Philemon - Lesson 1B

• So, this morning we pick back up with the letter of Philemon where 2 weeks ago we spent most of our teaching on the introduction of this letter.

  • And of course, as you know the introduction is my favorite part of any new book or letter.

  • Primarily because it is essential in understanding the “who” and the “why” of the letter 

    • Which means the introduction is key if you want to stay in “context” which is critical - if you want to interpret the book - letter and or the verses correctly 

    • I am not going to re-hash the whole introduction this morning, but I do feel we need to do a quick re-cap of it so that we can follow along accurately with today’s teaching 

• So, Philemon – Who wrote it – well, it was Paul – right? 

  • But why did the translators name this letter Philemon?

  • It was entitled Philemon – because it was written to a man named Philemon. 

    • And who was Philemon. He was a wealthy man – who lived in the town of Colossae.

    • A man who came to faith under Paul’s teaching while Paul was teaching and preaching in Ephesus. 

  • But why did Paul write it? He wrote it – because while Paul was in Rome, he encountered a runaway slave. 

    • A man who came to faith – under Paul’s teaching. 

    • Also, a man who became very useful and helpful to Paul in his ministry. 

    • And this man’s name was none other than Onesimus. 

  • Now slaves where very common in those days, nothing unusual about that. 

    • The unusual part was Paul eventually discovered that this runway slave wasn’t just any runway slave. 

    • He was a slave who belonged to Philemon, which meant he was Philemon’s property. 

• So – Paul does what he should have done and he convinces Onesimus to return to his master.

  • Now this sounds simple enough, and it was – but it wasn’t. 

  • Reason being Onesimus wasn’t just a runaway slave. He was a runaway slave who stole from his Master.

• Now – I want to pause here for just a minute and let you know that during our introductory teaching of Philemon I made a statement, and upon further study this past week I discovered that statement was incorrect.

  • And what was the statement? I said Onesimus fled his Master, but I didn’t think he did anything wrong. He simply ran away! 

  • The truth is – that wasn’t the case, and it turns out that before he ran away, he stole some money from Philemon. 

    • But for some reason, I didn’t catch it.

  • Paul tells us this in Verse 18 of this letter and we will see that when we get there in our study. 

• So, in the spirit of teaching things correctly I wanted to speak a re-traction – and just let you know that sometimes – not often – but occasionally, I may miss something  

  • But if I do – I assure you I will correct it. 

  • So, with that information before us, let’s pick back up with the purpose of the letter. 

  • Because that information – changes things quite a bit – as you might imagine.

    • Onesimus was a runaway slave. 

    • Who stole from his Master Philemon. 

  • And as you can imagine, a runaway slave – who stole money from his master wouldn’t generally be looked upon in a favorable light if he returned home.  

• So, Paul – in effort to potentially pave the way for Onesimus to return in the most favorable way possible, he writes this letter to Philemon. 

  • Hoping He will not only be accepted but be accepted back as a brother in Christ.  

  • Not just a slave 

    • And that my friends is the context of this letter.  

  • But there is much more to it than Paul simply trying to encourage Philemon to receive Onesimus in a favorable way. 

    • And the extraction of the much more to it part, is what my job is.

• As a Pastor / Teacher I am to reach into the old and teach the manuscript to you in context and then pull “the old” into a practical application for all of us sitting here today. 

  • An example of that being – What we did in the opening introduction of this letter, where Paul started out his writings by calling himself a “prisoner” of Jesus Christ. 

• Now, for most of us sitting here today we would read this and simply pass it by – but not us. 

  • Because God's Word is so powerful that even the opening salutation warrants an entire sermon built around it. 

  • Let’s read our opening verses one more time, so we can keep with the theme or context of Paul’s letter. 

  • Philemon 1:1-3 My NASB 95 translation calls this section Salutation – 

    • And as previously stated “The Salutation” is nothing more than a greeting! So, once again – here is what Paul wrote.

Philemon 1:1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
      To Philemon our beloved brother and fellow worker,
Philemon 1:2 and to Apphia (Aaa -fee- uh) our sister, and to Archippus (ahh-key-pus) our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house: 
Philemon 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

• Paul begins this letter by identifying himself as a prisoner of Jesus Christ.

