Philemon: Rearranging Reality
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Opening Up Colossians and Philemon Chapter 2: The Appeal to Philemon: Philemon’s Consent (vv. 8–16)
Paul’s object in writing is to request that Philemon should receive his returning slave with mercy and joy. Onesimus is now a brother beloved in Christ and should be acknowledged as such and therefore given his freedom.
Last week we began what was going to be a 3 week series on the letter to Philemon in the NT.
However, as I was studying this week, it became evident that I simply could not cut up the letter any more. Maybe someone more advanced in Greek could, but I felt like I would do a disservice to the text and there fore to you if I tried to cut up the text into 3 messages, so today we are going to bring it home.
Last week introduced you to the 3 main people involved in this letter.
Paul the author of the letter.
Written in his own hand-writing while he was under house arrest in Rome for preaching the gospel which was seen as an affront to the Empire a d the culture.
YES there was a time when being a Christian was seen as countercultural and an affront to the surrounding culture.
Philemon a slave owner in a society where slave ownership was the norm. He also hosted a church in his home in the town of Colossae, in Asia Minor, modern day Turkey. It is believed that the two names mentioned at the beginning of the letter along with Philemomn are his wife Apphia and their son Archipius.
Onesimus a runaway slave belonging to Philemon, who had not only run away but had stolen as well from Philemon.
So in first century Rome, he could be in some real trouble!
Paul a father over many churches and their pastors. He knows Philemon, calls him his “beloved fellow worker”
He has now also become friends with Onesimus, possibly shared the good news of Jesus with him, and the news that in Christ, in the new reality of the cross, there is no longer “slaves or free”, but we are all one in Christ!
And you can picture the day when Paul says to Onesimus…you need to return to Philemon!
That would have been a conversation!
Paul....Im good. I would much rather be your friend and gofer tan to go back to Philemon and face the law and what it prescribes for runaway thief slaves!
Paul says....”Onesimus.....I will write you a letter. A letter addressed specifically to your old master. And I want you to tell him to read it before he deals with you.”
PAUSE
Imagine how many times Onesimus, on his way back to Colossae played the scene in his head!!
Would he even get any words out, before he was grabbed and beaten. Imprisioned.
Would he assume the letter was a fake.
Would he find any compassion in Philemon. Or would Philemon dismiss the words of Paul all together?
And finally he gets to the road leading up to his old home, and Philemon sees him from a distance.
And he fumes!!
Is that Onesimus???
And
He calls his wife Apphia!!! Look its Onesimus!
Call the other slaves.....they need to see this. We need to make an example.
And I can see Onesimus, head bowed.....maybe a fear of Philemon, but also a trust in his new found Saviour. Trusting Paul’s words would save him.
And as he gets within ten feet of Philemon he falls to the ground and cries out, “Master!!!!! I know that I have wronged you, I am guilty under the law! But PLEASE before you punish me, before you toss me into prison, or brand me or worse....execute me.....PLEASE read this letter!! I beg you in the name of Christ!”
PLEASE!
That would take Philemon back!
“Apphia would give him a look!”
“Give me the letter”
And he reads these words....
1 Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our beloved fellow worker 2 and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, 5 because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, 6 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. 7 For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.
8 Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, 9 yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— 10 I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. 11 (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) 12 I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. 13 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, 14 but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord. 15 For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, 16 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.
17 So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. 18 If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19 I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. 20 Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.
21 Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. 22 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.
23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, 24 and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.
25 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
PRAYER
Philemon
How does a first century, slave owning, wealthy, church hosting citizen of Rome deal with a letter like this.
We all have moments in our lives, if we’ve lived long enough and are paying attention, that are sanctifying. Where our worldview comes up against the gospel and has to either submit or rebel.
And our submission more and more to the gospels influence in our lives will mean more sanctification.
One of the biggest works of sanctification in our lives will not be moving on from the Gospel to higher loftier things, but will come from a deeper understanding and meditation on what it means to have been given a new identity, a greater humanity, complete acceptance by my Creator, and a new elevated position in the cosmos, because of the work of Christ.
This is that moment for Philemon
Paul is giving him a lesson that would not have lines up with what a wealthy Romans citizen has been taught. That there is more to us than our name. Our belongings, and that the gospel rearranges things.
Philemon’s first lesson is this:
i.e. - That personhood is not based on what the state has declared; his personhood is not based on what Philemon has declared, something deeper is giving Onesimus worth. Putting him on equal footing!!
Paul has the audacity to say that Onesimus is a person of worth regardless of opinion.
He is a brother to Philemon not in the flesh but in the LORD.
And we may think “Oh, thats quaint. They sure needed to hear that back then.”
“How could they possibly believe that they could just remove personhood by declaration.”
Fact is, it is still the same belief that causes Christians to oppose abortion, euthanasia, and even to protect the biblical sexual ethic.
Because our personhood is connected with our humanity and cannot be removed from it.
Rather our worth is based on something deeper, not only in the flesh but also “in the Lord” v 16
I. Christ gives new identity
We are more than our labels and our mistakes.
