Preaching through Philippians

 

TOPIC:‌“Paul - The Faithful Friend”

                  by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap

 

TEXT:‌Philippians 2:19-30

 

‌‌“But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy shortly unto you…yet I thought

‌‌it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus” (2:19, 25)

 

‌As we come to the next subdivision of this beautiful letter to the Philippians, we enter into a section that reveals the tenderness and compassion of the human heart of this man Paul. Paul was a faithful friend who attached himself to two men, Timothy and Epaphroditus, by the heartfelt love and sympathetic interest he had for them. And such friendship rewarded itself because these two companions of Paul became his dearest of friends. There you have it - friendship breeds friendship.

 

‌These two dear intimate and helpful friends, Timothy and Epaphroditus, were not only Christians in name but in nature as well. Guy H. King, in his devotional study on this section of Philippians, entitles it “A Couple of Fine Specimens.” And so they were! They were ready to go anywhere, help anyone, and sacrifice anything in order to be of service to Paul and their Christ.

 

‌Paul now sets forth before our eyes a picture of Timothy and a portrait of Epaphroditus. Let's look separately at each one of these two partners he has in the work of the Gospel.

 

I.

 

‌We have, to begin with, a GLIMPSE of Timothy. Give ear to what St. Paul states in verse 19: “But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state.” A. B. Simpson called Timothy “the Loyal Helper.” That he was. Notice the three things the Apostle has to say about him.

 

‌Timothy is described as a DEDICATED. Man. Paul states in verse 20: “For I have no man like-minded. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's.” Phillips is superb in his rendering of this verse: “I have nobody else with a genuine interest in your well-being. All the others seem to be wrapped up in their own affairs and do not really care for the business of Jesus Christ.”

 

‌The statement “for I have no man” means “not even one.” There was no one Paul could count upon to make the long trip to Rome. Not that they couldn't make it, but they wouldn't make it. Commenting on these two verses Paul . . .