ourselves the question, why was this in fact necessary? Well, while in prison, Paul depended upon his friends for food, for clothing, for money. The Roman prisons of those days is that daily rations were very poor and meager. They were only given for the survival of the prisoner as they awaited trial. And so Paul had very practical needs, and a number of years later, in fact, we see that Paul writes to Timothy, and one of the things he asks for, very practically, is for his cloak. He wants his friends to bring his cloak. He's likely being beaten, his clothes are torn, and it's about to be winter. In Philippians chapter four, we see that the Philippians had taken up a collection for him, an offering, a gift that Paul himself describes as a sacrifice, acceptable and pleasing to God. And this financial gift, which while given to Paul, most basically was an offering given up to God. And this transportation of this gift, this financial gift. which likely included clothes and a message from the church to Paul, was not all that Epaphroditus was tasked with. He was to stay by Paul's side, to stay by his side and to minister to his needs doing the very work of the Lord. And so the two previous sermons that we might remember in the sermon series considered Paul And Timothy, they were two faithful ministers of God who are set forth by Paul and by God in the text as examples, examples for us in the faith. These two men, Paul and Timothy, are elders. They are ministers in the church. Paul is an apostle of Christ. He's written almost 30% of all the New Testament. He is at one time was a persecutor of Christ in the church and is now granted such profound insights into the revelation of the mystery of the gospel that Simon Peter says some things in his letter are in fact hard to understand. This is who Paul is as an example for us to follow as we follow Christ. And then there's Timothy. Timothy is a true child in the faith of Paul. He's been trained, handpicked and trained by Paul to serve alongside him and is remarkably gifted and skilled in ministry. And of Timothy's character, Paul says that he has no one like Timothy at all, no one. And then we have Epaphroditus. Epaphroditus has none of these credentials. None of the credentials of Paul or Timothy, of the three men that are put forth as examples of the faith. He is least known. He is likely an unordained member of the church in Philippi, yet he's doing the work of God as is to be true of all of us. And of the three men, Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus, it is Epaphroditus that Paul says that needs to be honored by the church. He almost died for Christ, for the work of Christ. And so, some 2,000 years ago, motivated by a deep fellowship, a deep partnership in the gospel, an 800-mile westward trek begins. westward along the Ignatian Way over the sea, the Adriatic Sea by boat, and then still westward along the Appian Way all the way to Rome. All this to care for one man chained to a Roman soldier because of Christ. There's no Venmo back in the day. There's no Western Union in the first century to send money to the other end of the empire. They just couldn't do a wire transfer or put a check in the mail. They had to send one of their own, one of their finest. and quite likely a team of highly capable and trustworthy saints so that together they could steward the sizable and generous gift to Paul as he awaits trial, which would likely be a wait of many months, if not years. And so the trip alone, 800 miles would likely take Epaphroditus, a month or more, just one way. I remember my mom as a kid telling me about some gifts that I received at my birthday party, of how some gifts were so remarkably generous. And she went on to explain it wasn't just about the price tag that indicated the gift's value, but the thoughtfulness and the lengths to which people had gone to put my gift together. Whether it was planning the gift for weeks ahead or traveling a long way to find it or multiple persons being involved to make the gift come to be. And all of these efforts contributed to the gift itself. And so she would speak to me as the journey is part of the gift. And that's what the Philippians are doing here. This is no small thing that they're doing. just 800 miles, jump in a plane or better yet, just open up your Venmo app and send the money across and squiggle a little line and saying, bless you, praying for you, love you. There's far more that's going on here. Paul goes on to say that he is well supplied now that Epaphroditus has come. And as I've already said is that The intent of the Philippians is far more than just supplying a gift. They sending a paphroditus himself is not merely a delivery man or a brink security guard. Here's the Philippians designated representative and messenger sent to minister to Paul's needs. And Paul says that they've done a great kindness to him in sharing in his trouble. There's a mutual exchange that's going on of giving and receiving. And this takes place, friends, not only when things are going well, but when Paul's in great difficulty. In fact, Paul writes and he says that there have been times at which when in my trouble, no church aside from you shared with me in these difficulties. This is something of the nature of this deep fellowship that is between them. And now it's worth considering the fellowship that we find between Epaphroditus and Paul. Paul doesn't merely describe Epaphroditus' relation to the Philippians as their messenger and minister to his need, but he also describes his relation to Epaphroditus himself, who is now living with him or near him in Rome. Paul describes Epaphroditus as follows. He speaks about him as my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier. These three descriptions are very personal, beginning with that which is most general and then moving incrementally to that which is most specific. Begins by referring to Epaphroditus as my brother. He speaks with fondness. This isn't Christianese, some kind of dry religious jargon that's lost the true sense of the word. It speaks of intimacy, closeness. It's the language of family. And yes, every believer is called a brother or a sister in Christ, which is the positional language of our union with Christ. We are now a part of the family of God. And if you are in Christ, you have been made alive. You've been filled with the Holy Spirit and this spirit, the spirit of adoption by him, we now cry Abba father, the most intimate name of God. And so as sons and daughters of God, the father in heaven, we share in all the privileges of being his children, which is the highest privilege and joy for us as believers to be his children and thus brothers and sisters with one another. So this is certainly included in what Paul is referring to as he says, my brother, But it also goes further than that. There's a relational affinity of identifying with him from his heart. Timothy, my true son, Epaphroditus, my brother. It's such a beautiful thing to be treated like this, to call others my brother, my sister with affection. There's one sent by the Philippians to minister to his needs. Not only does Paul refer to him as my brother, but he also refers to him as my fellow worker, my fellow worker in the work of Christ. Part of ministering to Paul is in fact ministering alongside Paul. having