“Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.”
“a bondservant of Christ”
Evidently, when Epaphras came to Rome to visit Paul, the Romans also arrested him. He was a “bondservant of Christ.” The word “bondservant” means a slave. There were more slaves in the Roman empire than free men. A slave had no rights. He was not a slave of Rome but a slave of Christ (Rom.1:1; Gal. 1:10; Eph. 6:6). Epaphras waved all his rights for Christ. He totally dedicated himself to the person of Christ. He was consumed with the cause of Christ. Epaphras then was a slave of Christ. Christ came first, not his church. Christ came first, not his denomination. Christ came first, not even his family. These things came in their proper order.
“greets you”
The Colossian church was Epaphras’ congregation (Colossians 1:7).
Principle:
God expects us to serve Him unreservedly.
Application:
Most of us are Christians of convenience. Christianity is a value to us, but there is some question if we would be willing to give our life for it.
When we are willing to give our life for Christ, that is the degree Christianity means something to us. Christianity is more than ethics, civil rights, political rights, better housing, or sanitation. These things do not constitute Christianity; they are the by-products of Christianity. We often confuse derivatives with the real thing. Thus, we often cannot tell the real thing from the imitation.
Christianity is a vital relationship with a person.
