Man, so as we come to our text today, so we started our series last week looking at the personal letters in the New Testament. So what distinguishes these three letters specifically is the nature. They are all dealing mostly with one specific issue detailed to one specific individual. We'll have some conversation with 2 John. There'll be a lovely little discourse on who the elect lady is. Lots of fun thoughts. But for the most part, there is a specific person with a specific reason, so I'm writing to you for one thing. So again, we have other, quote, "personal epistles," like you have letters written to Timothy. Timothy has two letters written to him.
But they are wide in scope. They're doing lots of different things, lots of different ministry applications, lots of things going on. Titus, same thing. These are ministry people that that Paul has left behind. It's like, "Hey, here are some things to work on that I left you to do. Do this, this, and this. Remember this. Don't forget this." They're very different type of letters. These are very personal. There's a lot of heart in these letters dealing with very specific heartfelt issues. And again, we begin to see, in this letter specifically, we see the personal heart of Paul a little bit. As we kind of opened up last week, we saw the introduction to the letter of Paul's just encouragement to Philemon and to those in his house.
We saw this love for them and this plea, for the, for them to remember Paul's love for them as he prays for them, as their love has been poured out towards one another, towards the church in their home in Colossae. So we saw a lot of this. Again, when we get to John, we'll see John's heart towards Gaius and the elect lady. We'll see the passion that they have for these individuals. So again, as we look at these men of God, as we look at these saints, these apostles, we see that it's more than just big picture. It's not just I talk to churches, I give big picture commands, or even in the case of like, Titus and Timothy, like I'll write letters to these guys 'cause they're like my right-hand man.
But this is also just to Philemon, whose church is in his home, who hosts a church with a specific issue, dealing with Onesimus today. Again, we'll see the elect lady and then Gaius with John and their heart for their people and for people that they've spent time with and the love that they have for them and for those in their community. And so as we started this lesson, so we opened in Philemon. We're looking at Paul's specific letter. Last week we had this beginning admonition, "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 the Lord Jesus Christ.
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 Christ. For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you." So this was last week's text. Pastor Adam unpacked this and we saw this call that he had to Philemon, this love that we see Paul's connection to Philemon, again, the joy that Paul receives from hearing of all the news of what is going on in the church in Colossae.
Like hearing your love for God and love for the saints. Again, the fulfillment of those two great commandments, love the Lord your God and love your neighbor, and he's overwhelmed with joy at these realities taking place in this church. And so he's encouraged that Philemon's, the church in Philemon's home is accomplishing this task. And so this sets up where we begin today. So today we get into, in many ways, the meat of our text as we are introduced to the reason ultimately for the letter. Why is Paul writing this specific letter? Okay? 'Cause what we talked about last week a little bit, this letter is sent simultaneously with the book of Colossians.
Okay? As the book of Colossians ends, it highlights the fact that this book is coming with Onesimus. Onesimus is named as one of the ones carrying this letter with him. Okay? He is sending Onesimus to Philemon or to the church in Colossae. So it's the same thing as we have in this text. The same people are present in this work. And so we have this connection, okay, as we'll cover this a little bit later when we get to the end chapter in two weeks. The same list of names at the end of Philemon are the same list of names at the end of Colossians. The same people are connected here with this letter, okay?
Paul sends Onesimus. Onesimus is listed in Colossians separately. And so we have this picture that these letters are being sent simultaneously, one to be read to the whole church, one specifically for Philemon. Okay, so again, adding that personal nature. This letter is not at this point to be for the whole church to know what's going on. This is a personal letter between Paul and Philemon dealing with a specific issue that clearly the church would be made aware of. They're not gonna be confused, as there's gonna be lots of questions that will probably arise due to the situation. But the letter is separate. The letter has a different character, and it has a different point.
This letter is not necessarily for the church, but for Philemon. We'll unpack that in a theological sense probably during questions, but we will continue where we are now. So this is where we begin. So we move through this text, and it begins with this grace, this, this encouragement, and then it says, "Accordingly." Okay, so Paul, with this master craftsman, lays out his love for all that Philemon's been doing, just the passion he has for God, the passion for the church, and the growth that's happening. He is evangelistic, and just how much joy Paul is receiving from hearing this news. And because of all of these things that I pray for and I thank God for, I now am going to give you an encouragement, an appeal.
So accordingly, so again, we have this word here which does connect back, like ultimately because of all that I've just said, accordingly, okay, "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 behalf, 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 by 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 we come to the text before us today, and it is a rich text of this appeal that we see of Paul. And so it begins, as I said, accordingly. We have this initial appeal over a command.
So Paul lays out ultimately, based on everything I just said, okay, your love for the saints, the work that I did among you, my prayer for you, I have every right to ultimately command you to do what I'm about to say. He's an apostle. He is the founder of this church in Colossae. He has done the work, and he begins with the fact that I, okay, accordingly, because of all this, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, yet for love's sake I appeal to you. So there's a distinction here. He knows his role. He knows everything he's about to say is correct, but he's not simply gonna go, "Philemon, you must do what I say." We always kind of have that feeling like you just want it done, so I'll just tell you to do it and just do it.
And Paul's ultimately going, "I have full authority to tell you to do what I'm about to say. I have the grounding. I have the background. I have your support. I know that if I tell you to do this, you're gonna do it. If I command you, it will be done." So it's very much some, if you've been in any leadership role, you know people you can voluntell things. Some of you may have been voluntold things. So that kind of like, "I have the authority, and I know enough of it that I can... If I tell you to do this, you're gonna do it. Because of all these things, I know your heart, I know your faith, I can just tell you, and it'll happen." And what Paul's here is like, "I'm not going to...
I can. Clearly, I have the position in Christ. I have the reasoning in Christ. But I don't find that beneficial to you. So that's not a benefit to you in this moment. Me just telling you to do something and you're going to do it will not serve you in a healthy, God-honoring way. 'Cause I want you to do it for the right reasons, not because you're told to." Again, things we continually work through the gospel is how much we do things out of love for God, not out of compulsion because you're forced to. Because you love me, you will keep my commandments. Not you will keep my commandments to prove how much you love me.
It is the opposite. It overflows from a heart of love. And so Paul's admonition to Philemon is to act similarly. I could give you a command, but I won't so So that out of love, this will flow. For love's sake, I prefer to appeal to you. There's also an essence in this of their relationship, 'cause there is a degree to which you'll do what you're told, but there can become a bit of a friction if you don't want to do it. Like, I understand what you're saying. That's the right thing, but sometimes, and maybe people, those who are married may have experienced this, it may be the right thing, it may be the accurate thing, but there's a difference in being told to do something and being asked to do something.
Both may end in the same result, I would have done it, but there's just a feeling that's different in the process. And so very similar, we have Paul. Like, I could have just told you, but I want, for love's sake, for our friendship, and ultimately for what I'm about to ask you, love should be the guiding principle. Love for me, love for God should be the motivation for the action that's about to take place. 'Cause if you do this purely out of the command to do it, the long-term effect may not be beneficial. So again, Paul having a deep sense of who Philemon is in this case, and also just the human condition.
You love God, you love the saints, so what I'm telling you, what I'm about to appeal to you should be easy. And so I'm gonna appeal to you to act on the appeal, not on a command. And so he doesn't appeal to his authority, but rather to love. So he makes this appeal, and then he lays out again his own reality. I, Paul, an old man, and now a prisoner also for Jesus Christ, appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. And so he lays out a bit even of his own reality. An old man. My time has come.
I've run the race. Again, very similar to things that we have in Second Timothy. He's echoing this reality that his time has passed. I've done this. I've lived this life. I've worked with you, and now not only am I older, things get a little harder when you get older. I've only broken 40, but I feel it in, in the knees. Feel it in the knees. But, like, life is harder. Not only is life harder because he's older, he's also in prison for the gospel. So just highlighting all the more his state in life. He's not hanging out getting shipwrecked anymore, getting bit by snakes and walking around like nothing's happened.
Times have gotten hard. It's caught up to him. His age is catching up to him. He's in prison. Life is more difficult. Okay, and this is important as it works through the reality of what Onesimus means to him. But life just has gotten harder, okay? Things aren't as easy as they used to be, and he's appealing again to Philemon to remember Paul's state. Remember where I'm at and what I have experienced for the gospel. The things that I've done ultimately even for your sake, for the ministry's sake, for the proclamation of the gospel. All the things that we covered last week that you love and are being commended for, these are the things which I have been at work in.
And so because of these things, I am appealing to you, and I'm appealing you to for my child, Onesimus. And so Adam opened this last week. He kinda covered a little bit or a lot of what, who Onesimus is. So we do have the reality of Onesimus is a slave to Philemon, so a runaway slave. Why he ran away, what was the cause? Questionable. Next week there's some suspicion, maybe he stole something, maybe he didn't. Maybe he just didn't like Philemon. Um, people have lots of questions on what happened, what is the situation around him running away. Um, and everyone knows then there could be no real reason beyond people like to be free.
There's just an honest reality. You could have the best situation, but it's better to be free than be a slave. That's just the reality. I've been reading several, history books. It's the tw- two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of America, so I've been biographying it this year. It's been fun. Um, but one I read was a George Washington biography, and they talk about how he as a slave owner was seen in his day as the most generous and loving and caring slave owner who did not beat his slaves, would get rid of slave masters who did, was caring, and yet he continually would have runaway slaves.
And sometimes people would catch them, and it's like, why? Because it's better to be free even than to be under a benevolent slave master. And so even that, Philemon might have been fantastic, but he still would rather be free than be a slave. We all as Americans, amen. So the very American side of things. So even in that, we don't have a full picture of is Philemon a bad guy? Is the... There's nothing in the text that goes either way. But there is also a reality I think that helps us See a part of this letter of why Philemon's letter is separate than Colossians. 'Cause Colossians does have an admonition.
Okay? Colossians and Ephesians are parallel letters written at the same time to different churches, but in it, they're well known for their discussion on the Roman codes, okay, but within the Christian framework. So household codes within r- for Roman society, but amended to reflect Christian truth. Okay, so he deals with husbands, he deals with wives, and he also deals with slaves and masters. Okay, and in Colossians 3:22 through 4:1, "Bondservants," slaves, "obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye service as people-pleasers but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.
You are serving the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality. Masters, treat your sa- slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven." And so again, Paul lays out in Colossians, the same letter that's being handed, simultaneously a rule for how this functions in their church, and so this would be the relationship of Onesimus now to Philemon. And so one of the questions that may come up, it does come up often with Philemon is, ultimately, is the appeal that we will see today to free Onesimus, or is it simply to embrace Onesimus?
There is a difference. Is he calling to free Onesimus from slavery or simply to now accept him as a brother in slavery? We'll have a fun discussion. So as you look, though, at the text, this is who he is talking about. So Onesimus was a slave. Again, we have... We talked about a little bit last week. The word Onesimus is a play on the phrase useful. Okay, it's actually a very common name that was given to slaves, was just useful, the idea of being a useful person. You are useful to the household. Onesimus is that name. Okay? And he highlights here the change in status for Onesimus.
"He is my child." So again, Paul connecting the reality of their experience. Again, old man caring for him. There's that idea of fatherly love, that fatherly nature that Paul is showing. Again, connected to his, where he is in life, that Onesimus has come to faith through the ministry of Paul. "I have become his father while in Rome." So while in imprisonment, somehow Onesimus has hooked up with Paul here. They've somehow heard, Onesimus has heard the gospel, has come to faith, and now is in this fellowship with Paul and the ministry that Paul is doing. Okay, so Paul has been discipling Onesimus in Rome. This is this picture, this picture of Paul pouring himself out into Onesimus' life.
And so he's laying this out again, building on this argument towards Philemon for what he's asking. This isn't just a random slave who's coming back. This isn't just a random slave who found faith and is coming back. This is one who I have personally invested in and done life with and ministered to who I am sending back to you. He's upping the ante a little bit with what is going on. And so then he's gonna highlight a little bit of just a warning, like, "And he's not the same person he was before. Not only is he a new creation in Christ as a s- a saved child of God whom I have discipled," but in verses eleven through thirteen, this appeal to the heart of Philemon, "Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.
I'm 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." And so he has, again, this play on words, this useless and useful. Okay, these are different terms here. He was once useless and is indeed useful. This isn't... He's not saying Onesimus again. It's a completely different Greek term, but it is meant to be a play on his name. Okay, so once he was of no value to you, he was a worthless slave, was not of use to you, but now he is very useful.
He has been a blessing. And even in sending him back, there's this picture that it breaks Paul's heart to have to send him back. Okay, he has become very important to the work of Paul's ministry. In his imprisonment. Now again, when we think of Roman imprisonment, there's lot... We had a little bit of a discussion last week. People have m- so many different views on Paul's imprisonment. So some, it is very much like he's in a little hole in the ground. People think of it that way. Not really the case. Paul does have access to letters and books and writing and utensils and people, and at this stage in his imprisonment, he is in a very different place than just sitting quietly doing nothing.
So he has a little bit more freedom, okay? Not that that somehow makes him in a great life experience, just laying on a bed all day, eating grapes. That's not Paul's experience. It is still prison. It is still a prison... It's still imprisonment, but there is an ability, okay, for him to have communication. But one of the things that was very key in those days is you would not survive, though, without the help of outside people. While you had access to people and books and le- if they did not bring you food, we were not providing you food. We are not providing you paper and book.
We're not giving you anything. We're just making sure you're staying here and nothing bad comes in. But if people bring you stuff, cool. So you have this picture that most will say Onesimus kinda becomes his disciple and gopher, in a nice gopher way, not a bad way. But he would get him stuff. He would be the one to make connections. And again, if you have this picture of a runaway slave who spent some time in Rome, he probably built some connections, built some sources where he knew where to go and get stuff. He kn- he became useful and resourceful. And so rather than these being tools used for self-indulgence and sin, it's now being used for the proclamation of the gospel and for caring for Paul.
And so we have this picture of Onesimus is using all of these skills for the benefit of Paul, is the implication. He has become very useful to the ministry and to my work here. And so Paul is saying, "It breaks my heart to send him back to you. This is my very heart. I care deeply for him. Care deeply for his growth and for him as a person. I would have loved to have had him here that he may continue to serve me on your behalf." So even that little phrase is in your stead with your authority as his slave master, is very much still the picture here.
With your full authority to be here, okay? But I'm not depriving you of your rights, ultimately becomes what we'll see. I love what he's doing. I love the work that he's doing. He is beloved and beneficial, but also he is not mine to keep. He is not mine to order and to have authority over in this way. It-- he is ultimately in Roman rule under your authority. But he's building this argument to Philemon of how things could change. And so again, we have this picture highlighting how different he is. And so I think for even for many of us, if you've had someone that you knew for a long time who wasn't a Christian and you did not get along with.
Maybe some of you have some of that in your head. And they go away for a while. Like, somehow you get separated and move on, and then you find out they're a Christian. Your first reaction is usually like, "That person, really?" Or you're a little suspicious, like, "Okay," like, "but is it really, like, a thing, or is this just, like, a phase they're going through? Like, 'cause I know them, so, like, really?" And so that's why Paul's been like, "He's been gone for a while. He took off to Rome." This is a f- Co- Colossae and Rome are not near each other. He ran a long, long way away to get away from Colossae to build a new life.
So there, there's some separation in this, okay? And it's like, "So you wanna tell me that my runaway slave is a new cre- cool. What does that mean?" And so Paul's in many ways going, "This is what it means. All that he has done for me, what a help he's been to the church and to the ministry through what he has done." So he's building up this reality of Onesimus isn't who you think he is. He's building that new creation, okay? In many ways, there is a little bit of a parallel that you can feel between Paul's statements as if he is like you to me.
And so this becomes this call, this appeal he makes. So he's appealing from the heart to Philemon's heart that Onesimus is not the same, that he is changed by the gospel, and I would have loved to have him with me, but I could not because he has this hope. Because I preferred. But I prefer to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be- By compulsion, but of your own accord. So he ends that portion right there with that, 'cause I didn't wanna do it because it was beneficial to me, 'cause that would not be beneficial to you. It's like my benefit is one thing, but it is not overall beneficial.
I can survive without him. I have survived without him. He's been a great blessing. But in this, I want you to be blessed. I want you to receive the fruit of what it means that your slave is saved, that your what was once an enemy is now your brother. All the more when we parallel what we see in Colossians, this command how to live this new life, that your slave master is your brother and you are to treat each other as brothers and sisters in Christ rather than as slaves and masters. Ultimately, he's going, "And here's Onesimus, Colossae. Watch it happen." So I sent you a letter saying how this should look.
Now, let's see if that's how this is gonna look. It's a perfect example of him playing out his own command in the church. 'Cause you go, here is a believer. Onesimus is a believer, would've been taught everything Paul is saying in this text, how slaves should live in this culture. And then he's appealing to Philemon to live that out in more detail than the two lines that we have in Colossians. So very much giving a slave master a thing on how to do this, okay? The heart towards your brother, okay? And so he has this picture in view, and ultimately, again, not forcing his hand, but appealing to the gospel, appealing to the reality of who he is.
I don't want to make you do this. I want you to do this from your heart. Do this out of your overflowing love for Christ, ultimately is the wording behind the wording. This love you have for Christ and the saints that we saw back in the opening of our text, back in chapter, or in verse five now is being put to the test. 'Cause Onesimus is a saint. You love the Lord, you love the saints. All I do is hear about it. Now let's see how much you love the Lord and love the saints. Not forcing you, but appealing to the reality of all that I've heard.
So not out of compulsion, but out of your own accord. And then finally appealing to the reality to look at the hand of God in this. For perhaps, maybe, possibly, maybe, you know, coincidentally, perhaps this 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 now much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. And so as our section concludes, it has this call to think deeper. All these things came to pass for this reason. So even thinking about the runaway, here is the charge against him.
He was a runaway slave, which carries a great charge in the Roman Empire. Again, you could be killed. The other more common one, 'cause people usually don't kill their slaves, that's money you are losing, was usually branded. You'd be burnt and branded as a runaway, usually on your forehead so that for the rest of your life it is very well seen what you have done. so you also could not hide if you ran away again. You would be clearly visible. so these were what was before him. And what we have here though is Paul highlighting, okay, not to think of these things. For maybe for a little while this is why you were separated.
You were parted for a moment, as if Onesimus just went on a little trip, and he's come home. It was just... He doesn't even acknowledge the runaway slave. Paul's very much highlighting this in different... This is the reason God did what he did. The reason Onesimus ran away was ultimately so he could find salvation. This was all part of God's plan, and ultimately, we'll highlight next week, is don't hold it against him. Don't hold what he's done against him, for this was the work of God. The work of God to bring him to salvation, and not only to bring him to salvation, but to grow him in maturity in the faith.
He's not simply a believer, but one who is actively working out this salvation. Again, he goes back. Onesimus is one of the ones who carries the letter back. He doesn't shy away From returning. It seems to be in Colossians that he is willingly and joyously going back to Philemon's household. He is going back to Colossae without reservation. So this isn't like I had to force him, I twisted his arm, made him go back. It's like he understands and wants to be back. It would have been great to keep him, but I couldn't keep him. For your good, I am sending him back to you that he may be a blessing to you.
For this was all part of God's plan. Onesimus left, fled to Rome that he may find salvation, that he would come across Paul somehow, not only because Paul's an apostle, but because he would have known Paul through serving in Ones- or in Philemon's home. Again, housed the church in his home in Colossae. Paul spent a great amount of time there, ministering there. He would have been well known. They would have had many an interaction, but in a very different way. And now you have how the Lord has used that interaction to connect them in Rome hundreds of miles away and now hearing the gospel and the transforming work that he is no longer who he was.
And not only that, you now have an eternal brother. He did this to bring eternity now into your relationship. This is not no longer this temporal slave-master relationship, but an eternal brother relationship because it says back forever. He's highlighting the eternal. The eternal nature of this relationship has changed. No longer as bond servants, but so much more. Far greater than your positional difference is your positional equality now. In Christ, you are beloved brothers, especially to me. There's, there's a play here that kind of fits in that Onesimus is a beloved brother to Paul, which plays in the fact that so is Philemon as the letter began.
It's his love for Philemon. You are both beloved to me and as believers, therefore beloved to one another. You now live in a different world all because of God's miraculous work. When you just stop and think about how God put all of these pieces together and the blessing that God used from this small church in Colossae, a runaway slave to minister to him and to help support him in his imprisonment in Rome, that in other letters many fled from Paul while he was in prison and yet this runaway slave becomes the one who cares for him and ministers to him, hearing the gospel and being discipled by him.
It's a beautiful picture of what the gospel does is it changes sinners into saints and who they were is no longer who they are. Why we have the admonitions in James, the thief no longer steals but rather gives out of the abundance. Works so he can give. All that you were is no longer who you are. You are a new creation and you live in light of your new creation. And so this encouragement that comes through Philemon to love the brotherhood well, to love one another well in the truth because of how God has changed us, that who we were is no longer who we are.
And so there is a great love that Paul shows here and so for us that should be an encouragement. A, how do we think of those who have come to faith who we knew before? Are we quick to be shy about like, ah, but they wronged me in some way? Especially if you've been wronged by someone as a non-believer and now they're a believer and you're like, "But I still remember all the stuff they did. I still remember their sinful ways." Is it real? Philemon's letter here, Paul's letter to Philemon, is encourages to who we are changes what we did and so we live in light of this new reality.
The forgiving love of Christ towards them should be ours should be equal in that as we show that love and forgiveness to them. We cannot withhold forgiveness that God has lavished upon them. So it changes how we interact with those who come to faith, especially if we've had animosity towards them in the past. Also that being overwhelmed and joyous about seeing God's hand at work. Do you stop and think about God's salvific work and how people come to faith and marvel in joyous wonder at that work, his hand in bringing salvation
