📖 Biblical Definition
Epaphras was the founder and pastor of the Colossian church — almost certainly converted under Paul’s ministry in Ephesus and sent home to plant the church in Colossae and the surrounding Lycus valley (Laodicea and Hierapolis). Paul calls him "our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit" (Colossians 1:7-8). Later Paul names him a fellow-prisoner with himself in Rome (Philemon 23). Most strikingly, Paul commends Epaphras’s prayer ministry: "always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you" (Colossians 4:12-13). The model pastor labors in prayer.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
EPAPHRAS, n.
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A scriptural proper name; in the New Testament, the founding pastor of the Colossian church.
📖 Key Scripture
Colossians 1:7 — "As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ."
Colossians 4:12 — "Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers."
Philemon 23 — "There salute thee Epaphras, my fellowprisoner in Christ Jesus."
Colossians 4:13 — "I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and for them that are in Laodicea."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Epaphras laboured fervently for his church in prayer; modern pastors prefer to network.
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Colossians 4:12 contains one of the most striking pastoral commendations in the New Testament. Paul writes of Epaphras: always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. The Greek verb is agonizomai — struggling, agonizing. Epaphras's ministry to his Colossian church was conducted largely on his knees, far from them in a Roman prison.
Modern pastors often prefer networking, conferences, and social media to the closet of prayer. Epaphras's pattern is sharper. Pray your church into maturity. Wrestle for them in private. The man whose flock will stand perfect and complete is not the platform-builder; it is the prayer-warrior. Be Epaphras.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew/Greek roots below.
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G1889 — Epaphras — Epaphras; short for Epaphroditus
Usage
"Epaphras laboured fervently for his church in prayer; modern pastors prefer to network."
"Pray your church into maturity; wrestle for them in private."
"The man whose flock stands perfect and complete is not the platform-builder; it is the prayer-warrior."