So the book of Philemon, and we'll read from verse one. Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ,
and Timothy, our brother, unto Philemon, our dearly beloved
and fellow labourer, and to our beloved Athia, and Archippus,
our fellow soldier, and to the church in thy house. Grace to
you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I
thank my God making mention of thee always in my prayers, hearing
of thy love and faith which thou hast towards the Lord Jesus and
toward all saints. that the communication of thy
faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good
thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. For we have great joy
and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints
are refreshed by thee, brother. Wherefore, though I might be
much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient,
yet for love's sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one
as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ, I
beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds. which in time past was to thee
unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me, whom I have
sent again. Thou therefore receive him, that
is, mine own bowels, whom I would have retained with me, that in
thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel. but without thy mind would I
do nothing, that thy benefit should not be, as it were, of
necessity, but willingly. For perhaps he therefore departed
for a season, that thou shouldst receive him for ever. not now
as a servant, but above a servant, a brother, beloved, specially
to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh and in
the Lord. If thou count me therefore a
partner, receive him as myself. If he hath wronged thee, or oath
thee ought, put that on mine account. I, Paul, have written
it with mine own hand, I will repay it. Albeit, I do not say
to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides. Yea, brother, let me have joy
of thee in the Lord, refresh my bowels in the Lord. Having
confidence in thy obedience, I wrote unto thee, knowing that
thou wilt also do more than I say. But withal, prepare me also a
lodging, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given
unto you. There salute thee Epaphras, my
fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas,
my fellow labourers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with your spirit. Amen. And amen. Well, as you know, we came last
week to the end of our study in the Book of Colossians, and
we spent a little bit of time, I think a good number of weeks,
even a few months, studying through that little book. And I dare
say that I was blessed in the preparation of it, and it's been
good just to look once again at these passages that sometimes
we can become familiar with, but it is good to remind ourselves
and share together in them. As I was, and as we were, studying
the book of Colossians, we were reminded, were we not, also of
Philemon, because we encountered that man Onesimus, and Onesimus,
as we remember, was the one who was to take with Tychicus the
letter to the Colossians, and he was going to be travelling
from Rome, where Paul was in prison, and he was going to be
going from Rome, what did we say, some 1,200 miles or so,
all the way to Colossae, there to deliver the Apostle's greeting
and his message and his doctrine and his encouragement and his
conveyed blessings to the congregation at Colossae. And we noted that
that man Onesimus was there as part of the group and that he
had been commissioned by the apostle to return to Colossae. And it was particularly significant
because we learned that he was a man of Colossae and that he
was now in Rome having come from Colossae and from the Colossians. But this brings us to Philemon. And what we discover is that
Philemon was somewhat of a wealthy man, and he was the owner of
property, and he was a man who appears was the owner also of
slaves and servants. And Onesimus was one of those
servants, or one of those slaves. and he had run away from Philemon
and he had run all the way to Rome and perhaps knowing something
of the Apostle Paul because it does appear as if Philemon knew
something of Paul and Paul something of Philemon. Indeed we'll come
to that a little later this evening but it's possible that Philemon
had been converted under Paul's ministry. that Onesimus turns
up on Paul's doorstep, perhaps looking for some help. I'm not
sure what the circumstances would be entirely. They're not. explained
to us. Nevertheless Onesimus is converted
under Paul's ministry also. And then when Paul, at the encouragement
of Epaphras no doubt, writes to Colossae, sends his letter
to the Colossians by Tychicus, he also sends Onesimus with Tychicus
bearing a second letter. And that second letter is the
letter that we have read together this evening. The epistle of
Paul to Philemon. And it's a personal letter. Well,
it's personal and yet it's not quite personal and we might touch
upon that a little bit later on as well. But it's directed
principally to Philemon and it is Paul's request that Philemon
should accept Onesimus back into his household. not any longer
as a slave, but as a brother in Christ. And it's that that
we're going to touch upon this evening. Really, just because
I was provoked to think about Philemon by our study in Colossians,
and I thought this might be a nice way to bring the whole series
to a more complete conclusion. So do bear with me if I'm indulging
myself a little bit, but I trust there will be some blessing in
it for us all this evening. You know, it's a blessed thing
to be able to speak highly of a believer's reputation. And I was thinking that as I
looked here at these opening verses of Philemon. And while
we know that all men and women are sinners by nature, and remain
sinners by nature, such that in the old man, in the flesh,
in the natural man, sin and temptation will always be present, even
until the day in which we die, and the day in which the Lord
Jesus Christ comes back for his church, until that day when this
old flesh has to be laid down, laid low. There will always be
sin, there will always be temptation, there will always be struggles.
