Dwell in the Word Philippians 2:19-30

Ponder these questions as you dwell in Philippians 2:19-30:

1. How does the passage illustrate the importance of sacrificial love and selflessness in Christian service? In what ways do Timothy and Epaphroditus exemplify this sacrificial love, and how can their examples inspire us in our own Christian walk?

2. Paul emphasizes that Timothy seeks the interests of Christ rather than his own. How can believers cultivate a mindset that prioritizes the well-being of Christ's church and the interests of others above their personal concerns or ambitions? What practical steps can be taken to develop this Christ-centered perspective?

3. Reflecting on Epaphroditus's near-death experience for the work of Christ, what does this reveal about the level of dedication and commitment that Christians are called to in their service to God and one another? How can we demonstrate similar fervency and willingness to risk for the sake of advancing the Gospel and caring for fellow believers?

Transcript:

This is an interesting passage, as I was dividing up the Book of Philippians, I actually considered putting these verses with what we looked at on Monday, but I decided to look at this separately. Even though there's no real deep theological truth here or nothing really doctrinal in this, it shows us something important about the Christian life. It shows us something very important about Christian service. Notice how Paul talks about Timothy and Epaphroditus here, how they serve Christ church. Notice he's willing to send Timothy in his place. Paul has been detained. He's been imprisoned, and he's willing to send Timothy. Why? Because Timothy looks out for the welfare of other people. He says that others seek their own interests. They're looking out for themselves. But what does Timothy do? He seeks what is of Christ. He looks out for the interests of the church, and he has shown his worth. And so, Paul is willing to send him in his stead. And then he also talks about Epaphroditus. He talks about how Epaphroditus was ill. And what did Paul do? He was distressed over his illness. He loved his fellow brother in Christ so deeply that he feels as though his being healed also was of benefit to him that God had mercy not only on Epaphroditus, but on Paul himself, because he would have been grieved, he cared so deeply about his fellow brothers.

So, we see in Timothy how we are to care for Christ Church. We see how Paul cares for Epaphroditus, how we are to care for each other. But we also see how Epaphroditus served. Look at this. He nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me. He was caring for Paul. He was working hard to do what God had called him to do. And so that's what we really see in this passage, how we are to serve Christ, how we are to care for one another and how we are to serve one another. And what does it all come back to, really? It comes back to that sacrificial love. And we see that sacrificial love modeled for us in the Lord Jesus Christ, do we not? That is what we base our faith upon. That is what we center our hope upon, is that -sacrificial love that Jesus Christ had for us. So, may we look to serve, sacrificially, as we go out into the world, as we come to church, as we go, well, anywhere. May we look to be sacrificial in our love, just as Christ sacrificed himself for us.

So, we can look to the examples of these three men, Paul, Timothy and Epaphroditus to see how we can truly care and love one another.