  • Which makes him what? Essentially a slave. 

• Now – I want you to remember, Paul was imprisoned when he wrote this letter. 

  • So – writing a letter about a slave while he was slave should have had some impact on the content and context of his writings – wouldn’t you say?

  • In other words, because Paul was a slave – that experience allowed him to write from the perspective of a slave. 

    • And by the way God knew Paul would be imprisoned and He also knew that as a prisoner he would garner the perspective it took – to write to Philemon.  

  • And I touched on this last time a little bit but let me further expound on it before we move forward. 

• When I teach you Philemon in context, you get the story. You hear and read it for what it is. 

  • A letter written by Paul – To Philemon on behalf of a runaway slave named Onesimus – that’s the story. 

  • But the story behind the story is where today’s application comes into play. 

• Let me explain what I mean. You see because Paul was a slave himself, he could write this letter with authority. 

  • Authority as one who knew what it meant to be a slave. 

  • Which tells us something – iIt tells exactly what James told us in James 1:1-2 when he explained how God uses trials and tribulation to accomplish certain outcomes in our lives.  

• And what is it – that those trials and tribulations accomplish? Well, James tells us that it creates in us – endurance, which results in us becoming “complete lacking in nothing”

  • It also strengthens our resolve as it relates to our faith, and it does this by building us up and by breaking us down. 

  • And once that process is complete, it affords us the ability to become a useful instrument of God. 

    • Meaning, it builds us up so that we can in turn minister to others. 

  • That’s why James says, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials”. 

  • In essence, what James is saying is that you can never totally appreciate light unless you have known darkness. 

    • And the same is true for Peace. You can never totally appreciate peace unless you experienced turmoil.

    • And you can never appreciate God's Goodness – unless you’ve experienced evil.  

  • So, God's instrument for your development (if you are a believer) is Hard Times 

  • If you see those hard times in that light – it will give you peace when you’re in the middle of the storm. 

• So, Paul – as a prisoner of Jesus Christ, knows a little about what it means to be a slave, and his experience affords him the ability to write from that perspective. 

  • And so, what's the application for us? 

  • Well, it’s simple. Your life hardships are what qualify you for ministry. 

    • Meaning, if you’ve ever been divorced – you probably understand what that feels like and therefore you can speak authoritatively on the subject. 

    • If you’ve been broke, then you probably know a little about how that feels 

    • If you’ve lost a child – a parent.

    • If you’ve had cancer. 

    • Etc.. so, on and so forth. You get the point.

  • Whatever it may be, your hardships have done something to you.

  • They’ve molded you and afforded you the opportunity to minister to other people who are experiencing the same thing. 

    • This next statement is the key.

  • Every hardship you have endured, (all of it, every millisecond of it) has purpose and meaning.

  • And God (believe it or not) has deemed you worthy to go through that trial. 

    • In reality, He’s allowed it to happen to you, all for His Glory! 

• So, the only remaining question for you and I is – Are you using what God has allowed you to go through for His Glory? 

  • Or have you put it on the shelf, only pulling it out at “cocktail parties”, using it as a talking point! 

    • I hope that’s not the case, but for many Christians it is. 

  • And if that’s true for you, that you haven’t put your hardships to work in your calling, then just know – that was not its purpose. 

  • God means for you to put your experiences to good use.  

• Which means if you are sitting here today and you’ve been wondering how you can get involved in the work of ministry, then the answer might be staring you in the face. 

  • It could simply start with the trial and tribulations you’ve experienced. 

  • Let me explain what I mean and then we will press on further into Philemon. 

    • If you’ve been divorced – maybe you would like to help start a divorce recovery ministry. 

    • If you have experienced financial hardship, then maybe you bring Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace class to our fellowship.

    • If you have lost a child – maybe you start a grief care ministry.

  • I am not saying that you must do this, I am simply saying – your life disasters (those experiences), have given you the opportunity to give back. 

  • And to do it, all for God's Glory 

    • So, consider allowing God to use you. 

  • By the way – if God lays something like this on your heart and you feel led to do something, but don’t know what do – please grab me and let’s talk – because I assure you that I can help you with it. 

