As Paul the apostle
continued to close his letter to the Colossians, he mentioned
“Epaphras” being one of the Colossians, a servant of Christ, and
fervently interceding for them in prayer. In chapter four and verse
thirteen, Paul had more to say about “Epaphras” where we read:
For I bear him record,
that he has a great zeal for you,
The verse begins, “For I
bear him record, that he has a great zeal for you,” The
phrase, “For I bear him record”
is “martyreō autos martyreō” in
Greek and means “to be a witness, to bear witness, i.e. to affirm
that one has seen or heard or experienced something, or that he knows
it because taught by divine revelation or inspiration”. Once again
Paul employed a phrase that seems to repeat itself as he gives
testimony of Epaphras “that he has a great zeal”
or “excitement of mind, ardour, fervour of spirit” “for
you”. No doubt
Epaphras loved the church members of Colosse dearly.
The verse goes on to say, “and them that are in
Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis.” Not only did Epaphras care
for the church located in Colosse, Paul also noted his care for the
churches located in “Laodicea” which means “justice of
the people” and “Hierapolis” or “holy city”. This
testimony of Paul concerning Epaphras demonstrated the way Epaphras'
love for the church went beyond those of whom he was directly a part.
As we
meditate upon these words of Paul, we cannot help but admire what the
Lord did within Epaphras. He was so fervent in his prayer life for
the Colossian church that Paul made note of it, and the dedication of
Epaphras to those who were outside his church in “Laodicea”
and “Hieropolis” was noted as well. We would do well
to take the time to consider the manner of love and commitment that
Epaphras had for others, and pray for the Lord to give us the
fervency that he demonstrated for those within the churches.
Next
time Paul writes about “Luke”
and “Demas”,
so read ahead, and
we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
http://www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
No comments:
Post a Comment