Will you please turn to the letter to Philemon? I hope you will find it—just before Hebrews.
Since this is a very short letter, we will read the whole letter.
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our beloved and fellow-worker,
and to Apphia our sister, and to 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 always, making mention of thee in my prayers,
hearing of thy love, and of the faith which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all the saints;
that the fellowship of thy faith may become effectual, in the knowledge of every good thing which is in you, unto Christ.
For I had much joy and comfort in thy love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through thee, brother.Wherefore, though I have all boldness in Christ to enjoin thee that which is befitting,
yet for love’s sake I rather beseech, being such a one as Paul the aged, and now a prisoner also of Christ Jesus:
I beseech thee for my child, Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds;
who once was unprofitable to thee, but now is profitable to thee and to me:
whom I have sent back to thee in his own person, that is, my very heart;
whom I would fain have kept with me, that in thy behalf he might minister unto me in the bonds of the gospel:
but without thy mind I would do nothing; that thy goodness should not be as of necessity, but of free will.For perhaps he was therefore parted from thee for a season, that thou shouldest have him forever;
no longer as a servant, but more than a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much rather to thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
If then thou countest me a partner, receive him as myself.
But if he hath wronged thee at all, or oweth thee aught, put that to mine account.
I Paul write it with mine own hand, I will repay it: that I say not unto thee that thou owest to me even thine own self besides.
Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my heart in Christ.Having confidence in thine obedience I write unto thee, knowing that thou wilt do even beyond what I say.
But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I hope that through your prayers I shall be granted unto you.Epaphras, my fellow-prisoner in Christ Jesus, saluteth thee;
and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow-workers.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Shall we pray?
Dear Heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee for the boldness which Thou hast given to us through the blood of our Lord Jesus, through the new and living way which He has opened for us in His body, knowing that He is our great High Priest, living forever and interceding for us.
Our Father, we thank Thee that we have this access to Thy throne of grace, and we come with holy boldness and with deep humility. How we do praise and thank Thee for all that Thou hast done for us.
Our Father, we do desire to give ourselves to Thee. We do desire that, as Thou hast satisfied us, in a small way we may be Thy satisfaction. We commit this time into Thy hands. We pray that by Thy Holy Spirit Thou wilt breathe Thy life into us. We pray that Thy Word may truly be light and spirit, to the praise of Thy glory, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
The letter to Philemon is very unique. It is the shortest letter written by the Apostle Paul that we find in the Holy Scripture. It is different from all the other letters that he has written.
The Apostle Paul wrote a number of letters in the Bible. Most of them were written to churches in different places. Some were written to individuals. For instance, he wrote to Timothy, and we call these pastoral letters. Even though they were written to individuals, they deal with church matters.
But this letter to Philemon was written to an individual. It does not deal with church affairs, church matters, or doctrines. It deals with a domestic affair, and yet we find it in the Holy Bible. Its value is beyond what we usually think.
I would like to quote to you two persons concerning their estimate of this little letter to Philemon. One is Martin Luther. Martin Luther says:
This epistle shows us a right noble, lovely example of Christian love. Here we see how St. Paul lays himself out for poor Onesimus, and with all his means pleads his cause with his master; and so sets himself as if he were Onesimus, and had himself done wrong to Philemon, even as Christ did for us with God the Father. Thus also does St. Paul for Onesimus to Philemon. We are all His Onesimuses.
Then John Calvin says:
Though he dealeth with a subject which otherwise would be low and mean, yet after his manner he elevates it to God. With such modest entreaty does he humble himself on behalf of the lowest of men. Scarce anywhere else is the gentleness of his spirit portrayed more truly to life.
This letter to Philemon can be looked at on three levels. You can look at it as a personal letter with historical facts. You can look at it as a letter—probably the only letter in a unique way—that deals with social problems. Then you can look at it on the spiritual level. Through this little letter, we may see Christ in His amazing love.
This letter was written by the Apostle Paul while he was in prison. He sent this letter together with the letter to the Colossians.
At the same time, Paul wrote a number of letters: the letter to the Ephesians, the letter to the Colossians, and the letter to Philemon. The letter to Philemon was sent to Colossae together with the letter to the Colossians. But the letter to the Colossians was addressed to the church, while this letter was addressed to an individual.
There in Colossae was a slave, and this slave defrauded his master. We do not know exactly what happened. Probably he stole from his master, and then he fled. He fled to Rome. Rome was a metropolitan city, and that was the place to get lost. So he went to Rome, thinking that from then on he would be free from his master and able to do whatever he wanted to do.
