Print

By Tyson Thorne

December 5, 2017
 
 

Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be encouraged by hearing news about you. 2:20 For there is no one here like him who will readily demonstrate his deep concern for you. 2:21 Others are busy with their own concerns, not those of Jesus Christ. 2:22 But you know his qualifications, that like a son working with his father, he served with me in advancing the gospel. 2:23 So I hope to send him as soon as I know more about my situation, 2:24 though I am confident in the Lord that I too will be coming to see you soon.

2:25 But for now I have considered it necessary to send Epaphroditus to you. For he is my brother, coworker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to me in my need. 2:26 Indeed, he greatly missed all of you and was distressed because you heard that he had been ill. 2:27 In fact he became so ill that he nearly died. But God showed mercy to him – and not to him only, but also to me – so that I would not have grief on top of grief. 2:28 Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you can rejoice and I can be free from anxiety. 2:29 So welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him, 2:30 since it was because of the work of Christ that he almost died. He risked his life so that he could make up for your inability to serve me.

At first glance it appears that these 12 verses at the end of chapter two are out of place. Why does Paul break the action by making these personal notes about his friends, Timothy and Epaphroditus? It seems this discussion of travel plans and other details belong at the end of the letter in keeping with Paul’s usual style and in keeping with Greek structure. But thrown in somewhere in the middle? What was Paul thinking, and what does any of this have to do with Christian living? Understanding Paul’s point requires we go back to the beginning.

Paul’s letter began with a call for believers to take on the same attitude as Christ Jesus. It is therefore natural for him to end this section by recognizing two men who have done exactly that.

Follow the progression of Paul’s reasoning; from the beginning of Philippians (1:1-2), Paul urged, by example and explicit teaching, that believers cultivate the virtue of humility for the sake of corporate unity. Specifically, he wants Christians to stand firm (1:27-30) and to seek the interests of others ahead of themselves (2:3-4). Jesus is used as the ultimate example of these attributes in 2:6-11 as he died on a cross so others may live.

The reason Paul mentions Timothy and Epaphroditus in 2:19-30, then, is because they are living examples of humility — the practice of putting others before oneself. The similarity of language between 2:3-4 and 2:21 is striking: Paul urges the Philippians to look out for the interests of others (2:3-4) and then offers them the example of Timothy, whom Paul says in 2:21, “looks out for the interests of others”. Epaphroditus too sought the needs and interests of others ahead of himself. He traveled from Philippi to Rome, a lengthy and arduous journey, in order to bring a much-needed gift to Paul. In fact, in doing so he almost died! We are unsure of the nature of Epaphroditus’ illness, whether it was something he came down with during the long journey to reach Paul, or something he contracted while in Rome. What is certain is that his life-threatening illness was obtained while in service for Jesus, to bring Paul the assistance the Philippians’ were unable to (cf. 2:8). Thus both these men stand as living examples of a Christ-like attitude.

You spend much time in Internet forums, you will see an acronym used frequently: IMHO. It stands for “In my humble opinion” and, frequently, the opinion being expressed is anything but a humble one. After providing the example of Jesus’ humility, Paul provides two ordinary people who’s example should also be followed. Timothy and Epaphroditus were humble men, and yet they still accomplished great things. Humility doesn’t mean being a doormat or a mouse, which raises the question: what does it mean to be humble? Humility has three distinct facets.

The first is properly recognizing who we are before God. John the Baptist had a large following, yet his message was never about himself and always about God. “There is one coming,” he said, “whose sandals I am not fit to untie” (John 1.26-28). Later, when Jesus was revealed, John told his disciples “He (referring to Jesus) must become more important while I become less important.” (John 3.30). Recognizing God is greater than ourselves is the beginning of humility.

The second facet of humility is understanding who we are before others. God created us, and we all have sinned, which means all of us – men and women, servants and masters, and every race of mankind – are equal. Remember the lesson of the Pharisee who prayed, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people… like that tax collector.” Then remember the tax collectors prayer, which was held up as a proper example of humility, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner” (Luke 18.9-14). One of my favorite authors was fond of saying, “Comparisons are odious”. That is, comparing ourselves to others is a detestable practice. When we recognize that we are no better, and no worse, than everyone else we grow in humility.

The third facet of humility is understanding ourselves. No, I’m not talking about self-esteem or other psycho-spiritual babble. I’m talking about the art of not thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought (Romans 12.3). This goes back to points one and two – we are not better than God nor are we better than any other person. The danger here is that we engage in thinking less of ourselves than we should. We are never meant to beat ourselves up – self-flagellation never accomplished a single thing for God’s kingdom. We bear God’s image, God loves us, and God desires us to spend eternity with him. This gives us value and worth. When we understand that our value as a person doesn’t come from “a healthy self-image” or from others but rather from God, we can grow deeper in humility.

Paul pointed to Timothy and Epaphroditus as examples of true humility. Is there anyone you know whose example you can follow?