Philemon 10
The book of Philemon is a personal letter from Paul to Philemon, a man in the church at Colossae, concerning a runaway slave named Onesimus. Before he ran away, Onesimus had stolen quite a bit of money from his master Philemon. Then he went to Rome, where he met the apostle Paul and became very much a part of the apostolic company, a true servant of the Lord. After a time, Paul sent Onesimus back to his master. When Paul wrote to Philemon, it was not just a simple matter of sending home a runaway slave who had become a good Christian. The story in the letter is deeper than that; it reveals the interrelationships that existed in the early Church and the family spirit that prevailed at Colossae. A study of this Epistle will strengthen the family spirit and the bonds in Christ. That is important because church order cannot be severed from family order. Individual families have an order and at the same time the whole church is a family order. We are brothers and sisters together.
In some of his epistles Paul presented himself as an apostle and spoke strongly to a whole church. However, when writing to Philemon, Paul did not pull rank. Instead, a personal relationship to the Lord and to the church was mentioned by Paul in a somewhat intimate detail spiritually. In the greeting he called himself Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus. Notice that although he was in a Roman prison, Paul did not say that he was a prisoner of the Romans. Rome may have had him in prison, but he was actually a prisoner of Jesus Christ. He did not belong to Rome; he belonged to Jesus Christ. Every believer should have the same attitude. Instead of saying that you are being harassed by the devil, call yourself a fellow-soldier in the army of the Lord. If you are being battled spiritually, always identify yourself with the Lord—never with the devil. You are not oppressed of the devil; you are battled as a soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you are a prisoner, you are His prisoner.
The greeting continues: And Timothy our brother, to Philemon our beloved brother and fellow-worker, and to Apphia (possibly Philemon’s wife) our sister, and to Archippus our fellow-soldier (Archippus may have been a pastor or one of the overseeing prophets or elders of the church at Colossae), and to the church in your house: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers. Verses 1–4. Notice the principle that prayer should be linked with thanksgiving. When you have thanksgiving in your heart, you are focused on the Lord. Prayer should not be focused too much on the need; rather, prayer should be focused upon the Lord, the supplier of all our needs. Never intercede for something unless you also include thanksgiving to the Lord in it. Without thanksgiving, intercession becomes a heavy labor, and you do not see the precious Lord who is the answer to all of your problems.
Paul said that he was thankful concerning Philemon, because I hear of your love, and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all the saints; and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ’s sake. For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother. Verses 5–7. The word that is translated “hearts” literally means “bowels” or “inward parts.” In scriptural terms, the belly, or the inward parts, represents the seat of affections and emotions. When Paul said that the inward parts of the saints were refreshed by Philemon, he was referring to the emotional reactions, a joy and a lift that people experienced whenever Philemon was around. He did not carry depression and melancholy with him; instead, wherever he went there was a lift within people’s feelings and emotions. We also ought to be that way.
Jesus was speaking about joy when He said that if you come to the Lord and drink, out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water (John 7:38). This does not mean that a lot of rivers will flow out of your belly. Instead, it refers to a life-giving flow of joy and peace and goodness from the Lord that lifts people up. When you drink of the Lord, spiritual rivers will come forth from the seat of your affections.
Paul rejoiced because inwardly the saints were refreshed through Philemon. Then he continued, Therefore, though I have enough confidence in Christ to order you to do that which is proper, yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you. This is one of the greatest lessons that a ministry of authority can learn. The more he can motivate a person to do the will of God through love, without pulling rank on him, the happier and better it is for that individual. The same is true of children. A child may obey because his parent will discipline him severely if he does not, but that is not the best way. Both a child in his family and a member of God’s household should be submissive through respect for authority. However, the greater motivation should be based on a bond of love and the desire to please one another in doing the will of God.
Paul said, “I appeal to you through love.” We ought to appeal to one another to respond because of love. Very rarely does a ministry who speaks the Word of God need to come on strong with authority. The authority of the Word is enough. It appeals to the love that the people have for the Lord, and so they move in to do what God has spoken.
As an apostle, Paul had enough confidence in Christ that he could order Philemon to do what was right; but he much preferred to appeal to the love that Philemon had for the Lord and to allow Philemon to have the initiative. Paul continued, since I am such a person as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus. Like many Greek words, the word for “aged” has more than one meaning. It literally means “much.” Paul had had much of everything. He must have been about fifty-five at that time, and today we probably would not consider a man of fifty-five aged. He called himself Paul the much, Paul the aged, not because of the length of time he had lived, but because of the many things he had accomplished. He had learned to redeem the time so that he did not simply exist through his lifetime with a limited amount of achievement. Instead, he turned loose the Word of God that changed the ages. We must do the same. A person should not be evaluated by how many years he has been alive physically, but by the vitality and flow from God that comes forth through him.
He called himself Paul the aged, a prisoner of Christ, and said, I appeal to you for my child, whom I have begotten in my imprisonment (bonds), Onesimus. Next Paul made a play on words. The name Onesimus means “profitable,” and in verses 11–13 Paul wrote concerning Onesimus, who formerly was useless (not profitable, but useless) to you, but now is useful both to you and to me. And I have sent him back to you in person, that is, sending my very heart, whom I wished to keep with me, that in your behalf he might minister to me in my imprisonment for the gospel.
