Paul's Prison Epistles - Lesson 4: Paul and Philemon

you [Music] you most of us have experienced times when we feel that friend owes us a favor maybe you've done something nicer friend giving him a gift or help them in a special way and then comes the time when you need help and so you approach your friend asking him to repay the favor at times like these we often go to our friends and say I know you may not want to do this but I could really use your help and you do owe me a favor in many ways the Apostle Paul faced a situation like this he needed a favor from his friend Philemon so he wrote a letter to Philemon reminding him of how much Paul had done for him and asking for a favor in return this is the fourth lesson in our series Paul's prison epistles we have entitled this lesson polland Philemon because we will be taking a close look at the letter Paul wrote to his friend Philemon a member of the church and kalasa we will see how Paul petitioned Philemon for a favor asking Philemon to reconcile himself to Inessa mmus Philemon slave who had recently come to faith in Christ our study of pollen Philemon will divide into three main parts first we will survey the background Paul's letter to Philemon second we'll examine the structure and content of Paul's letter to Philemon and third we will focus on the modern application of this letter let's look first at the background to Paul's letter to Philemon Paul's letter to Philemon differs from his other prison epistles in at least two ways for one thing it is significantly shorter than the other letters he wrote during his imprisonment in fact it addresses only a single issue and for another thing is written to an individual rather than to a church meaning that it is deeply personal and this means that the more we know about Philemon and the other people involved and the more we know about the circumstances Paul addressed the better prepared we will be to understand Paul's teaching in this letter and to apply it to our own lives today we'll explore the background to Paul's letter to Philemon in three ways first we'll identify the people involved in the matter Paul addressed in his letter to Philemon second we'll look at the problem that gave rise to Paul's letter and third we'll explore Paul's involvement and mediation of the problem let's first turn our attention to the people involved in this matter many different individuals are named in Paul's letter to Philemon but we will focus on those who are directly or indirectly involved in the favor Paul asked of Philemon first we will introduce Philemon himself second we will turn to Philemon slave Onesimus and finally we will mention a number of people who served as witnesses to Paul's involvement in the matter between Philemon and Anessa let's begin with Philemon the man to whom Paul wrote this epistle Philemon's hometown is not mentioned in paul's letter to him but Colossians chapter 4 verse 9 indicates that Philemon slave Onesimus was a resident of kalasa listen to Paul's words there ticka kiss is coming with Inessa --mess our faithful and dear brother who is one of you since an asana slid with his master Philemon at the time Colossians was written Philemon must also have lived in colossal kalasa was a fairly small city situated in the Lycus Valley near the towns of Laodicea and jarabulus the Lycus Valley lay in the region of Phrygia within the Roman province of Asia known in modern times as Asia Minor Philemon himself appears to have been actively involved in ministering to other believers in callosum for instance in Philemon verse 7 Paul spoke of the way Philemon had lovingly refreshed the hearts of other believers Paul thought so highly of Philemon that in verse 17 he spoke of Philemon as his partner in gospel ministry and it may even be that in verse 2 paul identified Philemon as the host of the local church but beyond this by Lehmann seems to have had a significant history with Paul that formed a strong bond between the men consider Paul's reminder to Philemon in Philemon verse 19 you owe me your very self in all likelihood Paul meant that he had brought Philemon to stay although it is also possible that he had literally saved by Lehman's life in some other way but whatever the case Philemon owed Paul a great debt we can also see the strength of their relationship in spy Lehman's prayers for Paul's release from prison and in Paul's plan to lodge with Philemon after being released from prison we read Paul's words to this effect in Philemon verse 20 to prepare a guestroom for me because I hope to be restored to you and answer to your prayers the Bible does not explain how Paul came to know Philemon but as we have seen in earlier lessons it does say that Paul traveled through Phrygia during his second and third missionary journeys but as we have seen Paul's not familiar with the churches in the Lycus Valley the truth is we don't know how Paul and Philemon became friends but we can say with confidence that they knew each other very well the second person we should introduce is an essence according to Philemon verse 16 Inessa mmus was Philemon Schley although it is unclear what kind of slave he was and in what specific capacity he served by Lehmann in the Roman Empire during the first century slavery was extremely common as much as one-third of the Empire's population consisted of various sorts of slaves slaves were typically owned by wealthier individuals and their status depended largely on that of their owners some Roman slaves were uneducated and performed menial tasks but others were educated some highly so and served in ways commensurate to their education they could be household managers accountants tutors or almost anything else that was needed and although it was generally preferable to be free than enslaved it is worth noting that more than a few poor individuals voluntarily sold themselves into slavery in order to obtain the security of daily food and shelter and we know from historical records that in the early church some Christians sold themselves into slavery in order to raise money for beneficence ease such as feeding the poor generally speaking the rights of masters over their slaves were not absolute Roman law allowed slaves to earn money and own property including other slaves and even to purchase their own freedom from their masters and beyond these rights many slaves were manumitted that is given their freedom when they turned 30 years old even though this practice was not mandated by law because an SMS was Philemon slave he was a member of Philemon household but unlike his master an SMS was not a believer at least not initially but after an SMS left by Lehman's household deceit Pulte helped the apostle led him to faith in Christ and grew to love him greatly Paul expressed his love for an SMS in Philemon verses 10 through 16 I appeal to you for my son an SMS who became my son while I was in Chains he is my very heart he is very dear to me Paul referred to an SMS as his son because he had brought him to faith in Christ and because he had developed fatherly love for him in addition to these two main figures Paul also mentioned a number of other Colossians in his letter to Philemon including at Thea archivist and a pathos each of these people also had a relationship with Philemon all probably