The LifeMessage of Philemon

The Expression of Jesus

in Everyday Relationships

Written by

John Juneman

Edited by

Chaili Juneman

The LifeMessage of Philemon

Copyright © John Juneman

LifeMessage International, 2011

Unless noted otherwise, all scripture references are from the New King James Version

LifeMessage International, Inc.

P. O. Box 806

Lebanon, TN 37088-0806

lifemessageinternational@gmail.com

www.lifemessageinternational.org

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Bound to Jesus

What’s He Doing Here?

Terms of Endearment

Please Pass the Salt

Refreshing

The Urging of Love

Causes

Connections

Symptoms of Relationship

The Long View

Forever

Pass It On

Divine Capacity

Debtors

Expectations

LifeMessage

Band of Brothers

Blessings

To my beloved Chaili and Carey:

May you be able to comprehend with all the saints

what is the width and length and depth and height ---

to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge;

that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Preface

I could never have anticipated the impact of the Letter to Philemon in my own life.  Of course, since it is God’s Word, I should never be surprised when I am surprised.  We have consistently found something amazing in the study of His Word.  Jesus is able to reveal Himself and speak through His Spirit in ways that I can never expect.  The light of the Word reveals things in my life and I get to respond to Him at a new level.  The result of this has always been growth, and such growth has honestly been the joy, thrill, and fulfillment of my walk with Him for these past twenty years.  Still, I was not prepared for what He would do in my life through the study in Philemon.  A group of us had just completed a course on Saturation Bible Study, and the guys in the group decided that they wanted to continue through the summer and put into practice what we had learned.  I suggested that we pick a shorter book of the New Testament to use as the basis of our study since it was “just” going to be for the summer, and they voted to begin with Philemon.  We only met together through the summer as I had revival meetings scheduled for the fall.  Yet, I could not help but continue on with this compelling study in Philemon because of how God was revealing truth in my life through it.  What began as a study just for the summer ended up to be personal journey of nearly two years.

One of the many life-altering truths of the study in Philemon has been the realization of how much of a debtor that I am (chapter 14, entitled, “Debtors”).  I am a debtor not only to our Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus, but also to all of those through whom He has worked in my life.  I am deeply grateful to that group of guys that walked with me, provided so much insight, and began me on that journey in Philemon:  Andrew, Kent, Lee, Dennis, and Fernando.  I am a debtor.  I am compelled to give my earnest thanks to my brothers and partners in LifeMessage International not only for their support in projects like this, but especially for the way in which their lives are the demonstration of what I write about here.  I am a debtor.  I cannot express my gratitude enough to Sam and Joy Burch, who lovingly and sacrificially have almost single-handedly seen to the production of the materials that we are able to offer.  I am a debtor.  A & R Printing in White Bluff, Tennessee, has been an absolute blessing in the printing of these books.  Thank you for the excellent quality and service that makes us so pleased every time we are able to hand to someone a book like this.  I am a debtor.

Finally, but not least, I thank my beloved family for your part in all of this.  To Trina, for her constant support in every way.  To Chaili, for her continual encouragement and the work in editing. To Carey, for being my partner in the work of recording videos.  The three of you are a constant daily reminder to me of what is written in these pages.  I am a debtor, and I love you.

Introduction

Preach the Word, love the people

Have you ever bought a new vehicle (even if it was used, but “new” to you) and then began noticing that same model showing up everywhere?  You had never really noticed this particular model too much before, if at all.  Now, however, you see it everywhere.  You might say something to yourself like, “I never realized that so many people drove this model.”  They were probably there all the time, but you just had never noticed them before.

That is similar to how I have felt in my expanded view of the Apostle Paul in this letter to Philemon.  Of course I had always assumed that the Apostle Paul cared about people.  He was the one who had gone through so much and sacrificed so greatly to bring this message of the gospel to so many.  What I had never noticed before was how relational he was and how very deeply he felt about the people.  I suppose I always had an image in my mind of the Apostle Paul as the great and powerful preacher (even though this itself may be questionable according to verses like 2 Corinthians 10:10:  “his bodily presence is weak, and his speech is contemptible”).  Yet, what I found in this letter to Philemon was just a man who loves people deeply.  The love of Jesus has consumed him so much that it is now reaching out through Paul to everyone around him.

The words of some of my old college professors come back to me so often now.  Some of our professors were actually men who had previously been pastors.  They were there to mentor these young preachers and share some of the wisdom from their years of experience.  Still having some of the leftover arrogance of my younger days (which God is still working on), I did not listen as much as I should have.  I wish I could go back and take those classes over again with a new perspective.  I remember more than one of them sharing a simple philosophy for being a pastor:  “Preach the Word, and love the people.”  I heard it many times.  Regretfully, our attitude was often to dismiss this idea as simplistic and out-of-date.  Some of us thought or said to ourselves that this philosophy might have worked in the old days for the old guys, but we had bigger and better things in mind for “our ministries.”

Out of this letter to Philemon has emerged one clear picture:  a sweet old guy who preaches the Word and just loves the people.  I don’t know why I had never seen it before in this way.  But Paul’s main concern isn’t about the greatness of his own preaching or even the size of the crowd.  He is just about being relational and caring for people.  What was most shocking about this was to realize how many other “models of this vehicle” are “on the road” in all of Paul’s letters!  In other words, I began to realize and notice this care in all of his letters, in a way that I had never seen before.  One thing this communicates is that this letter to Philemon is no pretense for Paul.  One commentator on this letter suggested that Paul is being this way on purpose in order to “soften” Philemon for the big appeal that Paul is going to make.  But from studying this letter, and from noticing his tone in the other letters, I cannot accept this theory.  Paul is simply being himself in this letter.  This is who he is in Christ, and what you are seeing in the letter is what Jesus is doing in his life.

