Transcript

You often hear people say duct tape can fix about anything. And that apart from a dog, duct tape is a man’s best friend.

I’m not sure about either of those claims, but it is a pretty amazing invention. From home repairs to camping to art projects and on and on, duct tape has thousands of uses.

The iconic tape was invented by an Illinois mom named Vesta Stoudt who wanted to save soldiers’ lives in World War II. The year was 1943 and Stoudt, who had two sons serving in the U.S. Navy, was working at the Green River Ordnance Plant near Amboy, Illinois.

She noticed that the boxes of ammunition she was packing and inspecting had a flaw. They were sealed with paper tape, with a tab to open them. Workers then dipped the entire box in wax to make it waterproof.

But the paper tape was very thin, and the tabs often tore off, making it difficult to get the boxes open when needed, and leaving soldiers frantically trying to open the boxes while under fire. She proposed a strong, waterproof, cloth-based tape to seal the boxes instead, which could be ripped off easily.

When her supervisors showed little interest, she wrote a personal letter to the president of the United States, outlining the problem and her solution, complete with diagrams, arguing the new tape could save lives in dangerous battlefield situations.

President Roosevelt was so impressed that he passed her letter on to the War Production Board, which mailed a letter to Stoudt letting her know that her idea for duct tape had been approved.

And before long, soldiers were also using duct tape to fix all sorts of things! The military called the waterproof, cloth-backed, green tape 100-mile-per-hour tape, because they could use it to fix anything, from fenders on jeeps to boots.

In this episode, we’ll look at Paul’s faithful co-worker, Onesiphorus. And like duct tape, Onesiphorus was very useful in any situation and helped Paul in many different ways.

And like duct tape binds things together, Onesiphorus was bound to the apostle and stuck by him when others did not.

2 Timothy 1:15: “This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.”

After telling Timothy to “hold fast the form of sounds words” and to keep and guard the precious deposit of grace by the Holy Spirit, Paul gave examples of those who did not hold fast and who were not faithful to the truth.

In this passage, “Asia,” refers to the Roman province of Asia Minor and Timothy at this writing was ministering in the capital of Asia Minor, in Ephesus. So when Paul says “This thou knowest,” Timothy knew because he was in Asia and he saw it firsthand.

Ten years earlier, as a result of the training of people in God’s Word in the school of Tyrannus, who then took the message of grace out, Paul had thoroughly evangelized Asia during his 2-3 year ministry in Ephesus on his third apostolic journey.

Acts 19:10 reads that at that time, “all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus.”

But now all these in Asia were ashamed of the gospel of grace that Paul proclaimed and defended. And they were ashamed of Paul personally when he was arrested, imprisoned for the faith, and sentenced to be executed.

They turned away from Paul in his hour of need, when he needed support. Nobody rushed to his aid. They were ashamed of his chain and were afraid that they might find themselves in the same situation if they did stand by him.

Being identified with Paul was a dead giveaway about what you believed. And those in Asia were fearful of being found guilty by association, and their priority was self-preservation, so they disassociated themselves and severed ties with Paul.

Paul challenged Timothy a few verses earlier to “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner” and here he reminded Timothy of all those in Asia who were ashamed of the testimony of Paul, the Lord’s prisoner.

Those in Asia were very much like Peter, standing by the fireside at the trial of Christ, telling those who accused him of being one of Christ’s followers, “I never knew the man.”

Believers in Asia were denying Paul and were ashamed of him and the message of grace he was known for and faithfully proclaimed, and they tried only to protect themselves.

Timothy is reminded of all those in Asia turning from Paul so that he would know what to expect for his life and ministry: that he would always be in a minority with the truth.

And it was to challenge Timothy to not put all his faith and reliance on people and those around him to obey Paul’s command to hold fast the form of sounds words of Paul’s gospel, when, like with Paul, they might always leave or forsake him and the truth.

Rather he was to do as Paul instructed him, to keep his eyes on God by faith and to keep the truth, as Paul wrote, “by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.”

Amazingly, all those in Asia who turned away from Paul includes those elders in Ephesus who, on the shore of Miletus, “wept sore” and fell on Paul’s neck in their sorrow when he told them that they would see his face no more.

And among the notable in Asia, who most likely were leaders and friends of Paul who would’ve been expected to stand by him, but did not, were Phygelus and Hermogenes.

We do not know who these men were. This is the only place they are mentioned in the Bible. They may have been ringleaders of the defection from Paul.

