A Few Good Men

25 But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. ²⁶ For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. ²⁷ Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. ²⁸ Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. ²⁹ Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor men like him, ³⁰ because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me. (Philippians 2:19-30 NIV)

We have all become familiar with the advertisement by the Marine Corps where they say they are looking for "a few good men." Perhaps it is a little unclear whether they are looking for people who are already good men or offering to make you into a good man. Maybe it’s a little bit of both.

They are not the only one looking for good men. Good men are needed everywhere. In fact, God is looking for good men. I believe it was E. M. Bounds who said, "Men are looking for better methods while God is looking for better men."

The longer I follow the Lord and the more I consider his work the more certain I am that God’s primary purpose is to make you a godly man or woman. We often get off course. We look at the work of the Lord in terms of common cultural definitions of success. Sometimes we believe that God wants to build bigger church buildings. Many times success is measured in terms of the three "B’s" — buildings, bodies, and budgets. And those that have the most are considered the most successful. Now I’m not against any of those things, but you can have those things in abundance and fail to do God’s work. It is possible to gather a lot of people in a church building, but you may only have a crowd, not a church. What makes the difference is the transforming power of God changing lives.

One of the questions that each of us needs to struggle with as Christians is this: "Is my life being changed?" Are you growing in Christ? Are you farther along this year than you were last year? Are you becoming more like Christ on the inside?

Life transformation is the path we must walk. Everything flows from that. Whatever else we may accomplish –– whatever we may call success –– is not success at all unless it flows from a life that has been touched by God’s transforming power. God has called us to live lives that are authentically Christian. By that I mean lives that have been and are being transformed into the image of Christ. That means that our lives reflect our faith in practical ways. Our belief impacts our behavior.

This was certainly the case with the men mentioned in our text. Timothy and Epaphroditus are singled out by Paul as men who exemplify what true servants of the Lord are like. They are men who are authentic Christians in the way they conduct their lives. They are men of good character. They are good men. Their faith had led them to greater faithfulness. Paul points to them and shares with us some of the reasons why they are worth emulating. I want us to look at six characteristics they displayed that we need to develop in our lives in order to be truly devoted followers of Christ.

We first want to look at the life of Timothy. We will see four characteristics that set him apart.

Timothy was a man of integrity. Paul said of Timothy, "I have no one else like him." It was obvious that Paul esteemed Timothy very highly. Timothy had become a man Paul could trust because he was a man who had integrated his faith into every area of his life. That is what made him a man of integrity. Integrity means that you are an integrated whole––that you are who you appear to be. And as far as the Christian life is concerned, being a person of integrity means that the faith you proclaim to have is foundational to how you live your life. Listen to Proverbs 11:20 (NLT):

The Lord hates people with twisted hearts, but he delights in those who have integrity.

How we need to emphasize that in the church today. Research studies that have been done on the way professing Christians behave indicate that an amazing number of Christians do not live any differently than people who do not claim to know Christ. It does not seem that their faith has made them faithful. It seems that faith for many resides in the realm of the theoretical rather than the practical. It is no wonder that the church is not making the difference that it could. It is not making a real difference because the people who call themselves Christians are not different!

Timothy was different. He was a man Paul could count on. He was a fully devoted follower of Christ and it was reflected in his lifestyle.

Another characteristic we see in Timothy is something I would like to call followship. By followship I mean that he was willing to learn, he had a teachable spirit, and he put himself in a position to learn all he could by following Paul. Paul said that "as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel."

This is really just another name for discipleship, but I am using it because it expresses the essence of what discipleship really means. To be a disciple is to be a follower, a learner, an apprentice. It means that I make a serious effort by God’s grace to walk as he walked and live as he lived. His life must become a pattern for mine if I am to be a fully devoted follower of his. Jesus said, "Follow me." And Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:1 (NIV): Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

In Timothy’s life, he understood that he couldn’t do it on his own. He submitted himself to the ministry of the apostle Paul and learned from this man of God. Paul taught him, challenged him, and even corrected him—perhaps even rebuked him a time or two. Can you imagine yourself in a situation like that? Why, most Christians today would not tolerate a good rebuke. But how we need to develop this spirit of followship today.

I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. (vv. 20-21)

That Timothy was selfless is evident from our text. But he was more than merely selfless for the sake of others. It was not that he saw a need and gave himself selflessly to meet the need. His selflessness was a result of Christ being his top priority. He was reflecting the nature and character of Christ in his life.

Because he was following Christ, he cared for the needs of others. The interests of Christ were to minister to the needs of the Christians in Philippi. Timothy knew this and responded to it. Paul indicates that most did not.

It is much the same in our day, isn’t it? In fact, selfishness has become a virtue in many quarters. Look out for number one. Demand your rights. Don’t take anything off of anyone. Greed is good. So the litany goes. In fact, when you meet someone who is not selfish, you are almost shocked. And if you were to meet someone who went out of his or her way to help you, you might begin to wonder what ulterior motive they had for doing it. That’s the way we think about selflessness because we live in a world of selfish people—like us.