I wrote in Snapshots of Prayer (a separate workbook that deals specifically with the prayer in verses 4-6) that what you see in this letter to Philemon is more of a snapshot than a studio photo.  When we go to have a photo taken at the studio, we all “pose.”  We wear clothes that we may not normally wear.  We sit in positions that we probably don’t normally sit in.  We sit with smiles on our faces in a way that we may not normally do (“Hold that for 3 more seconds, please!”).  I hope that people assume that a typical day in the life of our family does not look the same as the studio photo we had taken.  If you came to our house on a random day, you would not see us wearing matching colors!  That’s what makes the difference between the studio pose and the snapshot.  A snapshot is a capturing of what real life looks like.  It is one of those “gotcha!” moments when I am seen as I really am.  It is a picture into what real life looks like at any given moment.  I believe that is what Paul’s letter to Philemon is.  It is no “pose.”  I believe that Paul had many, many personal correspondences in his life and ministry, of which this is one.  I don’t believe he was any different here than he ever was.  “What you see is what you get.”  That is how I want to be.  I desire a Christianity that is so real that you can catch me at any given moment and see the same reality of Jesus in my life.  No hiding; no need to be guarded; no posing.  That’s what we see in Paul’s life through this letter.

Background

The early church did not meet in the kinds of building or facilities we often meet in today.  In those early times, the church met in homes.  One thing this sometimes made necessary, depending on the size of the congregation, was that the home would have a room large enough to fit the number of people assembled together for worship.  As a side note (I often say, “bonus sermon for free!”), there is something exciting about a house church or Christian groups that meet in homes, as is often the case in many world areas today outside of North America.  Here in North America, many are discovering the benefit of meeting in homes not only because of the greater relationship for which it provides, but also for the more non-threatening environment to which to invite new people.  In the first century, homes with large rooms were often owned by wealthier families.  Wealthier families in this time often owned slaves as well, which was a regular part of the Greco-Roman culture.  Estimates are that one in five people in the Roman Empire was a slave.  It is believed that the church in the city of Colossae (or that area of the Lycus Valley) met in the home of one such slave owner, named Philemon.

At some point in time, one of Philemon’s slaves, named Onesimus, ran away.  It is possible that Onesimus stole something when he left.  It could have been money, food, or something else easy to carry for a runaway slave.  Whatever it might have been, this would explain Paul’s statement in verses 18 and 19 that he will repay if Onesimus owes anything.  This might also be an offer to make up for Onesimus’ lost time of service.  After leaving the Lycus Valley, Onesimus had somehow made his way to the most common destination for runaway slaves in the Roman Empire:  the city of Rome itself.  This was an easy choice as Rome, being the largest city in the Empire, offered the best opportunity to “get lost in the crowd.”  Rome contained a whole sub-culture of “outlaw” runaway slaves.  They hid in the shadows and came out at night or in other low-profile ways to find their food and sustenance.  We don’t know exactly when it happened during Onesimus’ stay in Rome, but at some point he was introduced to the Apostle Paul, who also “happened” to be there at this time.  This relationship is certainly one more example of the work of a sovereign God who is orchestrating our lives.

This is Paul’s first “imprisonment” in Rome, as described in Acts chapter 28.  He is here in Rome for approximately two years awaiting trial.  As we will discuss in the first chapter, it is not the kind of imprisonment that I might imagine when hearing that word.  As opposed to being a place of concrete walls and steel bars, Paul is “permitted to dwell by himself with the soldier who guarded him (Acts 28:16)” in “his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him (Acts 28:30-31).”  This is a picture of Paul continually hosting people in this home, sharing with them Jesus through the Word.  It was into this kind of setting that Onesimus must have stepped, possibly brought by Epaphras or some other acquaintance, or drawn by a possible previous knowledge of Paul from Colossae.  We don’t know whether or not Onesimus and the other slaves in Colossae heard the Word before, but we know that at this time Onesimus received Jesus into his life.  He was a new creation in Christ.

Some time passed after Onesimus received Jesus, and during this time he was under the spiritual mentoring of the Apostle Paul.  The two became very close, as we will see.  In these days of seeking and responding to Jesus together, it began to be clear that Jesus had something new that He desired to do in Onesimus.  There was a next step for him.  This is always the case in Christianity (another “bonus sermon” coming).  Christianity is a personal RELATIONSHIP with the Lord Jesus, and growth is a part of the essence of that relationship (and any relationship!).  The growth comes in knowing Him more as I continue to seek Him through His Word.  There is something wonderful and beyond words about this deepening knowledge of Him, because of how wonderful He is.  The old hymn says:

The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows;

The more that I love Him, more love He bestows;

Each day is like heaven, my heart overflows;

The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows.

Yet, there is even more to this growth.  The closer I get to Him and the more I know Him, the more He reveals what He wants to do in my life.  He is not finished with me after I respond to Him for the first time when I am saved.  My relationship with Him, as with any relationship, is about a continual response to Him.  I am saved because I responded to Him as He moved in my life.  What then?  Why did God not whisk me away to heaven at the moment I was saved? At least part of the explanation of that may be the continuing work that He wants to do in me in my remaining days in this world.  As I continue to seek Him and walk in Him, and He in me, He begins to reveal something new in my life that He wants to do.  My only role is to just respond to Him and say, “Yes,” allowing Him to do what only He can do.  As I surrender and respond to this new thing He is doing in me, I will come to know Him even more.  I will also experience a growing and maturing in my life as He is producing His image in me.  After I have taken this “step” of growth in Him, what’s next?  He will then have something else that He will want to do in order to further produce His image in me.  What is my role?  It is always to surrender and respond to Him.  My role is never to figure myself out or to produce my own growth.  As I respond, He will always do the transforming --- step by step.  While I am in this world, there will always be another step.  That is why my attitude, no matter how long I have been a Christian, MUST ALWAYS be to remain open with a willingness to respond.  I call this an attitude of “seeking.”

It was this kind of next step that Jesus began revealing in the heart of Onesimus as he and Paul sought the Lord together.  It was clear to them that the next step for Onesimus was for him to go back to his master, Philemon.  What an anxious thought this could have been for them.  While we do not doubt the Christian character or intent of Philemon as a leader in his church, there could certainly have been at least a small opening of question in Onesimus’ mind as to what might happen if he went back.  He was, after all, a runaway slave.  Slaves were considered property in Roman culture.  They were considered the lowest rung on the social ladder, except for one other group:  runaway slaves.  Roman law allowed a slave owner to do whatever he saw fit to do with a runaway slave.  The punishment of death, while perhaps not the norm, was certainly not out of the question.  In addition to this, consider all of the complications on Philemon’s end of things.  It would seem that much would hinge on how he dealt with this runaway slave.  What message would it send to his other slaves if he let Onesimus off with no consequence?  What would the other slave owners in town have to say about one of their own group treating a slave in this way?  What would this do to the entire culture of this city?  Word spreads fast.  All of these thoughts and more certainly could have entered the mind of Onesimus as he made the 1,000 mile journey, taking weeks or even months, from Rome back to the Lycus Valley.

