Scripture memory reveals unseen treasures in ways few other methods of study and meditation can.

Case in point: Epaphras. Two years ago I decided to memorize the book of Colossians and I found myself regularly amazed at truth I never really saw before. One such revelation was this man named Epaphras. He only shows up three times in all of Scripture and two of them are in Colossians:¹

1. “You learned [the grace of God in truth] from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.” – Col. 1:7-8
2. “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis.” – Col. 4:12-13

If you try to summarize everything these four verses say about Epaphras the summary might go something like this, “Epaphras was a faithful minister of Christ who taught the gospel, prayed, and worked hard.” Oh, what a three-pronged challenge to faithful pastoring! Let me work out this summary sentence on faithful ministry a bit more.

“He was a faithful minister who taught the gospel.” Paul kicks of Colossians 1 by sharing his delight in the young church’s faith in Christ and love for one another, things fueled by their hope in heaven. He continues to say that their hope came from hearing “the word of truth, the gospel,” and this they heard from Epaphras. This forgotten saint reminds every pastor that his ministry is to be preoccupied with that which if of first importance, the gospel. The Colossians not only “heard” the gospel, but they “understood” it as well. A preacher doesn’t minister the gospel with the sole aim of being heard; no, he must long to be understood as well. Such understanding can only come from the Spirit’s work, thus the faithful minister must be distinguished as a Spirit-dependent man. Like the sower in Mark 4:1-9, the pastor offers the seed of the gospel to everyone who will listen – even those who won’t listen – and prays for the Spirit to give them understanding.

“He was a faithful minister who prayed.” He not only prayed, but prayed with peculiar devotion.  4:12 says Epaphras was “always struggling.” The Greek for “struggling” is ἀγωνιζόμενος, more literally translated as “agonizing.” Faithful ministry, according to Epaphras, includes agonizing prayer for the flock to “stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.” The energy of Epaphrus’ praying is challenging, but so to is the content of his praying. Any pastor who makes small advancement in prayer knows how easy it is to let somewhat secondary concerns dominate his prayers for the flock. Epaphras was consumed with pleas for his people to stand mature in Christ and assured in God’s will. This even echoes what Paul said earlier in the book. In 1:28-29 Paul says he proclaims Christ in order to “present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.” He then proceeds in chapter 2 to place more detail on the nature of his struggle, or agony. He agonizes for the Colossians “that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

So preach the gospel with the aim of being understood, agonize in prayer for maturity and assurance in Christ, and thirdly . . .

“He was a faithful minister who worked hard.” Epaphras bears the apostolic testimony that he “worked hard” for Christians in Colosse, “Laodicea and in Hierapolis.” Pastoral ministry hides lazy men quite well. The average size of the average congregation in our country means most minister work away from accountable eyes. As a church planter leading a small church I know just how easy it is to waste away the hours of each day and have few people know I’ve done so. But God will not suffer lazy shepherds, they are of all men to be diligent in faithful enterprise. Notice that Epaphras was not only commended for hard work in Colosse, but hard work in Laodicea and Hierapolis. These three cities made up the ancient Lycos Valley in modern day Turkey. Laodicea was 10 miles northwest of Colosse, and Hierapolis is thought to be about 13 miles northeast of Laodicea. So Epaphras was faithful to not only make the gospel known in Colosse, but also in the main cities nearby. The hard work of ministry should include working for gospel advancement in the surrounding areas of our immediate city or town. May God give us hearts for those near and far, and the energy to work hard for His glory everywhere we can.

“Epaphras was a faithful minister of Christ who taught the gospel, prayed, and worked hard.” He is a forgotten minster worth remembering.