What Does Epaphroditus Teach Us About Self-Sacrifice?
It's natural to want to put ourselves first, to look out for our own interests, but Jesus models self-sacrifice, calling us to be a part of his upside-down kingdom where we seek the good of others before our own.
I’m going to be upfront — this article is about self-sacrifice and Epaphroditus. Talking about self-sacrifice is not the most popular topic. Then, to top it off, Epaphro-who? You are now faced with a dilemma — do you keep reading, or do you exit now, flag this for “later reading,” and instead watch your favorite videos about cute puppies, extreme sports, or whatever suits your fancy.
Since you made the sacrificial choice to keep reading, I’ll dive right in. Epaphroditus is one of the many very minor characters in the Bible. He is mentioned by name only twice, and both of these are in the book of Philippians.
We only have seven total verses that paint the picture of Epaphroditus (whom his friends might have called Eps — at least that’s what I’m going to call him). These verses are easy to gloss over and move on to “more important scripture.” However, I think we can learn a lot from his example.
Who is Epaphroditus?
A little background: Paul and his companions started the Philippian church on one of their missionary journeys. At the time of writing the book of Philippians, Paul was under house arrest in Rome.
His purpose of writing was to thank the Philippian church for gifts they had sent (4:18). Eps was the messenger who brought the gifts to Paul. He stayed with Paul for a time, got incredibly sick, and eventually delivered Paul’s letter (the original manuscript) to the Philippians.
Why does Paul even mention Eps and his actions? We see in these verses that Eps was a significant person to Paul. Paul refers to him as a true brother (belonging to the same family), a co-worker (laboring toward the same goal), a fellow soldier (sharing the same trials), a messenger, a help, and worth honoring. Paul obviously held Eps in high regard, saw him as a special friend, and recognized the sacrifices that he made.
Eps’ travel from Philippi to Rome was dangerous, and involved a “journey that wound over inland roads and by ship, some 600-700 miles, and would have taken anywhere from four to eight weeks!” [1] It likely took him away from his work and family for an extended period of time. At some point, he became extremely ill and nearly died. He took a risk in standing beside the prisoner Paul. The sacrifices Eps made were substantial.
Why did Eps do all of this? He was sent to deliver gifts from the Philippians, to take care of Paul’s needs, and to be the hands and feet of Christ to Paul and the Philippian church. Those are the practical reasons.
However, Eps obviously had something in him that prompted him to volunteer, even knowing, at least to some degree, the personal sacrifices and risks he would undergo. He had a heart for God, Paul, and the Philippian church.
“Epaphroditus was a man of obvious devotion, faithfulness, and self-sacrifice. He put ‘the interests of others’ before himself and so modeled the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:3–5). He labored on Paul’s behalf until his own health broke, and, even when he was sick, Epaphroditus took no thought of himself; rather, he was distressed because his church had heard of his illness, and he didn’t want them to worry.” [2]
Because of Eps’ self-giving, he helped and encouraged Paul. Eps was, in all likelihood, some inspiration to Paul to write the book of Philippians. And Eps delivered the letter to the Philippi church. Without his service, would we even have this incredible book?
How Does This Apply to Me?
Eps was a notable example of self-sacrifice. What does self-sacrifice mean, and more importantly, how does this apply to us today? The Bible Hub defines self-sacrifice as an act of “giving up one’s own interests, desires, or well-being for the benefit of others or for a higher cause.”
Jesus is the ultimate example of this, as we observe him washing his disciples’ feet in John 13, declaring that He came to serve and not be served (Mark 10:45), and ultimately giving his life in a sacrificial death for each one of us.
We observe Jesus and celebrate Him as our model of self-sacrifice, but then comes the hard part: Jesus calls us to follow Him. In Luke 9:23, He calls us to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow Him. The cross represents a willingness to die to ourselves, our agendas, our rights. We are called to be a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1) and willing to set aside our own desires for the good of others (Galatians 5:13-14).
I don’t know about you, but I don’t like the sounds of this — deny self, die, give up my rights, desires, agenda? What about me? What do I get out of it? These are natural questions related to self-interest and are common in our culture today.
There is a decades-old acronym, pronounced Wiff’Em, that is at the heart of these questions: WIIFM (What’s In It For Me?). Marketing focuses on this to demonstrate what a product can provide to consumers. We are taught to “watch out for number one,” protect our individual rights, and ensure we are appropriately recognized.
It is important not to be walked on or taken advantage of in our daily lives, but how does WIIFM and watching out for ourselves fit with self-sacrifice? It doesn’t. In God’s upside-down kingdom, serving is not about us.
Even in serving Him, we can too easily carry the cultural norm of WIIFM into our service or try to earn points with God and others through what we do. But our divine calling is a willingness to serve Him even though it may not be easy, comfortable, or beneficial to us.
There will be actions in serving Him that “fit us well” and easily give us joy and fulfillment; however, God may sometimes call us to sacrifice, to forfeit, to do the hard thing, and to put others' needs before our own. Living out our calling is a blend of well-fitting and sacrificial service.
Putting This Into Action
Before getting back to your other priorities for the day, I will leave you with a few more thoughts about serving God and self-sacrifice.
- Confirm your call. In our serving, ask a couple of questions: “God, are You
calling me to this action?” and “What is motivating me in this service to God?” - Let gratitude be your motivation. We were given the greatest, life-changing
treasure thanks to the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf. Let this truth motivate us to serve Him in gratitude. - Self-sacrificial actions can often be small. The self-sacrifice of Eps was huge.
However, he likely developed a practice of self-sacrifice through prior
opportunities. - God provides joy in our obedience. With the right heart and motivation, God is
faithful and provides joy and fulfillment when we obediently serve Him – even in self-sacrifice. (John 15:10-11)
Lent provides a perfect opportunity to give of ourselves. I encourage you to ask God about a specific person or way you can serve during this season.
[1] Sheila Alewine, Give Me a Faith Like Epaphroditus,
(https://sheilaalewine.com/2024/07/03/give-me-a-faith-like-epaphroditus/, Jul 2024)
[2] Gotquestions.org, Who Was Epaphroditus in the Bible?,
(https://www.gotquestions.org/Epaphroditus-in-the-Bible.html, Jan 2026)