Yet, with prayer, love, and a sense of loss, Paul sent Onesimus on his way back to Colossae.  However, Paul did not send the young slave alone.  He at least sends Tychicus (Colossians 4:7-9) with him, while others possibly accompanied also.  In addition to this, Onesimus will hand-deliver two letters.  One is to the church at Colossae, known as the The Letter to the Colossians.  The other letter is the one we are studying here: The Letter to Philemon.  The main purpose of the letter is Paul’s urging of Philemon to receive Onesimus back, “no longer as a slave, but more than a slave --- a beloved brother (v. 16).”  Even deeper than this, however, the letter reveals what it looks like for Jesus to be expressed in everyday relationships --- right where we live in the “snapshots” of life.  Onesimus is not the only one for whom Jesus has a next step in the situation.  Philemon will also be called to a next step --- a new level of growth in Christ Jesus.  As you and I approach this letter, He will reveal some next steps for us also.

Three themes

Three themes weave their way throughout the letter and help us to understand the overall purpose of the letter --- how Jesus demonstrates Himself in everyday relationships.  Since we will be seeing these themes in an in-depth way in the chapters, we will only touch on them briefly here.  The first and most obvious theme is the Passion that Paul feels for people, which we have already touched on to some degree.  Just a quick reading will immediately reveal the sense of deep affection that Paul has for those who are receiving this letter.  We must remember that this is the man who used to be Saul of Tarsus.  By any account, he would not have been considered a “warm-fuzzy” kind of person.  Yet, now we see a man who is overflowing with love for people.  He opens the letter by referring to Philemon as “beloved.”  When I get to preach this, I often joke with the men by asking, “When was the last time any of you guys called another man, ‘Beloved’?”  We see this overwhelming affection in the way Paul describes Onesimus as “my son” and “my own heart.”  As we have said before, and will explore more though this study, this sense of affection is not limited to the letter to Philemon.  Everywhere we look in Paul’s letters we are finding the overflow of love, and that is even with his “problem churches” (like the Corinthians)!  Thus, one thing that we will consistently see in this letter as a demonstration of Jesus in relationship will be this passion for people.

Secondly, Paul functions with Onesimus and Philemon on the basis of Partnership.  Paul refers to Philemon directly as his “partner” in verse 17.  The Greek word koinonos reveals the kind of participation that this involves.  Partnership requires an “all-in” approach.  It is no longer about what is “mine” and what is “yours.”  It is all “ours.”  Paul certainly demonstrates that in his involvement with Onesimus and Philemon.  How much easier it would have been for Paul to keep a safe distance from this very messy situation.  We saw earlier in the background what a complicated circumstance this was.  Who could say for certain what the outcome would be?  There could be a great pain, sorrow, and sacrifice involved.  I often think that if I would have been in Paul’s place, I would have much rather put Onesimus and Philemon on my “prayer list” and left it at that.  This is certainly no criticism of having a prayer list.  It is just that I see something in Paul that goes to a greater length of involvement in this situation than I may sometimes be comfortable with.  He does not keep himself at any safe distance.  Instead, he truly wades into this situation and becomes all the way involved.  He even writes that Philemon should prepare the guest room, because Paul hopes to come and visit sometime (v. 22)!  Paul is so invested in all of this that he even desires to be on the scene with them.  It sounds like the Incarnation of Jesus.  He could not leave us alone in our mess, but was compelled by love to come to us where we are.  As the old song says, “When I could not come to where He was, He came to me.”  This kind of involvement is one more aspect of the demonstration of Jesus in everyday relationships that we will see throughout the letter.

Thirdly, we see Paul treating each individual as a Person.  As a slave, Onesimus held a low position in the culture of their day. Even worse, he was a runaway slave.  In one sense, it would be unwise for Paul to associate with him.  What would such a “connection” do to Paul’s reputation?  Yet, Paul seems to have no regard for his own reputation, and refuses to treat Onesimus as a “thing” to be avoided.  Instead, Paul goes in the opposite direction and embraces this runaway “fugitive” like a “son,” even going so far as to say that he is “my own heart.”  Instead of seeing people like rungs on a ladder to be climbed, he treats each one with the value they have in the heart of God.  This is seen just as clearly in Paul’s treatment of Philemon.  As we will see in later chapters, Paul refuses to act as a military authority and pull spiritual “rank” on Philemon in this situation.  Being the Apostle --- spiritual leader --- as he was, it certainly would have been understandable for Paul to have firm tone and tell Philemon what to do in this situation.  Instead, Paul takes the tone of a partner and one who is running alongside of Philemon in this circumstance, urging him to take the next step in Jesus.  Treating each individual as a person and with special care is a vital part of the demonstration of Jesus in everyday relationships.

Sourced by Jesus

This may not be true for anyone else, but I have found need for great caution in my own study of Paul’s letters.  I suppose this could be because of the very practical nature of the letters and the situations which Paul is addressing when he writes.  These are real people in real life situations.  The subtle risk can be to sometimes read these letters, interpret them, and then apply the truths from more of what I would call a “doing” approach.  Looked at in an incorrect way, Paul’s letters could seem to be prescriptions for what I need to do.  However, the truth is that Paul is not writing prescriptions, but is instead writing descriptions.  He is not telling the churches (or individuals like Philemon) what to do, but describing what it looks like when Jesus works in our lives and what He does in us.  In this way, these letters are an invitation and urging to respond to Jesus and to allow Him to produce His life in us.  If we respond to Him and allow Him to work, it will look like what Paul is writing about.

The letter to Philemon is a good example of this to consider.  I could mistakenly come away from this letter with some sense of a “to do” list that I must accomplish:  I must love people more; I must get more involved in their lives; I must treat them better.  The truth is, however, that I can do none of these things out of my own resourcing.  I was not made to produce these fruits on my own.  If this kind of fruit is going to show up in my life, I will have to be entirely sourced by Jesus.  What we are seeing Paul writing and demonstrating in this letter is simply the manifestation of Jesus in his life.  It is Jesus who loves people in this way, gets involved in their lives, and treats them with such dignity.  It is just who Jesus is, and this is the way He will express Himself through anyone who chooses to respond to Him.  That is the only explanation of Paul’s life and of this letter.  It is the snapshot of a man who has been responding to Jesus for three decades, continually taking the next step as Jesus moved in his life.

