The Weekend, August 29 –
Welcome to the weekend and to a
one day study of a new letter – the letter from Paul to Philemon. This letter is one chapter in its entirety,
so read all of Philemon (1:1-25), and then come back and we’ll look at it together.
Having just finished the letter of
Paul to the Colossians, some of what we need to know has already been given. Paul wrote this letter to a brother in
Christ in the Colossian church by the name of Philemon. Philemon was, in all likelihood, a well-to-do
man who owned an estate large enough to have servants and slaves. One such slave was Onesimus who had fled from
Philemon, taken a ship passage to Rome and ended up in contact with the Apostle
Paul, while he was in prison. It seems that
not only did Onesimus run away but also stole something of value from Philemon
(1:18). Onesimus’ freedom would have
come at a high price. Runaway slaves
were treated with cruelty if discovered, and thus they stayed on the run living
in constant dread of being found. How Onesimus
found Paul we do not know, but he did and had spent time with Paul, being
discipled by the Apostle, and at some point came to the realization that he
needed to go back to Philemon and seek reconciliation.
Paul wanted Onesimus to go back to
Philemon and wrote this letter, sending it along with the other Prison letters
of Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians.
Onesimus traveled with Tychicus, who carried all of the letters, and was
well known by the churches he would deliver them to (Colossians 4:7-9). Philemon is more than an acquaintance to Paul,
he is a “beloved brother” who also hosted the Colossian church in his house –
“Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our
beloved fellow worker and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow
soldier, and the church in your house” (1:1-2).
Apphia, in all likelihood, was Philemon’s wife, and we met Archippus at the end
of the letter to the Colossians (4:17).
Paul’s introduction makes sure all know that he is writing this from a
Roman prison cell.
Paul doesn’t begin with an appeal to
Philemon concerning Onesimus, but instead, praises Philemon for his love and
faith that he has shown towards the Lord Jesus, and also for the saints –
brothers and sisters in Christ. That is
an important addition – not uncommon for Paul – but in this case one of the saints
is Onesimus. I don’t think Paul is
trying to flatter him, so as to puff him up for the appeal to follow. The language is too genuinely affectionate,
and probably meant to remind Philemon that he sent Onesimus back because of his
love and loyalty to him –
“ For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother,
because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you” (1:7).
Philemon is the real deal and his commitment to Christ, and his friendship with
Paul serves as the basis for all that was to follow.
Beginning in 1:8, Paul begins his
appeal for reconciliation from Philemon towards Onesimus, his once run-away
slave, now returning to him as a brother, useful to him –
“Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is
required, yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old
man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— I appeal to you for my
child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment” (1:8-10).
Here, Paul, makes the appeal based on his love for Onesimus, who he has discipled,
and thus “fathered” as a son. Paul also
makes a play on words in this appeal.
Onesimus means “profitable”, but was considered “useless” by Philemon –
“Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to
me” (1:11).
Onesimus legally belongs to Philemon, but Paul makes sure Philemon knows Onesimus
was “indeed useful to…me”. He went on to
underscore his affections for Onesimus –
“I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. I would have been
glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during
my imprisonment for the gospel, but I preferred to do nothing without
your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your
own accord” (1:12-14).
There’s no doubt, Paul would have
loved to have kept Onesimus with him, but he knew that the right thing to do
was to send him back, and seek Philemon to receive him back as a brother in
Christ –
“For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might
have him back forever, no longer as a bondservant but more than a
bondservant, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you,
both in the flesh and in the Lord” (1:15-16).
This was the choice Philemon needed to make: would Onesimus be received back as a brother
in Christ, or would he continue to treat him as a bondservant? Paul had written two letters that Philemon
would read – this personal letter, and the letter to the Colossian church. It was in that letter that Paul had reminded
all of the church that they had come to faith in Christ through the sovereign
work of God –
“giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the
inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain
of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom
we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:12-14).
The Roman world might have masters and slaves, but in Christ, there is no
distinctions –
“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is
no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:27-28).
It was only in the church, and nowhere else in the Roman empire, that masters
and slaves stood at the Lord’s table as equals.
Paul’s appeal to Philemon comes with
a promise –
“So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me.
If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my
account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say
nothing of your owing me even your own self. Yes, brother, I want some
benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ” (1:17-20).
Is Paul using reverse psychology, manipulation?
Some argue he was, but consider the price he has paid to deliver the Gospel
to Philemon, as well as all of the churches of Asia. Paul’s life had been a series of difficult
challenges coupled with opposition, beatings, and persecution. Did he have the right to ask for this – definitely. The question, of course, is what
happened?
“Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even
more than I say. At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I am
hoping that through your prayers I will be graciously given to you” (1:21-22).
We know Paul never made it back to Philemon; but we also have a historical
record of an aged Bishop of the Church in Ephesus, around 110 a.d., whose name
was Onesimus! Only Philemon could free
Onesimus and only Philemon could send him back to Paul.
What do we do with this
letter? Let’s step back into our Spiritual
beginnings. Philemon reminds us that all
of us came from the slavery of sin. Reconciliation
is God’s action of reaching out to us. He made the first step towards us, so can
we follow? Can we make the first step
towards God? Can we take a step towards
those who have been unreconciled from us? Forgiveness, freedom, fellowship, all
describe our relationship to Christ. He
had turned our slavery into friendship.
Like Onesimus, God has bought me through the blood of Christ. I am set
free to serve under the love of Christ.
My prayer is that you will find yourself in the freedom of Christ.
Peace
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