We do not know exactly what happened, but somehow we find that he got in touch with the Apostle Paul. At that time Paul was a prisoner in Rome. But we must remember that in his first imprisonment, even though he was a prisoner, he could live in his own rented apartment, and he was able to receive everyone who came to see him.
So somehow Onesimus went to see Paul. Probably he knew Paul in the past. Paul was in Ephesus for over three years, and Philemon, the master of Onesimus, was brought to the Lord through the Apostle Paul. Perhaps Philemon had visited Ephesus, and while there he was brought to the Lord through Paul.
Onesimus, being a slave—probably a trusted slave—may have met Paul before. While he was in Rome as a fugitive, perhaps his conscience troubled him. Maybe he had spent all his money; maybe he was in trouble. Somehow he tried to find Paul, thinking that he might get help from the Apostle Paul.
Some people think that Epaphras, who was a servant of the Lord in Colossae, may have been visiting Paul in Rome, met Onesimus on the street, and brought him to Paul. But anyway, we find that this Onesimus—a slave, a runaway slave, a thief, a fugitive—came into contact with the Apostle Paul. He was brought to the Lord.
He was saved. After he was saved, he stayed there to serve Paul. As a slave, he was used to serving his master; but now he served Paul out of his love for Paul.
In the letter to the Colossians, Paul called him “Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother.” He was very faithful in serving Paul. Paul was in prison and needed someone to serve and help him. Evidently, Paul found the service of Onesimus to be of great profit.
But Paul felt that it was not right for him to keep Onesimus with him. Even though God had forgiven Onesimus of all his sins, restitution had to be made. Restoration had to be made. Reconciliation with his master had to be made.
Paul knew that if he asked Philemon, Philemon would certainly agree. But he did not want to do anything without the willingness of Philemon. So finally, he decided to send Onesimus back to Colossae, to his master.
Now, Onesimus is very strange, because we find in the letter to Philemon that Paul mentioned that Philemon was a very lovely person. His love was well known—his love toward the Lord and his love toward all the saints. He was a brother full of love.
We even find that the church met in his house. It was a beautiful family. Philemon, the husband, was a lovely man, full of compassion, full of love, hospitable to everybody. His wife was Apphia.
Now, we know Apphia is a term of endearment. Philemon means affectionate or friendly, and Apphia is a term of endearment. His wife was one with him in this whole expression of love and hospitality. They had a wonderful son, Archippus, who was serving the Lord there. It was a beautiful family.
The church in Colossae, being a small church, actually met in his house. Onesimus must have heard the gospel many, many times while serving such a lovely master. Yet it is strange that he was not converted. His heart was hard. He defrauded his master, such a good master, and fled away.
But God, in His marvelous providence, brought this slave into the house of Paul.
Paul decided to send Onesimus back. If you know something of Roman custom at that time, you know that in the ancient world people had slaves. Especially in the Roman world, the Romans had conquered much of the world, and those who were conquered became slaves.
In a large family you might have thousands of slaves doing all kinds of work. In the eyes of Roman law, slaves had no rights whatsoever. Slaves were like property—property of the master.
The law concerning slaves was very strict. A master could whip a slave. A master could even kill a slave, because the slave was his property. Especially if a slave ran away and was caught again, sometimes he would be killed; at other times, he would be branded.
That was the slave system in the ancient world. To send a slave back to his master was a dangerous thing. Philemon had every right to punish Onesimus, and even to kill him. But Paul felt that restitution had to be made.
Paul sent Onesimus back to Philemon with Tychicus, who was carrying the letters to the Ephesians and to the Colossians. He was trying to prepare the way for Onesimus’s return. Not only that, but he wrote a letter.
Dear brothers and sisters, if you read this letter very carefully, even though it is a very short letter, you will find that it is written with such a spirit, such love, such humility, such tact, and such gentleness that when Philemon received the letter, he could not help but do what Paul asked him to do.
Paul did not command Philemon to do what he should do. He could have commanded him, because Philemon was a son of Paul in the faith. He owed his very life to Paul. But Paul said, “I am not going to command you what to do. I am going to plead with you. I am going to plead with you for my son, begotten in my bonds.”
“If he has wronged you, put it to my account. I, Paul, will repay it.” And he signed it with his own hand.
He said, “I am sending him back to you—not as a slave any longer, but as a beloved brother. Receive him as you would receive me.”
Here you find Paul using his letter to open a way for Onesimus to return. We do not know exactly what happened afterwards, but I am sure that when Philemon received the letter, he did more than Paul asked him to do. He received Onesimus as a beloved brother in Christ. Probably he set him free, emancipating him, no longer treating him as a slave but as a beloved brother in the Lord.
