Epaphrus (Col. 1:7-8; 4:12-13)

Epaphras was from Colosse and he had been the person who had taken the gospel there (Col. 1:7). At the time of writing this letter, Epaphras was a prisoner alongside Paul in Rome. We are not told how he became a prisoner. As far as the Colossians were concerned, such details would be given by those who brought the letter from Paul (Col. 4:7). The Spirit, who inspired Paul to write this letter, has ensured that we cannot find out the reasons for his arrest. What is clear is that the Spirit wanted the Colossians and us to note what Epaphras was doing during his arrest. The obvious detail about him is that he was praying (Col. 4:12-13). It is not too much to say that Paul, under the guidance of the Spirit, has Epaphras in mind as an example to imitate. So how can we become like this first-century believer?

The basic requirement in becoming a man of prayer is first of all becoming a Christian. We are not told how this happened with Epaphras, but it is possible to make a suggestion. He became a Christian through contact with the church in Ephesus, probably during the three years that Paul spent in that city (as recorded in Acts ). We don’t know the process, but we do know the elements. The elements are repentance towards God and faith in Christ. Epaphras was convicted about his sins by the Holy Spirit, and was led by that same Spirit to embrace Jesus as his Saviour. The first requirement in becoming a man of prayer is to become a man of faith.

The second feature of Epaphras the prayer warrior is that he became a man on fire. After believing in Jesus, Epaphras discovered that a new flame burned in his heart. He had a burning desire to spread the gospel that had taken such a grip on himself. Perhaps he spent a few weeks in Ephesus helping the Christians there, but he could not get his own people in Colosse out of his mind. He now realised that they were perishing, heading for a lost eternity, and in the ecstasy of his first love he longed for them to meet the same Saviour as he had. So he made his way back to Colosse and returned there a different man. He entered the small town as a man on fire, a man with a passion for the gospel to bless sinners. His efforts were blessed and soon a small congregation began in that town.

The third feature of Epaphrus was a fellow-servant with Paul and Timothy (Col. 1:7), literally, fellow-slaves (Paul also calls Epaphrus a slave of Christ in Colossians 4:12). Like everyone else, Epaphras had a brain, limbs, eyes and affections. The question is, what would he do with them? He knew the answer – he devoted them all to Jesus Christ and became his wholehearted servant. Epaphras recognised that he was owned by Jesus Christ. This is a reminder that Jesus has purchased us for himself and we show that we recognise that reality by doing everything that he tells us to do. As far as Epaphras was concerned, every aspect of his personality was devoted to Jesus, his Master.

A fourth qualification for Epaphras was that he knew fears. False teaching about Jesus was affecting the little church in Colosse – the erroneous views may have come from mixing Christianity with ideas from local religions. Whatever the source, their presence in the church made Epaphras afraid that the church would go wrong and therefore he prayed. Imitation of his response is evidence that we have grasped the real danger posed by erroneous teachings.

Another aspect of Epaphras’ service is seen in the phrase, ‘a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf.’ Because of our use of the word ‘minister’ we are liable to read the phrase as if Paul was saying that Epaphras was a faithful pastor. The term translated ‘minister’ is the word from which we get our word ‘deacon’ – the word is used to describe preachers (1 Cor. 3:5; 1 Tim. 4:6), the civil authorities (Rom. 13:4), Phoebe (Rom. 16:1) and a group of men in a congregation (1 Tim. 3:8, 12). Obviously the word has a wide range of usages and its meaning in any place must be deduced from its context. In Colossians 1:7, Epaphras is called a faithful servant on behalf of the Colossians. This could mean two possibilities: first, he was faithful in the sense that he conveyed the truth (this could be Paul’s endorsement of Epaphras’ teaching) or it could mean that he was faithful in the sense that he had carried out a task on behalf of the church (perhaps the Colossians were wondering why Epaphras was taking so long to return). In any case, he prayed because he was faithful to the Colossians.

A sixth element of Epaphras’ outlook was that he was flexible, that he was prepared to serve Jesus in widely different circumstance. Initially he had served Jesus in evangelistic work, taking the gospel to Colosse. It is likely that he then engaged in building-up the new converts there. Now he was in prison. Yet he did not deduce that confinement was an indication to stop working on behalf of the Colossians. Instead he realised that he had to work for them in another way – intercessory prayer.

Seventh, Epaphras showed fidelity towards others. He was loyal to Christ, he was loyal to Paul, and he was loyal to the Colossians. Paul had entrusted Epaphras with taking the gospel to Colosse, and he had not betrayed that confidence. Furthermore he was steadfast concerning the good things that were going on in the Colossian congregation – he told Paul about ‘their love in the Spirit’. What a beautiful description of a church! Right motives, right behaviour, right words towards one another. The point I am stressing is that Epaphras spoke spiritually about his fellow-believers in Colosse. He delighted to tell others about their growth in grace.

An eighth characteristic of Epaphras was his fervency – he worked hard for those in Colosse, Hierapolis and Laodicea by praying zealously for them. His prayer involved toil and persistence; indeed Paul says that Epaphras struggled in prayer. The idea of struggling is an allusion to wrestling. With whom was Epaphras wrestling? I suspect he was struggling with God. It is hard not to turn our minds to the incident involving Jacob at Peniel when he wrestled with God. Yet there is one difference at least. Jacob wrestled with God for a night, Epaphras was wrestling all the time.

In what ways did Epaphras wrestle? We have just mentioned one aspect – his constancy in praying. Persistence in anything requires great energy. Another detail is the coverage of his praying – he embraced people in three cities. He struggled on behalf of those he knew. A third point is his Christlikeness because we are aware that Jesus also agonised in prayer, especially when he was in Gethsemane.

A ninth detail of Epaphras is the focus of his prayers. For what was he striving? His aim in praying would have been the same as his aim in teaching – he wanted the Colossians to ‘stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God’. The imagery of a person standing is a good one because it points to stability. Psalm 1 speaks about the righteous man who is like a tree that does not move when storms blow. Epaphras knew the secret of stability – it was connected to all the will of God. I take this reference to the will of God to concern his revealed purpose and not to finding out the contents of his secret will. Once we start praying for individuals to appreciate God’s purpose, we will see lots of ways by which we can pray differently for individuals. Some will be deficient in understanding a doctrine or practice, others will come short in other areas. Plenty to pray for.

The idea behind the word translated mature is that of adulthood. Believers are not to be childish in their faith. A new Christian is a spiritual baby, but he or she should not remain there. There are plenty exhortations in the New Testament that we should develop all the way through our Christian lives. Alongside spiritual adulthood will be full conviction that God’s purpose is true. The Colossians were showing immaturity by listening to the false doctrines, and their willingness to listen to them revealed that they were not fully assured about what Epaphras had taught them previously. He knew that was the case, and therefore he prayed earnestly for them.

Paul says in Colossians 1:7 that the Christians in Colosse had learned a lot from Epaphras. We too can learn a lot from him in the matter of prayer.