If movies are an indicator of cultural trends and values, then it’s safe to say that superheroes are pretty popular right now. Superhero movies have had great returns at the box office lately, and by all appearances that trend is just going to go “up, up, and away!”
As far as I can tell, superheroes first started to become popular in TV and the movies in the 1960’s with the Batman franchise. The trend picked up a bit in the 1970’s with characters like Wonder Woman, The Incredible Hulk, and The Six-Million Dollar Man, and then the trend really took off through the 1980’s with the series of Superman movies that came out. Then, through my childhood, Batman was revived again with a new series of movies, and now today a person would need superpowers just to keep up with all of the superhero movies that are being released. In the last decade or so we’ve had The X-Men, Hulk, Iron Man, a few more Batman movies, The Incredibles, Spiderman, and soon a version of The Green Lantern.
Superheroes are extremely popular, and it’s not hard to understand why. Superheroes exist in a world of fantasy where they always emerge victorious. They have supernatural powers that allow them to overcome their enemies and win the day. We enjoy watching them succeed—and usually doing so with style—perhaps because deep down we wish that we could enjoy that same kind of success. We know their superpowers are the stuff of science fiction, but we wish we could have the same kind of notoriety and make the same kind of impact on the world.
Even though superheroes are not real, our admiration for them is. We have to live in the world of reality, which brings up an important question—what kind of people should we admire in the real world? What kind of people embody the qualities that we should desire to have? And for us as Christians, what kind of people show the character of Christ in their lives, the kind of character that we should strive for? In short, we could ask:
Who should our spiritual heroes be?
I think this question is very important for two reasons. First, the people that we consider to be our heroes become people that we want to imitate. There is something about their lives that is desirable to us, and thus we find ourselves wanting to be like them.
Second, within Christianity, we probably have more people held up to us as potential heroes or role models than ever before. With the growth of radio and TV ministries, the Christian publishing industry, the Christian music industry, and the Internet, we are surrounded by more preachers, teachers, authors, and artists than ever before. But how do we know if their lifestyle is one that we should really seek to follow? How should we gauge if they are good examples?
In our study of Philippians today, we are going to encounter two men who really fit the role of a spiritual hero. In fact, after describing their character, the apostle Paul commands us to “hold men like them in high regard” (2:29). Let’s read about these men, and then we’ll take a closer look at the character that makes them spiritual heroes. In Phil. 2:19–30, Paul writes about his desire to someday return to Philippi himself in order to visit the church there, but in the meantime he was planning to send a couple of men to them, whom he describes here [READ 2:19–30].
Let’s take a look at the character of these two men as we answer the question, “Who should our spiritual heroes be?”
I. People who are genuinely concerned for the welfare of other believers (Timothy, v. 20; Epaphroditus, v. 26)
Both Timothy and Epaphroditus model this characteristic for us. You might be a bit more familiar with Timothy than you are with Epaphroditus. Timothy was a young man whom Paul had met during his second missionary journey. According to Acts 16, Paul wanted to take Timothy along with him as a co-worker, so Timothy joined up with the apostle Paul and became one of his most trusted associates. Eventually, Paul would ask Timothy to lead the church in Ephesus, and Paul would write the letters of 1 and 2 Timothy to him while Timothy was serving in that church.
Now we see at this point, of course, that Timothy is with Paul in Rome—not in prison with Paul, but serving as a messenger for Paul. And when Paul decides that he wants to send one of his co-workers to Philippi before he himself is able to make the trip, he selects Timothy because he says in v. 20 [READ v. 20]. Paul knew that Timothy was like-minded with himself, and he knew that he could trust Timothy to have a real concern about the Philippians well-being.
He knew that Epaphroditus had the same concern for them as well. Epaphroditus was actually from Philippi; he was the one whom the Philippians had sent to Rome to deliver their financial gift to Paul. But Paul was now eager to send Epaphroditus back home to alleviate the concerns that had arisen about an illness that Epaphroditus had contracted during his trip. The Philippians were worried about his health, and Epaphroditus was worried because they were worried, and so Paul decided it was time for him to return home because he could see the heartache that Epaphroditus was feeling over the Philippians concern for him.
So we can see that both of these men had a genuine concern over the well-being of the Philippians, and this concern is the embodiment of what Paul had asked from the Philippians in 2:4—“do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” A true concern for the well-being of others is a hallmark of a godly character. James 1:27 says, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
This kind of concern for others is a far cry from the character that we see in our society’s heroes today. To a small extent, we still view firemen, policemen, and soldiers as heroes, and many of them embody a genuine concern for others, but most of our heroes today are athletes and celebrities, and in the world of sports and entertainment, everything is focused on me, me, ME! Athletes no longer simply think about their careers today—they think about their brand, about how they can sell their names and images for more advertising dollars. And if you want to see the self-centeredness of Hollywood, just look at the condition of marriage among celebrities today. Those who even choose to get married will often experience several divorces in their lifetime because they’re on a quest to find someone who will make them feel fulfilled.
But as far as we’re concerned, our admiration should be reserved for people who keep their focus on others. And along with this focus comes the second trait that our heroes should possess.