mentioned them with the expectation that they would serve as familiar witnesses and help him in his appeal to Philemon on Inessa mice's to have Paul mentioned at Thea and archivists in the letters address found in Philemon verses wanted to listen to what Paul wrote there to Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker to app via our sister to our capisco fellow soldier into the church that meets in your home the mention of app via as Paul sister might simply indicate that she was a believer but since she is distinguished from the rest of the church it is more likely that she was a member of Philemon household probably his wife arquebus in turn may have been the host of the local church although it is also possible to read this verse to saying that the church met in Philemon's house whatever the case given the nature of the letter it is likely that he was mentioned as a person of some influence over Philemon whether as a local pastor for his part of Philemon household with regard to Apophis you will recall from our prior lessons that he had been the one who established the church in kalasa and that the churches of the Lycus dahle had sent him to minister to Paul in prison because he was with Paul at the time he could not serve as a local witness in kalasa but his status in the church made his opinion particularly respected so Paul included a special greeting from a pathos listen to these words found in Philemon verses 23 and 24 at Patras my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus sends you greeting and so do mark Aristarchus Dimas and Luke my fellow workers notice that the greeting from a papist is listed first and that it is both longer than and distinct from the others this emphasis on a Patras let Philemon know that a paris was doing more than sending a greeting he also had a keen interest in making sure that Philemon would respond properly to Paul's letter having introduced the people most closely related to the subject of Paul's letter we are in a position to address the problem itself what exactly went wrong that required Paul's intervention it's no secret that some workers are not good workers that some servants are not good servants and that some people refuse to accept the responsibilities and fulfill their obligations and unfortunately it appears that an essence was one of these people and his failures whether slothful negligent or malicious angered his master Philemon so much so that Inessa mistake greatly feared punishment from Philemon and so in order to avoid this punishment an S misled by Lehman's household consider Paul's words to Philemon about an SMS in Philemon verse 11 formerly he was useless to you there is a play on words here the name Inessa --mess is actually derived from a greek word meaning useful or profitable but Paul said here that a Nesmith's had proven useless by this wordplay Paul granted the point to Philemon that an asthma strew Lee had been a useless or unprofitable slave worse than this according to Philemon verse 18 Inessa mistake chily have caused a significant loss for Philemon listen to Paul's words there if he has done you any wrong or owes you anything charge it to me many interpreters understand this verse to imply that Inessa mas' had stolen from Philemon which was a common crime among household slaves but an SMS might also have incurred a loss sir Philemon in other ways such as through poor management of household resources or destruction or loss of property in any case Philemon had a right to be angry and Inessa mmus probably had good reason to be afraid of Philemon under Roman law masters had the right to punish slaves severely even with heavy beatings an SMS was so worried about Philemon xerath that he fled in fear Paul alluded to this circumstance in Philemon verse 15 where he wrote these words perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good apparently Philemon himself had not intended for Inessa --mess to leave and probably did not approve of his leaving but Paul suggested that God had a positive reason for allowing the situation through this time of separation God changed a Nesmith's so that he became a great benefit to Philemon now in the Roman Empire slaves who left their masters households in this manner were not necessarily fugitive if they fled with no intention of returning they were fugitives but the law also permitted slaves to leave their masters temporarily to find an advocate or mediator who might reconcile them to their masters several Roman jurists recorded this fact for instance Viviana's who wrote between 1898 and 117 argued this way if a slave leave his master and come back to his mother the question whether he be a fugitive is one for consideration if he's so fled to conceal himself and not to return to his master he is a fugitive but he is no fugitive if he seeks that some wrongdoing of his maybe better extenuating by his mother's entreaty similarly proculus writing in the early 1st century had this to say a slave is not a fugitive who having in mind and his master whisked physically to chastise him he took himself to a friend whom he induced to plead on his behalf and Paulus in the late 2nd century provided this commentary a slave who takes himself off to a friend of his master to seek his intercession is not a fugitive these legal comments demonstrate that Roman law permitted slaves to run from their masters so long as they were running to someone else for help and not trying to gain their freedom so if an essence fled in order to ask call to be his advocate and mediator with Philemon he was not a fugitive in summary then the initial problem and Philemon household was that Inessa mmus had caused some loss to Philemon whether intentionally or unintentionally through negligence sloth or malice and this problem was compounded by the resulting tension between tenesmus and Philemon including probably Philemon anger and intent to discipline a Nesmith and Anessa misis fear and finally it culminated in an emesis flight from Philemon Philemon may have assumed that Inessa --mess was a fugitive but Anessa mice's true motives remain to be seen now that we have identified the people and problem that Paul addressed in his letter to Philemon we should turn to Paul's mediation between Philemon and an SMS as we consider Paul's mediation we will look at two matters first an S mrs. petition that Paul become his advocate and second Paul's agreement to advocate for enoughness let's turn first to a nemesis petition to Paul during this time Paul was in prison as we have said in Prior lessons it is most likely that he was imprisoned in Rome although it is also possible that he was in Caesarea maritima but whether he was in Rome or Caesarea maritima he was quite a long way from kalasa where Philemon lived according to some scholars this distance was too great for an esse mmus to have sought out Paul as an advocate or mediator as a result they conclude that Inessa mmus was seeking to start a new life far from Philemon and encountered Paul only accidentally now we should admit that scripture does not tell us what an esse --mess was thinking when he fled from Philemon nor does it tell us how he came to meet Paul in prison nevertheless it does provide some details suggesting that a Nesmith sought out Paul as his advocate for one