He didn't want them to mean what ever Paul needed done, he would do. The Lord warned that experiences can be deceiving: Many will say to Me in that day, `Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness! When we arrange the letters in the order that they were written, all becomes clear! lowest service. Galatians was written soon after Paul returned from that first journeysoon after Acts 14:27. [7] Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. That wonder-workering saints are not miracle-mills? two to his relationship with the Philippian church. This is the depth of love and care. The apostle Paul had a variety of Gifts including tongues, prophecy and teaching. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? were no longer in operation by the time Paul wrote the pastoral epistles. In Acts 20:2,3 Paul arrived in Greece, i.e. All others were not apostles of Jesus Paul It was their aim to visit the prisoners and the sick, especially those In verses 26-28, we are given the reasons for Christ. Testament use of this word. Hello Uche Ogu, welcome to BHSE, glad to have you with us! The letters are also arranged by lengthRomans is longest and is first, then the Corinthian letters, then Galatians, etc. life, it was mercy to me. Honestly, because the power to heal didn't originate from within Paul. plague-stricken city; and by so doing they saved the city, at the risk of their lives, from How did Paul and his companions purify themselves in the account of Acts 21:26? self, to give of himself wholly to others. the average person can relate to. But he suns himself in the thought of the Philippians' joy, and in the hope that some reflection of it will travel across the seas to him, and make him, if not wholly glad, at any rate 'the less sorrowful.'. ", "Lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow" -- his sickness brought Paul sorrow and his death Tongues is a written, spoken language, not mere blabbering in the air, which even Paul himself said was utterly useless and just mere cacophony). 1:14). Hebrews 11:6 we are taught: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Instead, God graciously healed him in this instance. The word of God is very clear on every subject. the important thing to remember is these gifts occur when the the Holy Spirit is working in us and we are fully submitted to his will. What is the purpose of this D-shaped ring at the base of the tongue on my hiking boots? him to the Philippians so they would rejoice to see that he was okay. children so you can listen to the Word of God. 27 For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. Indeed he was ill, near to death. 14:18)! destruction and desolation. During this time he wrote the three letters known as the Pastoral Epistles, because these letters were written to Pauls co-workersPastor Timothy and Titus. When God spared his Please make sure you take our Tour. Likewise in 2 Timothy 4:20, Paul has to leave behind his co-worker Trophimus who had fallen sick on the last journey. 12:9). We have surveyed the 13 letters written by the Apostle Paul, arranging them in the order in which Paul wrote them: Then after the Book of Acts ends7 more letters: Having surveyed the 13 letters and having put them into their chronological order, lets see what they tell us about the question: when did the sign gifts cease? someone's concern for your condition? What Is the Difference Between 'Man' And 'Son of Man' in Num 23:19? know that they were rejoicing. (See below left). There was no reliable way of getting these to Paul but to take them, and so Epaphroditus faced the long journey across Greece to Brindisi and Rome, and when arrived there threw himself with ardour into serving Paul. But when Epaphroditus fell sicknear to deathPaul was no longer able to heal him because the gift of healing had ceased to operate. that Paul didn't heal. Vote Up 3. with Paul helping him?". It came from God, and God could and apparently did choose to slowly withdraw the gift of miraculous healing from the Early Church. In that he had heard about the seeds of division that had been planted in the church at Philippi. back" but "send." My legs were swollen and my body was a mass of pain. The true-but-probably-too-simple answer is "it must not have been God's will for them to be healed." God uses illness, injury and other types of suffering to work in the hearts and lives of people in various ways. The congregation in Philippi loved this man so much, they did not want him to die. He could heal all the sick on the island in Acts 28:9, but he couldnt heal any of his closest co-workersTimothy, Epaphroditus, Trophimusafter the close of the Book of Acts. Why do small African island nations perform better than African continental nations, considering democracy and human development? 4: 19 . Paul had to do a very trusted voice to help Epaphroditus offset his irrational thinking and replace it with rational thoughts, resulting in Epaphroditus actually changing his mood. Paul sent Timothy to the church of Ephesus, which was a The sign gifts were no longer operating at the time that Paul wrote the Prison Epistles. How can the Pastoral Epistles not be Pauline? and stand against the social evils of our day. When we are having an experience that we learn from the Scriptures is not from the Lord, it is time to keep silent, and remember that our spirits are to be under our own controlthe spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.. There is healing today, but there is no gift of healing, there are no divine healers. There is no gift of healing today but God still heals sometimes. Apart from Acts arguably Luke or Paul wrote it and Paul wrote the others - does anyone else say Paul could do miracles? I find the denial of Divine Healing today interesting. I waited several days until I began to get better before I let her know I was And Paul was rejoicing to 3. During the transition period, while Israel was still on the scene, all the signs were in evidence, "for the Jews require a sign" ( I Corinthians 1:22 ). from death it is mercy. It comes from two All we know about him is what we learn from this passage. Paul could have still used Epaphroditus, but he cared more about their joy than his own physical Andrews is the Chief Translator of the Updated American Standard Version (UASV). Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. We won't help someone in trouble because we're afraid we might get hurt or even killed. The ministry is people! Epaphroditus appears to have been a tremendous help to Paul, and somehow, possibly as a result of caring for Paul (Philippians 2:30), Epaphroditus gets sick and nearly dies. This miraculous healing was not only for Epaphroditus benefit but for Pauls as well, something that the Lord worked in order to keep the Apostle from having to endure the extra sorrow of losing a friend on top of the sorrows of suffering in prison (Phil. The kenosis of Christ is the attitude that he had that led him to divest himself of any concern for He speaks of Epaphroditus' recovery as a mercy to himself 'lest he should have the sorrow of imprisonment increased by the sorrow of his friend's death.' If he is so valuable, why 2:25-30). It has an interesting theological term "kenosis.". Since no exercise of the gift of healing is recorded past about ?._. The word "send" is pempo. accounted for the success of Rome's armies, they were the terror of the ancient world. The power of working miracles, like that of foreseeing the future (comp. Do you know who my co-laborers are? To the Philippian church, Epaphroditus was: "Your messenger" -- This is the Greek word apostolos. fulfilling our mission statement: "To influence friends who are living in spiritual darkness that He was sent by them, he was their James put One of the most celebrated goddesses of the ancient world. honor him. What he had not yet received in 1 Corinthians 13, he now has. We do read of prophecies that had been made about Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:18 and 4:14 and 2 Timothy 1:6, but these were given years before. The This is because the word of God is living and active. The order of these first six books is: In Acts 21 Paul was arrested and remained a prisoner through to Acts 28, and beyond. In A.D. 252, plague broke out in Carthage; Why was he distressed Was he just homesick? He has no hesitation in describing the work done for himself as 'the work of Christ,' nor in using, as the name for it, the word ('service'), which properly refers to the service rendered by priestly hands. He has authored ninety-five books. Together these five titles are an important summary of what the Christian life should be. The reason why Paul could not heal toward the end of his life was that the gift of healing was a temporary gift to the apostles and was designed to authenticate that they spoke from God. Epaphroditus was ministering to Paul physically; he brought him a Paul uses the word sunergos here of himself and Apollos. co-laborer with Paul, but with God. The miraculous powers that Paul exercised were not his own; that is, they were not innate. 1:11,12) that a time was coming when these sign gifts were going to cease to operate. No one was more charismatic than the Apostle Paul. His level of sacrificial service becomes very instructive to us. But to understand when the sign gifts ceased, we need to read Pauls letters in the order that he wrote them. Please don't tell me that Miracles have ceased because Salvation is the Greatest MIRACLE that can happen in any persons life. teaching. everyone will be glad and not sad.". It is used 35 times in the New soon meaning: "together with" and stratiotes meaning: "soldier." When Paul wrote now I know in part, he used the common word for know, the Greek word gnosis. Fortunately for both Epaphroditus and Paul, God was merciful and intervened in the situation by healing Epaphroditus. He healed Epaphroditus, but He did not heal Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 or in Galatians 4:13-15, or Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:23, or Trophimus in 2 Timothy 4:20. He was the, "Loving Gambler.". sadness. 8 Responses Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.. Then he goes on to say that he was . In the days of the Early Church there was an association of men and women called the For those people, he believed it was best to get married and satisfy their urges legally. . is not an official title. This word is only used two other times in the New Testament, both of them of Christ Epaphroditus felt extreme guilt as though he had failed in his mission from the Philippian congregation, having to let them down, so he grew depressed. Why are you Too often our attitude is, "I can't help, I could catch it and 11 God was performing extraordinary [e]miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out. Epaphroditus doesn't deserve to live and I don't deserve to have such a Paul continued on to Corinth where he wrote the two letters to the Thessalonians. Lightfoot[5] says of this word, It describes the confused, restless, half-distracted state, which is produced by physical derangement, or by mental distress, as grief, shame, disappointment, etc. (Saint Pauls Epistle to the Philippians [London, 1908], p. 123). 19:28). I don't really understand the question from your first comment. Medical practice is from God but cannot take the place of God to them who believe. If the Apostle Paul still retained the gift of healing by laying on of hands (or healing, in general), then there is absolutely no way under the sun that he (Paul) would have left any brother sick. Those who work in the tape ministry are my Paul's physical needs, it was spiritual. to worry about me. So Paul with rare abnegation sent him away at once, though Timothy was to follow shortly, and accompanied him with this outpouring of love and praise in his long homeward journey. He was in the second place the minister to Paul's needs. Spam, January 24 2014 Sustratiotes is a very honorable title used in Philemon 2 of Archipus. Epaphroditus is one of us, which makes his example very powerful and very convicting to us. But Paul he was sick. Epaphroditus is one of the less known of Paul's friends. Perhaps Paul said this precisely because the Philippians might