Whoever they were, they are forever memorialized in the pages of God’s Word as those who deserted the Apostle Paul.

Of these two men, Albert Barnes wrote, “It is a sad thing when the only record made of a man, the only evidence which we have that he ever lived at all, is, that he turned away from a friend, or forsook the [faith]. And yet there are many men of whom the only thing to be remembered of them is, that they lived to do wrong.”

By naming Phygellus and Hermogenes, we see that their abandonment had been a keen and painful disappointment to the apostle. And just giving their names without any other distinguishing information tells us that Timothy knew who these men were.

Of Peter, our Lord said, “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not” (Luke 22:31-32). The devil desired to have Peter and, by putting temptations, trials, and discouragement in his way, to cause Peter to turn from the Lord and for his faith to fail.

The Lord prayed for Peter because of this. Phygellus and Hermogenes were a couple men that the devil schemed against to cause their faith to fail, and sadly they did turn away from the Lord and His message of grace for the Church today.

It was a dark hour for Paul. He was imprisoned and facing his execution. All those in Asia had turned away from him, including even Phygelles and Hermogenes.

Demas had also forsaken him. False doctrines were spreading in the church, as we learn in chapter 2 of this letter. And when Paul had his trial in Rome, he wrote that “no man stood with me, but all men forsook me.”

And it seems evident that the bitterest part of Paul’s suffering was the desertion of close friends and those whom he ministered to when he needed them most. He had done so much for others, but in his hour of need he was left alone in a dark, cold prison cell.

And thus, those who did still stand by Paul and were not ashamed of him, meant that much more to him as he thought of them, men such as Timothy and Onesiphorus.

2 Timothy 1:16-18: “The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain: But, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me.

“The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.”

After showing dark examples of unfaithfulness, Timothy is next reminded of a shining example of loyalty and an exception to those who have just been described.

The contrast is sharp in these verses between the strong and courageous and the weak and cowardly in the faith.

In this portion of Scripture, Paul appealed to the power of human example, both negative and positive. The negative in these verses is the all those in Asia and Phygellus and Hermogenes, and the positive is Onesiphorus.

These examples were given as an incentive to Timothy to hold fast to the truth, and to motivate Timothy to be more like Onesiphorus, not like Phygellus and Hermogenes.

From verse 18, we learn that Ephesus was the home of Onesiphorus and his family. Like Timothy knew Phygellus and Hermogenes, he also knew Onesiphorus.

And Paul reminded Timothy, “and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.” Timothy had seen and experienced the kindness and servant heart of Onesiphorus. The devoutness and sincerity of this man was no secret at Ephesus.

And as Timothy was ministering in Ephesus at that time, Timothy knew very well the kind of outstanding service he did there and he knew the kind of man he was.

Onesiphorus’s faithfulness and devotion to Paul had begun many years earlier by the service he rendered at Ephesus when the apostle was there.

And when Paul was in Ephesus, willingly and without complaint, Onesiphorus had helped Paul in many different ways, as he wrote: “and IN HOW MANY THINGS he ministered unto me at Ephesus.”

His reputation and character was well-established. And later, Paul might’ve not even been surprised when Onesiphorus showed up in Rome to help him, because it was keeping with his whole life, character, and his well-earned reputation.

Onesiphorus’s name means “help bringer.” And he lived up to his name by the help and assistance he brought to the Apostle Paul and others.

Paul had visited Ephesus at the end of his second apostolic journey and he spent 2-3 years there during his third journey.

If not for Paul’s faithfulness in traveling the world to preach the Word and spread the gospel of grace to the nations, Onesiphorus would not have been saved.

In gratitude to the one who told him of Christ, this believing Gentile, Onesiphorus, determined to be a blessing to Paul, both while Paul was in Ephesus and later when he was in Rome.

In verse 16, Paul wrote, “The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus.” Later in this letter, Paul sent salutations to “the household of Onesiphorus” (4:19).

Because Paul did not address Onesiphorus directly, but rather sent greetings to his house and asked for the Lord to bless his household in Ephesus, there is the possibility that Onesiphorus had died at this point.

It’s difficult, however, to say this with certainty. In 1 Corinthians 16:15, Paul wrote to and commended “the house of Stephanas,” and the head of that household was still living, as Paul wrote of the coming of Stephanas a couple verses later.

But it is does seem pretty evident that Onesiphorus was then absent from Ephesus and his family. He wasn’t in Ephesus, and in verse 17, Paul stated “When he WAS in Rome.”

