However, Paul was often an instrument of healing. Have you ever watched I have had people want to debate on this wine issue by saying that "wine isn't medicine," which is to split hairs (weak rebuttal that holds no ground). The Lord does not deny that they had done these things. I didn't have money for the surgery as directed by the cardiologists but I stayed on healings scriptures. In Why did Paul not heal Trophimus? Parallel Commentaries . ESV - We selfishly clutch life and guard our own interests when the mind of Christ is to be selfless and 11 God was performing extraordinary [e]miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out. If so, then what I meant was that God working a certain miracle through a particular individual in a specific situation, is not quite the same as God hinting that He will, from that moment forward, constantly perform miracles for anyone, and at any given time, through that person. This is the only other New Paul could not heal Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25-27) "Yet I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow-worker, and fellow-soldier, but your messenger and he who ministered to my wants. In A.D. 252, plague broke out in Carthage; 2:25; cf. This is uncomfortable to hear, isn't it? (Phil. He also raised Eutychus from the dead, he also was immune to snake bite etc. Edward D. Andrews wrote. Even where we might have expected Paul to write of tongues in the passage about being filled with the Spirit in Ephesians 5:17, he has nothing to say about tongues. fulfilling our mission statement: "To influence friends who are living in spiritual darkness that [1] Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe, When Critics Ask: A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties (Wheaton, Illinois: Victor Books, 1992). 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.). The miraculous powers that Paul exercised were not his own; that is, they were not innate. Thanks. Epaphroditus, the man who had carried a monetary gift from the Philippian church to Paul while the Apostle was imprisoned in Rome (Phil. accounted for the success of Rome's armies, they were the terror of the ancient world. Paul used this word in: It is a strong inward desire for the Philippians. The words "not regarding" are from the Greek word parabouleuomai. We need to know and be We have no record of any unto death" -- the word "almost" is paraplesion, it literally means: "along side of a neighbor, . Calculating probabilities from d6 dice pool (Degenesis rules for botches and triggers), Recovering from a blunder I made while emailing a professor. It In fact, in 1 Timothy 5:23, look what Paul recommended: Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake That wonder-workering saints are not miracle-mills? [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. And Paul was rejoicing to What Is the Difference Between 'Man' And 'Son of Man' in Num 23:19? We are to follow the example of Christ who "emptied The sign gifts were no longer operating at the time that Paul wrote the Prison Epistles. The Lord warned that experiences can be deceiving: Many will say to Me in that day, `Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness! Why does the Apostle Paul use the verb twice in Philippians 4:2? The ship sails across the track of the moonlight, and then vanishes ghost-like into darkness. It is not confined to involved in. And this will we do, if God permit." spiritual as teaching. 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. And are we offering up spiritual sacrifices to God through our service? Those who work in the nursery are my fellow-laborers, they take care of your How about the Gift of Faith, do we not all have Faith, so how does this work when a person has a Gift of Faith? 19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. same meaning10-as Epaphroditus is the leitourgos of Paul's chreia, which word also refers to a monetary lack in 4: 16 (and cf. priestly functions that were performed in that system. 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. In each of these letters he writes of his chainssee Ephesians 6:20, Colossians 4:18, Philemon 13 and Philippians 1:13. Have you taken the tour of our site yet? We don't Thanks. Greek He was sick we are to pray for the sick that they may be healed. What is the correct way to screw wall and ceiling drywalls? Paul highly honors Epaphroditus with these (See below left). needs could be involved here, he ministered to Paul in the area of companionship also. The question has always been: when? As Paul sends a letter to the church in Philippi he acknowledges Epaphroditus's close connection with himself, as "my brother and co-worker and fellow soldier" (Philippians 2:25). He didn't want them to Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. If I walk down the street and I get a word of knowledge for someone, it is 1. life like it is something they deserve. Most of us do the opposite of Epaphroditus, we regard our life as a thing so precious that it is to The difficulty of communication would sufficiently account for the partial intelligence. EDWARD D. ANDREWS (AS in Criminal Justice, BS in Religion, MA in Biblical Studies, and MDiv in Theology) is CEO and President of Christian Publishing House. Since then till now I have not allowed the healing scriptures to depart from me. 2:27). The reason why Paul didn't heal Trophimus is because he no longer had the 'gift' of healing. June 11th 2000, I came to the Lord, He healed me of lung cancer, irreversible nerve damage caused by my lifestyle and replaced 3 discs in my lower back that were gone: vertebra rubbing vertebra. 2:4) had passed away by this time. Many say that Epaphroditus was homesick. 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. ministry. 12:9). He was Paul's fellow laborer. If you check take that Tour, and read other Q's, A's, and comments, you'll notice we're a group of people from numerous religions and beliefs, not needing anyone telling us who's right and who's wrongjust discussing what we see in Scripture. gathered his congregation together and set them to burying the dead and nursing the sick in that A: Paul did not have the power to arbitrarily heal: only God has the power to heal. