Philippians 2:24–30

Even here he does not expressly announce that he will come but makes this depend on the providence of God. And clearly he has not yet wholly escaped his former peril.

"But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come to you shortly."

I am not therefore sending him, as though I myself would not come, but that I may be of good courage when I know your state, that even in the mean time I may not be ignorant of it. "But I trust in the Lord," says he. See how he makes all things depend on God, and speaks nothing of his own mind. That is, God willing.

I am not sending Timothy because I have completely given up on coming to you, but so that, as I have already said, in the meantime I may be gladdened by learning of your affairs. Note how he makes his coming to them dependent on God, saying: "I am confident in the Lord," that is, if God so wills.

Consequently, I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself shall come also. But he was not freed from his prison: "Yea, thou dost light my lamp: the Lord my God lightens my darkness" (Ps. 18:28). For there is always some darkness in the saints.

Although he has promised to send Timothy rapidly, nevertheless, because he still speaks of a certain delay, he now sends Epaphroditus.

He commends the character of Epaphroditus by calling him "my brother and fellow soldier." He is a brother in the law and a fellow soldier in the camp and in the work of the gospel. And he is called "your apostle." Note that he calls Epaphroditus an apostle. Everyone who is sent on account of the gospel can rightly be called an apostle.

I do not ordain these things as an apostle: for "who am I, or what is my father's house," that I should pretend to be equal in honour to them? But as your "fellow-soldier," I hold the position of one who [simply] admonishes you.

"But I counted it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and fellow-worker, and fellow-soldier."

And him too he sends with the same praises as Timothy, for he commended him on these two points; first, in that he loved them, when he says, "who will care truly for you"; and secondly, in that he had approved himself in the Gospel. And for the same reason, and in the same terms, he praises this man also: and how? By calling him a brother, and a fellow-worker, and not stopping at this point, but also "fellow-soldier," he showed how he shared in his dangers, and testifies of him the same things which he testifies of himself. For "fellow-soldier" is more than "fellow-worker"; for perchance he gave aid in quiet matters, yet not so in wars and dangers; but in saying "fellow-soldier," he showed this too.

"To send to you your messenger, and minister to my needs"; that is, I give you your own, since I send to you him that is your own, or, perhaps, that is your Teacher. Again he adds many things concerning his love.

Paul attributes many accomplishments to Epaphroditus. He calls him not merely a brother but a fellow worker and a fellow soldier. And Paul has even called him their apostle, because he has been entrusted with their care. Thus it is apparent that those who were called bishops in the earlier part of the letter held their charge under Epaphroditus, being obviously presbyters. And he calls him a "minister to his need," because he had brought the necessities that they had sent, as was their duty, analogous to contributions for civic officers.

He sends this one too with praise, just like Timothy, and for the very same reason we mentioned above. "Fellow soldier" is greater than "fellow worker," because in safe undertakings anyone might cooperate, but a "fellow soldier" cooperates in dangers.

"But your messenger and minister to my need." That is, the one sent by you to me I am returning to you; for through him they were sending what was necessary to Paul. Or else: your apostle means your teacher.

Then when he says, I have thought it necessary, he proposes another disciple as an example, namely, Epaphroditus. First, he describes him; secondly, he suggests how he should be received (2:29). In regard to the first he does three things: first, he praises him; secondly, he states the reason why he is sending him (2:26); thirdly, he explains it (2:27).

He says, therefore: I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need. He calls him his brother on account of the Father: "You are all brethren" (Mt. 23:8); and fellow worker, i.e., in the work of preaching: "A brother helped is like a strong city" (Prov. 18:19); and fellow soldier, because we have suffered tribulation together: "Take your share of suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus" (2 Tim. 2:3); and your messenger, i.e., teacher. He was the bishop of the Philippians and sent by them to serve the Apostle; hence he says, and minister to my need: "I am filled, having received from Epaphroditus the things you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice, acceptable and pleasing to God" (4:18).

Both the congregation and Epaphroditus were sad because of his sickness. They hoped that they might, on seeing him, be reassured in his recovery of health and that he might be relieved of his present anxiety to see them. For he was their apostle, appointed by Paul when he sent him to them for their exhortation.

"Since he longed after you all, and was sore troubled, because ye had heard that he was sick. For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, that I might not have sorrow upon sorrow."

