Lives of Scripture

Epaphras was a native of Colossae who first brought the gospel to that city, and likely to the neighboring towns of Laodicea and Hierapolis as well (Colossians 1:7; 4:13). Paul calls him "our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf" and credits him with having informed Paul of the Colossians' love in the Spirit (1:7-8). Writing again later in the same letter, Paul describes Epaphras's ongoing devotion in vivid terms: "Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God. For I testify for him that he has a deep concern for you and for those who are in Laodicea and Hierapolis" (4:12-13). By the time Paul writes to Philemon, Epaphras is with him as a "fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus" (Philemon 1:23), suggesting he shared in some measure of Paul's suffering for the sake of the gospel he had planted in his hometown. Though he never appears as a speaker or actor in any narrative scene, Paul's description of him -- as church founder, faithful minister, and relentless intercessor -- makes him one of the more vividly characterized minor figures of the New Testament epistles.