And indeed Paul says, if you recall with me, that in my flesh
dwelleth no good thing. Yet, in the new man, in the new
creation, there has been a work of grace,
and a work of transformation, and a work of enlivening, and
a work of regeneration, and a work of conversion. And we'll come
back to this in a little bit later. But what we remember is
that God has made a change, and it is a godly change, it is a
change for good. and it is always a blessing for
us to be able to look at the life and testimony of the Lord's
people, a particular individual perhaps, and to Recognise the
hand of God in an individual's life. And that's what Paul does
with Philemon here. He is happy to highlight the
effects of grace in this man's life. And also, of course, the
corollary of that is to cover one another's faults. Philemon,
then, is a man of whom the Apostle Paul can speak in glowing terms. He's a believer in the Lord Jesus
Christ. It seems likely that he was personally
a convert of the Apostle Paul, although there is no indication
where and when that took place. It may have happened if Philemon had been travelling
somewhere, because again you'll remember in the book of Colossians,
the Apostle Paul seems to suggest, I think it was chapter 2 verse
1, that the people of Colossae were unknown to him by face. For I would that ye knew what
great conflict I have for you and for them at Laodicea, and
for as many as I have not seen, or have not seen my face in the
flesh." Well, that may suggest that the apostle had not been
at Colossae or Laodicea, where Philemon appears to live, and
so perhaps they had met somewhere on their travels. Either way,
this man is a believer and though we know little of him except
for this letter, there are a number of things that we can glean from
the letter and we may make a few assumptions about Philemon from
the things that Paul says of him. It seems that he lived in
or near Colossae. His name would suggest that he
was perhaps a Greek or certainly a Gentile. It's a Greek name. He appears to be a wealthy man
and a man who is known for his great benevolence. He employs
his wealth for the good of the church, for the good of the gospel.
and he appears to have been active in many circumstances in promoting
the gospel, either by his personal ministering, as far as preaching
the gospel is concerned. He is called a fellow labourer
in that capacity, and that word is sometimes used for a fellow
preacher. But at least in his generosity,
he was taking up that yoke. He was shouldering the responsibility
of getting the gospel out and preaching and ministering the
gospel. He was laying his shoulder to
the task as the Lord had enabled him to do so. And Paul recommends
and is admiring of his generosity. And this letter that we have,
but 25 verses, is principally a personal letter. And it is
a beautifully written letter. I had that drawn to my attention
by Dr. Hawker, to whom I referred when
I was in my preparation. And he says, you know, if this
letter was the only one that was left from this day. And remember,
we're talking about 2,000 years ago, almost. And if this letter had been a
general piece of literature from 2,000 years ago, not bound together
within the batters or the covers of our Bible. Hawker says it
would be in every museum and it would be taught in every school
because of the beauty of the form of the language of the letter. And I think the good doctor has
a point in his observation. It's a beautifully written letter.
