Category Archives: Fellow worker

Aid, Bible, Conflict, Fellow worker, Helping, Scripture

HELP EACH OTHER

PHILIPPIANS 4:3

“Indeed, true companion, I ask you also, help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement as well as the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.”

I like to help people when I can. Don’t you? If I am able and available, I like to lend a hand. I also like to help people who just need a listening ear. In my ministry, I often have that opportunity. Men need to talk but are usually afraid to get too personal too quick. I understand that, but I am called to listen and point them to the Word. I have to be honest, though. I haven’t always done that with my own family. Don’t point your finger at me. I bet you could say the same thing.

Paul loved these two women mentioned in verse 2, Euodia and Syntyche. Paul said they had “shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel.” They were fellow servants. Paul obviously wanted them to come to the same mind about some issue they were arguing about. He knew their squabble could infect the whole church. It must have been pretty serious to have reached Paul’s ears in Rome. So, he calls on the church to come alongside them to end this.

APPLICATION

My Pastor has been preaching a series on relationships the past several weeks. You can listen to these at https://www.youtube.com/@CorrytonChurch. The past couple of sermons have been about dealing with conflict. I wish Euodia and Syntyche had heard ths message. It was pretty powerful. Matthew 18:15-19 gives us some good advice on dealing with conflict within the body of Christ. Don’t you wish every believer would practice these words of Christ?

I was reminded of a verse I had not heard in a while in my pastor’s sermon. Amos 3:3 says, “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” Isn’t that just the truth? I love to walk. When I walk with someone, we have to agree on the path we are taking, the speed to walk and how far we are going to walk. If we don’t do that, we are not going to be walking together. The same is true in our Christian walk with fellow believers.

The Greek word Paul uses for “help” is an interesting word. It can mean to clasp, seize, to conceive, help or take. That’s a pretty broad definition, isn’t it. It’s the strong compound word, sullambanó. The first part of that compound is sun, which is that inseparable “with.” In other words, we are to help closely. Try that today. Be that kind of friend. Perhaps you will need that yourself one day.

O Lord, help me help others today in way that can spur them on their walk with Christ.

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Bible, Fellow worker, Loyalty, Partner, Scripture

ONE OF THE FEW

COLOSSIANS 4:11

“and also Jesus who is called Justus; these are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are from the circumcision, and they have proved to be an encouragement to me.”

Sometimes when you move to a new city you will have a few of your new neighbors who reach out. They become the few among the many who make you feel welcomed. My wife and I moved to a new city one year ago and into a fairly large subdivision. It’s sad to say but the only neighbors we have met are the ones we have reached out to. No one has come to our door with a welcome gift or a casserole (that’s popular in the South). We should all be better neighbors.

Paul, however, had a few Jewish believers who stuck with him. We mentioned two of those yesterday, Mark or John Mark and Aristarchus. Many of the other Jewish believers were pretty fickle in their support for Paul. But here is Jesus (also called Justus) who Paul describes as a “fellow worker for the kingdom of God.” What a great compliment from Paul. Paul valued fellow workers because he knew he could not do the work alone. We are no different.

APPLICATION

Too many Christians fail because they think they can do it alone. This term fellow worker, used by Paul almost exclusively in the New Testament, is the Greek word sunergos. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance says it comes, “From a presumed compound of sun and the base of ergon; a co-laborer, i.e. Coadjutor — companion in labour, (fellow-) helper (-labourer, -worker), labourer together with, workfellow.” Remember, that preposition sun is that inseparable “with.”

Paul uses sunergos in Romans 16:3, 9, 16; 1 Corinthians 3:9; 2 Corinthians 1:24, 8:23; Philippians 4:3, 11; 1 Thessalonians 3:2; and Philemon 1, 24. Look up these verses and see who Paul is talking about. Can you just imagine your name listed there as one of Paul’s fellow workers? That would be awesome.

Only John, besides Paul, uses this term in 1 John 1:8. “Therefore we ought to support such people, so that we may prove to be fellow workers with the truth.” And he gives the same weight to this term. We should all be fellow workers with the truth. Amen. Are you?

Father, make me into the kind of fellow worker with others that they need and give me fellow workers to accomplish all You have for me to do.

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