How We Live With Each Other

Big Idea

Tension: How does Paul end his letter to Philemon?

Resolution: Both by giving them the greeting of his companions as an example of his teaching and by blessing them in the name of Christ.

Exegetical Idea: Paul ends his letter to Philemon by giving him the greeting of his companions as an example of his teaching and by blessing him in the name of Christ.

Theological Idea: Only by the grace of Christ can we follow Paul’s example of a gospel-shaped community.

Homiletical Idea: If we are going to live together like Paul, we need the grace of Christ.

Outline

Introduction: How are we supposed to live together practically as Christians?

Final greetings

Objection: Doesn’t Paul end all his letters this way? Answer: The ending of Paul’s letters might be formulaic, but that doesn’t make it meaningless.

Greetings - Paul highlights the greetings of other Christians. This shows us that even the apostle Paul while he is in prison is in community with other Christians. He has no category for a Christian who is not part of a community with other Christians. And luckily, each of these Christians he references gives us a sense of what the community Paul shared with others looked like.

Epaphras my co-prisoner in Christ Jesus - Epaphras was the former pastor of the church in Colossae (1:7). I agree with Doug Moo who states that Epaphras might have been saved under the ministry of Paul and been sent out from Paul to plant the church. We know from Col. 4:12 that Epaphras was always praying and hoping that the church in Colossae would grow and stand mature in Christ

in Christ Jesus - Epaphras himself is united with Christ. He is crucified, resurrected, and ascended. He is made new.

my co-prisoner - this word for “prisoner” here is related to the word for “captive” that is used in Eph 4:8. We see there that Jesus is leading the apostles and high priests in triumphal procession as a conquering victor. For Paul, this is his kinship with Epaphras. They have been captured by Christ. They ahve been possessed by him. They are “not their own.”

Paul is able to feel this fellowship, this kinship, this affection for Epaphras. To see him as Christ sees him. To recognize taht God is using him for great work.

Mark -

We first meet Mark as a disciple of Peter’s in the early chapters of Acts, as his mother hosted a house church.

Being related to Barnabas, Mark went with Paul and Barnabas on their early trip. In Acts 13:13, we see that Barnabas abandoned them in the middle of their missionary journey. We don’t have all the exact details, but judging by some details given to us later, it appears that he might have lost his faith.

Later, in Acts 15:37, Mark had apparently repented, and he desired to join Paul and Barnabas again on their journey. Disagreement about whether or not they should allow him led to a famous schism on the part of Paul and Barnabas.

Now history proves Barnabas to have been right about this. But, we can’t blame Paul either, after all as Luke 9:62 says… This split between Paul and Barnabas was well known and travelled throughout the early churches.

However, by the time of the writing of the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul had apparently viewed himself and Barnabas as reconciled (1 Cor 9:6). By the time of the writing to Colossians, Mark had gone to see Paul in his imprisonment, and was even planning on travelling to Colossae (Col 4:10). As Paul was nearing his death, he even urged that Mark was “useful” (same word as used in Philem. 11). Mark was one of the last people that the apostle Paul wanted to see before his death.

Now, look at the important empahsis Mark’s name would provide. Here, Paul was urging Philemon to be reconciled to Onesimus. And now he puts forward his own exmaple with Mark, a story well known to the Colossians, as an example of what this reconciliation shoudl look like. See how pwoerful a testimony to the reconciling work of the gospel.

Aristarchus

Aristarchus is a fascinating character in the Bible. Aristarchus a Macedonian from Thessalonica. When Paul preached the gospel in Thessalonica, Aristarchus followed Paul. Aristarchus followed Paul to Ephesus, where he was seized by a mob and almost put to death. Aristarchus, even went with Paul in his imprisonment in Rome. Paul calls Aristarchus his “fellow prisoner” in Col 4:10, and this could either mean he was imprisoned at the same time as Paul, or it could mean that he was someone who shared in all of Paul’s suffering. Acts calls Aristarchus his “travelling companion.”

When I think of Aristarchus, I think of Proverbs 19:24, he was someone who stuck with Paul through thick and thin. He was someone who went where Paul went and shared in all his suffering.

We don’t know exactly what Aristarchus’ fate was, it is very possible he was put to death while Paul was in Rome during his 2nd imprisonment. He very well could have died before Paul himself died.

Demas

Now, we come to the sad fate of Demas. Demas is mentioned 3x in Scripture. He is mentioned here and in Colossians and in 2 Timothy. In 2 TImothy 4:10, we learn that he deserted Paul when he was close to death, because he was “in love with this present world.” There are indications in Colossians 4 that Paul had doubts about him even while he was writing Colossians and Philemon. There was just something about Demas that probably didn’t sit right with him.

Yet, for all that, Paul is still making room for Demas. He is still answering his questions. He’s still sharing hte gospel. He’s still praying for him. He’s still tryign to live in community with him. He’s still inviting him to follow him.

And even though he abandons Paul, the New Testament holds out hope for Demas, we don’t know his final fate. We don’t know if he ever came back to the Lord. And I think Paul, as disappointed as he was in Demas, was still hopeful that God wasn’t done with him yet.

Luke

And Luke. Luke, of course, is the author of the gospel of Luke and Acts. Luke was a Greek doctor who joined Paul in Asia minor. I think that Luke was from, or had studied in Philippi, where there was a large medical sschool, and as soon as Paul meets him they go to Philippi. I think while Paul was in prison in Jerusalem, Luke wrote his gospel. Like Aristarchus, Luke went with Paul in his imprisonment to Rome. He stayed beside Paul. So that Paul, as all his other friends had deserted him, could say, “But Luke, Luke alone is with me” (2 Tim 4:11).

Luke was someone who Paul had great affection for. Elsewhere he called Luke the “beloved physician” in Col 4:14. He was someone who Paul likely thought of when he said “Above all, put on love, the perfect bond of harmony.”

My fellow workers - Now, Paul closes this by saying these are my fellow workers. Why this designation? Well, usually, Paul uses this to refer to other people who are in formal minsitry.

Paul is putting himself forward as an example - I think Paul does this because he wants to put forth himself and his friends as an example. He wants them to imitate them as they live together. He is putting forth himself and his companions as an example of a community of the gospel. He is saying, “Philemon, you and your church shoudl be like us.” And that wouldn’t happen if they didn’t welcome ONesimus back.

Now, if you’re a normal human being, you’re going to say, “That is not easy. I can’t do that on my own.” ANd it’s true. TO have this kidn of forgiving, generous, loving, welcome community is impossible. So how can we have this kind of community? That’s why grace gets the last word in the letter...

By God’s grace in Christ

Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ

Lord Jesus Christ - Now, remember how when we started off the book of Philemon, we started by quoting 1 Corinthians 8:4, in which Paul includes Jesus CHrist within the Shema. And we saw, that Paul includes Jesus within the monotheism of the Old Testament.

Grace of - And we saw when we opened hte letter that Paul includes Jesus within the blessing of Numbers 4:24-26, the “Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and give you peace.” In the Old Testament the grace of God always has af ace. And that face is always Jesus Christ.

with your Spirit - with the Holy Spirit. Now, what is significant here is that the “Your” is a plural your. But the word “Spirit” is in the sigular. So whatever their “Spirit” is, unites them. I think there is a good chance that the word “spirit” here is in reference to the Holy Spirit. But whatever Paul is saying, Paul is conveying that they would have a profound unity, and that this can only come through the grace of Christ.

Applications:

We will never have this kind of fellowship if we don’t have fellowship with Christ first.

If we want to be a place where Christians are gracious and kind and forgiving to one another, we must plead with the almighty, sovereign God of grace that he would shower upon us his mercy and charity. This should be a constant in our prayers for this church, that we would be marked by a gracious, good and kind culture.

If we want to have this fellowship with Christ, we need to have fellowship with one another.

Speaking for the elders, we need you to expect this of us. We need you to remind us of this kind of merciful, reconciling graciousness. This should be something you ask for in future candidates for elders and deacons.

We need to always be open to the John Marks.

We need to put up with the Demases, and hope for the best, hope for repentance, hope for growth, even when we know the worst might come.

We need to be the Aristarchuses, the Epaphrases, the Lukes.

Conclusion: How can we possibly live together as persistently loving people?