It's personal. It's clear. clear in its request
and in its reasoning. It divides into just a few parts. There is a greeting in verses
1 to 3. There's an inscription or dedication
to Philemon and his household in verses 4 to 7. The aim and
purpose of the letter is set forth very clearly, very succinctly
in verses 8 to 22 and the Apostle and his fellow workers in Rome
take their leave and their greetings to and from Philemon in the last
few verses from 23 to 25. It's not a long letter, but it
refers to several people showing that Paul has a knowledge of
this little group here in Philemon's household. And we can see that
the letter is in itself very practical and personal. It's not in any way really doctrinal
and perhaps it's notable amongst the New Testament letters for
that reason. It almost stands unique in that
sense. We don't often refer to Philemon
for proof texts or for statements of doctrine or for deep theology. It's not a Hebrews or a Romans
or a Galatians or an Ephesians in that sense, or indeed Philippians
and Colossians and the other letters also. Even letters that
are addressed to individuals like Titus and Timothy are often
couched in doctrinal terms because these men were pastors that the
apostle was directing and teaching and admonishing as far as their
role was concerned and their obligations and duties as gospel
preachers. But Philemon is different. The
Apostle has a purpose for sending this letter and it is to recommend
Onesimus back to his offended master. And in this form it is
an exemplary picture of Christian principles in work. and life. It is almost as it
were a practical example. It's showing us how that the
doctrine of grace having been received and experienced then
enters into our actions and our approaches to the things that
go on around about us. And perhaps for that reason,
the Book of Philemon should be treasured particularly amongst
the New Testament documents for its uniqueness in the way in
which it brings this character study and this practical application
to the fore in the understanding of the way in which doctrine
is worked out in the lives of God's people. It is written, as we have already
seen, by Paul. He is As he always says, an apostle
of Jesus Christ, and he shows that he has authority, he has
reason, he has purpose in his writing. He is writing as a prisoner
and he is telling Philemon that he is writing from prison in
Rome. And he also includes Timothy
as part of the opening greeting, perhaps because Timothy was also
known to Philemon. He writes to Philemon and he
writes also to someone called Apphia or Appia and this is a
female name and there's good reason to think that this may
indeed be the wife of Philemon. And also there's another person
mentioned here in verse two, and that is Archippus. Now we
met Archippus just last week, if you remember, because Archippus
is spoken of at the end of the Book of Colossians, and it appears
in the context there that Archippus is the pastor or a preacher at
the church at Colossae. And we've every reason to assume
that it's the same person. This is interesting, too, because
it could well be that Archippus is son to Philemon. If this is
wife to Philemon Appia, then perhaps Archippus is son to Philemon. And also, Archippus has a responsibility
as a preacher of the gospel in Colossae. And so we see that
there is this connection here between the fellowship at Colossae
and the household of Philemon. And there's also a reference
to the church in thy house. I suppose it's possible that
the church at Colossae met in Philemon's house, but it is perhaps
more likely that it is a reference to the fact that there were a
number of believers in the home of Philemon and perhaps there
was a time when Philemon and his household were encountered
by Paul and he had preached to them and a number of the family
and friends and even servants and slaves had been converted. What is interesting to note is
that the Apostle includes all of these in his letter and it
is perhaps because he is going to be writing about a subject
that is potentially a little bit difficult, because Onesimus
would have caused Philemon some considerable embarrassment. And
I think perhaps there is a wisdom in the apostle drawing in everyone
together in that household as he represents and recommends
Onesimus back to Philemon and ultimately to the wider household
as well. Onesimus, as we've seen, was
a runaway slave. He had been converted under Paul's
ministry at Rome. He seems to have been from Colossae. And now he is going back with
Tychicus, who's got one letter in his pocket, and Onesimus carrying
this other letter to Philemon personally. And the first thing
I want us to notice, first thing, see I shouldn't say that, the
first thing I want us to notice, but what I want us to notice
is that the apostle acknowledges the source of the grace which
he has identified in Philemon. I mentioned a little bit earlier
how good it is that we are able to speak highly of a believer's
reputation. If a believer is serving the
Lord, if he is evidencing the grace of God in his life, then
let us be kind to one another. Let us be encouraging and let
us seek to lift one another up and encourage one another in
the positive contributions and comments that we make to and
for and about one another. You know, it's often very easy
for men and women in the world to do one another down, to speak