That is why the real invitation of this letter --- both to Philemon and to us --- is to simply respond to Jesus.  God is not finished with us yet.  It is as Paul expressed of himself in Philippians 3:12-14 (a letter he wrote around the same general time he wrote the letter to Philemon):

“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.  Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Thus, there is always a next step in Him on this journey --- some brand new thing that God desires to do in us.  There is no shame or embarrassment in this whatsoever, as much as the enemy would like to convince us that there is.  Rather than shame or embarrassment, we can embrace the excitement of new growth in Jesus.  One of my children’s favorite things to do at their grandparent’s home to is compare their current height to the marks on that one door in the house where grandma has recorded their different heights at different times in their lives.  Maybe you know the routine.  You stand with your back against the edge of the door or piece of trim and stand as tall as you can (without lifting your heels) while mom or grandma uses something to mark your current height.  I remember doing the same as a child, and cannot remember a time I was not excited to see growth.  Growth is always exciting.  So it is with spiritual growth.

Will you and I approach the Word in this way through our study in the letter to Philemon?  I wrote Snapshots of Prayer as a separate workbook dealing specifically with the prayer in verses 4-6.  This book deals with the rest of the letter to Philemon.  These truths have been radically transforming my life and the entire way in which I view people and relationships.  I certainly could not have imagined all of this nearly two years ago when a group of guys began looking at Philemon as a “summer” Bible study.  When fall came, I just could not put it down, and I have not been the same since.  But isn’t that the way Jesus always works?  When you begin seeking Him in His Word, and are willing to respond to Him, He will transform you from the inside out.  As much as He has done in my life over this time, I know He is not finished yet.  Therefore, I write this to you only as a fellow seeker, not as one who has arrived.  I am excited for the new growth ahead.  God has a new mark on the door He wants to bring us to, and He desires to be closer with us than ever before.  As we respond to Him, the world will see the Jesus who lives in us expressed in our everyday relationships.

John Juneman

Watertown, TN

July 2011

Bound to Jesus

Philemon 1

A prisoner of Christ Jesus

As I began reading and studying this very personal and precious letter, I was struck by the phrase which Paul uses to open it.  He introduces himself as “Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus.”  I was especially intrigued with finding what Paul means by this phrase since he actually was in Roman custody as he wrote.  This letter is one of what has been called the “Prison Epistles” because Paul was under house arrest in Rome at the time of the writing, as described in Acts chapter 28.  I have wondered how well the term “prisoner” communicates Paul’s situation to our modern understanding since the word “prisoner” certainly brings particular images to my mind.  It paints a portrait of cement walls and floors, dark and confined spaces along with iron bars (perhaps there is even someone playing a harmonica in the background!).  This is a picture of the kind of place in which Paul and Silas must have found themselves in Philippi, as described in Acts 16:24.  There they were put into what was called an “inner prison” and their feet were fastened in stocks.  In other words, the “jail” in Philippi was a cold, dark place where they were literally in chains at all times.  It is a “dungeon” kind of picture.  However, that does not at all seem to be the same picture in Acts 28.  “Paul was permitted to dwell by himself with the soldier who guarded him (v. 16),” and “Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him (v. 30).”  This does not seem to be a dark, confined space and there is certainly no suggestion of any bars!  It sounds like a situation in which Paul had a great deal of freedom.  This raises the question of what he means, then, by referring to himself as a “prisoner.”

The particular Greek word which Paul uses in Philemon 1, desmios, is only used five times in Paul’s letters, and all of them are in letters which he wrote while in custody in Rome (Eph. 3:1; 4:1; Philemon 1, 9; 2 Tim. 1:8).  It is used in other places in the New Testament, especially in Acts, and does carry the actual sense or meaning of someone “being behind bars.”  It is used for example to describe the people who were in custody with Paul and Silas in that jail in Acts 16:25, and who were listening to Paul and Silas sing at midnight!  Yet, a more in-depth study of the word desmios, especially in its grammar, reveals some seemingly important things.  If grammar bothers you and you do not like detail, you may want to skip ahead to the next section!

In order to better understand a meaning of a word in Greek, it is sometimes helpful to understand where it came from or how it “evolved.”  In the Greek language especially, there is usually a root word that contains the very basic meaning of a word.  Other endings (suffixes) or beginnings (prefixes) are added onto that word in order to expand or add to the basic meaning that is in the root.  For example, desmios is one of these Greek words which has been “built” from another Greek word --- a root word.  The root word from which desmios comes is the Greek word deo (long “o” sound).  Deo is a verb --- an action word --- which means “to bind or tie.”  Another word that is derived from this word, deo, is the Greek word desmos.  This is a noun --- a person, place or thing --- that means “a bond” (the chain or whatever is used “to bind” someone).  By adding the particular ending onto the root (taking off “o” and adding on “smos”), the word was changed from a verb into a noun.  Now there is one more change that is important for us.  From the word desmos (the noun meaning “a bond”) we can get desmios.  Desmios is an adjective that means “bound.”  We get an adjective by taking off the “os” ending of the noun and adding the “ios” ending to make it into an adjective.  We do that at times in English. We take a noun and make it into an adjective.  “Hero” (noun) can become “heroic” (adjective).  “Riches” (noun) can become “rich” (adjective).  “King” (noun) can become “kingly” or “royal” (adjective).

What is the purpose of an adjective?  While a noun is a person, place or thing, an adjective normally describes a person, place or thing.  An adjective is not a thing in itself, but is a quality that describes something.  For example, “tall” is an adjective that describes what a person or thing is like.  “Tall” is not a thing in and of itself --- it can only tell you something about a person or thing.  This is what an adjective does.  “Hero” is a noun (a person), but “heroic” is the quality of how or what a person is like.  “King” is a noun (a person), but “royal” is a quality of what a person is like.  Since an adjective is what a person or thing is like, one interesting point is that it is possible to be a king (noun) without being very royal (in quality), and it is quite possible that one is royal (in quality) without being a king!  When I first met my future wife when we were in college, I was convinced that she was from an upper class family (not that this is why I was after her!).  I don’t really know why I thought that except it was an impression from the way she carried herself.  It was not that she was “uppity” or conceited in any way, but she just always carried herself with such a dignity and composure --- it made me think that she must be from an upper class family.  She told me over and over again that she was from just a regular family and that they actually lived in a farm house, but I did not believe her until I saw it for myself on my first visit there.  It was a lesson for me in “quality.”  Someone can be “rich” without having riches because of the quality of his or her family and life.  An adjective describes the quality of a person, place or thing.

