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INDEX
PREVIOUS
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COLLECTIONS
Commentaries,
Word Studies, Devotionals, Sermons, Illustrations
Old and New Testament. |
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FOR I BEAR HIM WITNESS THAT HE HAS A DEEP CONCERN
FOR YOU AND FOR THOSE WHO
ARE IN LAODICEA AND HIERAPOLIS:
marturo (1SPAI) gar auto hoti echei (3SPAI) polun ponon huper humon kai
ton en Laodikeia kai ton en Ierapolei:
(Ro 10:2;
2Co 8:3)
Warren Wiersbe comments on Epaphras' prayer life writing:
I am impressed with the fact that Epaphras prayed for believers in
three different cities. We are fortunate today if church members pray
for their own pastor and church, let alone believers in other places!
Perhaps one reason that revival tarries is because we do not pray
fervently for one another. (Wiersbe,
W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor
or
Logos)
What was causing Epaphras to have pain in his heart for Laodicea? Did
he see the beginning of their going astray? Not that they are in GROSS
SIN-- that is not what makes God want to vomit. It's COMPLACENCY that
makes God want to vomit. What about you and I? Are we COMPLACENT about
our Christianity? We make think that we are all right because we are not
living in gross sin, but instead are living a respectable life, among
the pillars of the community...you walk through the streets and
everyone in Laodicea likes you and THAT IS THE PROBLEM. Jesus has
warned us to beware when all men speak well of you!
This church appears to be complacent-COMPLACENCY IN CHRISTIANITY IS
DEADLY. Apathetic about their relationship with Jesus Christ. You also
see a church that apparently is COMPROMISED (as the subsequent demise
suggests) -- they have a religion but not a relationship. They have
slipped. Jesus is outside. He wants to come in and dine with them, to
fellowship with them.
Laodicea and Hierapolis - click
this map
for the geographic relationships of Laodicea (means "justice of
the people" -
description),
Hierapolis (means "holy city" - see
description)
and Colossae (means "punishment" - see
description). |
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LUKE, THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN,
SENDS YOU HIS GREETINGS: aspazetai (3SPMI) humas Loukas o iatros o
agapetos: (2
Timothy 4:11
Phile 1:24)
From this verse that we know that Luke, Paul's
companion on his voyage to Rome (Acts 21:2) was a physician.
Luke was Paul’s personal physician, as well as his close
friend. He was a Gentile believer (see
Colossians 4:11
where Paul says that Aristarchus... Mark...Jesus who is called
Justus are the only Jews who are his fellow workers - implying Luke is
not a Jew, for he is certainly a fellow worker with Paul) who traveled frequently with Paul on
his missionary voyages. It may, in fact, have been Paul’s recurring
illnesses on the first missionary journey that prompted him to take
Luke along on the second. Like Paul, he was an educated, cultured man,
as evidenced by the literary quality of his Greek in his gospel and
the book of Acts. His conversations with Paul were undoubtedly
stimulating.
Luke is mentioned by name only two other times in the New Testament.
All three times his name appears, it does so in Paul’s writings from
prison
Only Luke is
with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me
for service. (see note
2 Timothy 4:11)
Epaphras, my
fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, 24 as do Mark,
Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow workers. (Phile
1:23, 24)
After joining Paul on his second
missionary journey, he was with him for most of the remainder of
Paul’s life.
Nothing definite is known about Luke’s background. According to the
church Fathers Eusebius and Jerome, he was born in Syrian Antioch.
Some have speculated that he was Titus’s brother, that he knew Paul
when Paul was a student at Tarsus, and that he was a freed slave from
the household of Theophilus (Mentioned in the prologue to Acts). Those
speculations, however, cannot be proved.
Luke was the prototype of the medical missionary. Not everyone in the
Lord’s service has to have a seminary degree. God’s work needs
specialists too. Luke surrendered his special talent to God, giving up
what might have been a lucrative private practice. In return, God gave
him the privilege of writing a sizable portion of the New Testament,
and of being the beloved companion of the apostle Paul.
AND ALSO DEMAS: kai Dema:
(2Ti
4:10;
Phile 1:24)
In Paul's final letter, 2 Timothy
(See
note on 2Ti 4:10)
we read that Demas had
forsaken Paul and fled to Thessalonica, having loved the things of
this present world more than the things of Christ. Since Colossians and Philemon were written during the same
time period (see chronological chart below), Demas’ backsliding must have been rapid. What a tragedy!
