PHILEMON

August 3, 1986

Having essentially finished Colossians last week, I think we will take

the time to go through Philemon. This letter apparently accompanied the

letter to the Colossians, and went either to Colossae, or to nearby Laodicia.

This letter contains little in the way of doctrine, but is a personal letter

from Paul, and therefore gives us some insight into Paul. From it we can see

a few things about how a Christian should act and feel.

The letter concerns a man by the name of Onesimus. Apparently he was a

runaway slave who had belonged to Philemon, and somehow found himself in the

company of Paul during Paul's imprisonment in Rome. From Paul's remarks we

come to believe that Onesimus became a Christian under Paul's teaching and

became a fellow worker in Rome.

Paul starts out after his introduction expressing his thanks for the good

things he has heard about Philemon. Once he has established his appreciation

of Philemon, Paul makes a request of him.

His approach is an interesting one. He states that he has the authority

to command Philemon to forgive Onesimus, but in light of his high opinion of

Philemon, he will make it a request rather than risk damaging that love

relationship with an order. Now there is something that we could all afford

to learn, that just because we have authority over someone does not mean that

we should necessarily exercise it. In this particular case, Paul realizes

that Philemon must willingly take Onesimus back if the relationship is to

work. If Philemon received Onesimus under duress, then he would always feel

that he had no choice in the matter, and that would inhibit his ability to

relate correctly to Onesimus. Whenever we try to get someone to do something

it is always wiser to ask and let them decide to do it on their own than to

force the issue.

Not only does Paul want Philemon to forgive Onesimus for running away

(and possibly stealing in the process), Paul wants Philemon to accept Onesimus

as "more than a slave", to accept him as a Christian brother. This is

interesting in light of Paul and Onesimus' past. Paul was originally a

Pharisee, and would have had no use for a Gentile like Onesimus, much less a

slave, the lowest position in Roman society. To make matters worse, Onesimus

was a runaway slave. This once self-righteous Pharisee had come to be a man

of love, through his relationship with Jesus Christ. Paul's teaching in Col.

3:11 is no idle preaching, but his way of life. This is a constant teaching

in the N.T., that once a person has accepted Christ he is a Christian; no

more, no less. There is no distinction in God's eyes between Christians, and

there should be none in ours. This does not mean that we are to accept any

kind of behavior from our Christian brothers, just that we are to love them no

matter what. Certainly Paul did not approve of Onesimus running away, but

that did not affect his love for him. Paul was even willing to pay back any

damages that Onesimus owed Philemon.

Another thing of interest, in case Paul seems dull and serious in his

writings is the little joke in verse 11. Onesimus means "useful", Paul says

that, "Useful used to be useless, but now he really is useful." I try to

point out humor in the Bible when I get a chance, because so many people take

Christianity too seriously. I don't mean that I don't think it is serious

business, it is deadly serious, but God gave us humor to enjoy, and we must

not become such supersaints that we think that fun has no place in the worship

of God. The non-Christian world often sees Christianity as dull and somber.

That's a shame.

Also, in verse 15 the King James (Authorized Version) mistranslates the

verb "parted". The KJV says "he parted", while the Greek is passive, "he was

parted". I believe this in an important distinction, it reminds me of Esther

5:14. In Paul's view God is in charge of all things (Rom. 8:28), and believed

that perhaps God had taken Onesimus away from Philemon in order to save him

and make him a brother to Philemon rather than a slave. As you know, I

believe that this concept is one of the most important concepts for a

Christian to learn, that God loves us and works all things for the good of His

children.

Early Church tradition held that Philemon freed Onesimus and allowed him

to return to Paul's service.

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