We have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you

in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word

of the truth, the gospel that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God. This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow slave. He is a faithful servant

of Christ on your behalf, and he has made known to us

your love in the Spirit.

As we continue our series on “Hidden Figures” this month, I thought it would be good to lift up a name you may have seen but knew little about. In verse 7 of Colossians 1, Paul lifts up the name of Epaphras as a person of honor among the house churches in Colossae, a “beloved fellow slave,” and a “faithful servant of Christ on your behalf.” Other than this reference in Colossians 1, Epaphras’s name (short for Epaphroditus) makes only two other appearances in the New Testament. Colossians 4:12 records that Epaphras is their servant who wrestles in prayer for the community, and in Paul’s letter to Philemon (v.23), Paul greets Epaphras because, we believe, Philemon’s house was one of the house churches in Colossae, and so Epaphras would have been known to them.

So who was this Epaphras fellow, and why did Paul lift his name up among those in Colossae?

Honestly, we may never know who Epaphras was beyond these references from Paul. However, if Epaphras was from Colossae, or if his ministry to the churches in the region was anchored in Colossae (as many believe), then we know that Epaphras was dedicated to proclaiming the Gospel to the least of these. You see, by every description we have, Colossae was a once great city turned backwater by the time of Paul. Situated in the Lycus River valley in western Turkey, the once thriving city had declined to the point that by 7 BC Strabo described it as a small town. When a great earthquake struck the region in 60/61 AD, the Roman Empire helped the cities of Laodicea and Hierapolis rebuild and recover quickly but did not deem Colossae important enough to merit such aid (see Dr. Phillip Long’s description of Colossae). In other words, Epaphras was a minor preacher in a minor region in a small group of Christ followers that would have been easy to overlook.

Yet Epaphras was called, equipped, and commissioned to proclaim Christ to those the sophisticated and refined in more urban and affluent areas considered beneath their regard. And here Paul’s reference and attention to Epaphras and his community matter. You see, though Epaphras may not have measured up in terms of power and affluence by standards either modern or ancient, he loved his community and gave all he had to serve them for Christ’s sake. According to Paul, Epaphras even wrestled with God in prayer for them.

Beyond this, judging by the reference in Colossians 4, Epaphras was also valued by Paul for his insight and understanding. As part of Paul’s team, it is likely that Epaphras shared his imprisonment under house arrest in Rome, helping shape the contours of Paul’s preaching and teaching in other letters like Ephesians and Philippians. Moreover, it is in conversation with Epaphras and Onesimus during this imprisonment that we get the most important letter in the New Testament potentially challenging the single most ubiquitous institution in the Roman world: slavery. Though Paul doesn’t outright condemn slavery in the letter to Philemon, it is clear that Paul sees an insurmountable tension between the institution and the universal brother and sisterhood that the body of Christ represents (read verse 16 of Philemon).

All these clues taken together begin to give us a vibrant picture of Epaphras and the community he loved so dearly. Because Epaphras was faithful, teaching and preaching and discipling his small community as well as he could, the fruit of the Spirit blossomed in this little set of communities. In fact, contrary to expectations we might hold for a letter to a small-town church, we see that Epaphras’s ministry and teaching were so effective that Paul felt comfortable sharing a description of the majesty of Christ rivaling any found in other epistles addressed to larger and more “sophisticated” communities. Compare Colossians 1:15–20 with Paul’s description of his teaching to the ultra-wealthy and “sophisticated” community in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 3:2. Little Colossae, tended by faithful servants like Epaphras, received spiritual meat, while the “elite” in Corinth received spiritual milk because they were not ready for all the nuances of God’s revelation in the Lord Jesus.

Here the hidden figure of Epaphras continues to testify to us today. Whoever you are, and wherever you find yourself, God can and will use you in a mighty way. Advanced degrees are not required, nor is enormous wealth. You don’t have to be from a big place, nor do you have to be large in stature. These things can be helpful, but they are not prerequisites. Instead, what God looks for in a servant is faithfulness, love, and service. These qualities are ultimately fruits born of our allegiance to the Lord Jesus who showed the same to us. And the good news is that Christ can and has called you—even little old you.

In Christ,

Pastor Sam

The Worship Committee invites the congregation to participate in our 2021 Advent Devotional by submitting devotions of no more than 300 words. Your reflections will enhance our time of preparation for the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. For more information, email Han Ong or Candy Phelps by August 1. To submit a devotion, email it to Han by October 1.

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During the pandemic, we encourage you to use text, mail, or our website for your continued, faithful support of our ministries. You can give online by going to fpcbristol.org and clicking on “Give” in the upper right corner. You can send your pledge, offering, or special gift by texting fpcbristol to 73256. You can also mail your checks directly to the church.

Our love and sympathy are with Kathy McGlothlin and her family in the death of her mother, Betty Jo Wilson McGlothlin, July 9; and with Rosângela, João Batista, and their family in the death of Rosângela’s mother last weekend after much time in the hospital.

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