Smoodock's Blog

Epaphras was a citizen of the city of Colossae, and it was he, who brought the Gospel to his hometown. We know very little about this man. He is mentioned only three times in the New Covenant text, twice in Paul’s epistle to the Colossians (Colossians 1:7 & 4:12), and once in his letter to Philemon (Philemon 1:23). In those locations Paul describes him as a fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on behalf of the believers at Colossae (Colossians 1:7). He reiterates his words here, when he closes his epistle (Colossians 4:12-13), saying Epaphras sends his greeting to them, and adds that he wrestles in prayer for them, desiring of God that his brethren at Colossae would stand mature and fully assured of God’s will. Moreover, Paul testifies that Epaphras has great zeal not only for his Colossian brethren, but also the brethren at Laodicea and Hierapolis, the two closest cities to Colossae. Finally, Paul mentions Epaphras to Philemon, asking him to greet Epaphras, whom Paul describes as a fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus (Philemon 1:23).

This is all we know of the man who brought the Gospel to Colossae, and who might have had a ministry in Laodicea and Hierapolis. How did he come by the faith? Was he originally discipled by Paul, as many scholars believe? While this is possible, I don’t think it probable. We are told that Timothy had a reputation in the Gospel in Derbe and Lystra, prior to his becoming a companion of Paul in his ministry (Acts 16:1-3). How far did Timothy’s ministry extend? Did Epaphras hear of Christ through him, or was it through someone else? The text never reveals how Epaphras came to the faith, or where he was, when he was introduced to the Gospel or under whose ministry it occurred. Moreover, neither are we told whether or not Epaphras was discipled in the faith. Was he schooled in the knowledge of Christ, or did he simply hear of Jesus and believe? I’m inclined to think, Epaphras wasn’t very mature in the faith and only learned about the deeper things of Christ, after meeting Paul in Rome. Coming to grips with his own poor understanding of Christ seems to have sparked his zeal for his brethren in three communities, where he may have introduced the Gospel, to mature in their own understanding of God and their walk with Christ (Colossians 4:12-13).

If what I’ve mentioned, concerning Epaphras, is true, it seems to fit what we read in Paul’s letter, concerning the fact that the Colossian brethren didn’t seem to know where to put Christ in their worldview.[1] If Epaphras’ gifts in the Gospel (Romans 12:3-8 & 1Corinthians 12:28) included prophecy (good preaching) or in teaching (discipling), we should expect the Colossian believers to have been more mature in the faith than what we read here. Therefore, we need to ask ourselves, if Epaphras’ bringing the Gospel to Colossae was more like a new believer telling his family, close friends and neighbors about this new Jesus he had come to know. He may have become acquainted with Christ through friends he met with elsewhere. In other words, Epaphras’ ministry in the Gospel was nothing like Paul’s, except that they both preached to others about the Christ of the Gospel narratives. However, if this is true, Epaphras may not have had a single document describing what Christ said or did. In other words, what he knew may have been limited to oral tradition that came to him through an acquaintance elsewhere.

It seems from the text that Epaphras may have been more like one of us today, who might share Christ with members of his family and a few friends. He was excited about his newfound faith and wanted other folks to know about his Jesus. In this manner, he was faithful in his service to Christ (Colossians 1:7-8), which may not have included the best gifts (1Corinthians 12:31), leaving the converts to Epaphras’ preaching ill-equipped in the knowledge of who Christ really is. Not knowing that Christ actually replaced his old worldview, whatever that may have been (pagan or Jewish), both he and those with whom he shared Christ sought to find a place for him within the worldview they held. Nevertheless, they did the best they could under the circumstances. Nevertheless, their best was laced with human error.

Finally, we aren’t told why Epaphras was in Rome with Paul. Was he there on business and heard Paul was there under house arrest and desired to meet with him? Did he travel to Rome, specifically to gain an audience with Paul, in order to tell him about his beloved Colossian brethren? If the latter is true, Epaphras must have realized, his brethren had a problem with Christ’s preeminence, but how could he correct their errors. The bottom line is, Epaphras cared deeply about the Colossian brethren. He prayed for their maturity and understanding, and, eventually, he found an answer to his prayer by meeting with Paul and telling him about the church he founded in Colossae.

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[1] This is implied in the fact that Paul had to explain the importance and sufficiency of Christ, implying no other god or philosophical discipline is needed to be saved (Colossians 1:15-20).