thing an SMS went to the city where Paul was imprisoned and he should have known full well that Paul resided there because the church at Colossae had sponsored at a Force's mission to care for Paul in prison we read about this in Colossians chapter 4 verses 12 and 13 where Paul wrote these words it paffrath who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus sends greetings he is always wrestling in prayer for you that you may stand firm in all the will of God mature and fully assured eyes outs for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and hierapolis since an SMS was from kalasa and since his master Philemon was a prominent member of that church an asommus probably knew where Paul was and with this knowledge an esse masane city as his destination besides this once in the city an esse mysteriously it's hard to imagine them that Inessa mandela it's most likely that an SMS went to paul on purpose finally Paul wrote to Philemon only after an SMS had endeared himself to Paul in Paul's letter to Philemon he indicated that he had converted an SMS to Christianity and that Inessa MMus had ministered to Paul in prison in other words Paul defended a Nesmith only after an SMS had proven himself to Paul since an estimate stayed with Paul long enough to secure his advocacy it suggests that he had fully intended to seek Paul's help in his situation having considered an emesis petition that Paul become his advocate we are now ready to look at Paul's agreement to defend an SMS before his master Philemon Paul did not immediately agree to mediate between an SMS and Philemon after all an SMS was both an unbeliever and an unprofitable slave and Philemon was a good loving man if I Lehman had a right to be angry and too disciplined Inessa mas' and there was no indication that he planned to do this unfairly or unjustly Philemon would have been within his rights to punish an SMS and so if Paul were to defend an SMS it would have to be on the basis of mercy and before he would ask for mercy for an SMS he would first have to be persuaded that animus was genuinely repentant Paul's initial reluctance in this matter is admirable after all it would be foolish to pardon wrongdoers simply because they were afraid of being punished consider in this regard Paul's words in Romans chapter 13 verse 4 where he spoke of civil rulers in this manner he is God's servant to do you good but if you do wrong be afraid for he does not bear the sword for nothing he is God's servant an agent of Wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer this same principle applies in many relationships that include Authority structures such as between parents and children and in the social structure of the 1st century Roman Empire masters and slaves godly authority figures carry out appropriate punishments because it is the right thing to do and so it was appropriate and probably typical that when a slave or servant appealed to his masters friend for help that friend did not impose upon the master without being sufficiently persuaded that it was the right thing to do for the sake of comparison let's consider a historical example where another Roman slave appealed to his masters friend for help a little before ad 111 the Roman senator plenty the younger wrote a letter to his friend Sabini Anna's on behalf of a freedmen who worked for Sabini Anna's and this letter has been preserved for us through history listen to this excerpt from Clint EES letter the Friedman of yours with whom you said you were angry has been to me flung himself at my feet and clung to me as if I were you he begged my help with many tears he convinced me of his genuine penitence I believe he has reformed because he realizes he did wrong make some concession to his youth his tears and your own kind heart and do not torment him or yourself any longer just like a Nesmith this freedmen of Sabini Anna's turned to his master's friend for help and just like Paul plenty did not agree to mediate until Friedman had proven his repentance and good intent so it is safe to assume that Inessa must initially stayed with Paul to convince the apostle of his good intent and during this time Paul preached the gospel to Inessa mmus and the holy spirit brought him to faith in Christ and since genuine conversion is always accompanied by repentance of sins it is safe to conclude that an essence repented of all his sins that had so angered Philemon and with his newfound life in Christ an essence became a new man and dedicated himself to ministering to the Apostle in prison and Paul in turn carried deeply for this new child of God and grew to love him as a son one son Decimus had gained Paul's favor it was appropriate that he returned to Philemon so a Nesmith's left her kalasa bearing Paul's letter of advocacy according to Paul's letter to Philemon legally an S --mess might have remained with Paul without becoming a fugitive but morally this would not have been the best solution rather the Christian values of charity and reconciliation demanded his return to Philemon the reason for this can be found in Philemon verses 12 through 16 where Paul wrote these words I am sending him who is my very heart back to you I would have liked to keep him with me but I did not want to do anything without your consent so that any favor you do will be spontaneous and not forced he is very dear to me but even dearer to you both as a man and as a brother in the Lord Paul sent an SMS back to Philemon because he wanted any gift from Philemon to be voluntary rather than compulsory and because he wanted Philemon and a Nesmith to be reconciled as brothers in Christ [Music] presumably their reconciliation would best be accomplished through a face-to-face meeting in which an SMS repented and asked for Philemon's forgiveness and in which Philemon graciously forgave and accepted an SMS and given Paul's high praise of Philemon as a deeply loving Christian as well as Paul strong advocacy for an SMS it appears that Paul expected this to be the outcome now that we have surveyed the background to Paul's epistle to Philemon we are ready to explore its structure and content looking at the specific strategy and arguments Paul used to mediate between Inessa --mess and Philemon Paul's letter to Philemon is unique in many ways for one thing it is Paul's only canonical letter that does not focus on teaching in Philemon Paul wrote as an advocate rather than as a teacher for another thing in nearly every other letter Paul directly appealed to his apostolic authority commanding that things be done as he ordered but in Philemon he explicitly chose not to command his friend but to approach him as a co-worker for the gospel and to ask him for a favor and besides this Philemon is Paul's most personal letter expressing his deep concern both for an SMS and Philemon and making requests based on their friendship in short Philemon we see a humble man of God in action taking responsibility holding others accountable and expressing Christ's love and so as we survey the details of this letter we will pay attention to Paul's Christian attitudes and actions looking at the way he practiced the very ideals he communicated in his other prison epistles our discussion of the structure and content of Paul's epistle to Philemon will follow the outline of the