That is looking at this letter from the personal viewpoint and the historical viewpoint. We find that it is a wonderful letter. But if we look a little further, we find that this letter, in a sense, deals with a situation—a problem—that you do not find very much in other parts of the New Testament.
Here is a social problem. Slavery was a social institution at that time. We know that it was not of God, because God created mankind as one family. So far as the human race is concerned, we are all of one family. We are all brothers and sisters.
But because of the sin of this world, gradually the institution of slavery came into existence. You find it everywhere throughout the world in the old days. How did Christianity deal with such a problem?
If you consider social evils, slavery is among the worst of all human institutions. How would this matter be dealt with when the gospel of Jesus Christ came? In this little letter we find something.
The Apostle Paul did not attack slavery directly. He did not tell Philemon that it was wrong for him to have slaves. He did not encourage Onesimus to rise up and rebel against such social evil.
It was an institution deeply rooted in society. If anything had been done in such a direct way, you know what the result would have been: hatred, bloodshed, revolution, and society torn to pieces. That is not the spirit of the gospel.
So Paul approached this problem on a higher level. He approached this whole social evil from a higher level.
Usually people thought of slaves as the meanest and lowest of humankind. Perhaps there was some explanation for it, because slaves were so ill-treated. Knowing that they had no rights, a certain mentality developed. They would try to steal and do anything for themselves because nobody took care of them.
This slave, Onesimus, was no exception. He was under such a kind master, yet he rebelled against his master. He defrauded his master and ran away. What can you do with a person like that?
God has a wonderful way: God saves that person. After he was saved, of course, he became a brother in the Lord. He received a new life. He was transformed.
Even though he was still a slave, still a fugitive outwardly, inwardly he was a new creation. With this new life in him, he began to serve Paul. He was supposed to serve Philemon, but he did not serve him well. Here he was under no obligation to serve Paul, and yet he served Paul out of a pure heart. A tremendous change had come into that life.
From the human standpoint, he was still a slave, a fugitive, a thief. But in God’s sight, he was a beloved brother in Christ Jesus.
Paul sent Onesimus back to Philemon. Philemon was a brother in the Lord and Paul’s fellow-worker. He served God together with Paul. Perhaps he was not a fellow-worker in the sense that he traveled with Paul and preached the gospel, but whoever is engaged in the furtherance of the gospel of Jesus Christ and in the kingdom of God is considered to be a fellow-worker.
Philemon may have been a businessman and a man of means. He had a large house, could have the church meet in his house, and was able to be hospitable to many people. He had gladdened the hearts of many saints. In that sense, he was working together with Paul.
People had slaves because that was the social system of the time. But Onesimus was sent back to Philemon. Philemon was a brother in the Lord, perhaps a responsible brother, and here was Onesimus, a fugitive slave, coming back. But he too was a brother in the Lord. What would Philemon do?
It is very strange: you read the letter and find no direct word from Paul saying, “I send Onesimus back to you; now emancipate him.” No. The word emancipation is implied in the spirit of the letter, but Paul never pronounced it.
He simply said, “Receive him as you would receive me, because he is my very heart. Not as a slave, but as a brother.”
If Paul himself had come instead of Onesimus, what would Philemon have done? He would have provided hospitality for Paul, prepared lodging for Paul, and served Paul. He would have received Paul as an honorable guest, as a beloved brother in the Lord, even as a father in Christ.
Paul said, “Receive Onesimus as you would receive me.” Could Philemon look at Onesimus and say, “You did me so much wrong. Since Paul said to put it in his account, I let it go. But you are still my slave, and now I expect you to serve me faithfully”? He could have done that.
Even though outwardly Onesimus was a slave, inwardly he was a brother. How would Philemon treat him? No doubt, Philemon would not only forgive all his wrongs but receive him as a dear brother in the Lord. He would do more than emancipate that slave. He would receive that brother into his heart.
That is the way Scripture solves social evil.
This letter was sent together with the letter to the Colossians. If you read the letter to the Colossians, you will find it very interesting. Paul mentioned the relationship of slaves and masters.
Servants, obey in all things them that are your masters according to the flesh; not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing the Lord:
whatsoever ye do, work heartily, as unto the Lord, and not unto men;
knowing that from the Lord ye shall receive the recompense of the inheritance: ye serve the Lord Christ.
For he that doeth wrong shall receive again for the wrong that he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.Masters, render unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.