We are more than our titles and our victories.
Paul’s object in writing is to request that Philemon should receive his returning slave with mercy and joy. Onesimus is now a brother beloved in Christ and should be acknowledged as such and therefore given his freedom.
Paul could have come in authority, but he came in humility
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
3 For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. 4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus,
Cor. 5:3-4
Gal 1:1-2
1 Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—
13 But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you. 14 For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach you. For we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ.
17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
He could have.. As I probably would have. Do you not know who I am?
I have the credentials!!
I love in verse 8 “I could command it of you”
I love that an old man in prison, can make a demand of a wealthy land owner ion Colassae.
The world is turned upside down.
____________________
There are some of you who with great kindness refer to me as Pastor!
Hello, Pastor. Good morning pastor. How are you pastor.
Yeah there’s like two of you!!
And whenever you show me that respect, my first feeling is warmth, a close close second is.....how come you are the only one referring to me, so warmly, with such respect, nay…love as pastor?
Paul could have pulled out his credentials!!
Isn’t that what we want to do?
We want to say like we do to our children or our students… “Who do you think you are?”
“Who do you think I am? that you can talk to me like that?”
Paul could do that, and no one could argue.
4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more:
If anyone
But Paul’s theme in this letter is not who we are in the flesh.....but who we are in the LORD. v 16
It is not about who we are in the flesh but who we are in the Lord.
Who we are because of the gospel.
“yet for the sake of the gospel”
9 yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus—
Phil
he comes from humility for him
For Paul, the story of the gospel is not just about his salvation—it is about redeeming community.
One of the most beautiful texts in the new Testament has to be , where Paul writes these words....
3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Phil
But it is more than an unpacking of what happened with the incarnation the taking on of flesh by God, it is more than a reflection on the humility of Christ to go to the cross for our salvation.....it is the model of our community!!
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.
Paul says, in humility, I have sent Onesimus back to you- he is like a son to me, he has been helpful to me in my imprisonment. It is like I have sent you a piece of my heart.
I have seen him transformed, Philemon...
because.....
You have been offended; remember Je=
II. Christ gives new humanity
And he comes back to you better than before.
More complete!
Useful not useless- he says in v 11
Useful not useless- he says in v 11
That is a play on words because the name Onesimus actually means “useful”. If you thought he was useful before....he comes back far more useful now!!
He is now more fully himself!!
That is what the gospel does!!
Philemon
15 For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, 16 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.
Philemon you need to get this...
not only does the gospel change the status of Onesimus…It changes your status as well.
Onesimus has been given a new identity, a fuller humanity....how big is your gospel!!!
I made it clear last week that what we have here is one of the most carefully crafted letters of the New Testament; far from lashing out in anger and irritation, Paul is probably aware that as a proponent of this new Gospel, as a proclaimer of the new dawning of Christ’s Kingdom, he is on the cusp, in this small letter, of asking for something revolutionary! The recognized personhood of a slave!!
i.e. - That personhood is not based on what the state has declared; his personhood is not based on what Philemon has declared, something deeper is giving Onesimus worth. Putting him on equal footing!!
Paul has the audacity to say that Onesimus is a person of worth regardless of opinion.
He is a brother to Philemon not in the flesh but in the LORD.
And we may think “Oh, thats quaint. They sure needed to hear that back then.”
“How could they possibly believe that they could just remove personhood by declaration.”
Fact is, it is still the same belief that causes Christians to oppose abortion, euthanasia, and even to protect the biblical sexual ethic.
Because our personhood is connected with our humanity and cannot be removed from it.
Rather our worth is based on something deeper, not only in the flesh but also “in the Lord” v 16
Will you recognize the personhood of Onesimus, my son, your brother in the faith.
That is the new reality!
That is what the Gospel does.
III. The Gospel fills our Account
PAUSE
Head in the dirt. praying that Paul’s words do the trick.
And Philemon thinking to himself, recognizing that this is a moment meant for his sanctification. This is the opportunity for a sacred moment.
Where in light of their new identities and their humanity fully realized in Christ; forgiveness is the only option.
And Philemon rolls up the scroll and says.........
“Onesimus, head in, grab some food, wash yourself, get a good sleep
III. Christ Pardons Us
Paul here in vs 18, plays out the gospel in a perfect illustration of the Gospel.
18 If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.
At the essence of the Gospel. At the essence of what Jesus has done for you and I is the fact that at the cross he paid for our sin.
At the essence of the Gospel. At the essence of what Jesus has done for you and I is the fact that at the cross he paid for our sin.
That what I owed for my disobedience was paid for there.
That any unrighteousness, any injustice that we have accumulated, can be wiped away by the forgiveness offered through Jesus.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
And if we wonder how limited his forgiveness is we see it in
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
19 He will again have compassion on us;
he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea.
H
12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,
and I will remember their sins no more.”
21 How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.
Gospel does more than that, it is not only a wiping out, out it is an adding to!!
It is not just a change from being in a state of sin, to being bearable, it is to becoming one with Christ, and therefore a benofactor of everything good he has!