But as followers of the One who laid his life down for his enemies, we should reflect his love and compassion for others. We should count it an honor to go out of our way for someone else. Isn’t that what he would do?

We should all be concerned about our neighbor and the good things that will build his faith. Christ did not think only of himself.

(Romans 15:2-3a GW)

Another character quality that we see in Timothy is that his character had been proven through his faithful work with Paul. And the reason that it was proven was because Timothy had perseverance. Without perseverance Timothy could not have become the man he was–– a man of integrity, a true follower of Christ, with a selfless concern for others. Timothy hung in there. He refused to quit.

Perseverance is absolutely essential for us to cultivate if we want to follow Christ, because there will be times that are tough. There will be times when we feel like giving up. There will be times of temptation. There will be times of testing. Satan will attack us. People will oppose us. We will even disappoint ourselves. At times like these, we will feel like quitting. That’s when we need this quality characteristic of perseverance. Indeed, perseverance is one of the characteristics that we are told we must cultivate and develop in our Christian lives.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:5-8 NIV).

The quality of perseverance is one of the things that will keep us from being ineffective and unproductive in our walk with Christ. And how do we cultivate perseverance? Look at another important passage of Scripture.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything (James 1:2-4 NIV).

Notice that it says the testing of your faith is what develops perseverance. In other words, when we stand up to the trial or test, and refuse to quit, perseverance begins to grow in us. And the more we endure, the more perseverance we attain.

Illustrations abound of the lack of perseverance in our society. People seem inclined to quit almost everything they start. They quit their schooling. They quit their jobs. They quit their marriages. They quit their responsibilities to their children. They quit their church. And the list could go on. It has been said that a failure is not someone who fails, but someone who quits. Some of the great inventors, like Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell, had thousands of failures before they had their breakthrough. Edison and Bell didn’t fail because they didn’t quit, and we are enjoying the fruit of their labors today.

What about you? How do you rate your perseverance quotient? Do you quickly give up or do you hang in there when the going gets tough?

Now we can turn our attention to Epaphroditus. And one of the first things we see is that Paul valued him immensely. He had been sent to minister to Paul’s needs, and he had rendered valuable service to Paul. Indeed, Paul tells us how highly he thought of him by the terms the uses to describe him. He calls in his brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier. These terms indicate that Epaphroditus was more than merely a functionary. He had been a valuable asset to Paul’s ministry.

The Philippians sent him as a messenger to take care of whatever needs Paul had. Perhaps he was chosen because he had the heart of a servant. He certainly displayed that in his behavior towards Paul, and it is a characteristic that should mark true servants of Jesus Christ. Listen to something else Paul said.

We don’t go around preaching about ourselves; we preach Christ Jesus, the Lord. All we say about ourselves is that we are your servants because of what Jesus has done for us (2 Corinthians 4:5 NLT).

Jesus himself did not come to be served but to serve, and all who want to serve him need to have a servant’s heart.

A final character quality we want to note today is the quality of being willing to make a sacrifice for the sake of the cause. Epaphroditus had this quality. He risked his life for the sake of the work of God.

He was willing to undertake the long journey to Paul, and was also willing to suffer whatever consequences came with the effort. He knew the risks, but he went anyway. He could have stayed close to home where he would have been safe and comfortable, but he was needed. So he volunteered to go to Paul and bring the aid he needed on behalf of the church in Philippi.

You might say that he had courage, and that would be true. But it was not just courage. He gave up significant comforts and laid his very life on the line for the sake of the work of the Lord. He wasn’t just brave; he was totally committed.

How about you? Are you willing to lay your life on the line for the sake of the gospel? Are you willing to pay the price necessary, whatever it is, to see the work of God succeed? Are you willing to make a sacrifice?

These character qualities we have briefly reviewed reflect lives that are growing in the image of Christ. They reflect people who are growing in their faith and faithfulness. They reflect authentic Christian character.

How do you rate in these areas? Integrity. Are you seeking to allow the Lordship or rule of Christ to impact every area of your life, every behavior, thought, decision, and choice? Followship. Do you have an independent spirit, or even a rebellious spirit? Are you willing to learn, take direction, and even correction? Selflessness. Are you concerned for others, or only for yourself? Does your commitment to Christ lead you to reach out? Perseverance. Do you hang in there when it gets tough, or do you quit? Servanthood. Do you see your ministry as one of serving the spiritual needs of others? Sacrifice. Are you willing to give even when it hurts, even when it costs you?

As we mature in Christ, these qualities and more like them will become what characterize our lives. We see them in Christ and we are being made in his image.

Copyright © 2001 J. David Hoke. This data file is the sole property of the copyright holder and may be copied only in its entirety for circulation freely without charge. All copies of this data file must contain the above copyright notice.

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