Well let us turn once again to
the last chapter here in the epistle to the Colossians considering these various names
that are mentioned as is often the case with the Apostle when
he comes to the conclusion of his letters of course he will
convey greetings from his various friends to the churches that
he addresses and I suppose in many ways these final words. These final verses are often
overlooked, and we're trying to see if we can find some profit
by considering these various names that are mentioned. Tonight,
as we turn again to Colossians 4, I'll read for our text verses
12 and 13, where we read of Epaphras. And I think this Epaphras is
not to be confused with Epaphroditus, spoken of in the Philippian epistle. They're two different people,
I believe. But reading here in Colossians
4, 12, and 13, Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant or a
slave of Christ, saluteth you, always laboring fervently for
you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the
will of God. for I bear him record that he
had a great zeal for you and them that are in Laodicea and
them in Hierapolis." Here then we read of him one of you and
Colossae was very much a Gentile church. Last time when we were looking
at the previous verses, verses 10 and 11 we saw now that there
we have mention of three men who were evidently converted
Jews. They are spoken of in verse 11
as being of the circumcision. Three converted Jews they are
spoken of. We know how in general the Jews
were very much opposed to the Apostle and his ministry. It
was at Corinth that we read of how he turned from them, their
great opposition, their blasphemies. So there in Acts 18 verses 5
and 6 we read of him turning from the Jews to the Gentiles
and he was raised to be the apostle to the Gentiles. But there were
those Jews that he did minister to and there were those who did
stand with him. And such was the case with those
we were looking at last time in these previous verses. Aristarchus, Marcus and Barnabas. I got that right. Marcus, not
Barnabas, but Marcus Aristarchus and Justus who is also referred
to as Jesus. These only are my fellow workers,
he said, unto the kingdom of God which have been a comfort
to me. And they were not just ethnic
Jews, they were also of course true spiritual Israelites and
not all Israel that are of Israel we're told and Paul is very clear
there at the end of Romans 2 he is not a Jew which is one outwardly
neither is circumcision that which is outwardly in the flesh
but he is a Jew which is one inwardly and circumcision is
that of the heart in the spirit and not in the letter whose price
is not of men but of God but now we turn to this man Epaphras
spoken of here in verses 12 and 13 and the theme I want to take
up really is that of the fervent and zealous prayers of a Gentile
the fervent and zealous prayers of a Gentile he was one of them
distinct to those spoken of previously who were of the circumcision
and Under God, he was the man really who was responsible for
the planting and the establishment of this congregation at Colossae. As we saw in the portion we read
in the opening verses, verse 7, as you also learned, of Epaphras,
our dear fellow servant, who is for you a faithful minister
of Christ. It is evident that the apostle
himself was never at Colossae. In chapter 2 he writes, I would
that ye knew what great conflict I have for you and for them at
Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the
flesh. He had not been at Colossae himself,
but it was very much this particular individual who had taken the
Gospel to them in the beginning. And so, in the portion that we
read, There in chapter 1 verse 4 following, he says, Since we
heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which he
hath to all saints, for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven,
whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel,
which is common to you as it is in all the world, and bringeth
forth fruit as it doth also in you, since the day he heard of
it and knew the grace of God in truth, as he also learned
of Epaphras, our dear fellow-servant, who was for you a faithful minister
of Christ, who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit,
so all that the Apostle is aware of with regards to this church
of the Colossians is that that he had learned from this faithful
servant Epaphras and here is a man who is often
in prayer for this particular church He prays for them. That is the mark that we see
so distinctly in these two verses. He is zealous and persevering
in all his prayers. And we know how Paul would pray
for them. He says as much right at the
beginning. There, in verse 3 of that opening chapter, we give
thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying
always for you. Our Paul would pray for them
again and again. Verse 9, he says, for this cause
we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for
you, and to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge
of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding Paul
himself is one who is often praying for these churches and if he's
not praying he will exhort them to pray themselves as we see
here in the opening part of this fourth chapter continuing prayer
he says and watching the same with thanksgiving with all praying
also for us that God would open unto us a door of utterance to
speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds."
