In Love Willingly Receive

Scripture Reading

Philemon 8–21 “Wherefore, though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient, yet for love’s sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ. I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds: which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me: whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels: whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel: but without thy mind would I do nothing; that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly. For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever; not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord? If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself. If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account; I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides. Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord. Having confidence in thy obedience I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say.”

Introduction

Review Situation

Review Outline

1. v1-3 - Greeting

2. v4-7 - Philemon - God’s Work in His Character

3. v8-21 - Paul - His Intercession

4. v22-25 - Conclusion - Further Motivation

Review Lesson 2 - Every Good Thing in Christ Jesus

Philemon

Faith and Love in Christ

Love toward all saints

Church in home

Son in the ministry

Fellowlaborer

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3. Paul’s Intercession

1. Paul’s Beseeching - The Grounds

1. Every Good Thing in Christ Jesus

2. Authority

3. Love

4. Sympathy

2. Paul’s Beseeching - The Goal (Receive)

1. Repentance

2. Restoration

3. Restitution

Sermon

Philemon 8 “Wherefore, though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient,”

3. Paul’s Intercession - his appeal, his “beseeching”

1. Paul’s Beseeching - The Grounds (“wherefore”)

1. Philemon - Every Good Thing in Christ Jesus

Philemon’s faith in Christ receives Christ into his heart and mind

Changes him and turns into the love of Christ in him toward all saints

2. Paul - Authority

“though I might” - “I” (Paul) - 3 times in v8-10 in connection with authority

Apostolic authority being put aside and the more excellent way of the word of Christ in love being the motivation

“though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee”

“enjoin” only time translated here - the rest “command(ed)(eth) or “charge”

to impose upon - to join together

“that which is convenient,”

suitable, proper - the intended use of inner and out man made in God’s image, after His likeness

Romans 1:28 “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;”

alien to God

Whether by command or love - what Paul calls Philemon to is convenient

Philemon 9 “yet for love’s sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.”

3. Love - that which all commandments hang upon

Matthew 22:35–40 “Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

“I rather beseech thee” -

Whether by commandment or beseeching Paul is behind the appeal

The commandment comes from a superior imposed upon its subjects

Beseeching condescends to beg urgently and entreat (a request)

Edifies and encourages the will to do the same action as the commandment but from the free will of the heart

“willingly” - Philemon 14 “but without thy mind would I do nothing; that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly.”

4. Sympathy

“being such an one as Paul the aged”

“now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ”

Descriptions to make the heart tender

Galatians 6:17 “From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.”

Tenderhearted - considers the weak, low, and even sinful estate of another

Ephesians 4:32 “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

2. Paul’s Beseeching - The Goal (Receive)

The word of forgiveness in Philemon is “receive”

3 times (12 - as Paul’s bowels, 15 - forever, 17 - as myself)

“receive” - to take, to accept

Other contexts

Provision

Abundance of grace - Romans 5:17 “For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)”

Gospel - 1 Corinthians 15:1 “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;”

Promise, adoption of sons, the Spirit, the word

Action

Those weak in faith - Romans 14:1 “Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.”

Romans 14:3 “Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.”

Romans 15:7 “Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.”

Consideration

Ephesians 6:8 “Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.”

Philemon 10 “I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds:

1. Receive

1. Repentant - change of mind - sorrow for any thing done or said; the pain or grief which a person experiences in consequence of the injury or inconvenience produced by his own conduct.

Pauline - Acts 20:21 “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Acts 26:20 “But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.”

Legal Repentance - sorrow merely from the fear of punishment

Gospel Repentance - sorrow or deep contrition for sin

2 Cor. 7:9-16 - As believers (2 Cor. 12:21)

Romans 2:4-5 - As unbelievers

Psalm 51:17 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

Features of it

1. Word of Sin - gospel, Nathan the prophet

2. Conviction of Spirit - the actualization of it as judgment of self - the owning of sin and its debt

3. The Broken spirit - the effect of this actualization and realization of sin and its effects

4. The Cause of Relinquishing Sin - repentance which is solely in the inner man leads to life, faith, and obedience

Onesimus is repentant as he has turned to God to receive from the heart the remedy of his sin problem.

He has been “begotten”

He has been “regenerated” (Titus 3:5)

He has become “born after the Spirit” (Gal. 4:29)

The Spirit now bears witness that he is the child of God (Rom. 8:16)

Philemon 11–12 “which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me: whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels:”

2. Changed

Onesimus is repentant which has led to transformation

Profitable - useful (used to bear his name (Onesimus - useful) wrongfully, but now in Christ without dissimulation

He’ll do Colossians 3:22–23 “Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;”

He is a different servant - he is a “peculiar” servant

The smallest measure of change - even the inward heart is viewed as profitable to Paul

Many put up all this criteria in order to receive - in principle is correct, but in application they go into self-preservation mode hindering restoration.

Such repentance and change indicate

1. Profitable

2. Coming Back

3. Loves the things we love now

Philemon 13–14 “whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel: but without thy mind would I do nothing; that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly.”

Paul would keep him - he is ministering to Paul

Paul sending him back because without Philemon he wouldn’t do anything

Calls Onesimus “thy benefit”

Paul could have sent the letter forcing Philemon to forgive Onesimus from afar and keep him with himself, but he wants this to be done willingly, freely, without “enjoinment”, without feeling compelled.

Philemon 15–16 “For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever; not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord?”

2. Restore

More than a servant, a brother beloved (all saints)

Profitable, benefit - “in the flesh, and in the Lord”

Leaves a slave, returns a brother

Leaves useless, returns useful - gospel power

Philemon 17–19 “If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself. If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account; I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides.”

3. Restitution

“receive him as myself” - not even a servant in the worldly sense

Treat him as you would treat me

Welcome him as you would welcome me

Forgive him as you would forgive me

“if he hath wronged thee” - he has

“or oweth thee ought” - stolen, and cost for servant in his place, take on another servant

Guess - 500 denarii (500 days wages)

“put that on mine account” - Christ-like

“I will repay it”

Ephesians 4:32 “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

“albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides.”

Philemon is going to put this on his account

He is going to forgive

Accountable - Philemon 22 “But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you.”

Restitution Approaches

Justice - make him pay back - wages, overtime

Grace - Forgive - absorb the debt in love, reconcile, restore

Substitution - someone else pays the debt

Paul ready to pay it - accommodate for this reconciliation

1 Corinthians 11:1 “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”

1 Corinthians 4:16 “Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.”

Philippians 4:9 “Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.”

Conclusion

Paul's intercession for Onesimus reveals the heart of Christian forgiveness and the power of the gospel to renew relationships. We have seen how Paul, though possessing apostolic authority to command, instead appeals on the grounds of love, demonstrating sympathy as an aged prisoner of Christ. His plea centers on one word: receive. Receive Onesimus as repentant—a man genuinely changed by the regenerating work of God's Spirit. Receive him as restored—no longer merely a servant but a beloved brother in Christ. Receive him with restitution in view—Paul himself offering to bear the debt, modeling the substitutionary love of Christ who paid what we could never repay. As we consider this beautiful picture of forgiveness, we must ask ourselves: Are we willing to receive those who have wronged us when they are repentant, or do we place impossible criteria before them that serve only our self-preservation? When God calls us to forgive, will we act out of necessity or willingly from a heart reconstituted by the love of Christ? May we remember that we too have been received by Christ—not as servants, but as beloved children—and extend that same grace to others, knowing that our own debt was far greater than anything owed to us.