mischievously, to speak harshly, to speak even bitterly about
someone else. But let us not be guilty of that
in the Lord. There is a good saying which
says, if you can't say anything good, don't say anything at all. But let us take note when good
things can be said about one another and seek to encourage
and help one another in that way. But noting this, that anything
good that flows from our testimony, our personal witness, must primarily
be acknowledged as finding its source in the grace and goodness
of our God. Lovely little verse in 1 Corinthians
2, verse 12. The apostle writes there, we
have received not the spirit of the world, not the spirit
of the world, but the spirit which is of God. that we might
know the things that are freely given to us of God. And this is the point about the
good gifts that we have received. This isn't a worldly spirit,
but it is a heavenly spirit, a divine spirit. It is the Holy
Spirit that we have been given. and it is given to us that we
might know and experience and exercise the gifts and the goodness
and the kindness and the grace of God in our lives. And the apostle draws our attention
to that and he says, thanks be to God. for the love and the
faith that Philemon possesses. And that's how he enters into
this little book. He says that he thanks God in
verse four. I thank my God, verse five, for
thy love and faith which thou hast towards the Lord Jesus and
toward all saints. So Paul speaks positively of
the character of Philemon, but he gives the thanks and the gratitude
to God. Knowing that, good and perfect
gifts come from God above. Love is of God. That's where
love comes from. John tells us that in 1 John
4, verse 7. And in Philippians 3, verse 9,
we're told that the righteousness which is of God by faith of Christ. so that the love and faith which
we have towards the Lord Jesus Christ and the saints is an evidence
of the fruit of regeneration. There is regeneration bestowed,
that regeneration has an evidence in the fruit, and that evidence
is demonstrated in the way that we live and the way that we act. And that's what Paul is acknowledging
here, seeing in Philemon these qualities and giving thanks to
God for them. And in verses 6 and 7, I just
want to quickly go through a number of these verses. In verses 6
to 7, we see that Philemon, being a man of means, He employs these
means, these blessings that he has received for the good of
the saints. And both the blessings in the
sense of the wherewithal and the blessing in the sense of
the desire and motivation come together for the good of the
church. The Lord is pleased to lay upon
the hearts of those who are people of means the well-being of the
saints of God. And the evidence, the fact that
Philemon is a man like that gives the apostle good hope that the
request that he is about to make of him might also fall upon similar
motivation. He is seeing that there is a
graciousness and a kindness in Philemon, a grace and a kindness
which is a mark of all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. And
Paul's hope is, and his prayer is, that that grace will be effectual
to accomplish this request which he is sending by the hand of
Onesimus, this runaway slave. In verse 8, Paul speaks about
the fact that he is emboldened by this evidence, this testimony
of Philemon's generosity and goodness to the saints, to the
people of God. He is emboldened by that evidence
to And the phrase is, enjoying what is convenient, that which
is convenient. Wherefore, though I might be
much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient. Well, what does that mean? The
apostle is saying to Philemon, Philemon, I know that you have
a testimony that you are one of the Lord's people. I know
that you have made a profession of faith. And as an apostle of
the Lord Jesus Christ, as one of those upon whom this apostolic
authority has been bestowed, I could make a request of you. I could oblige you. I could direct
you to your Christian duty. And I could add or join upon
you a request which is contingent upon your Christian testimony. Philemon, I could tell you what
is expected of you as a Christian follower of the Lord Jesus Christ,
but Philemon, I'm not going to do that. As we noted in the letter to
the Colossians, Christians have obligations as followers of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Believers have duties in Christ,
not the duties of the law, not the obligation to the law, not
the yoke of the Mosaic Law and the Ten Commandments that so
many people are eager to say it is the believer's rule of
life. We spoke about this before, did we not? That rather the rule
which we have as believers is that peace of God which rules
in our hearts. Colossians 3, 15 says, let the
peace of God rule in your hearts. And so the rule that we have
is the gospel. The rule that we have is our
reconciliation and our union with Christ. But we have nevertheless
obligations as believers. We read about those. We read
about the duties of husbands to love their wives, the duties
of wives to submit to their husbands, the duties of husbands to care
for their children, and children to be obedient to their parents.
We spoke about the role of servants and masters. And we see that
there are these obligations that fall upon believers. But that's
not how the Apostle Paul approaches this question with Philemon.
And I do admire the Apostle's approach in this matter. We reminded
ourselves before that what God requires of his people, God provides
in his people. And that is always something
to remember when we are thinking about these duties and obligations
which fall upon us. but rather it is not the duty
and the obligation that Paul touches upon, it is the love
and the gratitude. And that is much more motivational
when we think about our relationship with one another in the context
of what the Lord Jesus Christ, what God the Father and God the
Son has done for us. Paul says, I could enjoin you
to that which is convenient because of your Christian testimony,
but rather I'm going to speak to you about love. And I'm going
to direct your attention for love's sake to the Lord Jesus
Christ, the love that you have for Christ, the love that you
have for the saints, the love which you have for me, the aged
Paul in my bonds and in my imprisonment. I could tell you what to do,
Philemon, but I'm rather going to tell you what I desire, and
I am going to leave it up to you, prompted by that love which
is in your heart, to do that which you think is right and
appropriate in this circumstance. Isn't that a delightful motivation
for the believer? not thinking about duty and obligation,
not thinking about burden and yoke, not thinking about what
is required and what is expected of me, not thinking of duty and
obligation. but thinking of opportunity,
thinking of what might I do to help? What can I bring to the
table? What can I share with my brethren? What can I do for the good of
those around about me? And to be able to see that the
help that we give to our brothers and sisters in Christ is a way
of saying thank you to the Lord. So the apostle continues in verse
10. He says, I seek help. I'm looking
for mercy. I'm looking for forgiveness.
And I'm looking for restoration. All the qualities that an individual
sinner experiences when God comes to him in salvation, when the
Lord Jesus Christ enters into our heart, when God the Holy
Spirit opens our eyes to see Jesus Christ as our Saviour,
We find help in Christ, we find mercy in God, we find forgiveness
in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we find restoration
through the sacrifice of our Great Substitute. And that's
what the Apostle enjoins upon Philemon. Not for himself, but
for his son Onesimus. And it's lovely to see the way
the Apostle calls Onesimus his son. He is his son because he
was converted through Paul's ministry. Paul was in prison,
and Esimus, for some reason, turns up there where Paul was
in prison, and he hears the gospel, perhaps because he was familiar
in some way with Paul beforehand. But he finds him, he discovers
him there in Rome, and he comes and he spends time with the apostle. And he becomes a changed man,
he becomes a converted man. Let me just make a little point
about the situation here with Anesimus with regard to Philemon. And I want to make a point really,
because it's current at the moment, it's in our news, it's in our
thoughts, this matter about slavery. Slavery and domination, exploitation, and
ownership of one human being by another is a terrible thing,
and it is inexcusable, and it is not to be tolerated. And when a society, by its laws
and by its Power enforces slavery upon a people. It is a greater
crime for that legalizing of such a terrible relationship
between men and women. Sometimes the Apostle Paul is
criticised for not condemning slavery or indeed condoning slavery
by returning Onesimus to Philemon. But what we see in the Apostle's
approach to this matter is not directly a statement with respect
to slavery at all. but rather he is saying to Philemon,
as we discover in verse 16, do not receive Onesimus as a servant
or as a slave, but as above a servant and even as a brother in Christ. Paul's battle was not the abolition
of slavery. It was neither the time nor the
place in the age of Paul, but rather, his obligation was to
preach the gospel to all and bring all under the sound of
the message of the Lord Jesus Christ and thereby to teach what
it was to exercise love and kindness to one's neighbour. And for that,
the Apostle Paul is to be appreciated and respected and listened to. In verse 11, we discover that
the verse there contains the whole history of the events that
transpired here. And it's a simple summary of
the situation. Onesimus had been an unprofitable
servant. It seems likely that he had been
a thief, a troublemaker, and rebellious. and in many ways
Philemon might be happy to be rid of him. But those very characteristics
of Onesimus, unprofitable servant, thief, troublemaker, rebel, does
that not remind you of someone else? Does that not speak to
all of us who have been converted by grace? Can we not all testify
that we are unprofitable servants? That we have spent our life in
the pursuit of vanity? That we have wasted years that