Thus, he currently also was not in Rome at the time of Paul writing this letter. But he may have just been somewhere between Rome and Ephesus on his way back home.

But because of the mercy Onesiphorus had given and shown to Paul in Rome, Paul asked the Lord to show mercy to his whole family and household.

Mercy is the reward for those who have been merciful. As our Lord said in His Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy” (Matt. 5:7).

Because of Onesiphorus’s merciful kindness, Paul asked the Lord to give mercy both to Onesiphorus’s house now in the present in verse 16 and also to Onesiphorus personally in the future in verse 18.

And Paul asked for this mercy from God’s hand because as Paul was in prison in Rome, “he oft refreshed me.” We don’t know why Onesiphorus went to Rome. He may have come to Rome on business, or he may have come to specifically on a mission to minister to Paul.

“Refreshed” means to cool off or to cheer up. He was like a breath of fresh air to Paul. In the heat of Paul’s trial, Onesiphorus refreshed him and lifted his spirits.

Onesiphorus was like Philemon, of whom Paul wrote, “For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels [hearts] of the saints are REFRESHED by thee, brother” (1:7). Because of Onesiphorus’s love, he refreshed the heart of the Apostle Paul.

And Onesiphorus kept coming to Paul in Rome to refresh him. He OFT, or often refreshed the apostle. This was not a one-time thing. He was repeatedly kind to Paul.

Prisoners in the ancient world were not treated kindly and were often dependent on friends and family to even survive in prison.

They were not getting three square meals and they were not in heated or air-conditioned cells. They needed people to come by and mercifully provide for them.

And Onesiphorus did this for Paul. And he kept refreshing him with simple kindnesses of something to drink and eat, and perhaps clothing or a blanket to keep warm.

And most of all he refreshed and cheered Paul up just with his personal presence.

We don’t know a single word that Onesiphorus said to Paul, but just his presence with him in Rome speaks volumes to us of his selfless love and care.

Paul was refreshed by the presence of this dear brother and encouraged by their fellowship in Christ. We can be sure that they prayed together and rejoiced together in the truths of God’s Word and His grace.

Paul told Timothy that Onesiphorus “was not ashamed of my chain.” Onesiphorus did not see the chains that bound Paul. He saw a man that faithfully served the Lord suffering in chains because of the faith that he lived and proclaimed.

Again, Paul challenged Timothy in chapter 1, verse 8 to “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner” and after reminding Timothy of all those in Asia and Phygellus and Hermogenes who turned away and were ashamed of Paul, he showed him someone who “was not ashamed of my chain.”

When Onesiphorus arrived in Rome, he could have very easily avoided Paul. Instead, because he was not ashamed of Paul’s chain, he sought Paul out and found him.

He boldly and bravely exposed himself to danger by visiting Paul, who was a notable prisoner. This would have brought him into direct contact with the Roman authorities.

In Rome, at that time, it was dangerous and you risked your life to be known as a believer in Jesus Christ. As one author put it, “[Onesiphorus] went to Rome at a time when every Christian was trying to get out of it.”

While others were fearful of being associated with Paul and the hazards this might’ve brought to them, Onesiphorus went to Rome itself, and he found Paul in prison. And he was fearlessly visited the apostle regularly and kept coming back to minister to his needs.

He literally put his neck on the line in being not ashamed of Paul’s chain.

John Wayne once said, “Courage is being scared to death, and saddling up anyway.” That’s what Onesiphorus did with visiting Paul in Rome.

Some of the apostle’s acquaintances, like Phygellus and Hermogenes, did not want to be connected with a chained, condemned man. But not so with Onesiphorus. This man had a big soul and he bravely, willingly, and unashamedly joined himself to Paul.

When a minister is popular, he has many friends and people are happy to associate with him. But chain a man in prison and condemn him to death, like in Paul’s case, and people fall away and you find out who your real friends are. And Onesiphorus was a real friend.

Proverbs 18:24 says that “there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” And Onesiphorus is a good example of that verse.

A British publication once offered a prize for the best definition of a friend. The winning definition read: “A friend is the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out.” When it seemed like the whole world had gone out and turned away from Paul, Onesiphorus came in.

And by faith and courage, he was not ashamed of the apostle, not ashamed of his chain. And out of his strong faith, he boldly went to Rome and ministered to Paul.

Onesiphorus is an important example to the Church under grace. Many are ashamed of Paul today. They don’t want to associate with him or the message of grace that God committed to him. They choose to follow the popular teachers and doctrine in the church.

