God changes useless into useful!

 The Book of Philemon

The Book of Philemon is one of the letters that Paul wrote to an individual, the individual of course being Philemon who lived in the city of Colossae in Asia Minor which is modern day Turkey.

The main theme of the letter in a nutshell is about a runaway slave, Onesimus, who was the ‘property’ of Philemon who leads the Church at Colossae. Paul is telling Philemon that he is sending Onesimus back to him and is asking Philemon to receive Onesimus back in love.

Now to set the scene in which Paul wrote this letter let’s have a look at both the physical and relational environment in which the letter was written.

Paul was in prison in Rome when he crossed paths with Onesimus, but the Bible does not say how they met. We are told that Paul had come to regard Onesimus as a son and held him in high esteem. Although the Bible does not say so, there is a distinct probability the Paul had led him to the Lord and that a great change had taken place in Onesimus as a result of his conversion and the personal fathering and mentoring that Paul gave him.

I say this because Paul says in the letter that he knows that Philemon considered Onesimus to be useless but now he (Paul) considers him to be now very useful to him and will now also be useful to Philemon!

Philemon verse 11 (NIV)

Onesimus hasn’t been of much use to you in the past, but now he is very useful to both of us.

This letter gives us a wonderful example of how God knows each and everyone’s circumstances personally. Here we have a runaway slave from Turkey going to Rome, meeting a man of God (I have no doubt that this was by divine appointment), getting saved and having his life radically changed from being useless to useful! It also shows us how important it is for the Church to have Father figures who are strong in the Lord to mentor younger men in the way and walk of sanctification in Christ Jesus – the work and way of the cross!

When a person comes to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour, God turns the bad things we have done to His good purpose!

Now, coming back to how God knows everything that is going on (the Alpha and the Omega – the beginning and the end), we see that Paul and Philemon are personal friends and obviously met when Paul was in Ephesus for about three years. Philemon was a leader in the Church at Colossae not far from Ephesus and the Church in Colossae met at his and his wife’s home.

Now looking at Paul’s letter to Philemon I would like to split it into four sections, just for the purpose of explanation, to highlight what I believe are very important values Paul shows us today in our dealings with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. I personally believe these values were part of the reason that God included this letter as part of His Holy Bible.

Section 1 – verses 1-3: Greeting each other in a Godly manner and with sincere hearts.

Philemon verses 1-3 (NIV)

1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,

To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker— 2 also to Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier—and to the church that meets in your home:

3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The three verses above also contain a general greeting to the Church at Colossae from both Paul and Timothy. And of great importance here us today as well, especially in our dealings with our brothers and sisters in Christ, is the fact that Paul speaks a blessing of grace and peace to them in the name of the Father and the Lord Jesus. In our dealings with each other we should always remember to bless each other with our speech in this way as well! No unwholesome talk or gossip, just letting our tongues bless each other to the glory of Jesus!

Section 2 – verses 4-7: Giving thanks to God in everything and imitating the Lord’s character.

In the next four verses, 4 – 7, Paul gives thanks to God for Philemon and encourages Philemon by telling him that he is always praying for him because he has heard about Philemon’s great love for the people and his great faith in Jesus the has refreshed the hearts of the Church in Colossae.

Philemon verses 4-7 (NIV)

4 I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, 5 because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. 6 I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. 7 Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.

Let’s imitate Paul in this way and always give thanks to the Lord for our brothers and sisters in Christ! In this way we will build ourselves up in our love for each other and refresh each other’s hearts and bring glory to the name of Jesus!

And always remember to pray for each other and to build up and edify each other not breaking each other down with negative and disparaging talk - gossiping!

1 Corinthians 4:15-16 (NIV)

15 Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. 16 Therefore I urge you to imitate me.

The above verses highlight the importance of the local Church body having godly fathers in the house!

1 Corinthians 11:1 (NIV)

1 Follow my example (some versions say, “imitate me”), as I follow the example of Christ.

Section 3 – verses 8-21: Building open, solid, and honest relationships with each other and speaking the truth in love.

In verses 8-21 Paul makes a personal plea to Philemon to receive his slave Onesimus back into his service without prejudice and punishment on the basis of their mutual love for the Lord and their personal love for each other in Christ Jesus.

3.1
Paul’s appeal verses 8-11: 8 Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, 9 yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— 10 that I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. 11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.

In these three verses Paul makes a personal appeal to Philemon and says that because of the authority he holds within the Church he could order Philemon to do the right thing but that he would rather not do that as he prefers to follow the way of love and make his appeal from a heart of love. Love never fails!

1 Corinthians 13:8a (NIV)

Love never fails.

The Greek word for appeal in verses 8-11 is parakaleó – Strong’s 3870 (par-ak-al-eh'-o) and its full Biblical meaning is, to plead, entreat and encourage someone to do something from a personal basis of mutual love. So here we see that Paul is practicing what he preaches.

1 Corinthians 16:14 (NIV)

Do everything in love.

And in verse 10 Paul let’s Philemon know that he has personally ‘fathered’ Onesimus, and this statement is made to assure Philemon that Onesimus is a different man now that he belongs to Jesus than what he was before he ran away – he is walking out his salvation and is a doer of the Word and has this become very useful to Paul and will become the same to Philemon and the Church at Colossae!