letter itself beginning with the salutation in verses 1 through 3 then continuing with Paul's Thanksgiving for Philemon in verses 4 through 7 and Paul's petition on behalf of an SMS in verses 8 through 21 and finally concluding with final greetings in verses 22 through 25 let's begin by looking at the citation in verses 1 through 3 the salutation which appears in verses 1 through 3 identifies Paul as the primary author of the letter and states that the letter also came from Timothy it includes an address that names Philemon as the letters primary recipient and mentioned several others who were to bear witness to the letter at via archivist and the local church congregation of which Philemon was a member Paul knew that he was making a big request to Philemon and that it might have been difficult for Philemon to do him this favor so rather than allowing the matter between Philemon and Inessa mmus to remain private Paul invited by Lehman's household and Church to witness his advocacy for announcements no doubt he hoped that the watchful eyes of so many fellow believers would encourage Philemon all the more to be gracious to Inessa mas' the salutation ends with the standard greeting in the form of a brief blessing following the salutation we find Paul's Thanksgiving for Philemon in verses 4 through 7 Paul commonly included a section on Thanksgiving at this point in his letters Paul spoke mainly of Philemon to love for the church thanking the Lord for the ways Philemon had blessed his fellow believers in collosum Paul praised Philemon with these words in Philemon verses 5 through 7 I hear about your love for all the saints your love has given me great joy and encouragement because you brother have refreshed the hearts of the saints Paul did not say what Philemon had done but he did mention that it had been refreshing for the Saints perhaps Philemon had come to their financial relief or had performed works of service for them or done them some other benefit whatever it had been Philemon had done it well and with a good heart and since the nationís have become part of the church Paul expected Philemon to show him the same love consider the situation between Philemon and an SMS in light of Paul's teaching in Colossians chapter 3 verses 12 through 14 where Paul wrote these words therefore as God's chosen people holy and dearly loved clothe yourselves with compassion kindness humility gentleness and patience bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another forgive as the Lord forgave you and over all these virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity Paul had called the Colossians including Philemon to remember that God loves and forgives all believers and he had encouraged them to reflect the same love toward one another patiently bearing with one another when wronged and forgiving grievances rather than demanding recompense the application to Philemon and Inessa mmus is not hard to see an as honest had wronged Philemon Paul affirmed that this was true yet he asked Philemon to love consistently to show an esse mas' the same love that he showed to other believers he asked Philemon to bear up patiently under the wrong he had suffered and to forgive an esse mmus rather than punish him by affirming Philemon's love Paul encouraged him to be consistent in his character and not to let his anger overrule his love when it came to an SMS after the section on Thanksgiving Paul presented his petition to Philemon in verses 8 through 21 the petition represents the main purpose of the letter namely advocating on behalf of an esse mmus before Philemon we will explore the petition in some depth breaking it down into following six elements an explanation of Paul's role as advocate in verses 8 through 10 an explanation of an esse mice's role as petitioner in verses 11 through 13 an explanation of Philemon role as master in verse 14 an explanation of God's role as providential ruler of the universe in verses 15 and 16 Paul's petition itself in verses 17 through 20 and Paul's statement of confidence that the petition would be granted in verse 21 let's start by turning to Paul's explanation of his role as advocate listen to Paul's words in Philemon verses 8 through 10 although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do yet I appeal to you on the basis of love either as Paul an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus I appeal to you for my son Inessa mmus who became my son while I was in Chains because Paul was an apostle of Christ he had the authority to order Philemon to do the right thing but instead he wrote to Philemon in ways that elicited Philemon sympathy in concern in this passage Paul spoke as a weak elderly man in need of help to those who are familiar with his strong writing style in other letters this may seem more than a little unusual after all Paul commonly demanded that people respect his Authority and submit to his teaching was he merely trying to manipulate soft-hearted Philemon no this was simply another side of the real Paul that we do not see often in his other letters listen to the way Paul's critics and Corinth spoke of this other side of Paul in 2nd Corinthians chapter 10 verse 10 his letters are weighty and forceful but in person he's unimpressive and too speaking amounts to nothing Paul's critics attacked him for presenting himself as forceful in his letters but humble and unassuming in person in person Paul could be quite meek and this should not surprise us after all Paul constantly strove to be like Christ who also knew when to be forceful and when to be humble consider Paul's teaching instil idioms chapter 2 verses 5 through 8 your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus who made himself nothing taking the very nature of a servant he humbled himself and became obedient to death even death on a cross Jesus Christ God incarnate was a strong teacher but he also humbled himself so far as to let me Reacher's subject him to an ignoble criminals shishun it was only fitting them that his apostle should emulate him in similar ways coming a strong presence that sometimes and being needy and mild at others Paul didn't need to trick or manipulate Philemon he was an apostle if he had wanted to he could have demanded Philemon's obedience and had he done so Philemon probably would have complied but Paul wanted Philemon to respond to this situation with genuine Christian love so he appealed to filing his heart asking him to have compassion on an elderly man in prison and on the newly converted brother in Christ who ministered to them and it was from this perspective that Paul introduced his advocacy for Inessa --mess after introducing himself as an esse mice's advocate Paul spoke about Inessa miss him self in verses 11 through 13 he also explained in more detail the relationship between a Nesmith and Paul that led the apostle to bring nemesis petition before Philemon in Philemon verses 11 through 13 Paul wrote these words formerly a Nemus was useless to you but now he has become useful both to you and to me I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I'm in Chains for the gospel the Anessa mistype all described here was a very different man from the one who had come to him asking for a mediator Inessa mossad been a worthless slave but he had been