Philemon, “Useless to Useful, Slave to Brother”

Today’s passage is a parable from real life. And every parable teaches us a lesson.

The Parable

There was once a runaway slave called Benny, who like many runaways, traveled to the biggest city he could think of to get lost in the crowd and start a new life. But he had no idea what his new life would become. In that city, the capital city of the empire in which he lived, he met a travelling preacher. This guy was saying incredible things, like Jesus Christ is Lord. In the city where Caesar is not only Lord, but worshipped as a god, this gets your attention.

So, when Benny asked more questions, the preacher told him that he could be have new life and freedom in Christ. That was a captivating message for a runaway slave. He found a sudden change come over him. He believed the message, was sorrowful over his sin, and wanted to live life differently, the way Jesus taught us to live.

Benny joined the travelling preacher, who was not able to travel because he was under house arrest for his dangerous message. But through a network of helpers, his gospel spread anyway. It just so happened that Benny’s full name meant “beneficial”, or “useful”, and he made himself useful to the preacher and his team.

It also just so happened that another member of that team began to put some pieces together about Benny’s life. Benny spoke about the place he had fled and the master he had had there. His coworker, who’s parents named him Epaphras for their devotion to the Greek goddess Aphrodite (now very ironic as a devoted Jesus follower), realized that the two of them were from the same city, that he knew Benny’s master, and began to fill in Benny with some useful information about the rest of the story. As it turned out, Benny’s master had become a Christian too, and the church that Jesus had established through Epaphras’ ministry was now hosted by the family he had fled.

As the team discussed it, the preacher asked Benny to do a difficult thing. ,He had heard Epaphras talk about Benny’s master as a truly loving man whom everyone finds refreshing. He asked if he would be willing to return to his master and trust Jesus to lead them in reconciliation. But to help his new friend, he also wrote a letter. And in that letter, reminded the master that Jesus Christ is the true Lord of all, to whom we are bound, and to whom we owe our lives. So, he appealed to the master, receive Benny not as a slave, but as a brother in the Lord. He plays off the meaning of Benny’s name, “beneficial” or “useful”.

Philemon 11 (ESV)

Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.

And he added this line,

Philemon 18 (ESV)

If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.

Where do you find yourself in this parable?

The Lesson

Paul and his friends are a living parable of the gospel. All of us are Onesimus. We were all formerly useless slaves to sin and selfishness. We have been made new, made God’s children, and been made useful to God and others, all by the grace of Jesus Christ.

But because Philemon might not see it this way, Paul not only teaches Philemon how to apply the gospel to this situation. He also demonstrates the gospel with his offer of generous grace. And he writes the whole thing in a letter addressed to him and his family and his church.

And we will spend the rest of our time looking at the implications of the gospel in this letter for our lives.

First of all, Paul tells Philemon three times that he is a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and that Epaphras, who was probably Philemon’s father in Christ, was also a prisoner for Christ.

Why do you think Paul makes this a key point?

As Christians, none of us is truly free. We are really slaves to Christ. He has redeemed us and we owe Him our lives. And He asks us to do hard things to learn to trust His grace and power. Our lives are not our own, our life is now in Christ.

Philemon 16 (ESV)

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.

When Paul says, “both in the flesh and in the Lord,” he’s teaching an important application of the gospel. Let’s take one minute to explain it. When he uses these phrases, “in the flesh” and “in the Lord,” he’s describing two spheres of our existence. Everyone lives “in the flesh”, in the sphere of our physical world with its laws, such as the law of gravity, or the laws of state. Most people will live their entire life in that sphere, in the flesh. That sphere of existence will come to an end. It is mortal, it’s temporary.

The other sphere Paul mentions is “in the Lord”. The person who has heard the gospel, repented of their sin, and united themselves with Jesus Christ by faith, they are now living in a whole new sphere of existence. We are now, “in Him”. Remember some things we read in the letter to the Colossians,

Colossians 2:6–7 (ESV)

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

As Christians, we are now walking in a new sphere of existence. We are rooted in new creation life, eternal life. And we are being built up in Him.

Colossians 2:9–10 (ESV)

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

In Christ, we have a new identity. In Christ, we become partakers in the divine nature. The more we learn to surrender to Jesus as Lord, our new sphere of life in Him is taking over the life we live in the flesh. What is mortal is being swallowed up by life (2 Cor. 5:4). We used to offer ourselves as slaves to sin, and now we are captivated by Jesus. That changes everything.