This is the kind of word that Paul is using in Philemon 1 when he uses desmios.  It is not the noun, desmos (“a bond”), but the adjective desmios (“bound”).  It is true that, in Greek, you can add an article like “the” on the beginning of an adjective to make it act like a noun.  Luke does this with desmios in Acts when he talks about “the desmios,” meaning “the bound ones.”  But Paul does not use an article here and it seems to be used as an adjective.  Paul is using a word to describe what the quality of his life is and what he is about.  Adjectives tell you what it is really like.  They paint a picture.  That is, after all, what is happening through the letter to Philemon.  We are seeing a snapshot of what the Apostle Paul is like and what is going on in his life.  That is his purpose in verse 1 --- to characterize himself and let us know what he is about.  “Paul, desmios of Christ Jesus.”  What does his use of an adjective like desmios tell us about him?

Adjectives of my life

One obvious thing this tells us about Paul is that he clearly wants to be characterized or known as a prisoner.  Paul is essentially saying that if you want to get up close and know what his life is really like, you will see a person who is in chains and is content to be there if that is what God has chosen for Him.  It is really quite striking to look through the letters that Paul wrote and to see how much he used the concept of being in chains (desmos) or being one who is bound or a “prisoner” (desmios) as the way he describes his life.  Consider just the following references:  Acts 26:29; Philippians 1:7, 13, 14, 16; Colossians 4:18; Philemon 10, 13; 2 Timothy 2:9.  I was born in the city of Chicago and grew up in the outer suburbs my entire life.  Something happened to me in my early years that forever branded me as a fan of the Bears, Cubs, and Bulls.  Almost every year I receive some hat or shirt from someone in my family representing one of those teams.  My kids are used to seeing me wear a Bears hat on a regular basis around our house, and I actually have four different ones for different occasions!  Just as I proudly wear a Bears hat, it is like the Apostle Paul could have worn a T-shirt that said, “Prisoner of Christ.”  In light of the culture of their day, it is shocking for someone to talk about himself so openly in this way instead of hiding it.  To be a prisoner was a shame and a disgrace.  Yet, the Apostle Paul gladly and boldly wears the hat and shirt declaring that he is one.  He seemed to have no aspiration to be known as something different than what he was.  There seemed to be no aim or attempt at something higher or different.  He boldly declares this as the quality and condition of his life.  This is his adjective --- something that describes him --- which he has embraced.

This forces me to look at my own life and wonder about my own adjectives --- the ways I am described.  What are the adjectives which describe my life, and what are the adjectives which I desire to describe me?  How do I wish to be known?  What is the reputation that I seek after?  Is it not often something greater or grander than what I am known by at the present?  This is noticeably absent in the Apostle Paul’s introduction of himself.  In the everyday, normal writing of one of his personal letters, he embraced his identity and condition as a prisoner.  He was content for this to be the quality of his life and how he would always be known.

Of Christ Jesus

While Paul openly embraced this distinction in life, he also was careful here to define it.  Paul says that he is a prisoner or “bound” OF CHRIST JESUS.  This phrase, “of Christ Jesus,” is the translation of a genitive form of noun.  The genitive form of a noun acts like an adjective describing or further detailing the meaning of the word(s) with which it is connected.  Paul has connected “of Christ Jesus” to the word desmios (“prisoner”) to give us a further idea of what that is about.  What we have here is kind of like an adjective (“of Jesus Christ”) further describing another adjective (“prisoner”/bound)!  Paul is doing this because he really wants to give a clear picture of what is happening in his life. When we are looking at a genitive form of noun, as we are with the words translated “of Jesus Christ,” there are two ways the genitive is used that are important here.  One is the genitive of POSSESSION, where the genitive is being used to describe to what something belongs.  Another use of the genitive is the SUBJECTIVE, which is used to describe who or what is doing something or who is doing the acting.  I believe that at least both of these are at work here.  By saying that he is a prisoner “of Christ Jesus,” Paul is saying that he belongs to Christ Jesus and also that Jesus is the One who is acting and bringing this to pass.  This seems to say two important things to us about the quality of Paul’s life and what is happening with him.

First of all, as we noted in the last section, the identification of Paul’s life is that he is a prisoner.  He has readily embraced it as who he is and what his life is to be about, complete with wearing the hat and shirt to show it!  But this genitive phrase, “of Jesus Christ,” has made it clear that Paul did not choose that for himself.  Whatever Paul’s life is, it has been chosen for Him by Jesus Christ.  He has readily accepted what Jesus has chosen for him and what Jesus is bringing to His life.  Would I do that?  Would I allow Jesus to choose my life for me because it is no longer my life but His?  Paul writes in Galatians 2:20:  “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”  Paul had absolute confidence in Jesus and staked his entire life on the truth that we hear in James 1:17:  “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”  God has our absolute best in mind in all things, and He is accomplishing that all the time in our lives through His grace, even when or if we cannot see it.  He was doing this for Paul, and is doing the same for me.  Will I trust Him in this and embrace what He has for me?