might have been better spent in the service of our God? There's
a lovely little phrase in verse 11 where it says, but now, he
who was unprofitable is now profitable to thee and to me. That is an amazing little phrase,
that but now, because it tells us that change can be effected
because now Onesimus was profitable in the cause of God, in the cause
of truth, in the cause of the gospel, in the cause of the church
of Christ, in the cause of the apostle Paul and his needs, and
indeed to Philemon. Onesimus was useful to God. He
had become a tool in the hand of God for the good of the church. And what a world of difference
that little phrase, but now. makes. Grace transforms sinners. The gospel comes into the heart
and the life of an individual. The preaching of the gospel is
employed by God the Holy Spirit to take that one who was unprofitable,
an unprofitable servant, and to make him a profitable servant
of God and the Lord Jesus Christ in the Church of the Saviour. Verse 12 speaks of a rare thing
happening. Speaks there of the fact that
a runaway slave is willingly returning to his master. You know, it's impossible that
sinners will return to God. until and except God transforms
their hearts. And that's what the psalmist
speaks of in Psalm 110, where he speaks about God making willing
in the day of his power. We've been thinking about that
on the Lord's Day, how that there is a grace which comes, a particular
grace, an effectual grace, a calling which comes with Holy Spirit
power into the heart of an individual. and it calls them from deadness
into life, from their sinful state and under the servitude
to the devil, into the experience of grace and forgiveness through
the precious blood of Jesus Christ. This is a godly work. This is
a divine work. This is not the work of the will
of man. It is the work of the will of
God. And it is the hand of the Holy Spirit himself making willing
in the day of power that one who is dead in trespasses and
sins. And what is impossible with men
is possible with God. What is impossible that sinners
should return to God is a very rare and unusual thing, is made
possible because God brings that runaway slave back to his master. We are all Onesimuses, and we
all must be brought back to our master by the work of God, the
Holy Spirit, in our lives. Philemon of course was entitled,
he may well have been advised by those around about him, to
exercise judgment on Onesimus, to impose punishment upon him. but Onesimus was loved by Paul. And with this request, he sent
Onesimus to Philemon, that he be received as one loved, not
one to be punished, not one to be held accountable, but rather
as one loved by Paul himself. And Paul says, look, as you have
loved me, So love these whom I am representing and sending
to you. It's a beautiful picture of the
intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ for us as his people. And that is not to say that God
does not love us, but it is to recognise that in the holiness
of God there is a righteousness under the law by which we deserve
to be punished. And yet the love of God in the
person of the Lord Jesus Christ recommends us to the Father.
that as the father loves the son, so we might be loved by
him with the self-same love. John chapter 17. It's an earthly
picture of that love and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ replacing
judgment. It's a parable of grace, this
little story, and a picture of the salvation of all of us. Verse 13 says that Paul might
gladly have kept Onesimus, so useful was he to him. Such was his desire. but he would not do so because
Philemon is the owner, the master of this servant. Philemon, indeed,
says the apostle, you would have done undoubtedly for me what
Onesimus was doing for me here in Rome. You would have happily,
I know because I know the person you are, you would have happily
ministered to me as Onesimus has been doing. And in that sense,
Onesimus represented Philemon to the Apostle Paul. There's
a little lesson in there perhaps that even though we are grand
and perhaps imagine ourselves above certain kinds of menial
work, that for the sake of Christ and for the sake of Christ's
people, there is nothing that is too menial for any believer
in the Saviour. This is Philemon's servant, however,
and Philemon should make the call. Paul is not at liberty
to assume what Philemon would do, and it's good and proper
to give respect where respect is due. It's Philemon's call. And verse 14 reminds us that
in the Christian church we have a duty and an obligation to organise
ourselves and to act with propriety. There is a suitableness about
living according to the requirements of the society of which we are
a part. not bringing the name of Christ
into disrepute by our attitudes and by the things that we do.
We might make assumptions and say, well, it doesn't matter.
We have liberty. We are entitled to do these things. We have a right to do these things.
But let us recall in the enjoyment of our liberty that we also are
called to be witnesses in this world and witnesses before the
men and women around about us. and let us act with propriety
upon the things which we are called to observe. In verse 15,
here is a gracious version of this runaway story. And the Apostle
Paul says, you know, we cannot begin to conceive of the wonderful
outcomes of God's providence. Something happens and we get
upset, we get annoyed, we get disheartened, we get angry, and
we say, why did this happen? You know, that Anesimus, he's
run away. He's stolen from our house. He's embarrassed and shamed us. He's done something that is grievous. He's borne a bad witness before
the others in the household. And we might rightly imagine
Philemon to be upset at Onesimus. But perhaps he departed for a
season that the glory of God might be manifested in this man's
life. Only God could plan and arrange
the outcome that we see here in this little letter. If Tychicus
and Onesimus had to go 1,200 miles to Colossae in order to
convey this correspondence to the church there, then Onesimus
had to come 1,200 miles to Rome. He probably headed for Rome thinking
he could get lost there, that he could maybe make some money
there, that he would find an opportunity for some satisfaction
or enjoyment or pleasure or fulfilment there. What he found was salvation,
what he found was grace, what he found was the Apostle Paul
and the gospel which changed his heart and God providentially
made that work. It was a perfect fit. A little worldly loss for Philemon
leading to an eternal spiritual gain. A little sadness for a
moment, leading to eternal joy. Let us, as believers, endeavour
to see the trials and troubles of our life, the losses and the
sadness, as rather being little parts, little components, in
a great plan of accomplished joy that God is setting forth
for us. Verse 16 tells us that Anesimus
left as an unprofitable slave, but he returns as a brother in
Christ. Paul says, receive him as I would
receive him. Receive him indeed as you would
receive me. And there's a beautiful principle
here for Christian fellowship. What would our fellowship be
like if we received one another as we would receive the Lord
Jesus Christ if he came personally into our company? If we would
receive the Apostle Paul, if he came into our company, if
we would receive one of these great heroes of the faith, if
they were to introduce themselves to us, would we not take great
care to make sure that we dealt with them wisely and appropriately
and generously and graciously? Then let us see Christ in all
our brothers and sisters. Let us see these great saints
in all our brothers and sisters. And let us not act to one another
with preferment or preference. But let us recognize, as he says
in verse 17, that we are partners in the gospel. I think that's
one of the blessings of perhaps more enlightened ways of working
together. Paul's writing here to a master
about a slave, but he speaks of partnership. And are we not
all believers in one family? Do we not all bring our peculiar
and unique contributions to the body of Christ? Is one to say
that, well, because I don't preach, I'm not as able as another, or
because I can't pray, I don't have the same contribution, or
because I'm poor? No, we are all together in one
body and none of us is greater or lesser than another. We are
all saved by the same grace, loved by the same love, redeemed
from the same pit, hewn from that same rock. And we are all made one in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Verses 18 and 19 caught my eye
particularly. And Paul here emulates our Lord
Jesus Christ in a most beautiful picture. Here he patterns himself
after the Saviour. He says, I'm surety for this
sinner's debts. He says, I'm a substitute for
his sin. He says, I will myself pay any
loss that you have incurred. Anything that is owed to you
by Onesimus, I will pay it. He says to Philemon, Philemon,
regard this letter as a check. Regard this letter as a promissory
note. It is written in my own hand.
Whatever this man Onesimus owes to you, take it from me. I will pay it." And it's a gracious,
loving, and merciful statement that the Apostle Paul makes on
behalf of Onesimus. But let us look beyond Paul and
see our Saviour, taking our debt, paying our dues, redeeming us
out of that rightful, just demands of a broken law and a holy God. and not to do it with money as
Paul was offering, but to do it with his own life's blood,
to lay down his life for his sheep. This is our Saviour, this
is our Christ, and while Paul takes this attitude on behalf
of Venicimus, it is simply because we can thank God that he placed
this desire in the heart of the Apostle. and we thank God that
the Lord Jesus Christ has taken this role for us. Has he wronged
thee, Philemon? Does he owe you anything? Put
it to my account. And the Lord Jesus Christ utters
the very same words on behalf of his people. I wonder if anyone
had ever treated Onesimus in such a fashion. He was a slave. I wonder if anyone had ever said,
Onesimus, I'm going to pay all your debts. Onesimus, I'm going
to carry all your burdens. Onesimus, I'm going to be responsible
for all your obligations. I'm a slave. I don't have those
rights. I don't have anyone to stand
for me. I don't have anyone that would
speak for me like that. I am mean. I am down. I am the lowest of the low. I
am the bottom rung on the ladder of this society. Nobody speaks
to a slave like this. It ought not to surprise us if
natural man finds grace bewildering. I find grace bewildering. Paul
made himself a debtor for all of Onesimus's failures, losses,
and costs. And the Lord Jesus Christ made
himself a debtor for all the sins of all his people. And he bore all the sins of all
his people on his shoulders, in his soul, on the cross. I want to just make a little
point about this and then we're going to start wrapping this
up. Imagine that Onesimus is on his way back from Rome to
Corinth. And he knows that the Apostle
Paul has got, has sent this letter to Philemon and he's thinking
to himself, you know what? I could take advantage of this.
