The Appeal of the Gospel in Life

Theme: The appeal of the Gospel is made tangible in life by servants made useful by the Gospel.

Illustration: Providence and One Life Bible Study.

“All things come to pass immutably and infallibly so that there is not anything befalls any by chance, or without his providence.”

English Standard Version Chapter 16

The lot is cast into the lap,

but its every decision is from the LORD.

The amazing way in which God provides.

In this text we will see how God regularly works through ordinary, hard, messy, and stressful situations. God even works in the midst of situations in which we sin or are sinned against to sovereignly accomplish his purpose.

Introduction: Before we read the text together and begin to explore the text together, let us briefly observe some important aspects of the text that will help us in our understanding.

The Five Characters in the Text: Paul, Philemon, Onesimus, God the Father, and Jesus Christ.

The Role of Authority in the Text: God’s Divine Authority, Paul’s Role in Mediating God’s Authority in his role as an Apostle, Philemon’s Legal Authority over Onesimus

The Sociological Realities in the Text:

Slavery in Ancient Rome

Onesimus as a Fugitive

The Providence of God in the Text: How exactly did Paul and Onesimus cross paths? Was this a chance encounter? Did Onesimus deliberately seek out Paul?

The Appeal of Gospel Love

Philemon 8–10 ESV

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.

The Appeal to Love

Paul’s Previous Allusion to Philemon’s Love in Philemon 5

Paul’s Connection of Philemon’s Love and the Appeal of the Gospel in Philemon 6

Understanding the Demands of Love in Philemon 8 and following.

To Love Onesimus as a Brother

To Publicly Demonstrate Forgiveness in the Church

Paul does not want to short-circuit this opportunity for Philemon to demonstrate love before the church and towards Onesimus. Therefore, Paul says in Philemon 14 that he doesn’t want his “goodness” to be “by compulsion.”

Love is expressed in free action. As demonstrated in 1 Corinthians 13 and John 21:15-19

The Example of Love

Paul constrains his own rights as an apostle to appeal to Philemon rather than to demand from Philemon as demonstrated in Philemon 8.

Paul constrains his own desires to utilize Onesimus by sacrificing his needs on behalf of Philemon as declared in Philemon 13.

Paul’s current position as “ambassador/old man” and “prisoner” for Christ serves as an example and an appeal to Philemon to demonstrate love for Paul as explained in Philemon 9.

Paul’s love for Philemon is put on display as Paul declares himself to be “a father” who “begat” Onesimus during his imprisonment as stated in Philemon 10.

Paul’s love for Philemon is further put on display when Paul declares him to be “his very heart” as stated in Philemon 12.

The Lord of Love

Paul points Philemon and us to Christ in the background of the entirety of this text as he seeks to motivate Philemon to love.

He does so in Philemon 9 as aul identifies himself as a prisoner of Christ Jesus.

He does so in Philemon 10 when he identifies that Onesimus has respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

He does so in the text surrounding this passage in places such as Philemon 6, Philemon 17, Philemon 20.

Behind this call to love is God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ who stand as the supreme example of self-sacrificing love.

John 15:13–17 ESV

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

2 Corinthians 5:14–15 ESV

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

The Brotherhood of Love

Paul last of all makes an appeal to Philemon to love Onesimus not merely by freeing him, but by treating him as a brother which Paul explains in Philemon 16.

Notice how explicit Paul makes it in Philemon 16 by saying,

Onesimus is to be treated as a “beloved brother.”

Paul states that Onesimus is already his beloved brother when he states “especially to me.”

Last of all Paul declares that Onesimus should be a “beloved brother” both “in the flesh” and “in the Lord.” One author declared about this statement that “This way of concluding the main argument can only be called stunning.”

The Appeal of Gospel Transformation

Philemon 11–14 ESV

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

Transformation of Paul

We also see in this text the way the Gospel is transforming the key figures in this text. And this obviously starts with the author.