converted to Christ he had repented of sin and mended his ways showing his good faith by putting forth earnest effort to care for Paul in prison and because Paul knew that Philemon was a loving Christian he expected Philemon to rejoice at the news that uh Nesmith's had come to Christ and to forgive his transgressions as he would any other Christian who sinned against him Paul included a wordplay in Philemon verses 11 through 13 that emphasized this change in animus specifically crazed thoughts was remarkably similar to the word Christo's meaning Christ Paul's word for useless was ah Christ oz from the Greek prefix ah meaning not and the root Christ us meaning useful similarly Paul's word for useful was you Christ us from the prefix view meaning well or good and the root Christ us again meaning useful and the word play was this an esse Mossad Christ us or useless when he was aakhri Stas or without Christ but he became you Christ us or very useful when he received Christoph's as his Lord Paul also pointed two ways in which an SMS had already begun to make reparations for his transgressions as Paul wrote an SMS was taking Philemon's place in service to Paul in the ancient world it was not unusual for a master to loan a slave to another person this action was rightly considered a gift of sorts as the master lost any work the slave might have done during the time of the loan and the friend to whom the slave was loaned benefited in this sense through an SMS Philemon really was ministering to Paul this is why Paul said that uh Nesmith's had become useful not only to him but also to Philemon so Philemon had yet more reasons to be merciful to an esse mas' finally in this section Paul also mentioned that he had sent an SMS back to Philemon presumably carrying Paul's letter to Philemon and probably traveling in the company of ticka cos Paul mentioned this in Philemon verse 12 writing I am sending him back to you an SMS was returning to kalasa to petition Philemon for mercy in the hopes of being reconciled to him and perhaps even of being released an SMS was not a fugitive and was returning to faces master's judgment after describing his own role as advocate and Anessa mrs. role as petitioner Paul went on to speak of Philemon's role as master in verse 14 here Paul acknowledged why Lehman's authority over announced --mess and revealed his own motivation for making an appeal to Philemon instead of commanding him Paul wrote these words in Philemon verse 14 I did not want to do anything without your consent so that any favor you do will be spontaneous and not forced Paul wanted Philemon himself to choose to do the right thing and so he made it clear that his petition came as a request rather than as an apostolic command it may be that he wanted his friend to gain heavenly rewards by doing the right thing for the right reason and perhaps he also thought that a voluntary reconciliation between two men would make their brotherly relationship in Christ all the stronger additionally it appears that Paul wanted to show Philemon respect and to give his benevolence the benefit of a doubt then if Philemon treated Inessa mmus well it would provide greater encouragement both the Paul and to the church this was Paul's reasoning in Philemon verses 7 through 9 where he wrote in this way your love has given me great joy and encouragement because you brother have refreshed the hearts of the saints therefore although I could order you to do what you ought to do yet I appealed to you on the basis of love essentially Philemon's past love and faithfulness to the church encouraged paul ii think that Philemon would be loving and faithful to an esse mmus as well in all likelihood Paul chose this route for a variety of reasons leaving Philemon in the traditional Roman role the master who had to sit in judgment over his slave he could decide harshly choosing to discipline enoughness or he could judge mercifully for giving an estimate for the sake of Christ and for the sake of his friend the Apostle Paul the choice was truly his to make although Paul made it abundantly clear which choice was the right one after laying out the various human parties in their relations to one another Paul reminded Philemon of god's role as providential ruler in verses 15 and 16 in this section he pondered the greater good that God might bring out of an essence of sin if Philemon would only grant his request Paul referred to God's providential hand in Philemon verses 15 and 16 writing these encouraging words to Philemon perhaps the reason an SMS was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good no longer as a slave but better than the slave as a dear brother he's very dear to me but even dearer to you both as a man and as a brother in the Lord the Lord providentially controls everything in the universe and he often permits bad things to happen in order that his good purposes might be accomplished Paul suggested that in this case God orchestrated events to bring a Nesmith and Philemon into conflict in order that Decimus would be forced to seek Paul's advocacy and the Lord allowed this in order that through Paul's ministry a Nesmith's might be brought to stay cries and subsequently reconciled to Philemon as an equal in the Lord by speaking about God's providential control of the universe paul asked Philemon to step back from the conflict with the Nesmith in order to see it from the perspective of God's plan yes Philemon was angry and he had a right to be but the problems with Anessa masoor insignificant compared to the blessings that God had bestowed through their strife Philemon was a good man and once he realized that God had orchestrated the conflict with a Nesmith in order to save a lost soul his anger may well have turned to joy just as Paul had hoped after introducing all the characters involved in the mediation Paul finally stated his petition in verses 17 through 20 specifically he asked Philemon to forgive an SMS and he offered himself as an SM as a substitute in the event that Philemon chose to exact payment or recompense from his slave Paul's twofold petition is summarized in Philemon verses 17 and 18 welcome him as you would welcome me if he has done you any wrong or owes you anything charge it to me notice what Paul did here he appealed to Philemon for a personal favor as if Paul himself were the one who needed by Lehman's grace he did not argue that a Nemus deserved to be restored to Philemon on the contrary he implied that a Nesmith deserved punishment and he did not ask Philemon to show christ-like mercy - in essence figuratively speaking Paul did not stand beside a Nesmith as his defense attorney persuading Philemon to be merciful for an emesis sake instead he stood in front of a Nesmith as his father and protector shielding him from Philemon and providing reasons that Philemon should be merciful for Paul saying listen to the way Paul concluded his petition in Philemon verse 20 I do wish brother that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord refresh my heart in crime Paul hope that Philemon would so respect Paul but he would extend mercy to Paul spiritual son and Nesmith and so in his petition paul asked Philemon to minister to the Apostle by showing kindness to his son whom he loved with all his heart and notice Paul's language here