Relationship with God, and a future with him.
Paul is living this out, modelling this for Onesimus and Philemon
17 So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. 18 If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19 I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self.
Forgive his debt Philemon, as yours and mine has been forgiven.
But the Gospel does more than that, it is not only a wiping out, but it is an adding to!!
Because .......
IV. Christ Elevates Us
PAUSE
Now after reading this letter, and taking a deep breath, I can picture Philemon looking down at Onesimus, still grovelling at his feet.
Head in the dirt. praying that Paul’s words do the trick.
And Philemon thinking to himself, recognizing that this is a moment meant for his sanctification. This is the opportunity for a sacred moment.
Where in light of their new identities and their humanity fully realized in Christ; forgiveness is the only option.
And Philemon rolls up the scroll and says.........
“Onesimus, head in, grab some food, wash yourself, get a good sleep.
Tomorrow we start again. you’ll take your place in the field wit hte others. It is all forgotten.”
“Head off”
And you can picture Apphia, kind of clearing her throat.
“Um,....honey. That isn’t what it says.”
You see Paul says here ‘receive him as you would me’”
You wouldn’t tell Paul to go out into the field and work, would you!?
Well, no, of course I wouldn’t do that to Paul.
“Well, then, honey, we cannot do that to Onesimus either.”
At that point, if Philemon is anything like me, when my wife reaches the correct conclusion before I do.....he would turn to his wife and say....”Yes, I get it honey”
But what does that look like?
What am I supposed to do?
Well, dear.
See down here it says prepare a room for me.
“Wouldn’t we give the best room to Paul.”
“”Can you just let me read the letter?”
“I gotta think about this.”
Think about how his world is being transformed.
His worldview is being transformed; redeemed.
Where slaves are becoming brothers.
This Gospel which saved him is calling him to live out his salvation with fear and trembling!
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,
If I am paying attention, I will find that....
The Christian life is layer upon layer of learning who we are in Christ and who everyone else is in Christ, and how that changes every interaction.
That one of the biggest works of sanctification in my life will not be moving on from the gospel to higher loftier things, but will come from a deeper understanding of what it means to have a new identity, a greater humanity, complete acceptance by my creator and a new elevated position in the cosmos, because of the work of Christ.
Conclusion/SLOWLY
He said that God had been working in his heart for a while that there was something in his life that had become an idol to him.
And when he was finally convicted of the truth of it, he loosened the grip of that idol and started releasing it, giving away to others those things he had hoarded and he would say “worshipped”— and what he shared with me was the amazing experience in his study of scripture and prayer that has exploded because of his willingness to submit.
I have found it to be true that when I release something, I make space for Jesus.
Right?
Sometimes I feel like God wants to bless us with more of himself and our hands are too bloody full of trinkets.
So this morning.....where do you find yourself in the story.
Are you here as a slave to something- the gospel wants to give you a new identity, give you fuller humanity, acceptance, wants to elevate you from a slave to whatever it is to a child of the living God.
Dragging past guilt, baggage from mistakes, a title given by someone else or by yourself that demeans you. Sin done by you or to you that has no right to cling to you.
The gospel, the grace of God, wants to take a great axe and chop clear through the rope that binds you to it.
Slave to past mistakes; like Onesimus
Slaves to an identity placed on you by someone else, and it stuck; by yourself and you cannot shake it.
elevate you to
The gospel elevates you!
On the other side...
Are you here with the goal of mastering over others and situations?
Are you good to serve Christ on your terms. When the Gospel pushes up against all that you have come to be comfortable with; all you have identified with, all you have based your humanity and acceptance on (like Philemon); what will you do?
As God presents moments for your obedience and therefore your health, how will you respond.
As the HS stands next to you now at this moment.....like Apphia saying......”You know what this means right?”
You know how you have to change right?”
This week I was sitting in a Starbucks and came across a good friend, who was anxious to share with me the way God had been working in his life.
He said that God had been working in his heart for a while that there was something in his life that had become an idol to him.
And when he was finally convicted of the truth of it, he loosened the grip of that idol and started releasing it, giving away to others those things he had hoarded and he would say “worshipped”— and what he shared with me was the amazing experience in his study of scripture and prayer that has exploded because of his willingness to submit.
I have found it to be true that when I release something, I make space for Jesus.
Right?
Sometimes I feel like God wants to bless me with more of himself and my hands are too bloody full of trinkets.
How will you allow the Gospel to take over more of you today?
PRAYER
SPIRIT do a work in us.
God presents a moment for obedience, i
He said that God had been working in his heart for a while that there was something in his life that had become an idol to him.
The gospel humbles you.
And when he was finally convicted of the truth of it, he loosened the grip of that idol and started releasing it, giving away to others those things he had hoarded and he would say “worshipped”— and what he shared with me was the amazing experience in his study of scripture and prayer that has exploded because of his willingness to submit.
I have found it to be true that when I release something, I make space for Jesus.
Right?
Sometimes I feel like God wants to bless us with more of himself and our hands are too bloody full of trinkets.