First, we know Paul’s history. We know the Amazing way in which Paul was called away from a life of persecuting the church.

In this passage and in Paul’s conversion passage we see the amazing way in which God providentially works to transform people.

There is a striking and providentially similar way in which God saved Onesimus to the way God saved Paul.

Onesimus fled from and stole from his Christian master. Paul persecuted and killed Stephen. Through both of those events God intervened to bring these men to faith. Through those events God was working to grow and mature the church at large as well.

Transformation of Onesimus

Paul brings our attention to the radical transformation of Onesimus in several places.

This brings us to consider the circumstances in which Onesimus had an encounter with the Apostle Paul.

Was this a “chance” encounter.

Did Onesimus seek out the Apostle Paul? If so, under what circumstances? Was he moved by sin, by fear, by some other circumstance.

Imagine what that initial Gospel conversation was like… Onesimus responding to the Gospel… Paul then saying step 1 was to return to his master.

Philemon 11 points us to the radical way in which Onesimus was changed. Paul playing off of the meaning of his name.

Philemon 12 reveals that Paul and Onesimus had developed a deep and loving relationship based on the transformation of the Gospel.

Furthermore, Philemon 12, reveals that Onesimus is now going back, at the direction of the Apostle Paul. He was now willing to humble himself to do what was right, even though the cost of him personally could have been quite high.

Philemon 13 reveals that Onesimus was valuable to the Apostle Paul in his imprisonment.

Transformation of Philemon

Another Amazing thing that is going on in this text is that God is working to transform Philemon.

When we think of this issue of slavery we often ask, why would God not simply ban the practice with a law. Here, we see that God is not content, nor was the Apostle Paul, to merely issue an edict banning the practice. Rather he desired to change the heart. Here, on the pages of Scripture, God desired to display for millenia how vast the implications of the Gospel are… and the situation between Onesimus and Philemon is the means through which God is doing that very thing.

God does not merely set captives free, but He also transforms the hearts of their captures.

Again, we saw this in the conversion of the Apostle Paul and his relationship with Stephen.

We see this in the account of the Philippian Jailer in Acts 16:27-34.

Philemon 8-9 reveals that Paul did not desire to merely compel Philemon. He desired that Philemon would do what is right. The same thing is repeated in Philemon 14.

Paul desired that Philemon would move beyond merely forgiving Philemon, but that he would grant him his release as is evident in the final verses in our text.

More than that, Paul desired that Philemon’s relationship with Onesimus would so radically change that he would consider Onesimus a brother in a spiritual sense AND a physical sense as revealed in Philemon 16.

The Appeal of Gospel Providence

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.

Central to this text is a statement made in Philemon 15 that perhaps God was doing something that upon first glance at the situation, from a human standpoint, was not apparent.

Paul does this through the utilization of a deliberate statement that when we read it in our English Bibles is easy to gloss over.

Paul says, “For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while...”

The word “parted for a while” is a word that is used elsewhere in the New Testament and other Koine Greek literature to speak of someone departing or in some cases fleeing.

Paul on the one hand seems to be admitting to Philemon that Onesimus fled from him. That before Roman law, what Onesimus did was illegal.

However, Paul uses this verse in the “Passive” voice which conveys that the idea that “the subject is being acted upon or receives the action expressed by the verb. That no volition-nor even necessarily awareness of the action-is implied on the part of the subject.” -Wallace.

Meaning that what Paul is saying is that even though Onesimus is responsible for his act of fleeing from Philemon and perhaps even stealing from Philemon in the process, behind the scenes was another actor that was allowing even Onesimus’ sin to accomplish a far greater purpose.

Application

Meditate on the all-encompassing reality of God’s purposeful sovereignty over all of creation and all of history.

Trust and rest in the providential hand of God in the messes of life. Be prepared to take difficult steps towards reconciliation.

Recognize the unusual economy of God’s grace through seeing how God humbles and exalts his servants.

Learn from the example of Paul how to lovingly exercise authority in all of life.