Colossians 1: 7 – Epaphras, our beloved fellow slave

… from the day on which you hear and realized the grace of God in truth, according as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow slave, who is a faithful dispenser of Christ for us…

The “as you learned” refers to “the word of truth”, “the Evangel” that bears fruit everywhere, or to “the grace of God”. The Colossians had learned about this from their fellow countryman Epaphras, a name that, except here, is also mentioned at the end of this letter (4:12). And also once in the letter to Philemon (:23), who also belonged to the Colossians.

Paul and Timothy held Epaphras in high esteem and called him “our beloved fellow slave.” It may be difficult for us to imagine, but ‘being a slave’ does indeed have a positive meaning in Biblical language. Paul often calls himself “a slave of Christ” (Rom. 1:1) and others “fellow slaves” (Col. 4:7). The honor of that position lies in the fact that one is the full property of Christ. Entirely at His expense but also one hundred percent at His service. Epaphras was “a faithful dispenser of Christ” and therefore only passed on His word. Like Paul, he has made himself completely subordinate to his Lord. Therefore, the word he delivered bore fruit!

Delen: