PHILEMON August 3, 1986 Having essentially finished Colossians last week, I think we will take the time to go through Philemon. This letter apparently accompanied the letter to the Colossians, and went either to Colossae, or to nearby Laodicia. This letter contains little in the way of doctrine, but is a personal letter from Paul, and therefore gives us some insight into Paul. From it we can see a few things about how a Christian should act and feel. The letter concerns a man by the name of Onesimus. Apparently he was a runaway slave who had belonged to Philemon, and somehow found himself in the company of Paul during Paul's imprisonment in Rome. From Paul's remarks we come to believe that Onesimus became a Christian under Paul's teaching and became a fellow worker in Rome. Paul starts out after his introduction expressing his thanks for the good things he has heard about Philemon. Once he has established his appreciation of Philemon, Paul makes a request of him. His approach is an interesting one. He states that he has the authority to command Philemon to forgive Onesimus, but in light of his high opinion of Philemon, he will make it a request rather than risk damaging that love relationship with an order. Now there is something that we could all afford to learn, that just because we have authority over someone does not mean that we should necessarily exercise it. In this particular case, Paul realizes that Philemon must willingly take Onesimus back if the relationship is to work. If Philemon received Onesimus under duress, then he would always feel that he had no choice in the matter, and that would inhibit his ability to relate correctly to Onesimus. Whenever we try to get someone to do something it is always wiser to ask and let them decide to do it on their own than to force the issue. Not only does Paul want Philemon to forgive Onesimus for running away (and possibly stealing in the process), Paul wants Philemon to accept Onesimus as "more than a slave", to accept him as a Christian brother. This is interesting in light of Paul and Onesimus' past. Paul was originally a Pharisee, and would have had no use for a Gentile like Onesimus, much less a slave, the lowest position in Roman society. To make matters worse, Onesimus was a runaway slave. This once self-righteous Pharisee had come to be a man of love, through his relationship with Jesus Christ. Paul's teaching in Col. 3:11 is no idle preaching, but his way of life. This is a constant teaching in the N.T., that once a person has accepted Christ he is a Christian; no more, no less. There is no distinction in God's eyes between Christians, and there should be none in ours. This does not mean that we are to accept any kind of behavior from our Christian brothers, just that we are to love them no matter what. Certainly Paul did not approve of Onesimus running away, but that did not affect his love for him. Paul was even willing to pay back any damages that Onesimus owed Philemon. Another thing of interest, in case Paul seems dull and serious in his writings is the little joke in verse 11. Onesimus means "useful", Paul says that, "Useful used to be useless, but now he really is useful." I try to point out humor in the Bible when I get a chance, because so many people take Christianity too seriously. I don't mean that I don't think it is serious business, it is deadly serious, but God gave us humor to enjoy, and we must not become such supersaints that we think that fun has no place in the worship of God. The non-Christian world often sees Christianity as dull and somber. That's a shame. Also, in verse 15 the King James (Authorized Version) mistranslates the verb "parted". The KJV says "he parted", while the Greek is passive, "he was parted". I believe this in an important distinction, it reminds me of Esther 5:14. In Paul's view God is in charge of all things (Rom. 8:28), and believed that perhaps God had taken Onesimus away from Philemon in order to save him and make him a brother to Philemon rather than a slave. As you know, I believe that this concept is one of the most important concepts for a Christian to learn, that God loves us and works all things for the good of His children. Early Church tradition held that Philemon freed Onesimus and allowed him to return to Paul's service.