New Testament · New Testament
Epaphras
“Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.”Colossians 4:12
Biography
Epaphras was a native of Colossae who appears to have been the founder or primary evangelist of the churches in Colossae, Laodicea, and Hierapolis. He had brought the gospel to that region and apparently traveled to Rome to consult Paul about theological problems arising in the Colossian church — particularly the heresy Paul addresses in the letter to the Colossians. Paul calls him 'a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf,' 'one of you,' and someone who has worked hard for those churches. He also appears in the letter to Philemon as Paul's 'fellow prisoner.' Paul records that he is 'always wrestling in prayer' for the churches he planted — a phrase that captures his ongoing, agonized intercession for their spiritual maturity.
Spiritual Lesson
Epaphras prays with agony for the spiritual maturity of people he loves. This is a different goal than most of us pray for — we tend to pray for comfort, provision, health, protection. Epaphras prays for completeness: that the people he loves would come to stand, fully and finally, in the will of God. The word 'wrestling' suggests this takes real effort — real engagement with God on behalf of others, not a perfunctory mention but a genuine contest of intercession. And his anxiety about Colossae drove him across the Mediterranean to bring the situation to someone who could help. Love that cannot rest when others are in spiritual danger is a mark of the genuine pastoral heart.