Instead of attacking slavery as an institution directly, Paul mentioned the relationship of the slave to his master, but he lifted the relationship into the presence of God and transformed it.
He said, “Slaves, obey your masters.” Even though you are a slave, remember that you are serving the Lord. When you serve your master, do not merely think of the physical relationship. Transcend it. Transform it. Lift it up to the fear of the Lord. As you serve your master, it is as if you are serving the Lord, and you will be rewarded.
Then Paul said to masters, “Give to your slaves what is just and equal, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.” He lifted the relationship of the master to the slave into the presence of God. You may be a master, but do not forget that you have a Master. You are a servant before God; therefore, you should treat your servants justly.
In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul again mentioned this matter. In the first century, when the gospel was preached, many slaves became Christians—probably more slaves than freemen, because there were more slaves in the world.
Wast thou called being a bondservant? Care not for it: but if thou canst become free, use it rather.
For he that was called in the Lord being a bondservant, is the Lord’s freedman:
likewise he that was called being free, is Christ’s bondservant.
Ye were bought with a price; become not bondservants of men.
If you were a slave when you were called to the kingdom of God, do not be troubled by it as though that were everything. But if you can become free, use it. Freedom is good.
Why should you not be overly concerned if you are a slave? Because even though you are a slave, you are the Lord’s freedman. The Lord has set you free. Outwardly you may be in bondage, but inwardly you are free. Your outward bondage is temporary, but your freedom in the Lord is eternal. When you weigh these two things, why should you be troubled? You have something so much better.
Likewise, if you are free, do not forget that you are Christ’s bondservant. You are under Christ. You are to serve Christ as a love-slave. Actually, there is no difference. If you are free, you are a servant; if you are a servant, you are free.
The Scripture takes a social problem and, instead of attacking it directly to create hatred and bloodshed, regulates the relationship within it, sublimates it, and brings it into the presence of God. Then it really changes things inherently. It is already different.
The Scripture also gives us this broad principle:
Where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondman, freeman; but Christ is all, and in all.
When the slave and the master come together before the table of the Lord, they sit side by side, remembering the Lord as brothers and sisters in Christ. The whole human institution of slavery is gone. It is impossible to maintain that slavery system.
Dear brothers and sisters, when our Lord Jesus was on earth, He lived under the rule of the Roman Empire. The Jewish people, in a sense, never recognized Roman rule. Among them were people called Zealots, trying to use violence to overthrow the Roman Empire.
When Christ was on earth, the expectation of the Jews was that, if He were the Messiah, He would overthrow the Roman Empire, throw off its yoke, and make Israel the head of the nations. But Christ did not do that.
He submitted Himself to the authorities. Yes, He denounced the evil of His generation. He denounced the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees. Yes, He cleansed the temple of the money changers. But while He was on earth, He did not change the social system of His time.
Instead, He preached the gospel of love. He made people new creations. That is the way He transformed things. He brought in the kingdom of God.
Is the Lord not concerned with social problems? Of course He is. He fed the hungry. He healed the sick. He loved the children. He pitied the people. But His approach was not the outward, worldly approach. His approach was the inward, heavenly approach. He brought life to the people.
He is building His kingdom—the kingdom of love.
He came first as a Lamb, slain for the sins of the world. The spiritual, the life, the inward reality: that is the basis and foundation of everything. If you try to solve problems outwardly, and yet the inward situation remains unchanged, the problem is not solved.
Our Lord Jesus came offering a new life, a new nature, a heavenly way. He came as a Lamb, slain for the sins of the world, that we may become a new creation.
Wherefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new.
But all things are of God.
But we know He will come again. When He comes again, He will come as the Lion of Judah. When He comes the second time, He will deal with all these political and social problems directly. He will judge the world.
In His first coming, He came to save the world. In His second coming, He will come to judge the world.
So, brothers and sisters, what should be our attitude toward social and political institutions and problems? Liberation theology is not Christianity; it is humanism.
God’s way is higher than man’s way. God’s way is to deal with the inward life. When that life is transformed, everything around you is changed. That is the way social problems are to be solved and resolved.
Do you not think this is a better way? Do you not think this is a more permanent way? Do you not think that this is according to the principle of Christ—the principle of love?
Read this letter very carefully. Meditate before the Lord. In this little letter we are given some glimpse of God’s way of dealing with social and political problems.
But, dear brothers and sisters, this is not what I want to share with you this morning. If I did that, I would be preaching a social gospel. No.
We have to look at the letter from a higher standpoint. This letter not only shows us the personal side and the social aspect; in this letter we do see Christ in His amazing love.