first paul asked Philemon to benefit him using the greek verb an e named e upon which an esse mice's name was built essentially he asked Philemon to follow the example of his slaves Inessa mmus in being useful to paul ii paul repeated his use of the word refresh in Philemon verse 7 Paul had commended Philemon for refreshing the Saints here he encouraged Philemon to demonstrate integrity by refreshing the imprisoned Apostle as well scholars have raised many questions about the details of Paul's petition some believe that Paul was merely asking Philemon to treat Inessa --mess with mercy and kindness and not to seek retribution or even restitution for the wrong and sms they'd committed others believe that Paul is asking Philemon for even more perhaps for Anessa mice's manumissions that is his freedom this may be implied by Paul's words in Philemon verses 15 and 16 where Paul wrote in this way you might have him back for good no longer as the slave but better than a slave as a dear brother it is possible to read this verse as meaning that Paul wanted Philemon to free an Decimus so the NS --mess would no longer be a slave this idea is strengthened when we noticed that the Greek word Ionian here translated for good is rightly translated in several English translations as forever or eternally even though Roman slavery was often perpetual it was technically a temporary arrangement so Paul could not rightly have assured Philemon that vanessa mossad remain his profitable slave forever but our relationships in Christ really will endure eternally this makes it tempting to see an illusion in this verse to Philemon manumitted or granting freedom to an essence at the same time it is important to recognize that Paul did not teach that Christian faith required all Christian masters to free their believing slaves in 1st Corinthians chapter 7 verse 21 he did teach that freedom was preferable to slavery but his instructions to households in which believing masters owned believing slaves did not include manumission for example he provided this teaching in 1st Timothy chapter 6 verse 2 slaves who have believing masters are not to show less respect for them because they are brothers instead they are to serve them even better because those who benefit from their service are believers and dear to them in light of the many ways slavery has been an institution of terrible abuse throughout history it may seem odd to hear Paul speak in this way after all when most modern people think about slavery our minds immediately recall the horrible atrocities committed in the African slave trade we think of people who were enslaved by force torn from their families and subjected to some of the most inhumane treatment imaginable they were raped and beaten and branded and murdered into our shame many Christians defended this brutality by appealing to the way the Bible approached ancient slavery but they were tragically and devastatingly wrong neither Paul nor any other biblical author would have affirmed these practices instead they would have condemned them in the harshest terms but in Paul setting slavery was different it was usually a positive economic arrangement especially when both master and slave were Christians and the reality was that both master and slave lived in the same household and were required by God to minister to one another and to love one another they were for all intents and purposes and extended family and because these relationships could be conducted in ways that were both godly and beneficial to all parties Paul did not instruct the church to tear down the social institutions instead he taught them to handle slavery in a christ-like fashion we can be certain that Paul wanted the best for an esse --mess and that Philemon knew how to meet the Apostles expectations but Paul's vague language makes it impossible for us to know whether he was simply asking Philemon to forgive Animus and to treat him as an honored slave in his house or if he was asking for an SMS as legal freedom without knowing more details about Anessa misis skills and circumstances it is hard for us to guess which outcome would have benefited him more but in all cases it is clear that Paul's petition was designed to secure a good life for an SMS one in which he was treated with Christian honor and respect and shown love and mercy by the church lastly after presenting his petition to Philemon Paul ended with a statement of confidence in verse 21 here Paul expressed his belief that Philemon would do as the Apostle asked we read these closing words to Paul's petition in Philemon verse 21 confident of your obedience I write to you knowing that you will do even more than I ask Paul had two strong reasons for believing that Philemon would grant his request first Philemon respected and loved Paul and therefore would have been motivated to please him and second Philemon loved the church which nsima stood just joined scripture does not record Philemon's response for us nor does it tell us what happened to an estes for many centuries it was believed that Philemon released him and that he eventually became Bishop of Ephesus dying as a martyr in Rome in AD 95 and this certainly was a bishop announcements who succeeded Timothy in the first century but in truth an SMS was the common name so the slave may not have been the same man as the bishop at the same time a Christian trained by Paul easily could have risen to prominence so we should not rule out the possibility in any event Paul's confidence in Philemon should incline us to suspect that he did whatever was best for anest us and according to some scholars the fact that we even possessed paul's letter to Philemon implies that Philemon did the right thing since he probably would have destroyed the evidence of Paul's request if he had not granted it now that we have looked at Paul's petition to Philemon we should turn to the last section of the letter the final greetings to Philemon and his household found in Philemon verses 22 through 25 this section contains rather standard greetings in verse 24 and a fairly standard blessing in verse 25 but two details in the earlier verses are worthy of special attention first in verse 22 Paul expressed his expectation that he would be released from prison rabbit quickly and he asked Philemon to prepare a room for him no doubt this would have encouraged Philemon to grant Paul's request as he would have to space the Apostle himself in the near future second as we mentioned earlier in this lesson Paul sent a special greeting from a pathos in verse 23 indicating that a path first served as a remote witness to Philemon's resolution of the matter with an essence now that we have looked at the background to Paul's epistle to Philemon as well as its structure and content we're in a position to discuss the modern application of Paul's exemplary advocacy on behalf of Vanessa --mess one reason that Paul's epistle to Philemon is so important is that it shows us how Paul applied his own theology in his own life as we look at his letters to the Colossians and the Ephesians we find many general statements and hypothetical applications of his teachings and these are extremely helpful to us but in his letter to Philemon we've moved beyond the general into the specific beyond the hypothetical into the actual beyond instruction to action we see Paul as a Christian living consistently with his doctrine and so as we look for modern applications of the book of Philemon we will pay special attention to the ways Paul's mediation between a Nesmith's and Philemon corresponds to his teachings and other epistles especially those to the Colossians in to the Ephesians as we consider the modern application of Paul's letter to Philemon we will focus on three matters first the need for accountability among Christians second the value of compassion and our relationships in the church and finally the importance of reconciliation within the family of God let's turn first to the need for accountability among Christians as we have mentioned in his letter to Philemon Paul called on several individuals as witnesses to his advocacy for Inessa mas' including app via our kappas the pathos and the local church at kalasa although Paul did not explicitly state his reason for doing this the best explanation would seem to be that he hoped their watchful eyes would encourage Philemon to do the right thing this strategy was in keeping with his teaching in Ephesians chapter 5 verses 11 through 21 we will look at several sections of verses from this passage beginning with Ephesians chapter 5 verses 11 through 15 where Paul gave these instructions have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness but rather expose them for it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret but everything exposed by the light becomes visible be very careful then how you live not as unwise but as wise Paul taught that Christians are to expose sins his reasoning was that those who commit them would be ashamed to have their sins known the wise thing to do then is to expose our lives to the light that is to the Fellowship of the kingdom of light so that we are prevented from sinning now Paul is not saying that Christians should police each other by making sure no one of us is ever alone or by spying on each other rather he was pointing to the wisdom of accountability when we live our lives in the open when others know what we are doing we are less likely to succumb to temptation one reason for this is that we are ashamed to commit some sins when others know about them in the case of a Nesmith's and Philemon if no one knew about Paul's letter and if Paul himself did not plan to followup with Philemon then no one would have been able to hold Philemon accountable for doing the right thing if he had treated an asommus harshly only Philemon himself would have known that this violated Paul's request but in making the matter public Paul ensured that Philemon would endure the disapproval of his family and the Colossians if he treated a Nemus harshly the threat of this motivated him to do the right thing the Lord himself commonly used the potential for shame to motivate his people to do the right thing in the Old Testament for example in Habakkuk chapter 2 verse 16 the prophet proclaimed these words from God to Judah you will be filled with shame instead of glory the cup from the Lord's right hand is coming around to you and disgrace will cover your glory God threatened to shame the judah-ite would turn from their sin and in Ezekiel chapter 7 verse 18 the Lord tried to motivate Israel to obedience with the following threat of shame they will put on sackcloth and be clothed with terror their faces will be covered with shame and their heads will be shaved in the same way we have many secret sins in the modern church Christians are willing to live with many of these sins but would be ashamed if others knew about them so one way for the church to hold us accountable with regard to these sins is for believers to stay in close fellowship but shame is not the only form of prevention that Christian accountability offers on the contrary Paul's example in Philemon emphasizes that Christians should be accountable to one another largely through pleasant fellowship listen to Paul's words in Ephesians chapter 5 verse 19 speak to one another with Psalms hymns and spiritual songs Christians also keep one another from sinning by offering encouraging words to one another finally Paul indicated that we are to hold one another accountable through the mutual submission that all believers must render to one another listen to his words in Ephesians chapter 5 verse 21 submit to one another out of reverence for Christ the church is to be a holy place a fellowship of God's obedient people and this means that the church's counsel should be godly and righteous so as we live in fellowship with one another encouraging each other to good deeds we need to pay special attention to the ways that our church leaders and traditions train us to behave in to the counsel of wise and godly believers in summary through Paul's use of witnesses to Philemon's interactions with Vanessa mmus we learned that the church can prevent sin and encourage good works by showing disapproval for sin by offering encouragement and by submitting to the church's wise counsel now that we have looked at the implications that Paul's letter to Philemon has for accountability in the church we should turn to our second point of application the importance of compassion in our relationships with other Christians of all the characteristics that Christ demonstrated during ask early ministry it is perhaps his compassion that was the most striking yes he had a zeal for holiness and reverence and his emphasis on righteousness and morality is undeniable and he showed unparalleled wisdom and integrity and dignity but even more memorable are his kindness his pity is concerned his love for others this eagerness to forgive his willingness to suffer so that others would not have to it is the stories of him raising the dead comforting the living curing the sick storing the lame feeding the hungry shepherding the lost and the herd and the frightened and dying on the cross for the sake of those who hated him in short it is Christ compassion that touches our hearts most deeply and it is this compassion that Paul encouraged us to imitate through his praise teaching an example in his letter to Philemon we will consider two types of compassion and Paul's letter to Philemon beginning with kindness and charity and then looking at acts of intercession let's begin by considering acts of kindness as examples of Christian compassion Paul taught all believers to show kindness and charity when he praised Philemon for his ministry to the church and when he appealed to these as the basis for his petition to Philemon listen to Paul's words in Philemon verses 7 through 9 your love has given me great joy and encouragement because you brother have refreshed the hearts of the Saints I appealed to you on the basis of love as Paul an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus Paul was encouraged by the ways Philemon had refreshed the hearts of the same that is the ways he had demonstrated kindness to other believers and Paul wanted to receive similar charity on the basis that he was an old man and a prisoner when deserving of pity and in need of aid as he wrote in Colossians chapter 3 verses 11 and 12 Christ is all and is in all therefore as God's chosen people holy and dearly loved clothe yourselves with compassion and kindness because