In depth study and devotional on the book of Philemon - by Corey

 In depth study and devotional on the book of Philemon 

By Corey

Audience and Occasion:

This letter, both personal and corporate (v1-2) in nature was written by the Apostle Paul to Philemon, Apphia, Archippus, and the church that meets in Philemon’s house. It is believed that this was written during Paul’s Roman imprisonment (Acts 28) around AD 60-61.

The purpose of this letter is for Paul to appeal to Philemon on behalf of a runaway slave, Onesimus, who escaped to Rome where he met Paul and was converted to Christianity (v10-11).

 

Introduction:

Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our beloved fellow worker and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Based on the introduction we learn a few things:

1.      Paul is the author of this letter and his disciple Timothy is with him.

2.      Paul is in prison.

3.      Philemon, Apphia, Archippus, and the church that meets in Philemon’s house is the audience.

4.      There is a previous relationship and partnership between Paul and this church.

 

It is possible that Apphia is Philemon’s wife and Archippus his son, but this is not specifically stated. What is clear is that Philemon is the main addressee and is in some type of leadership with this church based on the phrase given to him “beloved fellow worker”.

 

1^st Section:

I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Chris. For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.

 

Paul begins his address with a prayer of thanksgiving for Philemon. We know that Paul is specifically talking to him in this section because of the 2^nd person singular usage of “you” throughout verses 4-7. There are two main things that Paul says that he is thankful for, namely his love and faith towards the Lord Jesus and for all of the saints. One could wonder if Paul is giving his stamp of approval to Philemon for the church meeting in his house to see. We can also assume that these are true traits of Philemon, otherwise Paul would not mention them. If Philemon did not have love for the saints and faith towards Christ, Paul would surely have not written this statement. It is a testimony to the real work of Christ in his life. This is important to remember as we read the rest of the letter.

 

Verse 6 presents an idea that must be carefully considered and I think helps to illuminate Paul’s main point in the letter. The ESV says it this way, “and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.” Not that this is a bad translation, but I think it lacks clarity to the modern reader. It could be said this way: “(I pray) That your participation of the faith might produce effectiveness in knowledge of (every good thing/all that is good) in us for Christ.”

What is Paul saying with this? What is his prayer for Philemon? I think that Paul is praying to the Lord that as Philemon participates in the common/shared faith in Christ, that it would effectively produce in him a knowledge of what is truly good, which is also inside of us, for the sake of Christ’s name. His faith in Christ would produce a knowledge of what is good, which will lead him to act upon this knowledge. If God is the author of goodness, it only makes sense that participating in faith in him produces in the one who has faith a knowledge of that goodness. When we place our faith in anything other than the One true God that Paul is referring to (other deities, ourselves, culture, our own understanding, etc.), we may gain a knowledge of what seems good or feels good, but it is ultimately insufficient to give us a knowledge of what is good.

Why is this Paul’s prayer? It seems because Philemon is already doing this and Paul is encouraging him to continue. Paul himself has “derived much joy and comfort from you love” and he says that the “saints have been refreshed through you.” It appears that Philemon’s faith is already producing in him a knowledge of what is good because of his love for the saints, which produces action in him towards the saints, but Paul seems to be encouraging him to continue in this and grow.

 

2^nd Section:

Accordingly/Therefore, 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. (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. 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. So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it- to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more that I say. At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping that through your prayers I will be graciously given to you.

 

Here we begin to get to the heart of the issue. Paul is appealing to Philemon on behalf of Onesimus. Based on context we know that Onesimus is a former slave of Philemon. It seems that he was not released by Philemon, but rather left in such a manner that they were not on good terms. It could be that he fled and also stole from Philemon (v18). If this is the case, coming back to Philemon could result in serious and lawful punishment. In this, we see that the writings of Paul take a vastly different view of slavery than those around him. Aristotle says “A slave is a living tool, just as a tool is an inanimate slave.” (Nicomachean Ethics, viii 11.6). Where the culture viewed them as nothing more than an object, Paul calls Onesimus a son. This is a radical shift from the cultural norm where his punishment could have included imprisonment, flogging, or even death.

 

Yet, when Onesimus met Paul, something happened to him. In verse 10 we read that Paul became a father to him in his imprisonment. I think it would be fitting to assume that Paul is meaning spiritual father, in that he led Onesimus to the Lord. This changed everything.

 

[In some sense, we are all like Onesimus. Before repenting of our sin and believing the Good News, we are all runaway slaves. We are slaves to the taskmaster of sin and running as fast as we can from the only One who can remove our chains.]

 

Paul deeply cares for Onesimus, telling Philemon that he is sending back his very heart to him. Paul and Onesimus had a father-son relationship that was dear to Paul from what we can see. He tells Philemon that Onesimus was formerly useless to him, but he is now useful to both of them. Is Paul meaning useful in the sense of indentured servanthood? He could be seeing his work as useful, but more than that, he’s seeing him as family. He is useful not just for physical tasks, but for spiritual tasks. He now has the Holy Spirit, and is part of the family of God. The irony is that Onesimus’s name means useful. It took the grace of God for him to be brought into who he was created to be. His name did not match his true self until he met Christ.

