Philemon
The art of letter writing is really dying today. With all our technology, email, text messaging and twitter receiving a handwritten letter is almost as rare as ‘hen’s teeth’ or a bucket of clergy man’s sweat – as my grandfather would have said. The letter to Philemon is a very personal letter, but it is also an open letter which in all probability was brought back to Colossae along with the letter to the Colossians. Written by the apostle Paul, almost certainly whilst he was in prison in Rome, between AD56‐58 to Philemon in Colossae concerning a runaway slave called Onesimus. We are told that not only had Onesimus runaway but he had, it appears, also stolen from his master – verses 18‐19.
So let us look at this letter together.
Verses 1‐3 the greeting is different from the other letters Paul has written. This letter follows the ancient form of a letter of commendation. More formal but not unlike how we would set out a CV reference for someone today. Paul‘s opening words are calculated to suggest that his appeal for Onesimus should be looked on favourably. In verse 1 Paul tells us he is a prisoner of Christ and in verse
9 he tells us he is a prisoner for Christ. He was a prisoner of Christ in that Christ had bought him with his blood and now he was in prison Rome for Christ and the sake of the gospel. Paul suffered for the sake of the gospel and this is a mark of his apostleship. This in turn adds weight to his request for clemency for Onesimus. Paul adds Timothy’s name to the appeal. Paul greets Philemon, the owner of Onesimus, and also Apphia who is generally accepted to be his wife and would have been responsible for the day to day running of the household, including responsibility for slaves. The greeting is also extended to Archippus who is the elder of the church, a church which Onesimus would have to join when he goes back to Colossae.
Verses 4‐7 we have a section of thanksgiving and prayer. Verses 4‐5 are very typical of Christian letters of the day. The greeting was followed by thanksgiving and prayer. This is a full thanksgiving – Paul tells them that he always gives thanks for them and he does so in his prayers. He thanks God for them. He tells them why he gives such thanks – verse 5 – because of their faith and love for Christ and his people. In verse 4 we should note that the ‘you’ is singular not plural. The ‘you’ that Paul is giving thanks for is Philemon. Whereas the ‘you’ and ‘yours’ of the greeting and the ending of the letter are plural. So although this is letter is addressed to Philemon it is also to be read in the church.
Verse 6 Paul prays that Philemon’s participation in the faith will be made effective because he has a full understanding of the gospel and of God’s love and goodness in Christ towards them both. Paul throughout his letters makes it clear that knowledge precedes good works – Colossians 1.9‐10.
Verse 7 Paul knows all about the love that Philemon has for Christ expressed through his love for Paul. Paul is alluding to the spiritual maturity that is found in Philemon because his faith is expressed in love towards others. The implication is that the love that he has shown to Paul and others will now be shown to the runaway slave Onesimus. How he treats Onesimus upon his return is Paul’s concern because it will be a reflection of Philemon’s Christian maturity.
Let us linger here for a moment. There is an important lesson for us to learn here concerning Christian maturity.
How we love one another is a sign of our Christian maturity. More importantly how we love someone who has wronged us, repented of the wrong they have done, and sought to be reconciled is a sign of our Christian maturity. We can do nothing about their part – the repentance and desire for reconciliation but are answerable for our expression of love when genuine repentance has occurred and loving reconciliation is desired. I want you to note as well that Paul never told Philemon it would be easy and he never seeks in this letter to justify any of Onesimus’ actions. To our 21st century ears the very thought of slavery is horrific but Paul does not discuss the morality of slavery either. Paul has written on behalf of one brother in Christ to another brother in Christ who has been wronged to bring about reconciliation for the sake of the gospel and the glory of Christ. Remember the context and the purpose of the letter and don’t get sidetracked with other issues.
Verse 8‐22 the Plea for Onesimus. This is the heart of this letter and it is important for us not only to understand Onesimus’ situation but also to understand where Paul is at this moment. Paul’s circumstances are significant. Because Paul is in prison he cannot do the things a free man could do to help a slave. All he can do is write this letter of appeal to Philemon, asking for clemency for this new brother in Christ. If Paul was a free man he could have applied to the officials to have Onesimus assigned into his care for a time. This was not uncommon at that time. Onesimus was in a very vulnerable situation. A runaway slave was protected by no laws and he was open to all manner of abuse. In Rome he could be anonymous but if caught he could be beaten unmercifully and their life expectancy was short. By asking Philemon to show mercy towards Onesimus Paul was asking Philemon to go against all the cultural norms of the day and by this request Paul is in fact giving rights and dignity to a class of people who no one thought worthy of even life.
Verse 8 Paul begins his plea for clemency by reminding Philemon that he (Paul) is an apostle. Paul had authority in the church and he reminds Philemon that he was not afraid to exercise that authority but on this occasion he will not command Philemon to obey but will appeal for ‘love’s sake’ that Philemon agree with his request for clemency.
Verse 9 in the ANE ‘old age’ also conveyed authority on you and Paul mentions this second level of authority in his life. Wisdom and authority were assumed to go with old
age but Paul here emphasises his feeble condition and situation.
