Envoys, Part 3

Margaret Mitchell’s analysis of the role of envoys in the Greco-Roman of Paul’s day reveals yet another important insight. The envoy served two masters, so to speak, acting on behalf of the one who sent him in delivering a message and for the recipient(s) in conveying a response. “In his commissioning formulas,” Mitchell suggests, “Paul shows himself sensitive to the double-sided role of the envoy, who has some relationship with both Paul and the church in question.”

We see how in Philippians, for example, Epaphroditus is called both “my brother and fellow laborer and comrade-in-arms” and “your messenger and servant of my need” (Phil. 2:25). That the envoy is more than just a substitute for the sender is seen even here, where what seems most essential is that the individual has a close and abiding relationship with both parties. As Paul’s call in Philippians is to a unity of mind and heart in service of the gospel, the role of the envoy serves a rhetorical purpose by binding together apostle and church as co-participants in this very mission.