Paul says that I, no matter what my debts are, he's going to pay
them. So I think I'll really live it
up in all the top class inns and hotels that I can use all
the way along this road as I make my way back to Philemon. I mean, after all, if Philemon
makes me become a slave again, then I might as well have had
a good time over this journey. It might be my last opportunity,
and Paul's going to pay it anyway. That is so inconceivable that
Anasimus would think like that. What? After the kindness that
the Apostle had shown to him? But let us remember that every
time we sin, every time this old man takes the high position,
every time the new man is laid low, every time we succumb to
temptation, every time we sin against the knowledge that we
have, then the Lord Jesus Christ has paid for that. The Lord Jesus
Christ suffered for that. That action, aggravated the suffering
of our Saviour in Gethsemane and on the cross. How would Onesimus feel towards
Paul? What service will a believer
not perform for a Saviour who took our every sin? I think Anesimus would be humble
and thankful and delighted to serve Paul as best he could,
knowing what blessings Paul had undertaken for him. And the Lord
Jesus Christ has done all for us. What would we withhold from
this one who gave his life for us? This is not law. This is
not duty. This is the ground of our Christian
obligation. This is the gospel rule by which
the people of God live. We serve our God with thanksgiving
for what he has done for us. Philemon's reputation was for
helping the saints. Would he now help Paul? Would he give Paul that joy that
he was looking for with respect to Onesimus, his son in the faith? Let us discern God's good gifts
from whichever source they come. Providence is not good luck. Providence is God providing for
his people's needs. And Philemon, here as he gets
this letter, and he sees the Apostle's hand, and he sees the
Apostle's signature, Paul knows that he will respond in this
way and that he can commit the well-being of this dearly beloved
Anesimus into the care of Philemon. Our Lord is good to us. Our God
provides for all our needs. Obedience to God is no more than
he deserves. But his people, out of a genuine
love, are motivated to do more than duty. They are motivated
to give of themselves sacrificially. for so they have learned Christ. And that's what Paul says in
verse 21. Having confidence in thy obedience,
I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I
say. What is it that we are obliged
to do? For the sake of love, we will do more. We will never
love God. We will never love the Lord Jesus
Christ as he has loved us, but we do love him because he first
loved us. We will never have patience equal
to his patience, but we do have patience because we see his patience
and long-suffering towards us. We will never have the humility
that we ought to have one to another. But we have seen Christ's
humility for us as he came and gave everything. We will rarely
sacrifice one for another, but look at the sacrifice that Jesus
has made for us. The Lord's people endeavour to
pattern themselves after our Saviour. We follow him. The Lord asked for followers,
follow me, and that's what his people do, to follow in his footsteps. Our blessing in the Lord Jesus
Christ is more bountiful than we can describe. There's a little
chorus we used to sing, it said, count your blessings, name them
one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done. These are mercies bestowed upon
us spiritually and materially, and God deserves our gratitude. And how we thank Him will reveal
the extent to which we see them as coming from the Lord, and
see the Lord's hand in their provision. How easy it is for
us to be wronged by someone else. How easy it is for us to feel
slighted and betrayed and perhaps deceived and hurt. And if we hold that attitude,
as Philemon might well have done, and allow it to affect and influence
our approach to our brothers and sisters, then that will disturb
and disrupt and affect the relationship that we have one with another
in fellowship. Onesimus was just a slave. But
if he has wronged you, if he owes you anything, put that on
my account and I will repay it. The apostle in verse 22 says,
prepare me a lodging. How honoured Philemon would be
if Paul came to his house. How honoured he would be if Paul
slept in his bedroom. How pleased to have an apostle
grace and bless his home. Shall we take the blessings of
the Lord Jesus without assuming the obligations? Shall we be
receivers of God's goodness and never be a giver? A child of
God does not think like that, and a child of God does not act
like that. In Acts chapter 20 verse 35,
we read there, I have showed you all things, how that soul
laboring, he ought to support the weak and to remember the
words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, it is more blessed to
give than to receive. May the Lord Jesus Christ supply
all our needs according to his riches in glory. And may we seek
to love and to honour him more each day as we serve him, labour
for the good of his people and serve one another in the fellowship
of the Church as the Lord enables. Thank you for your attendance.
Amen. There we are.