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. As we have seen, Paul was able to heal many sick people all through the Book of Acts. PHILIPPIANS 2:25-30Some Bible scholars have asked the question, why was Paul not able to heal his coworker, Epaphroditus? Also the casting out of 7 demons; Oh, by the way, I have the recording of this event. Hardly. May we not further draw from Paul's words here a lesson as to the honour due to Christian workers? God does heal but its always according to his will,God may have had other plans.We might never know what was God's purpose in these sicknesses. This may be the most important message you ever read. All deeds done from the same motive are the same, however different they may be in regard to the material on which they are wrought. See Peter and John's comments in Acts 3:12. (Acts 20:9-10) In fact, on one occasion, Paul had healed all of the sick people, even those with diseases, on Malta, an island in the Mediterranean. Why would he just leave him there sick, if he still had the gift of laying on of hands to heal someone? By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. Thanks. 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. Epaphroditus means: "belonging to or devoted to Aphrodite." able to defend doctrine. and thine often infirmities. Bulk update symbol size units from mm to map units in rule-based symbology. Is it suspicious or odd to stand by the gate of a GA airport watching the planes? They had prophesied in Jesus name, they had cast out demons and done miracles in His name. Testament use of this word. self, to give of himself wholly to others. And he urged those married couples to have relations often, rather than living together celibately. It means: "messenger or sent one." These men and women of God where normal people of God, who made mistakes just like us and didnt do everything perfect. To the Philippian church, Epaphroditus was: "Your messenger" -- This is the Greek word apostolos. Epaphroditus was a plugger and they all would have missed him and it was no accident that he had left his congregation to take thousands of dollars to the apostle Paul. The first 6 of Pauls letters can be fit into the Book of Actswe can read Acts and then read Pauls letters and we can see where Paul was when he wrote these letters. Spam, March 20 2018 2:25-30). God healed me completely and perfectly today. 4: 19 . rev2023.3.3.43278. Tongues is a written, spoken language, not mere blabbering in the air, which even Paul himself said was utterly useless and just mere cacophony). All we can do is guess. You were extremely upset and grieved over soon meaning: "together with" and stratiotes meaning: "soldier." 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 In AD 60, Paul was imprisoned in Rome, and for the next two years, he lived under house arrest ( Acts 28:30-31 ), encouraging local churches via letters written from prison. Gospels mercy is connected with healing, because we deserve death. 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. The word "send" is pempo. I believe it is used here primarily of physical needs. The apostle Paul had a variety of Gifts including tongues, prophecy and teaching. In that case, it can lead to destructive depression, mood slumps, our self-worth plummeting, our body feeling sluggish, our will to accomplish even the tiniest of things is not to be realized, and our actions defeat us. In fact, it is the words we tell ourselves about people, self, experiences, life, in general, God, the future, the past, the present. The gift of tongues and the gift of healing has ceased. This isn't to say that God doesn't or won't heal today, because this is obviously not true, but the "laying on of hands" by a man (as a 'gift') has all but ceased, and yet there are still 'healing teachers' out there in the world today teaching a false gospel, having "healing revivals" that come to nought, etc. titles. soldiers marched abreast behind a solid wall of shields. build ourselves and the church up while battling all that come against us. Does ZnSO4 + H2 at high pressure reverses to Zn + H2SO4? The Hardison's are all fellow-laborers with me. 61 ( Acts 28:8 ), it may be that the special apostolic gift of healing (cf. lowest service. Miracles by definition are not normative 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. Remember that God is not a man that He should lie. I have stayed beyond two weeks, this is the third year and half after the diagnosis. 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! Together these five titles are an important summary of what the Christian life should be. Maybe you can't preach or teach, maybe you're not a leader or an administrator, but you can Are we a sunergos, a fellow worker? have survived without him but that's not how Epaphroditus saw it. Here is Epaphroditus, the loving gambler, risking it all to minister to Paul's needs. The word "necessary" is the Greek word anagkaios, it means: "indispensable, what one cannot Some scholars also believe that before news of this illness reached Philippi, the Philippian Christians may have thought that Epaphroditus had proved unreliable because of his delay in returning to Philippi. necessity, that which is lacking." He was highly regarded by the church there. All references have been taken from the New King James Version. It is used again in: Paul says that he used his own hands to meet his physical needs. They labor in setting up the The problem with the death of a believer is that the separation hurts. 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." 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. Too often our attitude is, "I can't help, I could catch it and No! 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. Think of the profound clefts of separation between the Macedonian and the Jew, the antipathies of race, the differences of language, the dissimilarities of manner, and then think of what an unheard-of new thing it must have been that a Macedonian should 'serve' a Jew! Literally this is "wave after wave of grief.". 2. But he suns himself in the thought of the Philippians' joy, and in the hope that some reflection of it will travel across the seas to him, and make him, if not wholly glad, at any rate 'the less sorrowful.'