• Moving on – back to our introductory verses:

Philemon 1:2 and to Apphia (Aaa -fee- uh) our sister, and to Archippus (ahh-key-pus) our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house: 
Philemon 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

• So, who in the world is Apphia (Aaa-fee-uh) and Archippus (Ahh-key-pus)?

  • It appears based on the final words in verse 2, which give us a hint by the way, Apphia (Aaa-fee-uh) was Philemon’s wife, and Archippus (Ahh-key-pus) was Philemon’s son.

    • And that seems plausible since Paul is addressing the household of Philemon.

  • The place where they are having church. 

    • Home church – which was common in that day! 

  • Then Paul says, “Grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ” 

  • This was a common greeting that Paul uses in all 13 of his letters 

• So, Paul not only addresses Philemon directly, but he also addresses Philemon’s family, who know doubt – also knew Onesimus the runaway slave.  

  • Moving on – next, we enter a section that the translators entitle “Philemon’s Love and Faith”.

Philemon 1:4 I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers, 
Philemon 1:5 because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints; 

• Now let me pause here for just a moment because what I am about to point out is very critical as it pertains to prayer. 

  • Paul says, I make mention of you in my prayers, but my question is – What exactly is he praying for on their behalf? 

    • Let me ask it a different way, what is it that you would pray for – if you were praying for this group and or situation? 

    • Let’s just take a stab at it by asking ourselves the question, what is it that we pray for (generally speaking)? 

  • If there is nothing to pray for specifically – 

    • Prosperity? 

    • Health? 

    • Protection? 

    • Peace? 

    • Comfort?

    • Safety? 

• But what does Paul pray for? I’ll give you a hint – it’s the same thing he always prays for, and it shows up in verse 6. 

Philemon 1:6 and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ’s sake. 
Philemon 1:7 For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.
Philemon 1:8 Therefore, though I have enough confidence in Christ to order you to do what is proper, 
Philemon 1:9 yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—since I am such a person as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus—

• Paul begins verse 4 by saying “I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers,”

  • Paul says, I thank my God, and I want to stop here for just a minute to explain something. 

  • I want you to notice – 2 things.  

    • And the first is simple – Notice that Paul thanks God. 

  • I won’t spend too much time on this, only to say – never forget to thank God!

• And remember – thankfulness is not something you should have to think about doing, but rather it’s an attitude. An attitude of gratitude 

  • But what if I don’t feel being thankful? 

    • Thank Him anyway. 

  • Matter a fact, I would tell you that thanking God – when you don’t feel like it might be one of the most powerful things you can do. 

  • Because thanking Him when everything is going your way is easy – anyone can do that – but praising Him in the storm is tough and it requires an act of faith. 

    • And according to Hebrews 11:6 Without faith it’s impossible to please God. 

• I just want you to know that trusting God when things are bad - specifically - in the midst of heartache, is one of the deepest acts of faith a Christian can ever display.

  • And possibly – it’s that act of faith that pleases God more than any other act.

  • And it just may be that act that brings you through the trial. 

    • Trusting and praising God when you don’t feel like it is key, but there is a second point I would like to make about verse 4

  • And that is – I want you to notice how personal Paul’s relationship with God is.  

• Paul’s God – isn’t just some God – it’s his God – and he has an intimate and personal relationship with Him. 

  • He said I thank my God. 

  • The Greek says it differently. 

    • It says – “I thank the God of me”. 

    • And these words tell us something – They give us insight into what would be the unique and strategically designed relationship that God has with each one of His children. 

  • Meaning – the personal nature of his relationship with God tells us that God has an individual, unique, and special relationship with every one of His children. 

    • And with that understanding before us, Paul is letting us know that our God isn’t just some God with a hands-off approach  

    • A God who has a one size fits all relationship with His people. 

  • On the contrary, each and every one of His children are different, just like each and every one of our children are different. And God knows that. 

• Matter a fact – the scriptures testify to exactly that and it goes as far as telling us in Luke 12:7 that God knows us so well that He actually knows how many hairs are on our heads. 