Dear readers, let us show the world that now we are born-again we are different people, we are new creations, God has transformed us by the power of the Holy Spirit and to the Glory of Jesus. Let us emulate Paul as he emulates Christ. Let’s act and talk in a manner that is worthy of our salvation in Christ Jesus! Let us live life, walk and talk in the Spirit just like Jesus and Paul!

Let us show the unsaved people of the world that we are not the same as them – we have been called out and separated from them to serve God!

1 John 2:15-17 (NIV)

15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

3.2
Verses 12-14: 12 I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. 13 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. 14 But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary.

In these verses Paul exposes his heart to Philemon as his words clearly demonstrate his love for Onesimus as a son in Christ Jesus and how he would love to keep Onesimus with him, but he knows that the right thing to do is to send him back to Philemon so that forgiveness and reconciliation between the two can be achieved. Paul also states that he wouldn’t keep Onesimus anyway without Philemon’s consent so that he would not feel forced to do any favours for Paul.

Here again Paul demonstrates his desire to see that this matter is handled in a loving and Godly way that does not bring offense! Let us remember this, dear readers and let us to the same in our relationships with others, particularly with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV)

3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

3.3
Verses 15-16: 15 Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— 16 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 fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.

In these two verses we see Paul gently reminding Philemon that as Onesimus is now born-again and belongs to Jesus he is free and is no longer a slave to sin nor to man. He also encourages Philemon saying that now that Onesimus is a child of God and no longer a slave but a brother he will stay and serve Philemon out of love and will be become as dear to him as he is to Paul.

The saving grace of Jesus sets us free from the law of sin and death and from the slavery of sin and transforms us to become more and more like Christ!

John 8:36 (NIV)

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

3.4
Verses 17-21: 17 So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. 19 I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self. 20 I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. 21 Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.

In verse 17 the Greek word for partner is koinónos – Strong’s 2844 (koy-no-nos') and means ‘two brothers in Christ who mutually share fellowship with each other.’ So, in this verse Paul is asking Philemon to welcome Onesimus back because of the mutual fellowship that he (Philemon) shares with him (Paul).

Paul goes on to say in verses 19 and 20 that he will personally pay back anything that Onesimus owes Philemon, but he is also to remember how much Paul has put into him (Philemon) too and when Philemon does this, Paul’s own heart will be refreshed too. When we all behave in this manner, God pours out a blessing on all of us, the is the unity that the Holy Spirit brings to the Church when we are obedient to the Lord and His Word!

Paul ends his personal appeal by saying that because he knows Philemon as a true brother in the Lord, he knows he will do what he asks and even more.

Dear readers, let all of us in Christ Jesus be prepared to go the extra mile!

In these four verses what stands out to me is the mutual love and trust that Paul and Philemon have because of their relationship with each other in Christ Jesus and their mutual desire to be God pleasers and doers of the Word.

Readers let’s be the same as these two heroes of the past and love and trust one another as we serve the Lord and eagerly desire to do the right thing in all things to the glory of Jesus so that our lights may shine out to the world who are watching us and who are perishing!

Section 4 – Ending by pronouncing a blessing upon other in Jesus’ name.

Verses 22-25: 22 And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers.
23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. 24 And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.
25 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Paul ends his letter to Philemon in a personal way that shows of their mutual love and friendship with each other. He asks Philemon with complete freedom to prepare a room for him as he hopes to visit him and answer to his (Philemon’s) prayers. Sadly, I don’t think this visit happened before he was put to death! Reminiscent of our Lord in the garden at Gethsemane! Lord, not my will but yours be done!

Paul also passes on greeting from Epaphras who was in prison with him and who was also from Colossae. And from his fellow workers who were attending him whist he was in prison.

And lastly and most importantly he closes by pronouncing a blessing over Philemon, his household and over the Church at Colossae!

Readers, lets never forget to proclaim a blessing over each other in the name of Jesus whenever we are together and when we depart to go our different ways!

What lessons do we learn from this letter that we need to apply to ourselves as the Church of today?

1. God knows each one of us by name and knows exactly where we are both physically and spiritually.

2. God changes us from useless to useful in Christ Jesus, if we obediently allow the Word to fill our lives and actions.

3. We need always be obedient to the Word and doers of the Word.

4. We need to always live life in the Spirit – only by doing this can we bring glory to Jesus.

5. We need to do everything in love.

6. We need to put the needs of others before our own.

7. We need to be a blessing to each other.

8. We need to pray for each other and speak blessings over each other’s lives whenever we ar together.

9. As men and women, and as we grow to spiritual maturity, we need to become Father’s, Mother’s and mentors to the other men and women in the body who are less mature in their spiritual walk.

10. We need to ensure that in all we do we bring glory and honour to Jesus!

Prayer:
Heavenly Father
I pray in Jesus name that you would help me to be a blessing to others and to put the needs of others before my own. Help me Lord to be obedient to your Word and be a doer of the Word and not just a reader. Help me, Lord, to love others as you love me! Amen.

To Jesus belongs all glory, honour and praise!

Jesus, the Name above all names!

Remember: Reading this article is no substitute for reading and studying the Bible for yourself! I am flawed the Bible is not!