Verse 10 now Paul pleads with Philemon for Onesimus. He calls the slave his son – this depicts the relationship of a teacher and a student in the faith. Verse 11 Paul now uses a play on words in this verse. Onesimus = profitable or useful – Paul uses ‘chrestos’ which meant useless and ‘euchrestos’ which means useful. ‘Chrestos’ in turn sounds like ‘Christos’ – the name of Christ. We miss the humour and the subtlety of such a play on words. It would not have been lost on Philemon. Paul is showing how sensitive this situation is for everyone and he is showing tact in dealing with it. It would seem that Paul introduces some humour into the letter at this point because what he is about to ask of Philemon is so radical that it may just provoke laughter.
Verse 12 – I don’t think Paul can make it any clearer how fond he is of Onesimus. Paul also reminds Philemon that Onesimus had served Paul whilst he was in prison and Paul credits this to Philemon – verse 13. Paul desires to keep Onesimus with him for the comfort and help that he brought him but he shows deference to Philemon, how could Philemon now refuse Paul’s request for clemency?
Verses 15‐120 – Paul shows how he understands that God’s hand was in control of this situation right from the very start. Paul does not refer to Onesimus as a runaway but of their temporary separation which would lead to a permanent reunion. Please don’t take that verse out of
context and use it for relationship counselling – as I heard some people do in the past. Similarly he refers to Onesimus as a ‘slave’ which is a temporary situation and then as a ‘brother’ which is an eternal condition in Christ. Paul goes even further in verse 17, referring to Philemon in business terms as a ‘partner’, an equal with the apostle in the work of the kingdom of God. Philemon was to receive Onesimus as if he was receiving Paul, his partner in the gospel. Paul then commits himself to pay (verses18‐19) any financial loss incurred by the actions of Onesimus. This shows Paul’s love for Onesimus and for Philemon. He does not want Philemon to suffer as a consequence of his request but he also wants to make it clear that repentance and reconciliation also requires restitution. Paul reminds Philemon of the debt that he owes Paul which should more than cover the debt owed by Onesimus but never‐the‐less Paul will pay what is owed. Paul tells Philemon that in obeying this request he will refresh Paul’s heart in Christ – because the act of love in Christ will be seen by all.
Verses 21‐22 – Paul knows that Philemon will obey out of love for the Lord and for Paul. In fact he is so confident of the Christian maturity of Philemon that he knows Philemon will do more than he has asked of him. Paul knows that Philemon, because of the gospel, will treat Onesimus fairly and graciously. He is confident of this because he knows Philemon’s heart and life are rotted in the gospel.
Verses 23‐25 Paul finishes his letter to Philemon with a standard ending, followed in many of his letters. He mentions those with him and commits Philemon to the grace of Christ Jesus.
Application
We might well be appalled at the thought of slavery. It is not something we encounter or would even countenance today. Yet in the first century to suggest doing away with slaves would be akin to suggesting we get rid of all electrical appliances and any transportation that required oil, diesel or petrol to power it. Society of the day never really gave the owning of slaves a second thought. Yet, a careful reading of Philemon shows us that Paul expected a radical change in the relationship between master and slave, slave and master within the Christian church. In Christ relationships are dramatically and radically changed. Paul asked two men, in Christ, to do an amazing and courageous thing. He asked Onesimus to go back to the master he had run away from and he asked Philemon to accept Onesimus back into his household without punishment. In fact Paul hints in the letter that Philemon should even consider giving Onesimus his freedom (verse21). We don’t own slaves and so the immediate context of this letter is removed from our everyday lives. Yet, what of the principles taught here.
1. When we come to Christ Jesus our relationships are changed – for the better.
2. When we have wronged someone God asks us to repent, to return and to seek reconciliation with them.
3. If we have been wronged and the person who has offended us repents and comes back we are to forgive and restore the relationship. That may be a painful experience for us but it is what Paul teaches here.
4. Sometimes we are called by God to stand against the way the world deals with broken relationships and in so doing we may place ourselves in a place of ridicule, outside our social circles and be misunderstood but we know we do it because God has called us to obey his word. This is a sign of our Christian maturity – remember that.
5. Authority – finally we need to take seriously the spiritual authorities that God has placed over us in Christ. Those whom God has made overseers of his flock and who through the Word of God, not their own authority or position, but teaching the Word of God point out to us how God has called us to live
– we are to obey them.
Today you may have such a broken relationship in your life – you may be an Onesimus who has run away and right now God is calling you to repent and go back. Or, you may be a Philemon and God is saying when that person comes back – show Christian maturity for the sake of the gospel of love. Show clemency, the world may not understand and may even balk at what you do – but receive them as you would receive me. Take a moment now and examine your heart and see if you are in the place of Onesimus, or Philemen – or even Paul where you have to exhort someone to do a radically difficult and counter‐cultural act of reconciliation in order that they might be spiritually mature.
Amen.
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