This letter is a small representation of what God has done to us in Christ Jesus. The value of this letter is like the value of the book of Ruth in the Old Testament. This letter reveals to us a fuller picture, a much greater picture, of God’s love toward us in Christ Jesus.
Of course, when you make such a spiritual application, you cannot try to fit every detail. That is the way we have to avoid. But in broad outline, you find a beautiful picture of God’s love toward us in Christ Jesus.
Philemon, in a very small and imperfect way, represents God. Philemon was wealthy. He had many slaves. He was a lovely man, a kind man, a hospitable man. Does that not in some small way show us our God?
Our God is rich. He owns the universe. He owns everything. We are created by Him. By the right of His creation, we are His servants.
Men forget that position. They forget that they were created for God’s pleasure. Just as Onesimus was supposed to please Philemon and be profitable to Philemon—indeed, the name Onesimus means profitable—yet he became unprofitable.
Is that not what we were? As created beings of God, we are supposed to be for His pleasure. We are supposed to serve Him well. We are supposed to be profitable to Him. But that is not what man is.
We think that we human beings are here simply to profit ourselves—to rob God and profit ourselves. We have all robbed God and fled away.
Do you think our God is an angry God? It is very interesting to consider the great evangelist D. L. Moody.
In his early days, when Moody preached the gospel, he preached as though God were an angry God, chasing sinners in order to punish them. But later, through a young brother from England, Harry Moorhouse, his whole concept was changed.
Harry Moorhouse came to Moody’s church in Chicago while Moody was away. Moody did not think much of this young man, but because he was away, he told the deacons to give him a little opportunity and see how he did.
When Moody came back after a week, he asked his wife what had happened. She said, “Everybody is bringing a Bible to church.” “Who? What did he preach?” “For seven days, he preached nothing but John 3:16.”
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
When Moody heard Harry Moorhouse, his whole concept was changed. From then on, he never preached God as an angry God chasing sinners. He always preached God as a loving Father, waiting and running after the prodigal.
Dear brothers and sisters, our God is not an angry God. He has every right to be angry with us, but He is not angry. He loves us.
Do not think that in the Old Testament God is an angry God and in the New Testament God is a loving God. No, God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. When He revealed Himself to Moses on the mount, what did He say?
The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth;
keeping lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin;
and that will by no means clear the guilty.
Our God is a righteous God, and yet He is love. But we have done wrong. We have run away from Him. That is what we are. We are the meanest of all God’s creation. We are worse than a dog.
Yet God, in His abundant mercy, saved us. How?
Paul was in prison, and in this suffering he begins to represent Christ. But Christ, who is God, emptied Himself. He took the form of a man, even the form of a servant, serving God’s purpose. He humbled Himself. He gave Himself up to be crucified on the cross.
By His blood, He saves us.
He sends us back to God—not as runaway fugitives, but He sends us back to God as members of the family. It is as if He is saying to His Father, “Receive them as Thou wouldst receive Me.”
And thank God, He receives us in this manner.
Is it not true? As Paul said concerning Onesimus, “Perhaps he was therefore parted from thee for a season, that thou shouldest have him forever.” Is this not true with us today? It is as though the Son is saying to the Father, “You may have lost them for a time, but now You can possess them fully forever.”
We who were not profitable to Him before—the Lord says now that we ought to be profitable to the Father. Dear brothers and sisters, we are as Onesimus. When we come back to God, what would we do?
Would we not be so constrained by His love that we give ourselves wholly to Him, to serve Him, to be possessed by Him forever, and to be profitable? Once we were unprofitable, but now we should be profitable to Him.
This is what this letter reveals to us: it makes us see Christ—how Christ was willing to be involved, willing to die on Calvary’s cross, just to bring us back to God the Father.
Shall we pray?
Dear Heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee for this letter to Philemon. We do see the great, amazing love of God in Christ Jesus toward us.
We all acknowledge that we are as Onesimus—unprofitable and unworthy. Yet we do praise and thank Thee that Thou, in Thy great love, hast pursued us, hast found us on Calvary’s cross, and hast brought us back to the family.
O our Father, it is the great desire of our heart that from now on we will not look to Thee as though Thou art a hard master. Lord, we want to be Thy love-slaves, to be profitable and to serve Thee throughout our lives, because Thou art worthy. Thou hast won our hearts.
O our heavenly Father, we do pray that because of what Thou hast done to us, we may do the same to others.
We do believe that Thou hast taken us out of the authority of darkness, full of evil, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of Thy love. Lord, we pray that we may always live in that kingdom. We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.