Here he aims at a farther point, making it manifest, that Epaphroditus too was well aware, how he was beloved of them. And this is no light thing toward loving. You know how he was sick, he says; and he grieved that on his recovery he did not see you, and free you from the grief ye had by reason of his sickness. Here too he gives another reason for sending so late to them, not from any remissness, but he kept Timothy because he had no one else, (for, as he had written, he had "no one likeminded,") and Epaphroditus because of his sickness. He then shows that this was a long sickness, and had consumed much time, by adding, "for he was sick nigh unto death." You see how anxious Paul is to cut off from his disciples all occasion of slighting or contempt, and every suspicion that his not coming was because he despised them. For nothing will have such power to draw a disciple toward one, as the persuasion that his superior cares for him, and that he is full of heaviness on his account, for this is the part of exceeding love. Because "ye have heard," he says, "that he was sick; for he was sick nigh unto death." And that I am not making an excuse, hear what follows. "But God had mercy on him." What sayest thou, O heretic? Here it is written, that God's mercy retained and brought back again him who was on the point of departure. And yet if the world is evil, it is no mercy to leave a man in the evil. Our answer to the heretic is easy, but what shall we say to the Christian? for he perchance will question, and say, "if to depart and to be with Christ is far better," how saith he that he hath obtained mercy? I would ask why the same Apostle says, that "it is more needful to abide with you"? For as it was needful for him, so too for this man, who would hereafter depart to God with more exceeding riches, and greater boldness. Hereafter that would take place, even if it did not now, but the winning souls is at an end for those who have once departed thither. In many places too, Paul speaks according to the common habits of his hearers, and not every where in accordance with his own heavenly wisdom: for he had to speak to men of the world who still feared death. Then he shows how he esteemed Epaphroditus, and thence he gets for him respect, by saying, that his preservation was so useful to himself, that the mercy which had been shown to Epaphroditus reached him also. Moreover, without this the present life is a good; were it not so, why does Paul rank with punishment untimely deaths? as when he says, "For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and not a few sleep"; for the future life is not (merely) better than an evil state, since (then) it were not good, but better than a good state.

"Lest I should have," he says, "sorrow upon sorrow"; sorrow from his death in addition to that which sprung from his sickness. By this he shows how much he prized Epaphroditus.

Knowing, he says, that you love him and are grieved by his illness, he therefore desires to see you, in order to free you from the sorrow that came upon you because of his illness.

But why? To satisfy the desire with which he has been longing for you all: "For I long to see you" (Rom. 1:11), and also to relieve him of his sorrow, because he was sad at the sorrow you felt, when you heard that he was sick.

Is it possible that the apostle prayed for him and the prayer was not answered by his immediate recovery? Remember that signs are for unbelievers. This man's illness was designed not for his hurt but for his growth. Many indeed are the trials of the faithful … and therefore the petition of the apostle was not spurned, but a better provision was made for him on whose behalf Paul prayed.

We follow One who wept over Jerusalem and at the grave of Lazarus, and, loving all, yet had one disciple whom, in a special sense, he "loved". St. Paul has a higher authority with us than St. Augustine—St. Paul who shows no sign that he would not have suffered like a man, and no feeling that he ought not so to have suffered, if Epaphroditus had died.

Note what benefits we experience from the Lord even in this life. Hence we ought not hurry to death. For even if this world is a hotbed of sin and therefore to be shunned, yet the desire to live in the world comes from your nature and is not sin. Life ought to be desired. So it is right to say "God had mercy on him."

Many are preserved and pitied by God because something is done through them which belongs to the ministry of salvation. At the same time we also should pray for those who are ill, lest we be saddened by the loss of those whose help we need in the performance, imparting and proclamation of divine grace.

The words "God had mercy on him" also reveal Epaphroditus's zeal for the contest. He did not wish to be rid of his wretched life, even knowing the gain that was to spring from it. "And God also pitied me," says Paul, "by not depriving me of my fellow worker."

Here he also presents something else. He justifies himself before them for sending him to them late, saying approximately this: this happened not through my negligence, but I am keeping Timothy with me, as one who is of one mind with me. Epaphroditus, however, fell ill, and therefore could not come earlier, since the illness was prolonged, and he was even close to death.