Finally, what this phrase “of Jesus Christ” says is that Paul’s circumstances are defined by Jesus.  There can be no doubt that the actual physical circumstances of Paul’s life are that he is a prisoner.  If someone went to visit him, they would see the actual house where he lived under “house arrest.”  They could see the Roman soldier on duty, with real armor and weapons, whose responsibility it was to watch Paul for that day.  In every manner, and in an undeniably physical way, Paul was a prisoner.  The temptation in such a circumstance could be to wish this was not the case and to imagine what it would be like to be in different circumstances.  Paul could have thought through all the reasons he was in that situation, including finding someone to blame for what had happened --- either someone else or himself!  Who has caused this to happen?  However, Paul’s own statement in Philemon 1 makes it clear.  It is Jesus --- not Paul or anyone else --- who is in control and giving meaning to this situation.  This is not by Caesar’s hand, but by the hand of God.  Jesus transforms the entire meaning and view of the situation.  He is the one who is before all things and in whom all things consist (Colossians 1:15-18).  He is above all.  If this were just a situation created by humanity and in the hands of men, then there would be reason for despair.  But there is no despair at all, because this is all in the hands of Jesus.  Paul is a prisoner indeed; but He is a prisoner of Christ Jesus in this situation which Jesus has either allowed or caused to be.  This means that the situation, while “bad” from the perspective of the world, no longer needs to be or should be viewed as “bad” for the Christian.  Paul viewed the situation as just where Jesus had him, and could rejoice and be at peace.  Paul was not a prisoner of his circumstances or of man, but of Jesus Christ.  This single thought reshaped his entire perspective on the circumstances.  It was mentioned earlier, but this new thought took away any sense of shame or “black mark on his name” that is normally attached to Paul’s situation.  To be a prisoner is to occupy the lowest place in the society.  It is a position of shame and humiliation.  While it could appear that the decisions of men had put him here, there is a God who is above all and is the One who is really directing what is happening.   Therefore, Paul could be bold in writing to Timothy and saying, “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God (2 Tim. 1:8).”  Paul’s identity was not in who or what this world said he was, but who he was in Christ.  He was a prisoner of Christ Jesus and that single fact transformed his entire thinking and view of every situation.

Certainly this is the same truth that we learn in the account of Joseph in the book of Genesis.  Joseph experienced heartbreak and was placed in “bad” circumstances at various times.  However, Joseph’s faith and trust in God allowed him to live in those conditions in victory instead of defeat.  There certainly must have been “down” days for Joseph, as there must have been for the Apostle Paul (see 2 Corinthians 1:8-9).  But Joseph’s faith and absolute trust in God propelled him to walk through those days and go about his business in confidence, doing whatever God put before him, knowing that God was up to something that could not be seen at the moment.  Joseph and Paul, among many others, embraced the concept that Paul expressed in 1 Corinthians 2:9:  “Eye has not seen, nor has ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

How many times have I thought of myself as a prisoner of my circumstances?  I look at the real things going on in my situation and, in my mind, “know” that there is no way out.  All I can do is sit and stare at the walls or the physical features of my situation in despair.  I can so easily become consumed with it in my mind.  I can try to figure out a way but I am always defeated by it.  I end up with frustration from continued effort or despair from giving up.  But this powerful truth is for me as much as it is for Paul.  Far from being hopeless, my circumstances are exactly what God has for me.  I am placed here by the Lord Jesus Christ for His great purpose.  He has all things in hand.  Instead of seeing myself as a prisoner of these circumstances, I can know that I am a prisoner of Him.  I belong to Him and He has all these things in His hands.  Instead of being afraid or discouraged to look at the circumstances, I can face my situation with confidence and hope.  My hope is not in what is seen, but in the One who is working in the unseen.  “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.  For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Cor. 4:17-18).”  I am not a prisoner of my circumstances, but a prisoner of Jesus Christ in these circumstances!  How can I possibly have that view of life?  I need that mindset!  But it must be more than positive thinking or some mental trick that I play on myself.  It must be a supernatural act of God that creates a new mindset in me.  I must be transformed by the renewing of my mind (Romans 12:2).

Bound to Jesus

One more point about the word “bound” helps us to understand how this mindset supernaturally takes place in our lives by the power of God.  We learned that the original root word of desmios, “prisoner” or “bound,” is the Greek verb deo, which means “to bind.”  This basic idea of being bound to someone or something is the root idea of what Paul is talking about when he calls himself a “prisoner of Christ Jesus.”  To show how strong this idea is in relationships, we can turn to 1 Corinthians 7:27 and 7:39, or to Romans 7:2 to see that this term is used in regard to marriage.  “Are you BOUND to a wife?  Do not seek to be loosed (1 Cor. 7:27).”  We have had a lot of fun with this word as I have shared this concept in various places.  We joke about the images that may come to mind for some men when we speak of being “bound” to our wives.  It is the picture of a man who is chained to a post, hands and feet tied up, and his mouth is gagged so that he cannot speak.  This is certainly a picture of a man who is fully committed to his wife --- that is, because he can’t go anywhere!  He grits his teeth and says to himself, “I am committed, I am committed,” while also wondering to himself what it would be like to be free!  While we have a lot of fun joking about this, it is not at all the picture that Paul was communicating when he spoke of husbands being “bound” to their wives. This is the picture of a husband who has become one with his wife.  He loves her completely.  She is the love of his life, and his very heartbeat.  He has become so close to her that he cannot imagine life without her.  He loves her so much that he could not imagine being bound to anyone else.  They share everything together and are becoming closer as the years go by.  He is bound to her.

That is the kind of idea that Paul regularly expresses about the Lord Jesus in his life.  Jesus is the love of his life; He is Paul’s heartbeat; and Paul could not imagine life without Him.  Paul is sharing everything with Jesus, and becoming closer with Him as the days go by.  Paul is bound to Jesus: a “prisoner of Christ Jesus.”  Would I have this with Jesus?  Would I become bound to Him?  We are talking about an intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in which I completely belong to Him in heart, mind, body, emotions, and everything.  Will I totally belong to Him?  Will I be bound to Him and see every situation as the opportunity to be bound closer to Him?

What would happen in my life if I would allow this to happen?  My life would certainly begin taking on a new meaning and purpose.  I would know that I am no longer the prisoner of my circumstances.  Things that used to seem big will become small as He becomes bigger to me.  Best of all, none of the things I used to worry about are my concern anymore.  All those things and all of me now belong to Him.  I am a prisoner of Christ Jesus.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       What have I sought after as the “adjectives” of my life?  How have I sought to be known?

2.       In what situation have I felt like a prisoner?  What does the truth of the Word do to my view of this situation?

3.       When was the last time I forsook all else and turned my complete attention to Jesus in a situation, seeking to be simply bound to Him?  What happened in me as a result?

What’s He Doing Here?