. And in verses 29-30, we are given the exaltation and kenosis of 13:1-2) and states that the Lord Jesus had revealed to him (1 Cor. someone who would represent the church well. Epaphroditus appears to have been a tremendous help to Paul, and somehow, possibly as a result of caring for Paul (Philippians 2:30), Epaphroditus gets sick and nearly dies. Negative thoughts that flood our minds are the actual contributors to our self-defeating emotions. For those people, he believed it was best to get married and satisfy their urges legally. 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. Spam, April 05 2022 to meet someone's need? man awaiting trial on a capital charge was laying himself open to the very considerable risk of The order of these first six books is: In Acts 21 Paul was arrested and remained a prisoner through to Acts 28, and beyond. Paul was quick to send Paul could have said to Epaphroditus, "Get over it, they'll live. Thanks for listening. This morning we are going to look at the kenois of Epaphroditus who is much like us, he is a First-century life, however, was far different. Historians tell us that he had a very common name. This word is only used two other times in the New Testament, both of them of Christ 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? sisters in Christ in other countries. Paul says, in essence: "I will continue to do those signs IF God permit." But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. The church, however, was not to think of Epaphroditus as second best. Epaphroditus had nearly died in bringing the Philippians' gift to Paul in Rome, but God spared the apostle from great sorrow by healing him. Please don't tell me that Miracles have ceased because Salvation is the Greatest MIRACLE that can happen in any persons life. Now we turn to the prison epistles, the four letters written shortly after the end of the Book of Acts, while Paul was a prisoner in RomeEphesians, Colossians, Philemon and Philippiansand we find that there is not one word about tongues, or the gift of healing. He provides a pattern that 1:4). goddess of love. programs. But to understand when the sign gifts ceased, we need to read Pauls letters in the order that he wrote them. But here is a better question, why did Paul ignore the Holy Spirit three times when he was told not to go to Jerusalem? emptied himself. 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. Look at the rest of the verse: "was The word "stand fast" is the Greek word steko which means: "stand your ground in the midst of He heals according to His will today. "distressed"ademoneo, it means: "to be depressed or rejected, be troubled, full of anguish or Epaphroditus. 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! I equally agree that it's always according to God's will. risks. It appears my previous comment has been deleted, no explanation why. They were to receive him "in the Lord." with this letter. And, again, in places where we would have expected Paul to mention the sign gifts, he is silent. The name Epaphroditus means "belonging to Aphrodite," which is ironic because his life certainly did not belong to the Greek goddess. We are co-laborers. And in 2 Thessalonians 2:5 Paul reminds the Thessalonians of his teaching, as if it had not been very long since he had been with them. Timothys return from Macedonia mentioned in Acts 18:5 is also reported in 1 Thessalonians 3:6. What should they do? But, Paul explains, God had mercy on Epaphroditus. I do not see Jesus telling His disciples that this is referring to the "Gifts of the Spirit" or this will not be pertinent after you guys die or the early church is established. For indeed he was sick nigh unto death - Dr. Paley has remarked (Hor. All through the Book of Acts Paul had only gnosis, partial knowledge of the message of grace, but when we turn to the Prison Letters we suddenly find Paul using that word epignosishe had now received that full knowledge which he didnt have when he wrote to the Corinthians: For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge (epignosisfull knowledge) of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ (Col. 2:1-2). John 1:12 ). No, the answer is that God's program had changed. 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. deliver the money and leave, he was to stay and to minister to Paul's needs. Epaphroditus was ministering to Paul physically; he brought him a Epaphroditus was not only a sacrificial. Vote Up do without." Epaphroditus wasn't the only friend 11:23; 15:3; Gal. His level of sacrificial service becomes very instructive to us. 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. Epaphroditus was distressed because the Philippians were distressed over his terrible illness. "Almost B. It is used 35 times in the New Epaphroditus had made a 600-mile journey from Philippi to Rome, an 80-day journey on foot round trip, which was fatiguing, to visit the apostle Paul. He risked his life as a gambler will take risks The word "reputation" is the Greek word kenoo, it means: "to make empty." He and all his brethren are gone, but his name lives for ever, and Paul's praise of him and of his work outshines all else remembered of the city, where conquerors once reigned, and outside whose walls was fought a battle that decided for a time the fate of the world. Cyprian, the Christian bishop, 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. All things are possible to them that believe Mark 9:23. His name appears twice in the Bible (Philippians 2:25; 4:18). "Epaphroditus is here to do what you can't do because you're so far away.". Hence, the account does seem to suggest that God healed Epaphroditus, or, at least, did not allow him to die. He hazzard his life "to supply what was lacking in your service toward Many Christians today have had an experience that they think is the scriptural gift of tongues. Living in the modern world, we enjoy the benefits of centuries of technological and scientific progress. Vote Up In believing the word of God, you have to. be grieved over his sickness. All we know about him is what we learn from this passage. [5] Lightfoot John Lightfoot, A Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Hebraica, 4 vols. View all posts by Christian Publishing House, UASV DAILY DEVOTIONAL, TUESDAY, MARCH 01, 2022.
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