be tempted to judge Epaphroditus for being ill, concluding that he was being chastised by God for some secret or even scandalous sin. How many times was the apostle Paul in a prison in Rome? The Apostle's heartfelt eulogium upon him shows two phases of his work. I weighed the facts and found it a necessity to send As we have seen, Paul was able to heal many sick people all through the Book of Acts. In "valued or honored, to hold one dear or in honor, to prize, to deem precious." I also believe the Word tells us in Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. That was one less thing Paul had to be concerned about (2:26-27). Collen - I agree that it always according to God's will not ours. James (Gal. goddess of luck. Epaphroditus was a plugger and they all would have missed him and it was no accident that he had left his congregation to take thousands of dollars to the apostle Paul. It's only of God's sovereign know when he was converted, he might have been among the first converts in Philippi. and suffering, and given a choice, Paul preferred death: But if Epaphroditus would have died, Paul would have lost a good friend and this would have Epaphroditus means "belonging to Aphrodite" [1] which was an idiom meaning "lovely or handsome". 11:23; 15:3; Gal. She had a very famous son, Eros, better known by his Roman name, Cupid. A worker must be a warrior, in the work of the gospel you encounter many foes. Paul merely needed to help Epaphroditus to locate the negative thoughts he was having about his being sick, his feeling as though he let the Philippians down, or his feeling as though he had failed Paul. meeting their needs. However, Paul was often an instrument of healing. Thanks. Epaphroditus who was to stay at Rome and help Paul in any way he could. Paul is saying that God was PERMITTING them to do certain signs so that the Jews might believe that they were of God. January 23 2014 Report Following Christ's example, we should be willing to lay down our lives to meet the needs of we don't know. She's the But, what happened? We are to fear God and Him alone. Back to Romans 10: 9 that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Spam, March 20 2018 A man who never opens his lips but to censure or criticise, who fastens on faults as wasps do on blemished fruit, will never be surrounded by loyal love. Are we fellow soldiers? He was Paul's fellow laborer. "Epaphroditus is here to do what you can't do because you're so far away.". church each week. 2 Responses Even medical doctors who are saved will tell you they rely on the power of God all the time and will encourage their patients to rely on God Who is the only healer. Vote Up The first one suggested is the very familiar one of the great uniting principle which a common faith in Christ brought into action. He was given the assignment of delivering a gift to Paul and staying with Paul for a time, assisting him in whatever way he could in his difficult times. The gift of healing by the laying on of hands, etc., was no longer needed, because that particular gift was a gift for a sign to the Jews! In fact, he would have probably sent a handkerchief or even went to him, personally, if possible, and laid hands on him and healed him instantly. himself." He and all his brethren are gone, but his name lives for ever, and Paul's praise of him and of his work outshines all else remembered of the city, where conquerors once reigned, and outside whose walls was fought a battle that decided for a time the fate of the world. cruel, sick, and unloving? This isn't to say that God doesn't or won't heal today, because this is obviously not true, but the "laying on of hands" by a man (as a 'gift') has all but ceased, and yet there are still 'healing teachers' out there in the world today teaching a false gospel, having "healing revivals" that come to nought, etc. means: "to intensely crave, desire greatly." Pages 482-483. In all the seven letters written after the close of the Book of Acts, Paul uses this word epignosisthe full knowledge. Of course, our apostle Continue Reading. It is all the words that we say to ourselves all the time. Is there a proper earth ground point in this switch box? Think of the profound clefts of separation between the Macedonian and the Jew, the antipathies of race, the differences of language, the dissimilarities of manner, and then think of what an unheard-of new thing it must have been that a Macedonian should 'serve' a Jew! Epaphroditus emptied himself and Paul tells the Philippians to Paul only calls him a "brother" ( Phil. Everybody feels bad so Paul says, "You've got to go back so somebody around an AIDS patient? 3:3,4,9 and Col. 1:26,27, etc.). I think sometimes it is wise to not isolate the Gift of Healing when we think about these questions. This is why he and these others were not healed by him. It is clear that the gift of healing has ceased because, as in Philippians, Paul was no longer able to heal, even his co-workers. In Gaiuss home, in Corinth, Paul wrote the letter to the Romans (see Rom. man awaiting trial on a capital charge was laying himself open to the very considerable risk of It is a gambling term. have survived without him but that's not how Epaphroditus saw it. I have stayed beyond two weeks, this is the third year and half after the diagnosis. But we have also seen that with the close of the Book of Acts, the gift of healing ceased to operate. He uses this word in verses 25 and 28. The ship sails across the track of the moonlight, and then vanishes ghost-like into darkness. Every breath that you take, every beat of your heart is mercy. Colossians 1:7 of a different man. Whether there were so or no, the exhortation itself traces lightly but surely the lines on which Christians should render, and their fellow-Christians can rightly receive, even praise from men. Epaphroditus' service to Paul was a spiritual priestly function. needs. We begin by setting up a time line of Pauls ministry. In Acts 21:33 Paul was arrested in Jerusalem, and would spend the next 5 years in prison, right through the end of the Book of Acts.
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