Was Demas genuinely saved? In the final analysis that is God's
business. In the meantime it is worth noting that as Billy Graham has said,
No man can be said to be truly converted to Christ who has not bent
his will to Christ. He may give intellectual assent to the claims of
Christ and may have had emotional religious experiences; however, he
is not truly converted until he has surrendered his will to Christ as
Lord, Savior, and Master.
Putting the
question of Demas' salvation aside, is your salvation secure because
it was genuine repentance and belief and not a "mind game"? Not just
intellectual gymnastics but internal transformation? Not just
knowledge in the head but a change in the heart, a genuine
regeneration which is evidenced by a supernatural desire and general
predilection (not perfection) for the things of God... His presence in
quietness and prayer, His word in times of study, memorization and
meditation, His sure hope of heaven, His saints in fellowship, His
conviction and discipline when we sin, etc.
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THE
TRAGIC SAGA
OF DEMAS |
SCRIPTURAL
CITATION |
APPROXIMATE
DATE |
SCRIPTURE
QUOTATION |
Philemon
1:24 |
AD 60-62 |
...Mark, Aristarchus,
Demas, Luke, my fellow workers |
Colossians
4:14 |
AD 60-62 |
Luke, the beloved
physician, sends you his greetings, and also Demas |
2 Timothy
4:10 |
AD 67 |
Demas, having loved
this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica |
Demas goes from "fellow
worker" to simply "Demas" to lover of "this
present world"! The first two mentions were during Paul's
first imprisonment and the last here in Timothy during his second
imprisonment in Rome.
The lure of the world became
irresistible to Demas, and he abandoned both Paul and the ministry. We
see here the basic principle taught by our Lord Jesus during His
earthly ministry that
No one (absolutely no one) can serve
(present
tense = as a lifestyle) two masters (kurios = absolute
ownership and control); for
either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one
and despise the other. You cannot
(present
tense = as a lifestyle) serve God and mammon (wealth,
possessions). (see note
Matthew 6:24)
Jesus had His Judas, and Paul
had his Demas. Anyone who has been in the ministry long enough has
shared in that heartbreaking experience. Isn't it interesting and
somewhat comforting to note that even the two greatest leaders the
world has ever known had those who failed them. In a similar manner,
anyone who has been a Christian long enough has known the heartache
and sense of loss when some mentor or leader who for whatever reason
chooses to abandon the faith and fall in love with the world.
If believers today would read John Bunyan’s
Pilgrim’s Progress, they’d meet Mr. Hold-the-World, Mr. Save-All,
and Mr. Money-Love and would see what Bunyan thought about Demas, the
one-time associate of Paul who fell in love with “this present world”.
Every saint, be
he pastor or pew member, needs to remember this passage, so he is
aware of the potential for those who, while ostensibly steadfast and
faithful, choose to forsake in the hour of need. If this has happened
to you, beloved, remember that Jesus is able to sympathize, for in His
hour of greatest need His disciples all left Him and fled. (Mark 14:50)
Therefore...
"since He Himself was tempted (and
tested) in that which
He has suffered, He is (continually ready and) able to come to
the aid (upon hearing the cry for help - see in depth discussion of
boetheo) of those who are
(continually being) tempted (and tested)." (see note
Hebrews 2:18) |
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Colossians
4:15
Greet the
brethren who are in
Laodicea and also
Nympha and the
church that is in her
house. |
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Greek:
Aspasasthe (2PAMM)
tous
en
Laodikeia
adelphous
kai
Numphan
kai
ten
kat'
oikon
autes
ekklesian.
Amplified:
Give my greetings to the brethren at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the
assembly (the church) which meets in her house.
Phillips: My own greetings to the Christians in Laodicea,
and to Nymphas and the congregation who meet in her house.
Wuest: Greet the brethren in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the
[local] assembly [which meets] in her home.
Young's Literal: salute ye those in Laodicea -- brethren, and
Nymphas, and the assembly in his house |
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GREET THE BRETHREN WHO ARE IN
LAODICEA AND ALSO NYMPHA AND THE CHURCH THAT IS IN HER HOUSE:
Greet
(782)
(aspazomai from a + spao = draw out as a sword,
pull, breathe) (aorist
imperative) means
to enfold in arms, welcome, embrace. It is spoken of those who meet or
separate. This is one final expression of Paul's paternal love.
Aspazomai is constantly used in the papyri for conveying the
greetings at the end of a letter.
The brethren - This term is often used today
amongst believers, but probably most often in a more formal manner and
not with the deeper sense that this term carried in the early church,
for in those days a mutual care for members of the Family was
noteworthy and was obvious to those outside of Christ. "See how these
Christians love one another" was the observation of many of the on
lookers. The same description is sometimes used about those in church
today, but sadly is more often spoken with a sarcastic, skeptical
twist than with a sense of awe.