Philemon 1

There is often a great benefit to giving enough attention to something to notice the details.  I have often found this a great thing in marriage!  A trip in the car becomes more enjoyable when you notice the details instead of just getting to the destination as quickly as possible. There have been many times in my life when I missed something interesting or beautiful just because I was in a hurry.  Certainly there is something valuable in slowing down and noticing the details in God’s Word.  There is something that God seems to do in us when we slow down, immerse ourselves in His Word, really see what is there, and allow Him to speak to us.  He certainly is faithful in this, and it is life-changing when God reveals the depth of His Word beyond just the “speed read” on the surface.

I suppose I had never given much thought to Paul’s reference to Timothy in the opening words of his letter to Philemon.  “Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, AND TIMOTHY OUR BROTHER.”  However, when we look more closely at the New Testament (slowing down and paying attention to the details!), we realize that this is not something strange or that only happens once.  Paul wrote 13 of the 27 books we have included in the New Testament.  There is no time here to go into the process of why those particular books are included, but we believe that it is by the leadership of the Holy Spirit through the Church of Jesus Christ across the centuries.  Of those 13 books written by Paul, all of which are letters, in no less than 6 of them does he mention Timothy specifically in connection with the authorship of the letter.  The other 5 times are very similar to this one.  “Paul . . . and Timothy.”  The purpose of this opening statement in a letter is to identify who is writing.  In wording things this way, Paul seems to be purposefully including Timothy in the authorship.  In other words, Paul is in some way giving Timothy credit for the writing of this letter along with himself.  Some have said that, perhaps, Timothy was Paul’s “scribe” (took dictation for him) for these letters, and so that that is why he gets this kind of “credit.”  But Paul seems to feel no need to make any distinction.  In effect, he is saying, “This letter is from Paul AND Timothy.”

I don’t want to assume that the people receiving this letter would have the same thoughts or feelings I would if I had received it.  However, if it was me receiving one of these letters with Timothy’s name on it, I might be tempted to be offended or at least to have some pointed questions.  Many, including myself, would tend to look with fond feelings toward Paul as the one who has begun many of the churches and who continues to provide teaching and leadership.  There would be a feeling of love, respect, admiration and affection toward Paul.  We know that some of these people and churches knew Timothy and that he would have been involved in the works with Paul.  But many of us would not view Timothy in the same way, or at the same “level,” as Paul.  I might be tempted to ask, “Who is this Timothy guy?” or “Who does he think he is?” or “What’s that guy doing here?”  Have you ever been the one asking those kinds of questions or have you ever been the one about whom such questions were being asked?  I know that I have had those kinds of thoughts toward people, and I also know that it is not pleasant when people are thinking those kinds of thoughts toward me.

We meet Timothy in Acts 16:1-3, on Paul’s second missionary journey.  We learn that his father was a Greek, but that he was raised by his believing mother and grandmother (Acts 16:2 and 2 Timothy 1:5).  We also learn that Timothy was well spoken of among the churches, and that he appears to have been a young man.  We cannot say for sure what his age would have been.  However, it is believed that Timothy was a boy when he may have met Paul during Paul’s first missionary journey, and that he would have grown to be a young adult by the time Paul came again on his second missionary journey --- seven years later (Acts 15:39—18:22).  It was during Paul’s visit to Derbe and Lystra on this second missionary journey that the relationship between Paul and Timothy begins to develop at a deeper level.  While we see this relationship especially in Acts and in Paul’s two letters to Timothy, something about it is painted here briefly in the opening words of Philemon.  These brief words, with all of the background of the relationship between Paul and Timothy, tell us some significant things about biblical relationship and discipleship.

Making disciples, reproducing sons

The more we understand the heart of God, what His Word has to say, and what was happening in the early church, we realize that the call of Christianity is not merely about “addition.”  Of course, we can often be concerned with “addition” in the church.  How many will come?  How big can we grow?  How can we add people to our fellowship?  While these questions may or may not be acceptable, depending on the motive, they really miss the point of the New Testament.  The real heart and call of God is not for “addition,” but for “multiplication.”  The Great Commission that Jesus gave to the disciples in Matthew 28:18-20 was not to merely “go get people saved” and get them into the kingdom.  His call was to “make disciples.”  The Greek grammar reveals that this is the real command that Jesus gives in the Great Commission.  Jesus knew that the way to really reach the world was to make disciples.  It will be people who are really gripped by the reality of Jesus Christ, seeking after and responding to Him with all their hearts, who will affect the world.  The best way to make disciples is to be disciples.  It will rub off.  Ultimately, in the life of the church, the making of disciples matters far more than how many we had in attendance.  The real question at the end will be what kind of disciples we are, and what kind of spiritual disciples have been reproduced through our lives.  Robert Coleman says that this is an important decision in the ministry.  “One must decide where he wants his ministry to count --- in the momentary applause of popular recognition or in the reproduction of his life in a few chosen men who will carry on his work after he has gone.  Really it is a question of which generation we are living for (Master Plan of Evangelism, p. 37).”

It becomes glaringly evident that this is what the Apostle Paul was about in his ministry.  He was not merely about “addition,” but was desperately about “multiplication.”  He was keenly aware that there was a sense in which he was “bearing” spiritual “children” through His life, and accepted the great responsibility and calling of this.  No passage is clearer on this than 1 Corinthians 4:14-17.  Paul calls the Corinthians his “beloved children,” and reminds them that “in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.  Therefore I urge you, imitate me.”  What is further interesting is what he has to say immediately after the statement, “Imitate me.”  In the very next verse, Paul says, “For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church (1 Cor. 4:17).”  This is, perhaps, one of the clearest pictures in the New Testament of the ministry of Paul and what he was about.  As Jesus Christ was alive and at work in Paul, he was investing this life into a young man like Timothy.  In turn, this young man --- this disciple --- was going to be an example who would lead the church.  It is clear from observing Paul’s letters with fresh eyes that Timothy was not the only one with whom Paul was doing this.  We see in the introductions to other letters that other young men --- such as Sosthenes (1 Cor. 1:1), Silvanus (1 Thess. 1:1), and Titus (Titus 1:4) --- are presented in much the same way as Timothy.

