Lecture 4 — Paul sends ministers

^2:14^ And do all things without murmurings and hesitations: [n. 78]

^2:15^ That you may be blameless and sincere children of God, without reproof, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation: among whom you shine as lights in the world. [n. 80]

^2:16^ Holding forth the word of life to my glory in the day of Christ: because I have not run in vain, nor labored in vain. [n. 83]

^2:17^ Yes, even if I be made a victim upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and congratulate with you all. [n. 85]

^2:18^ And for the selfsame thing, you also should rejoice and congratulate with me.

^2:19^ And I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy unto you shortly, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know the things concerning you. [n. 86]

^2:20^ For I have no man so of the same mind, who with sincere affection is solicitous for you. [n. 88]

^2:21^ For all seek the things that are their own, not the things that are Jesus Christ’s. [n. 90]

^2:22^ Now know the proof of him: that as a son with the father, so has he served with me in the Gospel. [n. 92]

^2:23^ Therefore I hope to send him unto you immediately: as soon as I see how it will go with me. [n. 93]

^2:24^ And I trust in the Lord that I myself also shall come to you shortly.

^2:25^ But I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow laborer and fellow soldier, but your apostle: and he that has ministered to my wants. [n. 94]

^2:26^ For indeed he longed after you all: and was sad, because you had heard that he was sick. [n. 96]

^2:27^ For indeed he was sick, near to death: but God had mercy on him. And not only on him, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. [n. 97]

^2:28^ Therefore, I sent him the more speedily: that seeing him again, you may rejoice, and I may be without sorrow.

^2:29^ Receive him therefore with all joy in the Lord: and treat with honor such as he is. [n. 98]

^2:30^ Because for the work of Christ he came to the point of death: delivering his life, that he might fulfill that which on your part was wanting towards my service.

78. Above, the Apostle exhorted them to do works leading to salvation; here he teaches them how.

First, he teaches them the way to do these works;

second, he gives the reason, at that you may be blameless.

79. First, he points out two ways to act, namely, without murmurings and hesitations. For virtuous works are very difficult, and offer a fertile field for grumbling: we must not grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the destroyer (1 Cor 10:10). Furthermore, they should not hesitate about doing them: he who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind (Jas 1:6).

80. He gives reasons for this:

first, on their part,

and then on the part of the Apostle, at to my glory.

81. On their part he gives three reasons: first, in regard to the faithful when he says, that you may be blameless: walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless (Luke 1:6). For no one can exist without sin, but he can without grumbling; hence he urges them to do this.

Second, in regard to God, and sincere children of God. For a son is like his father. But God is innocent; hence we are innocent sons of God, when our intention is directed to one object: a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways (Jas 1:8); be as wise as serpents and innocent as doves (Matt 10:16).

Third, in regard to unbelievers, without reproof, i.e., behave well toward unbelievers and give no offense in the midst of a crooked, as to evil works, and perverse generation, as to unbelief. And this is when they cannot be defamed by them: give the enemy no occasion to revile us (1 Tim 5:14).

82. He gives the reason for this when be says, among whom you shine as lights in the world, because no matter how the world changes, the lights of the world remain bright: you are the light of the world (Matt 5:14). They are luminous, not in essence, because God alone is light in this way: the life was the light of man (John 1:4). The same is true of the saints: he was not the light (John 1:8). But they are light inasmuch as they have some of that light which was the light of men, i.e., of the Word of God radiating on us. Therefore he says, holding forth the word of life, i.e., the word of Christ: Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life (John 6:69); your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Ps 119:105).

83. Then he gives a reason on the part of the Apostle, at to my glory.

Second, he explains the reason, because subjects should act well so as to redound to the glory of their prelates. For it is their glory, when subjects are well behaved: a wise son makes a glad father (Prov 10:1); you are our glory and joy (1 Thess 2:20).

And this, in the day of Christ, namely, when he will lead his faithful to himself.

84. This redounds to his glory for two reasons; because of the labor in preaching and because of the deadly suffering that he endured.

Therefore, he says, because I have not run in vain, nor labored in vain. He calls preaching a running because of his agility in traveling from Jerusalem to Spain. He says labor, because of the contradictions and punishments he suffered; and this not in vain, but in much fruit: his grace toward me was not in vain (1 Cor 15:10).

85. He refers to his suffering when he says, yes, even if I be made a victim. For in converting others he offers to God a sacrifice of those he converts. But sometimes the offerers are killed by tyrants upon the sacrifice, as in Luke 13:1; hence he says: I offer God the sacrifice of yourselves.

And if it turn out that I myself am made a victim, i.e., killed, by reason of offering the sacrifice of your conversion, I rejoice on my part: count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials (Jas 1:2), and congratulate with you all, that you have the faith, even with danger to my person with whom you rejoice in this too; hence he says, and for the selfsame thing, you also should rejoice and congratulate with me: rejoice with those who rejoice (Rom 12:15).

