Colossians 4:12-13 12Epaphras, who is one of your own, a slave of Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings, always struggling for you in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. 13For I testify for him that he has much stress for you and for those who are in Laodicea and Hierapolis.
The next greeting Paul passes along is from Epaphras. The Colossians knew him well as one their own because he was instrumental in starting the church in Colossae (1:7). It is possible that under his missionary effort, other nearby churches in Laodicea and Hierapolis were started. Paul says several noteworthy things about him that can be added to the qualities listed in 1:7-8. Like in 1:7, Paul calls him a slave of Christ Jesus. I have chosen to keep the word “slave” in my translation because it captures the power and authority that these early Christians view Christ having in their lives. They had a new owner who determined everything about their lives. This type of slavery was not a burden but brought freedom from any other bondage or control in this world. Though many early Christians were bound by earthly fetters, they were free spiritually, and that was a greater freedom for them than anything the world offered.
Second, Epaphras was a man of prayer. Like Paul, he had the habit of praying for the churches. The word behind struggling (agōnizomenos) comes from the image of fighters struggling in battle. Paul uses it in his letters in the context of spiritual battle. Prayer is a form of spiritual battle where we struggle to conform our wills to God. We can also do spiritual battle in behalf of others in intercessory prayer, as Epaphras did for the Colossians. In this type of prayer, the praying person identifies with the needs of the ones who are being prayed for. Prayer like this joins people together in the battle against the forces of evil. It also brings great encouragement to those who are being prayed for and strengthens their faith. This small note would bring renewed spiritual fervor to the Colossians because they would know that their founder remembers them and is praying for them.
The goal of Epaphras’ prayer was for the Colossians’ spiritual maturity and growth in the will of God. Although not stated here, this maturity will be in their conforming and being transformed into the image of Christ. God’s will is for our sanctification (1 Thessalonians 4:3). Spiritual victory comes as we take on the image of Christ. The word for mature (teleioi) expresses the target or goal of our existence. Paul already wrote about this in 1:28-29 as the goal of his own ministry. This is the most significant topic of any prayer.
Finally, Epaphras had hard stress or concern for the Colossians and others in nearby Laodicea and Hierapolis. He thinks about them a lot. This is similar to the deep concern and burden Paul had for all the churches expressed 2 Corinthians 11:28. The burden, concern, and stress would increase the farther one is away and the less one is able to do to help people mature. The only thing Epaphras could do was pray. Prayer is a way to cast the burdens we carry for others upon God. We should help carry others’ burdens (Galatians 6:2), but this is difficult to do when far away. Prayer is the only way to do this.
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