 

 To the culture, the relationship between Paul and Onesimus would not have made sense. Paul was high class. He was an educated Roman citizen. Why would he care for a low-class slave who, according to Aristotle, is no more than a tool with breath? The answer is that this is what the Gospel does. It changes people from the inside out. It renews not just how we view our relationship with God, but it changes how we view our relationship with each other, even to the point of pursuing reconciliation with each other because God has reconciled us to Him. We can forgive because He first forgave us, and we can love because he first loved us. It pained Paul to send Onesimus back because of how deeply he cared for him. But Paul’s goal was to give a living example of the gospel and the reconciliation that comes through that. Where culture told Onesimus that he was useless, the Gospel says useful. Where culture told Onesimus that he was a slave to his earthly master, the Gospel says that his freedom has been found in slavery to Christ. Where culture lies in wait for Onesimus to condemn him for his past actions, the Gospel says forgiven.

 

Seeing this situation through this lens, Paul interestingly enough does not demand that Philemon grant Onesimus his freedom or keep him in Rome with him. Why? I believe our answer is found back in verse 6- as Philemon is participating in the faith of Christ it is producing in him knowledge of what is truly good, and Paul, therefore, does not dominantly command him, but appeals to him on the basis of love. Even though Paul has the authority and boldness to command him, he does not. Why? He gives Philemon freedom to make this choice because Paul trusts the work of Christ in Philemon. He doesn’t want anyone in the church to think that Philemon’s actions towards Onesimus is out of compulsion (v14), but out of his faith in Christ and love towards the saints (v5). I think Paul wants the church to see the fruit produced from Philemon’s life of faithfulness.

 

Since Paul is sending Onesimus back to Philemon, one might conclude that Paul is giving approval to slavery. However, we have already seen that what is written is a drastic shift from the cultural view of slavery. We must also remember that Paul’s ultimate goal was not social reform, but rather it was preaching the Gospel. This would ultimately influence the culture to shift its thinking on slavery, but the foundation to that had to be preaching the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ for the forgiveness of sins to all who believe.

 

Moving forward to verse 15 Paul proposes that perhaps the reason that this whole situation has happened is so that Philemon would gain Onesimus back, not as a slave, but as a beloved brother. Paul is careful not to speak definitively for God in saying “Philemon, this is why this has happened,” but rather says, “Perhaps, this is why this has happened.” Again, Paul could have used this to dominate Philemon into a decision on what he should do with Onesimus. He could have said that this 100% is the reason this has happened and because of that, you 100% have to do what I am telling you. But he doesn’t do this. He again appeals to Philemon, this time appealing for him to consider the sovereignty of God. What if, in God’s eternal purposes, he allowed this situation to happen so that Onesimus would gain his spiritual freedom, Paul would gain a spiritual son, and Philemon would gain a spiritual brother. What if God worked this situation for the good of those who love him?

 

Verse 17 ties back in with verse 6 in that when Paul says “if you consider me your partner” he uses the same Greek word koinonia that was translated participation/sharing earlier. He is appealing to their shared participation in the faith in Christ as the means to which he should receive Onesimus. He’s saying to Philemon, if you consider me your (brother in the faith/partner in the faith/fellow co-laborer/etc.) then receive Onesimus as you would receive me. Consider Onesimus my equal. Before the cross of Calvary, we all stand on equal ground. Paul is not more important than Onesimus or Philemon. The Gospel leaves no room for valuing people on different levels. Paul writes to the church in Galatia, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”-Galatians 3:28. In Christ we are all one, and Paul is giving Philemon the opportunity to experience this first hand in accepting back Onesimus as a brother.

 

In verses 18-19 he takes his living illustration one step further and says, “If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand, I will repay it.” As if to give Philemon and Onesimus both a clear picture of the Gospel, he steps into Onesimus’s place as a slave who is indebted to someone else and legally declares that this debt belongs to him and he will pay for it. Onesimus could owe Philemon his life based on Roman law, and Paul willingly accepts this. If Onesimus decided to take Paul up on this offer, Paul could be his slave for the rest of his life. He was willing to give his life for that of Onesimus’s. What a picture of the gospel! Paul mediates between Onesimus and Philemon, offers to pay the debt that is owed so that they can be reconciled. It’s interesting that in this letter, Paul never writes anything about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. However, he shows it in his actions. It would take a mediator for this estranged relationship to be reconciled. If this sounds familiar, here’s why: 1 Timothy 2:5-6 says “For there is One God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, who gave himself up as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”

In verse 21 Paul, knowing Philemon’s character and faith says that he is confident that he will do even more than he is asking, and this will refresh Paul’s heart. In a world that is bent on revenge and settling scores when a wrong is committed, the book of Philemon offers a different approach. What if we lived our lives seeking always to reconcile with those who have wronged us? Is this possible on our own? Surely not. But when we look towards the cross, it is possible because God himself empowers us to do so. On the cross Jesus laid down his life for divine reconciliation where justice and grace met, and our redemption became a reality.

 

Questions to consider:

1.      Who wrote the book and who was the audience?

2.      Why was this book written?

3.      Why was Paul confident that Philemon would do what he was asking him to do?

4.      What could Philemon legally have done to Onesimus?

5.      What are some differences in Onesimus before he met Christ and after?

6.      What does the book of Philemon teach us about the gospel? What is the Gospel?

7.      Other thoughts?

8.      Story of Jim/Elizabeth Elliot if you have time