"But God had mercy on him." What do you say, Manichean? If the world, and life in it, is evil in your view, then how does the apostle now call the preservation of Epaphroditus in life a mercy of God? The heretics cannot answer this. But Christians may ask: if it is good to depart and be with Christ, then why does the apostle call the earthly life of Epaphroditus a mercy of God? Either because Epaphroditus, who was a teacher, by continuing to live, was bound to turn very many to God (which, as was said above, is more needful than departing). Or else Paul says many things adapting himself to the common custom of his hearers, and does not philosophize everywhere. He was speaking to people who were attached to life and who feared death. Besides, the present life is in itself a good thing. Otherwise, why would the apostle reckon untimely death among punishments? "For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number have died" (1 Cor. 11:30). For the future life of an evil person is by no means a better life, because it is not good, whereas that of a good person is better.

"And not his only, but mine also." Do you see how he here esteems Epaphroditus highly, when he considers the restoration of his health a special benefaction of God and a particular mercy?

"So that sorrow would not be added to me upon sorrow." That is, so that together with the sorrow which I had on account of his illness, I might not have another sorrow which could have come from his death.

He explains the reason, saying: Indeed he was ill, near to death, i.e., in the opinion of the physicians, though not according to God's providence, but for the glory of God; "This illness is not unto death; it is for the glory of God" (Jn. 11:4). Thus he continues: but God had mercy on him; "Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing" (Ps. 6:2); and not only on him but on me also, because Paul had suffered the temporal and natural sadness of his affliction, as Christ is said to have suffered sometimes.

Why does Paul add the phrase "and I may be less anxious?" Because he has already said that Epaphroditus had ministered to his needs. He did not want it to appear as though he was sad to be sending him. Since Epaphroditus desired to be with them and since they are going to be glad if they see him, Paul could then be "less anxious."

"I have sent him therefore the more diligently." What means "more diligently"? It is, without procrastination, without delay, with much speed, having bidden him lay all aside, and to go to you, that he might be freed from heaviness; for we rejoice not on hearing of the health of those we love, so much as when we see them, and chiefly so when this happens contrary to hope, as it was in the case of Epaphroditus.

"I have sent him therefore the more diligently, that when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful." How "less sorrowful"? Because if ye rejoice, I too rejoice, and he too joys at a pleasure of such sort, and I shall be "less sorrowful." He said not sorrowless, but "less sorrowful," to show that his soul never was free from sorrow: for he who said, "Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is made to stumble, and I burn not?", when could such an one be free from sorrow? That is, this despondency I now cast off.

That is, he sent immediately, so that you, having seen him, might be freed from sorrow over his illness, or rather that you might rejoice.

"And I was less sorrowful." How then can I be less sorrowful? In this way: if you rejoice, I too will likewise rejoice. He did not say "without sorrow" but "less sorrowful," showing by this that his soul was never entirely free from sorrow. "Who," he says, "is weak, and I am not weak?" (2 Cor. 11:29).

It is apparent that the people and Epaphroditus loved one another inseparably. He is commended by the apostle also, so as to make him all the more dear.… This is the reason for explicitly recalling the struggle of Epaphroditus: his unhesitating willingness to die for the sake of the gospel.

"Receive him therefore in the Lord with all joy."

"In the Lord" either means spiritually and with much zeal, or rather "in the Lord" means God willing. Receive him in a manner worthy of saints, as saints should be received with all joy.

All this he does for their sakes, not for that of his messengers, for greater gain has the doer than the receiver of a good deed. "And such hold in honor," that is, receive him in a manner worthy of saints.

That is, receive him graciously, in a manner pleasing to God, or as befits saints. Paul says this for the benefit of the Philippians themselves, because the one who does good receives more benefit than the one who receives it.

"Hold such people in honor." Lest it should seem that he favors Epaphroditus alone, he exhorts them to honor all in general who display the same virtue.

Then he concludes by indicating how he should be received and why. He should be received honorably in the Lord, whose minister he is: "You received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus" (Gal. 4:14); "Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching" (1 Tim. 5:17).

To bring forward some examples from among the heathen: Many kings and princes, in times of pestilence, when they had been instructed by an oracle, have given themselves up to death, in order that by their own blood they might deliver their fellow citizens [from destruction]. Many have gone forth from their own cities, that so sedition might be brought to an end within them. We know many among ourselves who have given themselves up to bonds, in order that they might ransom others. Many, too, have surrendered themselves to slavery, that with the price which they received for themselves, they might provide food for others.

"Because for the work of Christ he came nigh unto death, hazarding his life, to supply that which was lacking in your service towards me."