the same goal, the same mission, the same work. Paul is an apostle of Christ, a herald of the good news, and his chains have not brought his mission to an end. But he continues as a faithful servant of Christ and as faithful minister of the gospel, and it's in this that Epaphroditus comes alongside him as a fellow worker and aids him and ministers to him and his needs. And if that weren't enough, we see that Paul identifies Epaphroditus as a fellow soldier. They are fellow workers with God, they are co-laborers with one another. You can imagine one of the most profound Christians and believers in all of church history says that this man who has left everything behind in Philippi, possibly a wife, possibly a job, possibly children, has come to my aid on your behalf, Church. He is my brother. He is my fellow worker in the case and in the work of Christ, and he is also my fellow soldier. And this language of fellow soldier is, in fact, a military term. It's now used analogously of work and service in the gospel. In the New Testament, what we find is that there are many brothers that are mentioned. There are quite a number of fellow workers that are mentioned, but there are only two instances in which fellow soldier is mentioned. One is of Archippus in Paul's letter to Philemon, and the other is right here in our text. as he speaks of Epaphroditus, my fellow soldier. Not only has Epaphroditus labored alongside Paul, but he's also been involved in the same conflict. He's experienced the same opposition as a minister of Christ that Paul has. In fact, he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in the Philippians service to him. That's the very words of Paul. His ministry is a ministry, an extension of their, the church's ministry to Paul, doing what the Philippians could not do 800 miles away. And just as what we find in chapter 1 of Philippians, who had been given graciously, the church was graciously given the privilege, not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for him, Epaphroditus now shares with Paul in sharing in the sufferings of Christ, and even to the point of near death. Their wrestle is not against flesh and blood, Even though they were physically harmed, their battles are spiritual. They fought with prayer, they fought with the word of God, with godly character, with humility, and they turned the other cheek at every instance while simultaneously pointing to Christ. This is a kindness of God that he didn't die. We don't see the consequence of sin displayed in Epaphroditus' life, but rather we see the mercy of God. Mercy of God to Paul, the mercy of God to this church, and the mercy of God to Epaphroditus, such that his life is maintained when he was near death. And these three descriptions, my brother, my fellow worker, and my fellow soldier, we see a very ordinary and yet remarkable character and devotion and service to Paul and to Christ by this man who gains the affection and the respect of Paul, the Apostle of Christ Jesus. The Philippians had somehow actually heard 800 miles away of Epaphroditus' estate and they become greatly concerned for him. They become greatly concerned that he was near death, he was ill. And in turn, he becomes distressed at their distress and longs to be with them again so that once again, they could be at peace. And Paul, seeing all of this, is eager to send Epaphroditus back to them to minister to their needs, even though they had sent him to minister to his needs. And so what we find here is a remarkable circle of affection for one another. It's actually almost comical. The Philippians are concerned for Epaphroditus after they were first concerned for the welfare of Paul. Epaphroditus then becomes concerned for the concerned Philippians. And Paul is thus concerned for both the Philippians and Epaphroditus. In other words, no one is concerned about themselves. Or to use the language that we find earlier in chapter two, no one is concerned for their own interests, but the interests of others. This has been one of the exhortations all along of God in Paul to these Philippians. Three examples of selfless devotion to Christ. and to one another. Paul, a drink offering poured out upon the sacrificial service and offering of the Philippian faith. Timothy sought not his own interests, but only the interests of Christ, being genuinely concerned for the welfare of this church rather than his own welfare. And then, as we see this morning, there's Epaphroditus, A remarkable and yet quite ordinary lay minister of the gospel. Concerned not for his own interests, but Paul's. And then the church in Philippi, such that Paul says of Epaphroditus, he is to be received with great honor for he almost died for the good of others. Friends, as we conclude, many today are tempted to prioritize programs over people, possessions and ambitions over the interests of others, and our personal agendas over the reality of laying down our life for the work of Christ. But in this, the price tag is high, the joy is little, One is frequently distracted from the things of God, and we even become lukewarm when the riches of heaven are right there in front of us. Parents, you have covenant children still at home. May I say they are not just listening to you, but watching how you heed the word of God in your own home. May I encourage you, in fact, each and every one of us to heed the example of Epaphroditus, who would have joined with his fellow Philippians in generously giving to the needs of Paul, which is also an offering unto Christ. He's a most wonderful example for us all, not merely to look at as a kind of shiny trophy on the shelf, but to follow in the footsteps of Epaphroditus and of Timothy and of Paul as they follow Christ. He is so ordinary, and yet he is eager to do the work of Christ, to minister to the interests of others wherever he finds himself. And so, in turn, he is called my brother, my fellow worker, my fellow soldier. a man to be received with honor, even when a prophet is said to receive no honor in his own house. Friends, when we hear the word of God like this, our hearts beat for this kind of fellowship, this true koinonia, made possible not because one man almost died for you, but because Christ did die for you and for your welfare, for your interests, so that now you can be free to live for the interests of others more than yourself, because he is concerned for your wellbeing. And friends, in all this, Let us remember to work out our faith, to work out our salvation with fear and trembling as God works in us so that you and I will be enabled more and more to live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. This is the message of Paul to this church. This is the message of God to Bethel Presbyterian Church. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, may we heed the examples of Paul, of Timothy, of Epaphroditus, as we seek to follow Christ in working out our salvation. May we not be hearers only, but doers also of your word. Let us as ministers be ministers of encouragement, seeking to honor those among us where honor is due. Let us know your grace and your Be empowered to this very end as we work out our salvation and do the work of Christ as brothers and sisters and hopefully fellow workers and fellow soldiers in the work of Christ to the glory of Christ. Amen.