And instead of following Paul, many follow the path of least resistance and follow Peter instead of Paul. It’s easier to follow Peter and the traditional teachings in the Church today. But it takes much more courage and faith to follow Paul as he followed Christ.

Onesiphorus is a challenging and inspiring example to not be ashamed of Paul, to be like him in his courage and resolve to stand with the Apostle Paul and the unique message of God’s grace that was revealed to him for the Church, the Body of Christ in this age.

Giving an example of Onesiphorus not being ashamed of Paul’s chain, Paul wrote that “when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me.”

Just getting from Ephesus to Rome was no small feat in those days. And when he got to Rome, Onesiphorus made it his business to find Paul. “He sought me out” Paul wrote. Without fear or hesitation he went directly to find him.

Onesiphorus could have given a half effort and made the excuse that “Well, I tried, I gave it my best shot, but I couldn’t find him.” Instead, nothing stopped him, and he didn’t give up until he had found the apostle among the many prisoners in Rome.

I picture him going to one prison-barracks after another around Rome, and calling out, “Paul, you in here?” “Paul, you there?” “Paul, is that you in there?” And one of those times, he called out he got a “Yes, I’m here. It’s me! Is that you Onesiphorus?” And we can only imagine how Paul lit up at the visit of this faithful man.

William Barclay also pictures this scene: “We catch a glimpse of one purposeful face in a drifting crowd, and follow with quickening interest this stranger from the far coasts of the Aegean, as he threads the maze of unfamiliar streets, knocking at many doors, following up every clue, warned of the risks he is taking but not to be turned from his quest.

“Till in some obscure prison-house a known voice greets him, and he discovers Paul in chains. Having once found his way Onesiphorus is not content with a single visit, but, true to his name [the Help-Bringer], he proves unwearied in his ministrations…”

Again, believers were being persecuted and put to death at this time in Rome, but without thinking of himself, risking his own life, and not being ashamed of Paul or his chains, he diligently looked high and low until he found Paul. In all of this, we see that Onesiphorus was a man of noble courage and generosity.

And on a practical note, we find that in the church and in our service for Christ that sometimes it can be necessary to hunt people down and stay after it to minister to them.

Often you can have trouble connecting or getting together when schedules don’t match up and unexpected things interrupt plans. But like Onesiphorus, we need to keep after it, and like he did with Paul, seek people out “very diligently.”

The many in Asia and Phygellus and Hermogenes, who had turned from Paul in his hour of need, they portrayed the very things that Paul had been warning Timothy against: fear and shame. As he told Timothy earlier in this chapter, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear.”

In contrast, Onesiphorus demonstrated the characteristics that Paul was recommending to Timothy: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” Onesiphorus exhibited the power of God, the love of Christ, and a sound mind by the Spirit that we can live our lives by and stand for the truth.

In verse 18, Paul asked that “The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day.”

Paul, a prisoner in Rome and condemned to die, was not exactly able to reward and repay his friend for all his gracious help. But the Lord could! And thus, Paul asked the Lord to bless him and show him mercy.

Paul asked the Lord that He would show him mercy “in that day” (v. 18). Since Onesiphorus ministered to Paul in his most extreme need, Paul in turn asked for mercy for Onesiphorus on the believer’s most important day.

“That Day” refers to the Judgment Seat of Christ. That is the day when each believer will stand individually before the Lord Jesus Christ to give an account of their Christian lives, conduct, and service.

Romans 14:12 states of that day, “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” That day is not a day that determines one’s salvation.

One’s salvation is determined in this life and whether one trusts Christ as their personal Savior or not before they die.

At the Judgment Seat of Christ, rewards will be determined and given to the members of the Body of Christ for faithful service and a faithful stand for Christ and God’s truth.

Paul’s prayer for mercy for Onesiphorus at that day is that he would be duly rewarded for his faithful service and for not being ashamed of Paul or his chains.

And so, Onesiphorus is a reminder to each of us that faithfulness and an unashamed stand for the message of grace that God committed to Paul will be rewarded at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

We don’t know of any books that he wrote. We don’t know of any churches he established.

We don’t know of any reformation or revival he sparked. We don’t know of any large donation he made to the church.

What we do know for sure is what we have in these few verses, that Onesiphorus was a loyal, refreshing, diligent servant in the cause of Christ.

He is an example of the faithful kindness and mercy Christ wants us to show to those who are in need in His Church.

And most importantly, he is an example of not being ashamed of Paul and courageously standing for the message of grace revealed to Paul for the Church today.