How tender was the relationship between Paul and this runaway slave as he ministered to Paul in the Roman prison, in the bonds of the gospel. Notice that Paul did not say, “I needed him.” Instead, he said, “I wanted to keep him here so that he could minister to me on your behalf.” That was not just good psychology; that was wisdom from God which far supersedes psychology. It was wisdom from God in that he related to Philemon all of the service that Onesimus had performed and let Philemon share in it. As Philemon opened his heart to Onesimus in graceful dealings, in love dealings, he became identified with every good work that Onesimus had done for Paul. That is a scriptural principle from which we can learn much.
In verse 14 Paul told Philemon, But without your consent I did not want to do anything, that your goodness should not be as it were by compulsion, but of your own free will. Do you understand what that means? Whenever there is an important decision to be made for which the whole Body will have to sacrifice, a wise pastor lays it before the people so that it becomes a matter of the free will, the free choice, and the free dedication and love of everyone entering in. God is bringing forth disciples who want authority over them, yet the happy way that God has ordered is that the Body works by a mutual flow of love. The more faithfully a shepherd leads spiritually by his ministry, the less the people find themselves confronting his authority and the more they find themselves confronting the free flow of love that is mutual among all the members of the Body. Whenever you find a pastor or a leader who constantly deals with a heavy hand, pray for him, because love should be the great manifestation which exceeds every evidence of authority. When you think of Christ, you are aware of His authority and you will do anything He tells you to do. However, you should be less aware of His authority than you are of His love. Let it be so in every believer.
A wife should not constantly have to voice her submission to her husband; it should almost be something she does not have to mention. Her love for her husband is what should be in evidence. Many a wife may think that her obligation to her husband ends when she goes through the rituals of submission to him, but that is not so. Many times authority comes up strong when love is not manifested as much as it should be. A child who does not know how to give and receive love needs more discipline. The more a parent loves his children, the more he brings them right into that which causes them to excel in trying to please him. Paul understood this truth when he wrote the letter to Philemon.
We do not know exactly what happened between Onesimus and Philemon when Paul sent Onesimus back; however, according to tradition, Onesimus became the bishop of Berea. The Bereans are mentioned in Acts 17:10–12 as the noble ones who searched the Scriptures daily. Philemon gave Onesimus his freedom and cancelled the debts against him. Then Onesimus began to minister, and Philemon, the former master, then became submissive to his former slave. In verses 15 through 16, Paul wrote, For perhaps he was for this reason parted from you for a while, that you should have him back forever, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. Philemon took the hint and set Onesimus free. He refused to know him as a slave anymore and determined instead to know him as a beloved brother.
Notice Paul’s appeal in verse 17: If then you regard me a partner, accept him as you would me. He stepped down from apostolic authority and entreated Philemon, “Let me just be a partner with you.” Paul constantly used terms such as “fellow-worker” and “fellow-soldier” because he was aware of the relationship and the oneness of spirit that was to exist within the Body. He reminded Philemon of their oneness and urged him to accept Onesimus as a brother—to accept Onesimus as he would accept Paul himself.
In the Epistle to Philemon, Paul took a personal responsibility for the debt Onesimus had made by running away with Philemon’s money. But if he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account; I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand (in effect, he was signing a promissory note making himself legally responsible for Onesimus’ debt), I will repay it (lest I should mention to you that you owe to me even your own self as well). Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. Verses 18–20. Like Paul, we want to be refreshed in our spirits and in our hearts. When we work with one another, bless one another, and share together, the grace of God comes to cause us to be refreshed together in the Lord.
Paul continued, Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, since I know that you will do even more than what I say. Verse 21. Paul was not just using psychology; he was voicing the faith he had for Philemon, the faith in the way Philemon would come through in this situation. There is nothing as great as the love which is expressed when faith works by love (Galatians 5:6). What blesses a person more? Is it the exercising of authority over him that makes him willingly submissive? Or is it the constant voicing of faith in love for that person? It is faith which works by love. A parent can scold his child and move with the kind of authority which makes a child submit, but it is much better to move in the kind of love and faith which reaches out to that child and builds him up until he can become something great. Love with faith is far greater than anything else. This is a lesson young parents need to learn. More than scolding, a child needs faith that builds him up. When a parent sees his child’s greatest potential before the Lord and treats that child accordingly, the child will take the initiative and rise to his potential.
A pastor should never relate to those under his care as if they were stumbling around on a low level. Instead, he should constantly place the vision before them of where they are to be in the Lord. Then the people will jump and reach for it. Then they can rise above the limitations which they have thought to be in themselves, and by the grace of God they can become anything. Remember that there is nothing as great as expressing faith for a person. Even when you are disappointed in someone you love, look beyond the disappointment to what God has said over that person. Reach in for the faith to believe that he will come up higher than ever before. Paul said that we are helpers of one another’s joy and faith (II Corinthians 1:24). This is the greatest manifestation of authority.
Paul concluded the letter with this request: And at the same time also prepare me a lodging; for I hope that through your prayers I shall be given to you. (In other words, “Now that I have asked you to do all of this, prepare a room for me—I am going to move in with you.”) Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow-workers. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. The family spirit is expressed in the way we help each other, the way we take on one another’s obligations. Paul, the apostle, could have refused to be bothered with this matter; but instead, he put himself on the same plane with a runaway slave and took on that slave’s obligation for stolen money.
There is no other way to walk except by this beautiful route of love. We cannot judge one another harshly. We cannot look at a brother and in our minds make demands for him to measure up to, unless we ourselves become identified in love with that brother, knowing that he can do it if we believe for him and love him and help him. The impossible happens every day in an atmosphere of faith. There are no miracles as great as the miracles that take place within the Father’s family.