The Vision (3.20.26): Band of Brothers

Image: Marble frieze, Roman soldiers, AD first century, Altes Museum, Berlin, Germany.

Note: Devotion based on last Sunday's sermon on Philippians 2:19-30.

Shakespeare’s Henry V includes a speech given by the king on St. Crispens Day just before his outnumbered English troops are about to go into a climactice battle against the French, in which he addresses them as, “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.”

The historian Stephan Ambrose would borrow words from this speech to title his 1992 book Band of Brothers about “Easy Company” from the 101^st Army Airborne and its service in WW2.

Long before Henry V, William Shakespeare, Easy Company and Stephen Ambrose, however, there was the apostle Paul and his letter to the saints at Philippi.

In that letter, as Paul often did in his writings, he makes reference to the men who were his fellow laborers in the gospel. These were men who did not hold the value of their lives so highly that they were unwilling to lay them down for the cause of Christ and the gospel.

Paul is recommending such men in Philippians 2:19-30. It is not the best-known passage in Philippians. It does not hold forth great Christological truths like the Christ Hymn in Philippians 2:5-11. It does not hold pithy and memorable verses like Philippians 1:21, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” or Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” I suppose that few have taken a “life verse” from this passage!

Paul makes reference here to two of his fellow workers, Timothy (vv. 19-23) and Epaphroditus (vv. 25-30), alongside a reference to himself (v. 24).

The name Timothy means “one who honors God.” Timothy had a Jewish Christian mother (and even a Christian grandmother), but a pagan father (cf. Acts 16:1; 2 Tim 1:5). He had a good reputation among the disciples and joined Paul in his second missionary journey (Acts 16:2).

In Philippians 2:20-22 Paul points to four admirable qualities held by Timothy. First, the apostle said he had no man who was so “like-minded” (v. 20a). The Greek term literally means “same spirited” or “same-souled.” Second, Paul says he knows no one who demonstrated a more natural or sincere care for the saints (v. 20b). Timothy was not a phony or a hypocrite, but a sincere minister. Third, Timothy did not seek his own things but the things of Christ (v. 21). Fourth, Timothy had a proven track record of service alongside the apostle “as a son with a father” (v. 22).

The name Epaphroditus come from the Greek literally meaning “From Aphrodite” or “From Venus.” This indicates he was likely a Gentile. Perhaps his parents had prayed to the goddess Venus for a child, and when he came, they named him Epaphroditus. But at some point, he heard the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and became a servant of the one true God.

In Philippians 2:25 Paul notes several commendable qualities in this man. We’ll note just the first three. First, he calls him “my brother.” This means he was a genuine believer, a true brother in Christ. Second, Paul describes him as a “companion in labour.” This translates just one word in Greek: synergos.  He was a “synergist” with the apostle in ministry. Third, he calls him a “fellowsoldier.” They were brothers in arms in spiritual warfare (cf. Eph 6:11-12).

Think of these three men: Timothy, Paul and Epaphroditus.

One Timothy (“one who honors God”) had a pagan father and a Christian mother and grandmother. But he came to a point when he was called to follow Christ.

One was Paul, a Hebrew of the Hebrews who had once persecuted Christians, but whose path dramatically changed after he encountered the risen Christ on the Damascus Road (Acts 9).

One was Epaphroditus (“from Venus”) who came from a completely pagan household, but who became a brother, synergist, and fellowsoldier for Christ.

All three of these men had at one time been enemies of Christ, with nothing in common to draw them into league with one another. Then Christ, the Word made flesh, by his death, burial, and resurrection made each of them his loyal subjects and then united them in faith to one another. As Paul wrote in Romans 5:10, “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

He delights in taking men who were strangers and turning them into a band of brothers who live to serve Him.

For what do you live? To what cause have you joined yourself? Anything less than Christ and his kingdom will not satisfy. And with whom have you joined yourself? Do you stand alone or with a band of brothers in Christ’s church?

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle