Epaphroditus

We do not often hear a great deal of personal details about Paul's coworkers; Epaphroditus is one of the few exceptions, with six verses devoted to him (Phi 2:25-30):

But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor men like him, because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me.

It is clear from this passage that Epaphroditus was sent by the church in Philippi to take care of Paul while he was in prison (where cannot be ascertained), and that while on the mission Epaphroditus had fallen ill, "almost died," and that, because of the anxiety felt by the church for Epaphroditus and the latter for the church, Paul felt constrained by his love for both to sent Epaphroditus back to the church. Paul's comment in 4:18 also indicates that Epaphroditus had come to Paul as the bearer of the monetary gifts from the Philippian church of which the church had been such a constant benefactor.

We have no way of knowing if Paul knew Epaphroditus before this occasion; whatever the case, Epaphroditus had certainly impressed Paul with his person and work—"he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me"—for the apostle to call him "my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier" (v25), and that his recovery spared him "sorrow upon sorrow" (v26). Such a person, Paul reminds the Philippians, are to be welcomed "with great joy." "Honour men like him," Paul tells them.

Some commentators have suggested that Paul was particularly concerned to stress these things because it might be perceived by the church in Philippi that, since Epaphroditus was sent back earlier than was intended, their messenger was a failure. Such a suggestion is plausible though, given Paul's largess in his praise of his fellow workers, not entirely necessary.

Colin O. Buchanan, "Epaphroditus' Sickness and Philippians," The Evangelical Quarterly 36.3 (July-Sept. 1964): 157-168 (Open on Phone)"