He was there in Rome. He had appealed to Caesar. That was his right as a free-born
Roman citizen when the Jews were plotting and scheming against
him at the end of Acts. But still, he is mindful of these
churches, and even that of Colossae. which unlike the other churches
that we have letters addressed to by Paul, unlike those churches
which he himself had been instrumental in establishing, as I said, it
was this man Epaphras who had first taken the gospel to them. So let us consider what he said
here with regards to these fervent and zealous prayers of this man,
Epaphras. Epaphras, who is one of you,
a servant or a slave of Christ, saluteth you, always laboring
fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and
complete in all the will of God. For I bear him record that he
hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea and
them in Hierapolis. First of all, the manner of this
man's prayers, and we see great fervency being spoken of here. He was not one who prayed in
a cold and a formal manner. His prayers were not just a multitude
of words. But we read of him, and the language
is quite strong, laboring, or as the Margin said, striving
fervently. John Gill observes that he strove
even to an agony as the word signifies. Because the word that
we have here is in fact the Greek word from which our English word
agony is derived. He is agonizing. in his prayers,
his striving, his laboring in prayer. He is a Gentile, but
surely he is one who is really the true seed of Jacob, Jacob
who became Israel. Remember what we have recorded
back there in that 32nd chapter of Genesis, where we find Jacob
at Peniel, and the angel meets with him. You know the passage
quite well, I'm sure. And he wrestles there with the
angel, and it's really a theophany. It's an Old Testament appearance
of the Lord Jesus Christ as the angel of the Lord. Jacob was
left alone, we're told. Genesis 32, 24. And there wrestled
a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that
he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his
thigh, and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint as he
wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the
day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee
go except thou bless me. Oh Jacob, wrestling there with
the angel disabled, And so he can no longer wrestle, but what
does he do when he cannot wrestle? He cleaves to the angel. This is real prayer. He will
not let the angel go, the Lord Jesus go, until he has obtained
the blessing from him. This is what prayer is. Wrestling
prayer can wonders do, Bring relief in deepest straits, Prayer
can force the passage through Iron bars and brazen gates, says
good John Newton. And what happens there, of course,
is that Jacob, the supplanter, has his name changed. The angel says to him, What is
thy name? And he said, Jacob. And the angel
said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel. For
as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. And so we have the name Israel. And this man, Nephathras, is
one who is a true Israelite. Now, not all Israel that are
of Israel. What a man is this! His liken
surely to him of whom we read at the end of John 1, Nathanael,
when the Lord beholds him, says, Behold an Israelite indeed, in
whom is no guile. So too this man Epaphras. He prays and he does not pray
in vain. He is one of those who is truly
of the company of the election of Christ, and shall not God
avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though
he bear long with them. I tell you, says the Lord Jesus,
he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of
Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? Or that we might
be those then who have the sort of praying faith that we see
in this man, in his prayers, praying for the Colossians and
we come together tonight of course not for our own private prayers
we come to pray and we come to pray specifically for the church
and congregation that meet within these walls but we don't simply
pray for ourselves we pray for others also we're not that parochial
that we cannot see beyond the end of our noses. We pray for
others. We pray for the whole company
of the election of grace. We want to see God's work prospering.
And how this man would labour and strive fervently in his prayer
then for these Colossians. The manner, the manner of his
praying, it was fervent. And what was the object of his
prayer, the design of his prayer? well we're told at the end of
verse 12 he prays that she may stand perfect and
complete in all the will of God and observe the opening word
here that it introduces really the purpose of clause it's in
order that there's a purpose there's an end there's a point
to his prayers and surely we learn from him in this when we
come we should have a reason for our prayers and some particular
matter that we want to lie before the Lord God not to just meander
along in our prayers we're to lay hold of him with regards
to specific things and what is this man's great concern? well
he wants that they there a colossi should should stand and stand
fast that she may stand he says perfect and complete in all the
will of God perfect and complete and that Perfection, that completeness,
of course, is only found in the Lord Jesus Christ. How we have
to learn our complete and our utter dependence upon Him, and
surely we feel that when we come to pray. How could we ever expect
any entrance into the presence of God but for Him, who is our
Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ? What perfections are to be found
in Him? All righteousness is there. Remember
what we're told back in the second chapter. Some great Christological
statements are made here in this epistle to the Colossians. Paul
sets before us something of the glories that belong to Jesus
of Nazareth, who is God manifest in the flesh. There in chapter
2 verse 9 it says, In him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead
bodily, and ye are complete in him, which is the head of all
principality and power. Here is where we find completeness
in the Lord Jesus Christ, that ye may stand perfect and complete,
he says. There's not only completeness
there, there's also perfection. There's all righteousness. He
is that one who is holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners
and made higher than the heavens. He is that one who is the Lord
our righteousness. Christ, the end of the law, for
righteousness to everyone that believeth. And how does David
pray when we turn to the book of Psalms? And of course, so
many of the Psalms are really prayers. And David there at the
end of his days, Psalm 71, from the content evidently may be
the last Psalm that ever David wrote. I will go in the strength
of the Lord God, he says. I will make mention of thy righteousness,
even of thine only. my tongue also shall talk of
thy righteousness all the day long. And this is what this man
desires for the Colossians, that they may stand perfect and complete,
and really that can only be in the Lord Jesus Christ. But of
course he says something more than that, doesn't he? He speaks
