2022-3-6, The Gospel Changes Everything: Divine Appointments, Life Transformation, Reconciliation, Philemon 1-2, 10-11
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2022-3-6, The Gospel Changes Everything: Divine Appointments, Life Transformation, Reconciliation, Philemon 1-2, 10-11
There are no coincidences. God orchestrates circumstances according to His perfect will.
The gospel has the power to transform lives.
The gospel compels us and equips us to be reconciled with each other.
Review
Review
We have worked through Colossians
We are going into Philemon, a short little book tucked in the NT right before Hebrews. I would have put it right after Colossians because it’s context is virtually the same.
Both are letters written by Paul when he was under house arrest in Rome. These two letters were delivered to Colossae by Tychicus and Onesimus.
Colossians was for the church in Colossae and Laodicea which met in several homes (network), and the Letter to Philemon was for a man of that name, his wife and son, and for the church which met in his home.
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:
You heard me say several times that Epaphras likely founded the church in Colossae after being saved and discipled by Paul in Ephesus (100 miles away). It’s likely that Philemon was also saved and discipled by Paul in Ephesus.
Paul is close to this family- Philemon is beloved and a partner.
Archippus is a fellow soldier, whom Paul challenged to fulfill is ministry in Colossians 4.
Philemon lived in Colossae. He was a wealthy believer. A church met in his home, this was probably a bigger home with a courtyard.
Philemon also had servants. One of them stole some money and ran away. This slave’s name was Onesimus.
It is a pretty remarkable story, but Onesimus fled Colossae as a fugitive. He went to Rome where he hoped to disappear into the sea of unaccounted-for slaves.
In Paul’s day slavery had eclipsed free labor. 1/3 of the population were slaves (mostly prisoners of war). They could be doctors, musicians, teachers, librarians, accountants, almost all jobs were filled by slaves, even though they legally were not counted as people.
They were seen as assets that could be traded, purchased, sold. Masters had no limits placed on them regarding the treatment of slaves, but they were investments which needed to be cared for in order to increase ROI.
So by the time of the NT, masters tended to treat slaves more leniently. They viewed that slaves with more freedom actually were more productive. It was not uncommon for some masters and slaves to become close friends.
But, obviously this was not the case with Onesimus. Even though Philemon was a Christian man, whom we presume treated others in a godly way, Onesimus opted to steal money and steal his freedom.
This probably made Philemon very angry. He probably came to think of Onesimus as good-for-nothing.
Have you ever been betrayed or robbed? By someone you treated well?
It would have been in Philemon’s legal right to make Onesimus pay dearly for this crime.
This situation also likely caused trouble in the church of Colossae which had many slaves in the congregation.
They may have seen Onesimus as a folk hero. Others might have thought of repeating his actions. This accounts for some of the instruction Paul gave to slaves and masters in Colossians 3 & 4.
See, what you’ve got to understand is that the Bible was written in a context. Understanding that context, without passing judgment on it from a 21st century mindset is important in understanding the meaning of Scripture.
**So, now I want to tell you how God transforms this ugly situation by the gospel.**
Somehow, some way, when Onesimus went to Rome, he met Paul.
Remember, Paul had moved on from Ephesus. He completed his 3rd missionary journey and was arrested in Jerusalem. He appealed to Caesar in order to gain an audience for the gospel. So he was in house arrest.
Somehow, Paul meets Onesimus. Paul leads this fugitive to the Lord. Transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ, Onesimus starts to help Paul with Christian work in and around Rome.
Paul says,
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.)
This is incredible. Think of what a coincidence this must have been for Onesimus (who wanted to hide) to come across the apostles who led his master to the Lord!
What we know from Scripture is this- There are no coincidences. God orchestrates circumstances according to His perfect will.
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
and...
24 The Lord of hosts has sworn:
“As I have planned,
so shall it be,
and as I have purposed,
so shall it stand,
The word of the Lord shall stand.
So Onesimus crossed paths with Paul.
There is a reason God brought you hear today to hear what you are hearing today. He is performing a work in your life. A work of redemption and cleansing and maturity in you through Christ.
God softened Onesimus’s heart to hear the message of Christ. God saved Onesimus! Paul became his spiritual father (the on who led him to the Lord).
10 I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment.
A transformation took place in Onesimus. We start to see how the gospel changes everything.
Onesimus was a fugitive, a thief, and a runaway slave. Philemon probably thought of him as good-for-nothing. But this changed in Christ.
He became a saint. He was forgiven of sin. He became a child of God. He became a citizen of heaven. He became a member of the body of Christ. He became Paul’s brother in the Lord.
Whatever hatred and malice that compelled Onesimus to rebel against and rebel against Philemon melted away, and he became a servant of the living God.
Paul says,
11 (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.)
The name Onesimus means useful. Paul’s going to do something here:
“Philemon, I know you probably think of Onesimus as good-for-nothing and useless, but I find that in Christ he now lives up to his name and that he is useful for the cause of Christ.
useful-useless-usefulness restored
This mirrors redemption
The gospel has the power to transform lives.
No one is so far gone that Jesus can’t redeem, sanctify, conform to His image, and use for His perfect purposes.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
What transformation do you think God wants to do in your life?
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
and...
6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
This is all incredible, but this story is about to get way more interesting and intense.
You know that when we wrong someone, In Christ we have to try and make it right.
This often involves a conversation with that person when we humble ourselves and ask for forgiveness.
How many of you like to do this? It absolutely goes against the sin in our flesh
Paul sent Onesimus from Rome to Colossae, not just to be a faithful courier of the letters to Ephesus, Colossae, and to Philemon, but to reconcile with Philemon.
He was probably as nervous as Jacob was with Esau.
Another way that the gospel changes everything is
The gospel compels us and equips us to be reconciled with each other.
The gospel takes effect when a person calls Jesus Savior and Lord
We call Jesus Lord, this means we obey him.
Jesus said,
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.
and...
23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
and...
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
The purpose of this letter to Philemon was for Paul to facilitate reconciliation in the gospel between Philemon and Onesimus, who is now a fellow servant of God.
Both of them, filled with the Holy Spirit, now have the capacity to forgive each other and seek forgiveness.
1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—
We do not do this well in the church. We do not like to admit fault. We ascribe blame instead of taking personal responsibility. We are too proud to seek forgiveness even when we know we should. We are slow to grant forgiveness even though we have been forgive of far worse. Even worse, we don’t take care of business, put the offense in storage, ruminate over it for years, and simmer in hatred over the grudge we bear.
Invitation to finish your grudges before the Lord’s Supper
Well, the book of Philemon gives us guidance on how to do reconciliation of the most intense kind.
There are no coincidences. God orchestrates circumstances according to His perfect will.
The gospel has the power to transform lives.
The gospel compels us and equips us to be reconciled with each other.