II. People who pursue the interests of Jesus Christ, not their own interests (Timothy, v. 21; Epaphroditus, “fellow soldier,” v. 25)
In v. 20, Paul described Timothy as a “kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare.” Then in v. 21 he contrasts Timothy to some others that he may have chosen for this trip [READ v. 21]. Now when Paul says, “for they all seek after their own interests,” it’s unclear exactly who he’s talking about. He doesn’t name anyone else who’s available for this task, so we don’t know precisely who he has in mind, but we can see that what made Timothy stick out is that Paul could trust him to have the interests of Christ in mind, not his own interests.
The same seemed to be true of Epaphroditus. In v. 25, Paul describes him as “my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier.” Now the role of a soldier is not to pursue his own interests, but to follow the orders of his commander. It’s clear from Epaphroditus’ actions that his utmost desire was to live out the commands of Christ, to see the work of Christ carried on, and when he was given a part to play in that work, he wanted to fulfill his role no matter what.
This is a helpful character trait for us to assess when we’re thinking about whom to admire and look up to, especially in the Christian community. If someone is engaged in some kind of ministry activity, do they seem to be doing it out of service for Christ, or are they trying to serve themselves? Now a word of caution is in order here because it’s nearly impossible for us to know someone’s motives. Thus, we don’t want to go around claiming that everyone has false motives.
But we can assess someone’s actions, and if a person’s actions appear to be self-serving, then perhaps that’s exactly what they are. And it doesn’t matter if those actions look spiritual. Preaching, serving, leading worship, teaching—all of these things can be done in a self-serving way.
So our heroes should be those who are seeking to serve Christ, not themselves. And what is the third characteristic?
III. People who have a servant’s heart (Timothy, v. 22; Epaphroditus, v. 25)
In v. 22, Paul writes this about Timothy [READ v. 22]. There’s such a note of tenderness here with this picture of a father and son working side by side. Perhaps Paul is saying that Timothy was eager to serve, the way that a child is sometimes eager to follow dad around and “help” with projects. Or maybe Paul is saying that Timothy really wanted to please him the way that children want to make their parents proud.
But Timothy was very willing to serve, as was Epaphroditus. In v. 25, Paul says that Epaphroditus was the Philippians “messenger and minister to my need.” Apparently, after Epaphroditus delivered the Philippians’ financial gift to Paul, he stayed with Paul to help him in any other way that he might need assistance.
This willingness to serve speaks highly of both of these men, and it is a trait that we should look for in the people that we admire. A willingness to serve says a lot about a person. It gives you an idea of what they think about themselves, whether they think that certain things are “below” them. It also gives you an idea of how they view other people—do they expect to be served, or are they willing to humble themselves and serve others in order to meet their needs?
People who are willing to serve should be highly respected in the church. After all, even Jesus took on the role of a servant, as we saw back in 2:7. He said of himself in Mark 10:45 that “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” We tend to measure greatness by how many servants a person has, but in God’s eyes true greatness is shown through service, and we should have that same perspective.
The final character trait of a spiritual hero is modeled by Epaphroditus.
IV. People who are willing to make personal sacrifices for the work of Christ (Epaphroditus, v. 30)
In v. 30, Paul tells the Philippians that they should hold Epaphroditus in high regard [READ v. 30]. Apparently Epaphroditus had grown sick as he traveled from Philippi to Rome, and as Paul tells us his sickness became very serious and severe. But Epaphroditus apparently refused to turn back, choosing instead to put his life in danger in order to complete his task of delivering the Philippians gift to Paul.
Paul says he was “risking his life.” The word “risking” translates a Greek participle here, and the noun form of that participle was later used as a title for Christians who would care for the sick during epidemics and plagues. They were known as “The Reckless Ones” because they exposed themselves to the disease in order to care for the sick and dying. They took the chance that they would also die, but they did so to show compassion in the name of Christ.
They risked their lives, just as Epaphroditus did to serve Paul, and Paul says that he should be held in high esteem for his willingness to make that sacrifice if need be. Spiritual heroes are people who are willing to make sacrifices for Jesus Christ, people who are willing to risk personal loss and suffering in order to obey the Lord. I think we often find ourselves willing to help other people as long as there is little risk that they will take advantage of us. We are very willing to offer up prayers from the comfort of our living room! But spiritual heroes are willing to make sacrifices in the service of Christ; they are willing to take risks in order to carry out God’s commands, and when we see such people in our midst, we should hold them in high regard. We should treat them as valuable members of our congregation and seek to follow their example.
But of course, spiritual heroes know that we can only speak of making a sacrifice for Jesus in a relative sense, because when all is said and done, those who sacrifice for Jesus will be repaid many times over. David Livingstone was a man who understood this. He was a British missionary to Africa during the early to mid 1800’s. You may have heard the phrase “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” That was spoken by someone who had found David Livingstone after Livingstone had moved deep into the bush to minister to the African people. Here was Livingstone’s perspective on his life’s work, as he put it in a speech at Cambridge University:
“People talk of the sacrifice I have made by spending so much of my life in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply paid back as all part of a great debt owing to our God, which we can never repay? Is that a sacrifice which brings out its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing destiny hereafter? Away with the word in such a view, and with such a thought! It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now and then, with a [setting aside] of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us. I never made a sacrifice.”*
Indeed, that is the perspective of a spiritual hero. So if you want to have a real hero for your spiritual life, find someone who is willing to take risks for the sake of Christ, someone who is willing to serve, someone who will be concerned about the things of Christ and who will focus on the well-being of others. Hold such people in high esteem and follow in their footsteps—they won’t lead you astray!
*John Piper, Desiring God, (Multnomah Publishers, Inc. 2003) 243.
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