This man had been publicly sent by the city of the Philippians, who had come as minister to Paul, and perchance bringing him some contribution, for toward the end of the Epistle he shows that he also brought him money, when he says, "Having received of Epaphroditus the things that came from you."

It is probable then, that on his arrival at the city of Rome, he found Paul in great and urgent peril, so that those who were accustomed to resort to him were unable safely to do so, but were themselves in peril by their very attendance; which is wont to happen chiefly in very great dangers, and the exceeding wrath of kings, (for when any one has offended the king, and is cast into prison, and is strictly guarded, then even his servants are debarred from access, which probably then befell Paul,) and that Epaphroditus, being of a noble nature, despised all danger, that he might go in unto him, and minister unto him, and do everything which need required. He therefore sets forth two facts, by which he gains for him their respect; the one, that he was in jeopardy well nigh unto death, he says, for my sake; the other, that in so suffering he was representing their city, so that the recompense for that his peril would be accounted to those who sent him, as if the city had sent him as their ambassador, so that a kind reception of him and approval of what he had done may rather be called a participation in the things that he had dared. And he said not, "for my sake," but obtains the more credit for his words, by saying, "because for the work of God," since he acted not for my sake, but for God's sake "he was nigh unto death." What then? though by the providence of God he died not, yet he himself regarded not his life, and gave himself up to any suffering that might befall him, so as not to remit his attendance on me. And if he gave himself up to death to attend on Paul, much more would he have endured this for the Gospel's sake. Or rather, this also had been for the Gospel's sake, even to have died for Paul. For we may bind about our brows the crown of martyrdom, not only by refusing to sacrifice, but such causes as these also make death martyrdom, and if I may say something startling, these latter do so far more than the former. For he who dares to face death for the lesser cause, will much more for the greater. Let us therefore, when we see the Saints in danger, regard not our life, for it is impossible without daring ever to perform any noble act, but need is that he who takes thought beforehand for his safety here, should fall from that which is to come.

"To supply," he says, "your lack of service toward me." What is this? the city was not present, but by sending him, it fulfilled through him all service toward me. He therefore supplied your lack of service, so that for this reason too he deserves to enjoy much honor, since, what ye all should have done, this hath he performed on your behalf. Here he shows that there is also a foregoing service rendered by those in safety to those in danger, for so he speaks of the lack, and the lack of service. Seest thou the spirit of the Apostle? These words spring not from arrogance, but from his great care towards them; for he calls the matter a "service" and a "lack," that they may not be puffed up, but be moderate, nor think that they have rendered some great thing, but rather be humble-minded.

For we owe the saints a debt, and are not doing them a favor. For as supplies are due by those who are in peace and not engaged in war to such as stand in the army and fight (for these stand on their behoof), thus too is it here. For if Paul had not taught, who would have cast him into prison? Wherefore we ought to minister to the Saints.

The Philippians sent Epaphroditus to Paul so that he might bring him what was needed. He found Paul in Rome in danger, so that it was not safe to approach him, for the emperor himself was against him. Then, disregarding every danger, he ministered to Paul. About this Paul now speaks. Note, he did not say "for me," but "for the work of Christ" he exposed himself to danger, that is, he consigned himself to death. Even if he did not die, by God's providence, he nevertheless showed his readiness for it. So too let us, when we see the saints in danger, not spare ourselves, because to expose ourselves to danger in matters of this kind is itself our safety.

"To supply what was lacking in your service to me." You, he says, were not in Rome to serve me bodily, although you sent what was needed for me. This very thing that you lacked, that is, that you did not serve me with your hands and body, he alone fulfilled, having served me in place of all of you. And therefore he is worthy of great goodwill on your part, since he did on your behalf everything that all of you ought to have done. So consider how he calls this matter both a service and a supplying of what was lacking (that is, a duty, the non-fulfillment of which is a deficiency in them), in order to show that it is the duty and obligation of those who enjoy safety to help those who are in danger, and whoever does not do this violates his obligation, since he does not fulfill a public service. Therefore, lest they become proud and lose their reward, thinking that they had done something great, he called this matter by this name, teaching them thereby to think of themselves humbly, since they had done what they were obligated to do.

And this because he nearly died for the work of Christ, i.e., for God and the salvation of the faithful: "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (Jn. 15:13); risking his life: "The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (Jn. 10:11). And he did this, to complete your service to me, which you personally could not do.