Receive him therefore with all joy in the Lord: and treat with honour such as he is.
προσδεχεσθε ουν αυτον εν κυριω μετα πασης χαρας και τους τοιουτους εντιμους εχετε
8 Church Fathers comment on this verse
“In the Lord” means spiritually, that is, with great care. Better still, “in the Lord” means according to the will of God. Receive him as is fitting for the saints, and as saints ought to be received: “with all joy,” he says. He does all this for their own sake, not for those who are sent, because the one who does good receives greater benefit than the one to whom it is done. “And hold such men in honor,” that is, receive him as the saints ought to be received.
Receive him therefore in the Lord with all joy. That is, receive him favorably, according to God, or as befits the saints. Paul says this for the benefit of the Philippians themselves, because the one who does good receives greater benefit than the one who receives it. And hold such men in honor. Lest he seem to favor Epaphroditus alone, he exhorts them to honor all who show the same virtue.
Therefore Paul also recalls the dangers faced by Epaphroditus, who did not waver but was ready to die for the Gospel. Without fearing the threats and persecutions of unbelievers, he continually encouraged the faithful.
He made clear the greatness of the danger when he said, “having disregarded his own soul.” For surely, when he learned that I was imprisoned and under many guards, he came, disregarding the danger, and saw me. By this, says the Apostle, he paid the debt for all of you. What all of you ought to have done, one man did. After this he turns his speech to rebuke those who demanded the preservation of the superfluities of the law.
In returning Epaphroditus to the Philippians, the holy Apostle commends to their attention and love the labors and dangers he endured on his long journey. “For,” says the Apostle, “for the work of Christ he came near to death, risking his life, to complete what was lacking in your service to me.” By “the work of Christ” is meant here the work of aiding the spread of the Gospel of Christ by assisting its herald, the Apostle (Bishop Theophan).
Exhorting the Philippians to receive Epaphroditus with joy and with the honor due to him as an Apostle, Paul advises them to receive others like him in the same way. It is as though he reminds them that "he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward," cf. 1 Thess. 5:12. According to blessed Theophylact, the Apostle exhorts them to honor all in general who show such virtue, lest he seem to favor Epaphroditus alone. The Apostle indicates a special reason for honoring Epaphroditus. He did for Paul everything that the Philippians themselves should personally have done for him, since they sent him to Paul for this purpose.
In the words of John Chrysostom, the Apostle speaks as though saying: "The city was not with me, but it rendered me every service through him, having sent him. Therefore he fulfilled the lack of your personal service. For this reason he has the right to receive great honor, since he alone did on your behalf what all should have done." "Fearless Epaphroditus despised great danger. Although he did not die, by God's dispensation, he nevertheless was in danger and gave himself up. He would not have refused service to me, whatever he might have had to suffer. If he gave himself over to death for service to Paul, then all the more would he have done so for the preaching. Or rather, to die for Paul was the same as to die for the preaching. For he who resolves to die for the lesser matter will all the more resolve to die for the greater. Therefore we also, when we see the saints in afflictions, should not spare ourselves. Whoever does not care for safety here must necessarily lose it in the future."
Now the Apostle comforts the Philippians by sending to them their delegate, Epaphroditus, who himself burned with desire to see his fellow citizens. While with the Apostle, Epaphroditus fell ill. But God raised him from the bed of sickness, so that the Apostle, already grieving in imprisonment, might not have new sorrow added. Such sorrow would naturally have been stirred in him by the illness of his friend and fellow worker. The Philippians must receive Epaphroditus with special joy, because he did not spare his life, παραβ»λευσάμενος τή ψυχή, in serving the work of Christ. By his own services alone he supplied the services which all the Philippians owed to the Apostle.
"Receive him in the Lord," that is, in the spirit of faith in the Lord, "spiritually," St. Chrysostom. Or receive him as one preserved for you by the Lord and sent to you. Or "receive him in a manner pleasing to God, according to God," blessed Theophylact. "Receive him with all joy, as saints ought to be received," St. Chrysostom. All this would naturally have happened of itself. By reminding them of it, the Apostle blesses them for it. By this blessing he sanctifies an action that appears simple. "And hold such men in honor." This is already a commandment: to treat with special honor those who have labored in the work of God. "Hold such men honorable, as saints ought to be honored," St. Chrysostom. "Not for their sake, but for your own, who receive them with honor.
For this will increase the reward prepared for you," Oecumenius. He says: hold all such men in honor, not Epaphroditus alone. He had no doubt about him. "He exhorts them to honor all in general who show such virtue, lest he seem to favor Epaphroditus alone," blessed Theophylact.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 13 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS