Teaching
Others About Jesus Refreshes People's Hearts
(the
book of Philemon)
For
this week's in-depth study of the writings of the apostle Paul, we
will take a good look at the book of Philemon (which is between Titus
and the book of Hebrews). Philemon was the head of a small home-based
church. This was common back in the days of the early Church. There
were no mega-churches with congregations numbering in the thousands
back then like we see today on TV and the Internet. At that time the
Roman Empire ruled over what we call the Holy Land today, and they
governed with utter ruthlessness, as you know. So church services
were held in secret behind locked doors because the death penalty was
being imposed on all true believers who found themselves caught up in
the Roman Empire's dragnet. So it is in this context that we begin
today's study in the first and only chapter of Philemon.
“Paul,
a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon, our
dear friend and fellow worker, to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our
fellow soldier and to the church that meets in your home: Grace to
you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I always
thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I have heard
about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.
I pray that you may be active in the sharing of your faith, so that
you will have a full understanding of every good thing that we have
in Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement,
because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.”
(Philemon verses 1-7)
Notice,
as before in other studies, that Paul's message starts out nearly the
same way, which is “grace and peace to you”. Grace in this
context means unmerited and undeserved favor from God. Grace is
something that is bestowed upon us by God free of charge. The same
goes for peace. Not in the worldly sense such as the anti-war
protests from the 1960's up until recently, but in a Spiritual sense
like what is described in the book of Philippians – a “peace that
is beyond all human understanding” (see chapter 4). There is no
doubt that Paul was plugged into this incomprehensible peace. It is
evident in his writings throughout the New Testament (after all, Paul
wrote one third of the New Testament himself). There is an additional
ingredient I will add to this Spiritual mix, and that is
thankfulness. “I
always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I have
heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the
saints.”
This still applies the same way today. “Pray without ceasing”,
Paul wrote elsewhere. “Pray with a thankful heart”, he said.
“I
pray that you may be active in the sharing of your faith, so that you
will have a full understanding of every good thing that we have in
Christ.”
How are we doing in this regard? Do we show up at church on Sunday
morning for an hour or two each week while doing nothing more? Or are
we sharers of our faith out in the community while being unconcerned
about what others might think about us as we do so? Do we have a
love, or even a passion, that is reserved not only for the saints who
are God's people, but for all mankind? If we're not doing all this,
then our faith needs strengthening so that our names may be written
in the Lamb's Book of Life as described in the book of Revelation.
Are we ready for “the wedding feast” (see Matt. 22: 1-14) with
Jesus and all the saints of today as well as years (and centuries)
gone by? In so doing, we will be doing just what Paul said as we
continually “[refresh]
the hearts of the saints.”
Now let's go to the next part of our study beginning at verse eight.
“Therefore,
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. I then, as Paul –
an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus – I appeal to
you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains.
Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to
you and to me. I am sending him – who is my very heart – back to
you. I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take
your place in helping me while I am in chains for the Gospel. But I
did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor
you do will be spontaneous and not forced. Perhaps the reason he 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 a slave, as a
dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a
man and as a brother in the Lord.” (Philemon, verses 8-16, NIV)
What
would Jesus do, as the time-honored question asks? What if it were us
instead of Onesimus? Have we made the final decision in the
affirmative regarding being one of the sons and daughters of God?
Where do we stand in our Spiritual commitment to Jesus Christ? Have
we made ourselves useful tools of the Kingdom for Him to use? Have we
become the very heart of Christ? All I'm saying here is that if
Onesimus, who was a barely educated slave by modern standards, can be
this indispensable to the Lord, then it is up to us to become the
same way. But Paul didn't accomplish this by issuing orders in a
hierarchical, authoritarian management style like what is prevalent
in the military, for example (corporate America is another). Paul
wrote, “... I
could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I appeal
to you on the basis of love.”
Further down Paul wrote, “I
did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor
you do will be spontaneous and not forced.”
Government and leadership in a Christian mind-set is accomplished by
a lateral or horizontal management structure consisting of groups of
peers, as you can see. In this instance the modern Church seems to
have lost its way. As Paul sent Onesimus back to Philemon, he wrote
that his reason “was
that you might have him back for good – no longer as a slave, but
better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but
even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.”
Here again in the apostle Paul's writings, we have the Christian
concept of Christ-centered unconditional equality, just as he wrote
about in 2nd
Corinthians chapter eight, among other places. Onesimus, who was
evidently a slave since Paul mentioned it in verses 15 and 16, became
a citizen of God's kingdom and was no longer considered a slave, but
an equal. In God's kingdom – which is soon to be established here
on Earth, whether anyone believes it or not – there is no longer
anyone who is either slave or free, or of any race or nationality, or
male and female, or employer and employee. All of the above will fall
by the wayside as the entire body of believers gets ready for the
arrival of Jesus our Lord, at which time we will all be reunited with
Jesus the Christ as equals and peers! And now let's conclude today's
study starting at verse 17.
“So
if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would me. If he has
done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, am
writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back – not to mention
that you owe me your very self. I do wish, brother, that I may have
some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.
Confident of your own obedience, I write to you, knowing that you
will do even more than I ask. And one more thing: prepare a guest
room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your
prayers. Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you
greetings. And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow
workers. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”
(Philemon, verses 17-25)
Welcome anyone, even strangers, as if they were Christ
himself, because in a way, they are. We are all made “in the image
and likeness” of God as written in the book of Genesis. All our
blood is the same shade of red. Because, if we do this consistently,
other people will see Jesus in each of us, meaning that we will all
equally benefit from Jesus' unconditional love. If any one of us has
been wronged by another, we would do well to forgive that person as
Jesus has commanded. “Forgive us our sins”, says the Lord's
prayer, “as we forgive those who sin against us”. Forgive them
even if they're not sorry. To the same degree that we forgive others,
by that same measurement our own sins will be forgiven, just as the
apostle James wrote (see James 4: 11-12).
“Confident
of your own obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even
more than I ask.”
Do we stand this same way before Christ every day? Do we give Jesus
confidence in our own obedience? Let's all make sure that we get
ourselves there so that we may make ourselves “without spot or
blemish” before the Lord. In this way we will finish preparing
ourselves for the Great Wedding Feast in Jerusalem as guests of honor
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And
that's what it's all about.
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