The Christian is still living in the physical world, in which we have to live by the laws of physics and the laws of our land. But our new life in Christ changes our whole approach to life in the flesh. In Christ, we have power to overcomes our temptations and sins. In Christ, we have forgiveness when we do sin. In Christ, we obey the law no longer out of obligation, but out of love. For love’s sake, then in Christ, we see and treat others differently.

2 Corinthians 5:16–17 (ESV)

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

How did Paul look at Onesimus.

Philemon 10 (ESV)

I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment.

For Paul, Onesimus is no longer a slave. He is a child. Many people bring a slave mentality into their relationship with God. They think they have to earn their keep. They think they have to do things for God to earn HIs favor. God, in the gospel, is convincing us that we are no longer slaves, but children.

The Christian is an adopted child of God. So, whatever identity you have in the flesh, the identity the world gives you, you are also my brother or sister. And I will treat you according to that identity, not the other one.

Philemon 15–16 (ESV)

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.

Paul appeals to Philemon that even though in the flesh, Onesimus is his slave, in the Lord he is his brother, and Philemon should now treat Onesimus, in the sphere of the flesh, as he truly is, a brother. Let the spheres overlap in your relationships.

All through the letter, Paul is helping Philemon see that what we share in Christ is more important than what differences we have in the flesh.

Philemon 6 (ESV)

and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.

As Christians, we share a common faith and we all have some good thing in us we can use for the sake of Christ. In verse 17, he points out the partnership they have in the gospel,

Philemon 17 (ESV)

So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me.

To receive Onesimus as a partner, not as a slave would mean a shift in the way Philemon looks at Onesimus.

“O Holy Night”

“Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His gospel is peace. Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother, And in His name all oppression shall cease.”

This is how the gospel works. It works from the inside out. Christians, transformed in their new life in Christ, now live in the flesh as though they are living in the new creation, in which we all live by the law of love.

Philemon (Commentary)

the gospel shatters social boundaries and brings slaves and masters into one family in Christ (cf. 1 Cor 12:13; Gal 3:28; cf. Col 3:11). While “brotherhood” may have provided a rationale for [freeing] Onesimus, Paul did not explicitly call for this. This is likely due to the fact that “brotherhood” did not call for equality so much as it did mutuality.

Paul doesn’t directly command Philemon to free Onesimus from his slavery. But when Philemon considers the mutual love he and Onesimus share as brothers in the Lord, what do you think Paul and everyone in the church reading this letter expect Philemon to do?

Philemon 18 (ESV)

If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.

The gospel doesn’t ignore reality. It teaches us to live in it differently. What are some relationships in your life that would change if you treated one another as brother and/or sister instead of someone that owes you something?

The gospel doesn’t overtly destroy social systems of injustice or hate or prejudice. The gospel changes people who choose to live by the law of love in Jesus Christ. The gospel didn’t overthrow slavery in the Roman Empire. But it planted a seed in the hearts of slave owners impacted by this parable lived out by Philemon, Onesimus, and Paul. And over time that seed grew into abolition movements across the world over centuries.

In what other ways does the gospel call Christians to live differently in society?

The gospel did not just change Philemon. Think about the change for Onesimus. Think about overcoming the fear of returning to the master you had fled and to whom you probably owed a debt you could not repay. He was willing to offer himself to the Lord Jesus for any service, even if it meant returning to slavery. The gospel overcomes fear of being mistreated by others, because their mistreatment doesn’t change who I am. And Jesus sees every mistreatment and will answer it in His own way and in His own time.

The gospel changes us. Onesimus had been a useless slave. In Christ, he has become a useful brother. He is contributing to other people’s lives. He is serving in gospel ministry. Now it’s a question of which church needs him more.

Useless to Useful, Slave to Brother. Jesus will make something of our lives that we could never have done on our own. He will change our identity and change our whole purpose in life. We all begin as useless slaves to sin. In our sin, we owe God a great debt we cannot pay.

Philemon 18 (ESV)

If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.

The cross of Jesus is His way of saying, “charge that to my account.”

Communion

Questions for Discussion

What are some ways you serve others that make you feel useful?

What is a parable that has helped you understand the gospel? What makes parables effective at teaching us truth?

Why is the letter to Philemon in the Bible? What does the letter teach us about the gospel?

What does it teach the church that would have read this with Philemon?

What do you expect was Philemon’s response to this letter? How would that change the family dynamic if he was to receive Onesimus into his house as a brother instead of a slave?

How does this passage help you see Jesus more clearly?

How does this passage help you see yourself more clearly?

How will you respond to this passage this week?

Who is someone you can share this passage with this week?