Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Philippians 2:29

"Receive him therefore in the Lord with all joy; and hold such in honor:" — Philippians 2:29 (ASV)

Paul therefore exhorted the Philippians to welcome Epaphroditus with joy as fellow Christians should. He had fulfilled his mission with distinction and deserved an appropriate homecoming. Paul’s words imply that more was involved in Epaphroditus’s disturbed feelings than simple affectionate concern, otherwise no such urging from the apostle to “welcome him in the Lord” would have been necessary. Some sort of alienation had arisen. The church was to do more than refrain from criticism of Epaphroditus; they were to give him due recognition for his faithful and sacrificial service to Paul.