other believers are united to Jesus we must treat them as we would our Lord and as our Lord has treated us showing them abounding care and helping to meet their needs in these and many other ways Paul showed that kindness and charity are important aspects of Christian living and so just like Paul and Philemon modern Christians must be moved by pity and love for those in the church and we must respond to their needs so far as we are able a second type of compassion Paul encouraged in his letter to Philemon was intercession in which one believer becomes an advocate for another intercession can take many forms and one end of the spectrum it can be as simple as an expression of opinion without personal risk that sways circumstances in favor of another on the other end of the spectrum it can be as intense as giving up one's life to protect another who is guilty the most obvious example of this type of intercession is the sacrifice that Christ offered in order to obtain salvation for sinners and in between these two extremes many other types of intercession are possible listen to Paul's words to Philemon on behalf of uh Nesmith and Philemon verses 17 through 19 welcome him as you would welcome me if he has done you any wrong or owes you anything charge it to me I will pay it back through Paul's example modern Christians are called to intercede for other believers in similar ways sometimes we're called to intercede in simple ways at other times our compassion for others may call us to greater levels of intercession and in some cases compassion may even compel us to intercede by laying down our lives for the benefit or protection of others as Paul wrote in Ephesians chapter 5 verses 1 & 2 be imitators of God and live a life of love just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God now that we have looked at some ways that Paul's teaching and Philemon applies to accountability in the church into Christian compassion we are ready to turn to our final topic the reconciliation of believers to one another through our Lord Jesus Christ when we speak of reconciliation we need to make it clear that we're not simply talking about creating unity and love where none existed before rather we're talking about creating unity and love where hostility existed before reconciliation is rooted in forgiveness and mercy and it is maintained through patience and long-suffering it assumes that there is a source of conflict between us but that we have put aside the conflict in order to pursue something better namely new to a peace with one another mutual love for one another and mutual ministry to one another in his epistles to the Colossians and Ephesians Paul spoke frequently of reconciliation between believers both on an individual level and on a corporate ethnic level and he described this reconciliation as an essential element of the gospel Paul did insist that both the Nesmith and Philemon had an obligation to restore their relationship and to embrace one another as brothers in Christ without holding grudges an asommus for his part had to repent of a sin which he had done upon converting to Christian under Paul's ministry and as Philemon slave he also had to submit himself to Philemon 'he's judgment Philemon in turn was obligated to love and essa mmus to treat him with kindness to forgive his sin and to embrace him as a brother in Christ in the same way modern believers must be eager to repent and to forgive one another and to be restored to right relationships in the same way in Paul's day there were still tension resentment and other conflicts between different races or ethnicities in the church and Paul is not arguing that everyone who felt such strife was unsaved rather he was saying that the basis for such problems had been erased by Christ so that all racial and ethnic strife in the church was invalid and therefore sinful for instance in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 14 through 16 he wrote about the reconciliation of Jewish and Gentile believers with these words Christ is our peace who has made the 2:1 and has destroyed the barrier the dividing wall of hostility his purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two thus making peace and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross by which he put to death their hostility according to Paul's argument here the reconciliation between Jewish and Gentile believers in Christ is an aspect of our union with Christ and therefore it is an essential step in our reconciliation to God and the same is true in our day with regard to racial and ethnic strife as well as with regard to every other difference between believers that becomes a source of problems because we are united to Christ we are all forgiven and blessed so we have no basis for resenting or refusing to be reconciled to any believer our Lord has removed any basis for conflict between us so that we must recognize our strife as sin and strive for unity love and harmony in the body of Christ listen to Paul's words in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 32 be kind and compassionate to one another forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you and consider his teaching in Colossians chapter 3 verses 13 through 15 bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another forgive as the Lord forgave you and over all these virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity let the Peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one body you were called to peace we have been called to abandon our prejudices and resentments and to love one another to see each Christian through the eyes of Christ and to enjoy peace together reconciliation between believers should be a high priority in the modern church in this lesson we have looked closely at Paul's epistle to his Kailash and friend Philemon we have explored the background to this letter and we have studied the letter structure and content and lastly we have considered a number of modern applications derived from Paul's example in his letter to Philemon the epistle to Philemon is a small but wonderful part of the New Testament it offers us a unique insight into how the Apostle Paul related to other believers and confirms that he lived out the very doctrines he taught beyond this it has much to teach us about the value we should place on each and every believer in the church and on the ways that a proper consideration of their value ought to impact our lives especially when it comes to maintaining right relationships as we live according to the principles that Paul modeled for us in his letter to Philemon we will take great strides toward ministering to each other and toward building the church for the glory of Christ you [Music] you you [Music] [Music] [Music]

Channel: Thirdmill

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Keywords: For the World, Third Millennium Ministries, Mission, Christian Theology, Study, Apostle Paul, Free, New Testament, Missions, Prison Epistles, Truth, Theology Matters, Ministry, Seminary, Scripture, Biblical Education, Prison Letters, God, Bible, Education, Theology, Paul, Third Mill, Reformed, Jesus, Reggie Kidd, Holy Spirit, Philemon, Onesimus

Id: kOvHGYz-Uy4

Length: 76min 13sec (4573 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 23 2017