Think of the people who shaped who you are: a coach, a teacher, a friend who stuck with you through something hard. Now think about the last time you told them so.
In the middle of his letter to the church in Philippi, the apostle Paul pauses to do exactly that. Writing from prison, he gives the church a glowing review of two friends, Timothy and Epaphroditus. Then he gives one instruction:
"So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me." (Philippians 2:29–30)
To receive someone is to welcome them the way God has welcomed us. To honor someone is to treasure them, to treat them as precious. So who are these two, and what made them worth honoring?
Who was Timothy?
Timothy was one of Paul's closest companions. He traveled with Paul on missionary journeys, and his name appears alongside Paul's at the start of several New Testament letters, including this one (Philippians 1:1). Paul met him as a young man and took him under his wing. He calls Timothy his "true child in the faith" (1 Timothy 1:2).
In Philippians 2:19–22, Paul says three things about him.
He shares Paul's heart. "I have no one like him," Paul writes (Philippians 2:20). The phrase literally means "of equal soul." Whatever Timothy said to the church, they could trust it was what Paul would say.
He genuinely cares. Timothy would be "genuinely concerned for your welfare" (Philippians 2:20). The word for "concerned" is the same word Paul later uses for worry (Philippians 4:6). Timothy carried the church's well-being the way a family member would. While others were tied up with their own affairs, he was willing to drop everything and go.
He has proven himself. "You know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel" (Philippians 2:22). In that culture, sons learned their father's trade by working alongside him. Timothy learned Paul's "trade" the same way: through travel, hunger, hardship and even jail. The word for "served" comes from the word for a servant or slave. He gave himself completely.
Who was Epaphroditus?
Epaphroditus was a member of the Philippian church. They sent him to Paul in prison with a financial gift and a letter (Philippians 4:18). Paul describes him with five titles in a single sentence:
"I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need." (Philippians 2:25)
Brother. Not just a courier, but family. In Christ, Paul writes elsewhere, we are "members of the household of God" (Ephesians 2:19).
Fellow worker. Someone who labored alongside Paul to bring the good news about Jesus to new places.
Fellow soldier. Someone who stood shoulder to shoulder with Paul through conflict, hardship and spiritual battle.
Messenger. The Greek word is apostolos, the same word translated "apostle." Paul is signaling that the church should see Epaphroditus as a partner in the mission, not a lesser helper.
Minister to my need. This word was also used for priests who served in the temple. Epaphroditus did the practical, behind-the-scenes work, and Paul treats it as sacred.
Epaphroditus also became seriously ill, "near to death" (Philippians 2:27). Word of it reached Philippi, and when he learned how worried the church was, he was "distressed" (Philippians 2:26). It's the same word used of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane the night before he died (Matthew 26:37). He was homesick, and he loved his church so much that their worry weighed on him.
Who are your Timothy and Epaphroditus?
These two friendships look a little different.
A Timothy is someone you've invested in, or someone who has invested in you. Jake shared that a college mentor took him under his wing when he was a freshman drifting from his faith. He taught Jake how to read the Bible, pray and share his faith. This week Jake texted him just to say thank you.
An Epaphroditus is someone beside you. You've worked together and been through hard things together. You know each other's struggles and take care of each other.
Honoring people like that can be simple: a text that says I've been thinking about you, and I'm grateful, or an invitation to dinner just to catch up.
Were they "super Christians"?
It's easy to look at people like Paul, Timothy and Epaphroditus, or at pastors and missionaries today, and think they're a different category of person. I could never do that.
But they weren't super Christians. They were ordinary followers copying what Jesus did. Just before this passage, Paul describes Jesus:
"Though he was in the form of God, [he] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant… he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." (Philippians 2:6–8)
Each of the three simply follows that pattern.
Paul gave up his status. Jesus emptied himself, and Paul set aside his impressive religious résumé: "I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" (Philippians 3:8).
Timothy became a servant. Jesus took the form of a servant, and Timothy "served" alongside Paul for the sake of others.
Epaphroditus risked his life. Jesus was obedient to the point of death, and Epaphroditus "nearly died for the work of Christ" (Philippians 2:30).
That's why Paul can say, "join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us" (Philippians 3:17). We honor people like this because they show us what following Jesus looks like up close.
Who is the real example?
In the end, the point isn't any person in your life, however much you admire them. The point is Jesus.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:1–2)
Your race might take you overseas. But it could just as easily be in a kids' classroom, behind a coffee table on Sunday morning, at work with a coworker who's hard to love, or at home with your family.
And there's one more question. It's possible to honor faithful people more than we honor Jesus himself. When he speaks to you, maybe on a quiet morning with your Bible open, do you welcome him with joy? Do you treat him as the most valuable person you know?
Life Application
This week, reach out to one person who has shaped your faith or stood beside you through something hard. Tell them specifically why you're grateful.
Questions for reflection:
Who is a "Timothy" in your life: someone you've invested in, or who has invested in you?
Who is an "Epaphroditus": someone who has stood beside you?
Have you ever thought of faithful people as "super Christians"? How does it change things to see them as ordinary followers imitating Jesus?
Where might your "race" be right now?
When Jesus asks something of you, how do you usually receive it?
Adapted from a sermon by Jake Rivera, Youth and Family Pastor at New City Church, part of our series Defiant Joy.