In Laodicea - click
this map
for the geographic relationships of Laodicea (means "justice of
the people" -
description),
Hierapolis (means "holy city" - see
description) and
Colossae (means "punishment" - see
description).
The brethren
who are in Laodicea - Brethren in this context indicates fellow
believers who composed the church in Laodicea. This church received
a stern warning from our Lord some 30 years later in the book of
Revelation. What happened to them in such a short time period? Were
some of the original "church members" still alive or had a completely
new generation been born who lacked the fervor of the parent church?
In the next verse Paul instructs them to have Colossians read to them
which surely was done and yet from what Jesus says below strongly
suggests they do not heed the Word they heard, at least in a lasting
way.
Jesus
gives His assessment of the church at Laodicea declaring...
And to the angel of the church in
Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning
of the creation of God, says this: (Note
on Rev 3:14)
15 'I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that
you were cold or hot. (Note
on Rev 3:15)
16 'So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit
you out of My mouth. (Note
on Rev 3:16)
17 'Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have
need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and
miserable and poor and blind and naked, (Note
on Rev 3:17)
18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may
become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and
that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to
anoint your eyes, that you may see. (Note
on Rev 3:18)
19 'Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous therefore,
and repent. (Note
on Rev 3:19)
20 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice
and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and
he with Me. (Note
on Rev 3:20)
21 'He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My
throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
(Note
on Rev 3:21)
22 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches.'" (Note
on Rev 3:22)
Guy King makes a practical
and pithy comment on the church at Laodicea...
This (church) became, of course, as
it grew, and developed, more organised; but, alas, not necessarily
more healthy. We have only to recall the condition of the very
church of the Laodiceans, that we have been thinking of, to see how
gravely deterioration can set in, and deficiency become apparent. The
sad record is in Revelation 3:14-22.
- There was no spirit of enthusiasm
- "neither cold, nor hot": tepid!
- There was no sense of need - "I
have need of nothing"; blatant self-sufficiency.
- There were many who had no
spiritual relationship to CHRIST - "if any man. .. open the door, I
will come in"; they had entered in the door of the visible church, but
kept closed the door to the church's Lord.
What a state of church life is here
revealed. It only serves to emphasize how watchful our church, and its
members, should be, lest "the cares of this world, and the
deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in,
choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful," Mark 4:19. (Colossians
4:15-18 His Kind Regard)
The church
that is in her house - The churches met in homes, and believers
would frequently itinerate from home to home. They fellowshipped
together around the Word of God. They fellowshipped together in the
breaking of bread in memory of our Lord’s death and resurrection (for
the early church's plan for "church growth" see Acts 2:42-47 noting
especially how the church was growing day by day!). The
program of teaching the Word and evangelism was carried out from these
little centers.
Whether or not
the early Christians built actual church buildings in which to meet,
we do not know. There is no mention of such in the New Testament.
Probably in most cases, they met in individual homes, as many churches
do today, especially in countries where organized Christian worship is
forbidden.
With all of the stress
in the modern church on large and luxurious buildings, it is
refreshing to be reminded that, for many years, the Christian church
met and grew in the homes of believers
Greet the church that is in their house (Prisca and Aquila).
Greet Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the first convert to Christ from
Asia. (See note
Romans 16:5)
The churches of Asia greet you.
Aquila and Prisca greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church
that is in their house. (1 Cor 16:19)
(Paul) to Apphia our sister, and to
Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house
(Philemon's house) (Phile 1:2).
MacDonald
comments that...
most of us will readily agree that
the power of God in a local church is far more important than an
elaborate building or fine furnishings. Power is not dependent upon
the latter; luxurious church buildings often serve as a hindrance to
power. (MacDonald,
W & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson or
Logos)
Lightfoot reminds us:
There is no clear example of a separate building set apart for
Christian worship within the limits of the Roman empire before the
third century, though apartments in private houses might be specially
devoted to this purpose.
Pentecost (in comments on his exposition of Philemon) writes
that...