  • Which means, He knows us better than we know ourselves 

  • And so, our relationship with Him is unique and special and it can be as deep and personal as you will allow it to be.

• So – once again, does your relationship with God look this way? Or maybe a better question is, can you imagine it being this way?

  • Because if not, then I want you to know it can be that way. 

  • All you must do is prioritize Him in your life – through prayer and the study of His word, and if you do that then I assure you your relationship with God will take on a whole different meaning.

  • Pressing on, verses 4-6 – one more time, and back to Paul’s prayer for these people 

• I made the statement earlier that Paul makes mention of them in his prayers, but do you wonder what the prayer he is praying on their behalf? Well – let’s see 

Philemon 1:4 I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers, 
Philemon 1:5 because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints; 
Philemon 1:6 and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ’s sake. 

• So Paul says, I am praying for you – and when you study it in the Greek, the sense is that he prays for them often. 

  • And by the way, I would think that Paul had an extensive prayer list. 

  • And just FYI to you, one the best things you can ever obtain as a believer is a prayer journal because it’s really difficult to remember everyone we say we will pray for. 

    • Mrs. Daffney bought me a really nice prayer journal a few years back, and it really helps keep you on track with your prayer life. 

    • So – if you don’t have one then consider getting one. 

• Anyways, back to the text. Paul says he’s praying for them, and then in verse 6 he gives us insight into the specifics of his prayer

  • And what is it? One more time Verse 6 – and this is where we will close this morning.

Philemon 1:6 and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ’s sake. 

• The Greek actually says “So that the fellowship of “the faith” of you, effective might become in (the acknowledgement) of every good (thing) that (is) in us, in Christ” 

  • So, notice Paul doesn’t pray for prosperity, he doesn’t pray for protection, for healing, for peace – for anything that relates to improving their earthly life.

  • Instead, he prays that their faith might become “effective”.

    • Another way to say it is “Activated”  

  • And how is it activated? Through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ’s sake 

• Let me paraphrase it for you – Paul’s prayer for them is the same prayer he always prays. 

  • He prays that by the increasing of the knowledge of who God is they would be moved to action in their faith. 

  • In other words, knowledge of who God is – (those ahh haa! moments of who God is), is what activates our participation in the work of ministry. 

    • Knowledge is key because knowledge is what produces action. 

  • And one of the best section of verses that models this concept shows up in the book of Acts, where Peter speaks to the crowd and lets them know – that the man they crucified was none other than the Messiah.

• I am not going to read it all other than to highlight the “spirit” of Acts 2 – which then will give us insight into this concept of knowledge and or revelation being the key in moving us to action 

  • Specifically, what happened after the people came to the knowledge of what they had done to Christ 

    • And moreover, how their actions where prophetic in nature. 

  • Meaning – how everything that happened to Christ was preplanned by God in advance 

    • Listen to Luke's words here.

Acts 2:22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— 
Acts 2:23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. 
Acts 2:24 “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.

• These were Peter's words to the crowd – after they had already crucified Him. 

  • Which then – that knowledge (when fully realized) – is what led them to say this: 

Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” 
Acts 2:38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

• Next, let’s skip forward to their response – and we will close. 

Acts 2:41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.
Acts 2:42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

• This is just one example of many in the scriptures of how knowledge about God, specifically about His plans, moved these people through an “ahh haa” moment to a place of action.

  • Which tells us why Paul always prays a prayer that revolves around God’s people becoming enlightened through knowledge of Himself. 

    • And that statement should give us an “ahh haa” moment in of itself. 

    • And what is the “ahh haa” moment we should be having? 

  • It’s that if we want to please God, and if we want to participate in the calling we have as believers – Which is what? To participate in the work of ministry – We cannot do that if we walk around clueless and confused about who God is and what He expects. 

  • Coupled with the realization and knowledge of how our life on this earth should not be our focus.

• I’ll leave you with this to better explain what I mean. Paul put it all into perspective when he said this in Philippians 1:21

Phil. 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 

• In other words, no matter my plight – no matter my situation – my life belongs to God. 

  • And if he decides to leave me here on this earth, then I will live my life for Christ.

  • And if he takes me home – Praise God – I consider this gain.

    • Amen – Amen!!

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org