Message of the Week

The Little White Community Church

Scripture: Colossians - Philemon

Nov. 9, 2025

Message: “Epaphras”

by Pastor George Gnade

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Introduction:

1. For the thanksgiving season, we are considering people we are thankful for. Last week we considered two men Paul led to Christ who became two of his closest friends. One was Philemon and the other was Onesimus.

2. Today we are considering Epaphras.

A. Epaphras shared the gospel with the Colossians (1:7).

1. When Paul wrote to the Colossians, he had never met any of them except Epaphras, who came to tell him about a heresy that was affecting the church. As an apostle, Paul wrote to correct them and keep them from getting involved in the philosophies of the day.

a. We are also told that Epaphras was the one that had shared the gospel with the Colossians and told Paul how the Holy Spirit had worked through him to start this church. But now he needed Paul’s help.

b. In Col. 1:7, Paul calls Epaphras a “faithful minister for Christ Jesus.”

2. Faithfulness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Epaphras was faithful to the Lord and faithful to the people he served.

a. Some people think a minister just stands up and preaches a sermon on Sunday morning.  They have no idea of the challenges ministers face as they try to do their best for the Lord.

b. In Col. 4:13, it says: “Epaphras worked hard for you.”  Being faithful is one thing. That demands consistency. It means the people you are ministering to know they can rely on you to do your best.

c. But Epaphras was not only faithful and reliable, he worked hard!  He put his heart into what he did. A full time pastor often works 50 or 60 hours a week. I wonder how much time and effort Epaphras put into his work for the Lord. We will never know, but God knows. That is what counts.

B. Secondly, in Col. 4:12, Paul says: “Epaphras is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus.”

1. Since Epaphras was the first to share the gospel with the Colossians, obviously they would know him. But I think Paul was trying to tell us that he really knew them personally. 

a. If a person tells me he is a Christian, I often try to discern if they simply know about Jesus or if they are developing a personal relationship with Jesus.

b. The same can be said about our relationships. Do we just know about them, or do we really know them.

2. When Paul wrote: “Epaphras is one of you,” I believe they knew him as someone who cared about them.

C. This raises another question that needs to be considered. In Col. 4:13, it says: “I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis.” 

1. What does that mean? Was he the minister of the church in Colossae, or was he the pastor of the church in Laodicea or Hierapolis?  Or did these three churches all act like one big church functioning out of three locations? This practice is very common in our day.

2. If that is what it means, then Epaphras knew Christians in all three cities and probably helped the whole area to learn about Jesus. 

a. No wonder Paul describes him as “a faithful minister of the Christ” (Col. 1: 7) But his gift may have been more the gift of evangelism.

b. Some pastors are better teachers. Some are better evangelists. Epaphras may have been a good teacher, but I believe his primary gift was that of an evangelist.

D. In Col. 4:12, we learn another reason why Epaphras was successful as a minister and an evangelist. It was because of his prayer life!

1. Paul said: “He is always wrestling in prayer for you that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.”

a. “Wrestling in prayer” is fervent prayer. It reminds me of Jesus who often spent the whole night in prayer.

b. I would assume it was a result of his prayers that he felt led to involve the Apostle Paul. Christians need to work together. In this situation, Epaphras needed Paul.

2. While Paul was still a prisoner in Rome and could not go to Colossae himself, he did the second best thing that he could do by writing this letter.

3. In Ephesians 6: 10-18, Paul explains to us the whole armor of God that we are encouraged to put on in our spiritual battle for the souls of men.

a. In vs. 18, he writes: “Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep praying for all the saints.”

b. That is the kind of prayer that brings results. That is the best way for me to describe what wrestling in prayer is all about.

4. Growing a church and winning souls for Christ is a spiritual battle. As in a wrestling match, sometimes one has the advantage and sometimes the other.

a. It reminds me of the story of Moses when God asked him to pray for Joshua who was leading Israel in battle against their enemies. As long as he kept praying, Joshua made progress. If he put his hands down, the enemy seemed to make progress. So two of the leaders held his hands in the air until the battle was won.

b. In the same way, wrestling in prayer involves constant appeals to God. That is the kind of prayer Epaphras prayed for the Colossians and the other two cities near by.

E. Finally we are told of the price Epaphras paid for his faithfulness to the Lord and his spiritual flock.

1. In Paul’s letter to Philemon, in vs. 23. Paul writes: “Epaphras, my fellow prisoner for Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings.”

a. The books of Colossians and Philemon were written about the same time. But something happened to Epaphras that changed the course of his life.

b. Somehow he too became a prisoner in Rome. 

2. Today is set aside as a day to pray for the persecuted church. Clearly Epaphras was apprehended for his faith.

We are not told how this happened. 

a. In vs. 23, Paul called him “his fellow prisoner for the Lord.” 

b. All over the world in our day, Christians are being persecuted for their faith, and that includes the possibility of imprisonment.

3. I am sure Paul was thankful for Epaphras and Epaphras was thankful for him. They certainly needed each other.

In conclusion: Thank God for people like Epaphras who was willing to pay the price for serving the Lord. May we benefit from his example and do likewise. Amen!