86. Then when he says, and I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy unto you shortly, he proposes his own disciples as an example:

first, Timothy,

and then, Epaphroditus, at but I have thought it necessary.

In regard to the first he does three things:

first, he promises to send Timothy;

second, he commends him, at for I have no man;

third, he hints at the time he will send him, at him therefore I hope to send.

87. He says, therefore, I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy. Here it should be noted that the Apostle has such trust in God that he attributes the slightest things to God: not that we are sufficient of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our sufficiency is from God (2 Cor 3:5).

The text is clear.

88. Then he praises him: first, on account of his love for them, and second, because of his devotion to the Apostle, at now know the proof. Thus he makes a good mediator, because he loves them and he venerates him. Likewise first he sets forth the commendation; second, he explains, at for all seek the things.

89. He says: I am sending Timothy because I have no man so of the same mind, i.e., so interested in your progress: he makes men of one way to dwell in one house (Ps 68:6), who with sincere affection is solicitous for you; he that rules, with carefulness (Rom 12:8). Sincere affection, because it is for God alone: we are as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ (2 Cor 2:17).

90. The reason why I have no man so of the same mind is because all seek the things that are their own, not the things that are Jesus Christ’s, i.e., they do not seek things pertaining to the salvation of their neighbor and the glory of God, but pertaining to their profit and glory and themselves.

91. But did Luke and Epaphroditus and the others, who were with the Apostle, seek the things that were their own?

I answer that in the company of the Apostle were many who sought this and who deserted him: for Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Luke alone is with me (2 Tim 4:9). But it is a custom that sometimes the Scripture speaks of some as though of all: from the least to the greatest of them, every one is greedy for unjust gains and from prophet to priest, every one deals falsely (Jer 6:13). Therefore it is a narrowed use of the word ‘all’.

92. And if you would know how he has behaved in regard to me, I answer that, now know the proof of him: that as a son with the father, so has he served with me, i.e., as though he were a special son: I sent to you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord (1 Cor 4:17).

93. Therefore I hope to send him, so solicitous for you and so dear to me.

But why not at once? Because it is otherwise with Christ and with the other saints. In Christ was fullness of grace; hence he always had knowledge of all things; but not so the other saints. Hence the Apostle foresaw some things about himself and was ignorant of others. Thus, he received no revelation that he would be delivered from his imprisonment; hence he says, as soon as I see how it will go with me, because if I were granted leave, I would come to you in person; consequently, I trust in the Lord that I myself also shall come to you shortly. But he was not freed from his prison: you light my lamp: the Lord my God lightens my darkness (Ps 18:28). For there is always some darkness in the saints.

94. Then when he says, but I have thought it necessary, he proposes another disciple as an example, namely, Epaphroditus.

First, he describes him;

second, he suggests how he should be received, at receive him.

In regard to the first he does three things:

first, he praises him;

second, he states the reason why he is sending him, at for indeed he longed;

third, he explains it, at for indeed he was sick.

95. He says, therefore: but I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow laborer and fellow soldier, but your apostle: and he that has ministered to my wants. He calls him his brother on account of the faith: you are all brethren (Matt 23:8); and fellow worker, i.e., in the work of preaching: a brother who is helped by a brother is like a strong city (Prov 18:19); and fellow soldier, because we have suffered tribulation together: take your share of suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus (2 Tim 2:3); and your apostle, i.e., teacher. He was the bishop of the Philippians and sent by them to serve the Apostle; hence he says, and he that has ministered to my wants: I am filled, having received from Epaphroditus the things you sent, an odor of sweetness, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God (Phil 4:18).

96. But why? To satisfy the desire with which he longed after you all: for I long to see you (Rom 1:11).

Also to relieve him of his sorrow, because he was sad at the sorrow you felt, when you heard that he was sick.

97. He explains the reason, saying: for indeed he was sick, near to death, i.e., in the opinion of the physicians, though not according to God’s providence, but for the glory of God: this illness is not unto death; it is for the glory of God (John 11:4). Thus he continues: but God had mercy on him; be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing (Ps 6:2); and not only on him but on me also, because Paul had suffered the temporal and natural sadness of his affliction, as Christ is said to have suffered sometimes.

98. Then he concludes by indicating how he should be received and why.

He should be received honorably in the Lord, whose minister he is: you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus (Gal 4:14); let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching (1 Tim 5:17).

And this because for the work of Christ, i.e., for God and the salvation of the faithful, he came to the point of death: greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13); delivering his life: the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11). And he did this, that he might fulfill that which on your part was wanting towards my service, which you personally could not do.