Home Bible classes are as important
a ministry as any church can carry on. Many unsaved persons have an
aversion to church. But if invited to a home to study the Bible, many
are willing to come. The opportunity to reach the unsaved with the
gospel in a home is perhaps greater where the Word of God can be
taught, than any formal service. Many have not begun to tap the
blessings that could be realized if God would lay it upon their hearts
to gather together a few of our neighbors, or friends, or business
associates, and provide them with a simple teaching of the Word of
God, so that they are presented with the truth of the Word of Jesus
Christ. The vast majority of those who have come to know Christ as
Saviour in this writer’s recent ministry have come through the home
Bible classes. As the apostle is writing to Philemon, Apphia, and
Archippus, he is bringing the concept of a small nucleus of believers
who are concerned with others who did not know Christ. Even though
Archippus had not been “called into the ministry,” and had not been
“ordained,” a ministry of teaching the Word was entrusted to him, and
so Paul exhorted him to a faithfulness in the ministry that was his.
(J. Dwight Pentecost. Paul the Prisoner: Part I: An Exposition of
Philemon Bibliotheca Sacra. Volume 129. Issue 514. Page 141.
1972) |
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Colossians
4:16
When
this
letter is
read
among you,
have it
also
read in the
church of the
Laodiceans; and
you, for your part
read my letter
that is coming from
Laodicea |
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Greek:
kai
otan
anagnosthe (3SAPS)
par'
umin
e
epistole,
poiesate (2PAAM)
ina
kai
en
te
Laodikeon
ekklesia|
anagnosthe, (3SAPS)
kai
ten
ek
Laodikeias
ina
kai
umeis
anagnote. (2PAAS)
Amplified:
And when this epistle has been read before you, [see] that it is
read also in the assembly (the church) of the Laodiceans, and also
[see] that you yourselves in turn read the [letter that comes to you]
from Laodicea.
Phillips:
When you have had this letter read in your church, see that the
Laodiceans have it read in their church too; and see that you read the
letter I have written to them.
Wuest: And when this letter is read in your presence, see to it
that also it is read in the assembly of the Laodiceans, and the letter
from Laodicea, see to it that you also read it.
Young's Literal: and when the epistle may be read with you,
cause
that also in the assembly of the Laodiceans it may be read, and the
epistle from Laodicea that ye also may read |
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AND WHEN THIS LETTER IS READ
AMONG YOU,
HAVE
IT ALSO READ IN THE CHURCH OF THE LAODICEANS AND YOU,
FOR YOUR PART READ MY LETTER THAT IS COMING FROM LAODICEA: kai hotan anagnosthe (3SAPS) par' humin e epistole,
poiesate (2PAAM)
hina kai en te Laodikeon ekklesia anagnosthe, (3SAPS) kai ten ek
Laodikeias hina kai humeis anagnote. (2PAAS):
(1Thes 5:27)
When this
letter is read - Guzik comments that...
When Paul and other apostles wrote
letters to churches, they simply read them publicly. It was a way for
the apostle to teach that church even when he could not personally be
there. It was the general practice to distribute all apostolic letters
among the churches, especially those close to each other. This helps
us to understand how and why the letters would have been copied almost
immediately, and how slight mistakes in copying the manuscripts could
come in at an early date. Apparently, Paul wrote a letter to the
Laodiceans that we do not have. We should not assume from this that
our treasure of inspiration in incomplete. The Holy Spirit has chosen
to preserve those letters that are inspired for the church in a
universal sense. Paul was not inspired in this way every time he set
pen to paper. (Colossians 4
)
Read (314)
(anaginosko
from aná = emphatic, again + ginosko = know <> know
again) literally to know again or to recognize again. It came to mean
to distinguish between, to know accurately and then to read.
In the NT
anaginosko is only used with the meaning of to read (albeit once
in a figurative sense of men "reading" the lives of the Corinthian
saints as one would an actual written letter), especially referring to
reading aloud and to public reading. In Acts 8:28, 30,
32 we see the Ethiopian eunuch is reading in private (until
encountered by Phillip!).
Surely one
cannot miss the point that the pure milk of God's Word is to have a
vital and central role in the corporate worship of the church at
Colossae.
Anaginosko is
found in the papyri in the reading aloud of a petition or of the
reading aloud of a will. In another use anaginosko refers to copies of
an edict set up in public places "in full view of those who wish to
read (anaginosko)."
The church of the Laodiceans - see relation
to Hierapolis and Colossae
on this Map
Read my letter that is coming from Laodicea
- We do not know what Letter Paul refers to in this instruction. Some
believe that this was the letter to the Ephesians but that
notion is largely speculation.
Vincent
comments that Paul refers to...
the letter left at Laodicaea, and
to be obtained by you from the church there. This letter cannot be
positively identified. The composition known as the Epistle to the
Laodiceans is a late and clumsy forgery, existing only in Latin mss.,
and made up chiefly of disconnected passages from Philippians, with a
few from other epistles. |
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