of them being perfect and complete in all the will of God. told that this is the will of
God, even your sanctification, there in 1 Thessalonians 4.3. God's will is that his people
be a sanctified people, a people set apart, set apart to holiness
of living, as well as being accounted righteous in the Lord Jesus Christ. Again to the Ephesians Paul can
say, Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will
of the Lord is. And that will of the Lord is
their sanctification. The words of the Lord Jesus in
the course of his own ministry Speaking there in Matthew 7,
part of the Sermon on the Mount, what does he say? Not everyone
that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into heaven, but
he that doeth the will of my Father that sent me. Oh, here is the great desire
of Epaphrasen in his prayer for these Colossians, that they might
understand what the will of the Lord is, that they might be those
who are seeking to walk in obedience to that will. And where is that
will revealed? It's revealed here in the Word
of God. They are to live lives and that
conform to all that instruction that the apostle is giving in
this epistle and all the other epistles. And there are in the
epistles those parts where Paul is very specific with regards
to the manner in which Christians are to conduct themselves. There are practical parts of
the epistles. But then, when we think of the
will of God, surely we must also think in terms of praying for
God's will to be accomplished in general. not just with regards
to ourselves and our own sanctification we're to pray for the coming
of God's Kingdom the petitions of the Lord's Prayer thy kingdom
come thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven we're to pray
to God that the gospel might be blessed to the salvation of
sinners Remember those words back at the end of Ezekiel 36. God says to Israel, I will yet
be inquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them. I will increase them with men
as a flock. This is what the Lord God will do. But the Lord
God has not only appointed the end, He has also ordained the
means whereby that end will be accomplished. I will do it, but
I'll do it as they come and inquire of me. There's a motivation to
pray. How prayer is so necessary, so
vital really to the great success of the ministry of the Word of
God. And so when we come together
we pray. And as I say, we pray for ourselves, we pray for one
another, we pray for the church, the congregation that meet here,
but we also pray for others and we pray for the coming of God's
kingdom how important it is Paul speaks
of his preaching there in the end of chapter 1 whom we preach
that is Christ whom he speaks of in the previous verse whom
we preach warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom
that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus and so
here is Epaphras also in the words of our text Epaphras who
is one of you a servant of Christ salute of you always laboring
fervently for you in prayers that you may stand perfect and
complete in all the will of God we have Paul's ministry spoken
of but we also have their praying, and these two must therefore
come together. There's a design, there's a purpose
in the fervent prayers of this man. And then finally, what is the motivation? What
is the motivation in all of this? Well, Paul says there, the beginning
of verse 13, I bear him record I bear him record that he hath
a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them
in Hierapolis." All Paul could see this in the man, how he was
one who was indeed wearing himself out. As I said there at the beginning
of verse 12, this word labelling is literally agonizing. And it's not just a matter of
the example of Jacob. There at Peniel, back in Genesis
32, we read of the Lord Jesus. In Luke 22, there in the Garden
of Gethsemane, being in an agony. He prayed more earnestly and
his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. Lord, the Lord agonizing there
in prayers. as he contemplates all that is
before him, the giving of his life, the shedding of his precious
blood, the accomplishment of that great work of redemption. And here is Epaphras, and here
is a man who has a great zeal. That's what it says in verse
13, he has a great zeal for you. steadfast, unmovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord's, knowing that this labor
for them is not in vain. And he's praying for the Colossians,
yes, but not only that, he's praying for the church at Laodicea
and he's also praying for the church in Hierapolis. three different
churches really and these churches of course were established there
in what was called Asia Minor which is now of course part of
Turkey and remember how one of the letters
to the seven churches is sent to one of these three One of
those churches mentioned there in Acts 3 is the Church of the
Laodiceans. And those solemn words that the
Lord addresses to them in Revelation 3.16, because they are lukewarm,
and neither cold nor hot I will spew thee out of my mouth. Lukewarm. It's interesting, the
comment that's made on these verses by John Davenant, who
was at one stage the Bishop of Salisbury back in the early years
of the 17th century. And Davenant, and it's a good
commentary, Davenant's commentary on this epistle to the Colossians,
probably the choicest of all the commentaries, he just makes
this observation, he says, the country of Asia Minor was seized
and subverted by Mohammedan superstition and Turkish tyranny. The country of Asia Minor seized
and subverted by Mohammedan superstition and Turkish tyranny. Why? Because they were lukewarm. They were lukewarm, they were
neither colds nor hearts and the Lord Jesus Christ who is
that one head over all things to the church head over all things
to every church and so what does he do he spews them out of his
mouth and they're overrun by the Muslim hordes how solemn
it is but how different was this man there's nothing lukewarm
about Epaphras he's A Gentile is one of you, says the Apostle.
Oh, but what zeal and what fervor! And how does he manifest it?
He manifests it in his prayers. Well, I confess that I do find
what we read concerning this man a personal rebuke. What is
my prayer compared to the prayers of such a servant the slave of
the Lord Jesus Christ, as was Epaphras. Might we learn of him,
he was a friend of the Apostle. I do like the way in which he
speaks here, Paul, of these various men and how much they meant to
him. Epaphras, who is one of you,
a servant of Christ, salutes you always, laboring fervently
for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in
all the will of God, For I bear him record that he hath a great
zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis."
Well, the Lord be pleased to bless His Word to us. We're going
to sing that hymn that I made some reference to, John Newton's
hymn 397. in themselves as weak as worms,
how can poor believers stand when temptations, foes and storms
press them close on every hand? Wrestling prayer can wonders
do, bring relief in deepest straits. Prayer can force a passage through
iron bars and brazen gates. We sing to the tune Weber 519,
hymn number 397.