This is how discipleship happens.  It is a person investing the life of Christ in another until he or she becomes the reproduction of this life.  This was an integral part of the calling of the gospel in the life of the Apostle Paul.  We often think of the great preaching and writing, but as significant in the ministry of the Apostle Paul is this call and commitment to making disciples --- to raising spiritual sons in the Lord.  Paul certainly believed in the sowing and watering of the seed of the gospel.  He writes in 1 Corinthians 3:6:  “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.”  The more we observe Paul’s epistles, we also see his commitment to the “long road” of discipleship.  Eugene Peterson called discipleship “a long obedience in the same direction.”  It is not the quick fix or the crisis moment of response only, but the long process of “growing up” in Christ.  We can understand something of this process in parenting.  Parenting is about infinitely much more than just becoming a parent or giving birth to a child.  Viewing parenthood in this “short-term” manner is the root of a broken society.  In our day we have far too many “dead-beat” dads who are not willing to stay around for the long run of raising sons and daughters.  The striking picture here is that Paul is no “dead-beat” spiritual father.  He was not content to just sow the seeds of the gospel and see people saved, giving no further thought to the raising of spiritual children.  He was determined and compelled to raise spiritual children --- sons and daughters in the Lord.  For Paul, this involved the “long obedience” involved in raising children in the Lord.  He was involved in their lives.  Timothy is a beautiful picture of how Paul stepped in and became a spiritual father in every way in the life of this young man.  Those opening verses of Acts 16 give just a beginning glimpse of the long relationship that they had, resulting in the growth and maturity which developed in Timothy’s life.

Move toward partnership

While a vital part of Paul’s calling was to make spiritual “sons” in the Lord, how easy it would have been to keep them as subordinates or “underlings.”  It would have been convenient for Paul, in some ways, to have been training some “second string” guys who could do the “dirty work” of the ministry, so to speak, in order that Paul could do the “important things.”  But the true heart of discipleship is reproduction with a mind toward the future and the next generations.  It is, as Robert Coleman said, a choice about which generation we are living for.  Will we live for the popular recognition of the moment or to invest our lives in even a few who will carry on the work after we are gone?  The Apostle Paul lived in the constant awareness of the importance of all of this.

It is for this very reason that Paul gave his life to reproducing “sons” in the Lord.  Yet, furthermore, it was for this same reason that Paul could not and did not keep them as sons.  The goal was always that sons in the Lord would grow into brothers in the Lord.  Timothy is the perfect example of one who was --- and always will be --- a son in the Lord, yet who also grew to be a “brother” in the Lord to the Apostle Paul.  “And Timothy our brother.”  In every way possible, Paul treats Timothy as an equal and a partner in the gospel.  Timothy is no longer merely the subordinate of the Apostle Paul.  There was most certainly a respect for the spiritual authority of Paul, which is always a mark of spiritual maturity.  But Timothy was not the “towel boy” or the one merely given “busy work” in order to keep him occupied.  He was given spiritual leadership over churches and great spiritual responsibility of his own.  “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity (1 Tim. 4:12).”  He was a partner in the gospel and would carry on this work after the Apostle Paul was gone.  This is always the process of discipleship.  It begins with a seed sown, continues with a response, and results in growing spiritual leadership as the spiritual son or daughter is fostered on the long road of spiritual obedience.  In this way, the Apostle Paul was modeling for Philemon the very thing to which he was calling Philemon.  Would Philemon be willing to do the same now with Onesimus?  Would Philemon take this (presumably young) runaway slave back and accept him as more than a slave, but as a beloved brother?  Would Philemon see Onesimus as much more than a “towel boy,” but as a true partner in the gospel?  Would Philemon now see Onesimus not as a “second stringer,” but as a key part of what Jesus desired to do through the church in Colossae and beyond?  We cannot know for certain how Jesus worked through Onesimus in the years ahead.  However, if he was a young man, as we may presume, we know that he probably outlived Philemon and was a part of the continuing work of the kingdom past Philemon’s lifetime.  Church history tells us that there was a bishop Onesimus serving and overseeing the church at Ephesus in the early part of the second century --- approximately fifty years after the writing of the letter to Philemon.  While there is no sure proof that this is the same Onesimus, there is no evidence to say that it is not.  One thing we can know is that it is impossible to measure or predict how God will work through an individual life.  Each one matters.

Conclusions

A few significant conclusions come to mind from this.  First, this process of sons becoming brothers is truly from the heart of God.  Is not the heart that Paul had for Timothy the very same heart that God has for us?  God longs, makes the way for, and invites us to be His children.  It is an awesome thing to be adopted as one of God’s own.  We are not step-children of the kingdom, but full-fledged sons and daughters of God, born again with the blood of His “firstborn” Son.  It is truly wonderful that we are His and are new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).  However, God did not stop with making us His children.  The strong message of the New Testament is that we are also “joint heirs with Christ.”  We know that we are always under His authority.  Jesus is Lord of all things and Lord over our lives.  We do not have any attitude of presumptuousness.  Yet, there is a sense in the New Testament message that we are not merely His subordinates or “underlings.”  Jesus said to His disciples, “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you (John 15:15).”  The message is that we have been made partners in the kingdom.  “Joint heirs” suggests that we have been brought into the very heart of things.  We are not just the stragglers hanging around on the outside.  He is sharing all things with us.  The natural progression of sons and daughters of God is that they also become brothers and sisters of the firstborn Son --- joint heirs with Him (see Romans 8:14-17, 19, 29; Colossians 1:15, 18).

Secondly, all of this causes me to think of my own son.  At the time of this writing he is nine years old.  He is my very best friend, and we enjoy various things together.  One of the sweetest elements of God’s design is the eternal link between parents and children.  Regardless of our ages, I will be always be his father and he will always be my son.  There is something deep and special about that relationship.  If we live normal or average life spans, there will be far many more years when we are both adults than years when he is a child.  That points clearly to the call in my life, which Paul is modeling in his own life.  My call is not merely to raise my son until he is an adult and out on his own.  The call is to raise a son, and to raise him to be a son of God --- another joint heir with Jesus Christ.  Furthermore, the call is to raise this young man to be a partner in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  He will always be my son.  However, the truth of the matter is that he will also be my brother in Christ.  I have the privilege, blessing and calling to be raising in the Lord Jesus my own partner in the gospel.  Paul “raised” Timothy, and then called him his “brother.”  What a thought to consider that Carey will be my “brother.”  How does that shape the way in which I raise Him today?

As I studied the book of Philemon and wrote about the truth of it, I began to think about how I would like to present this truth to others.  It is a joy to me to write books that are a help and encouragement to others in knowing Jesus and growing in Him.  One thought that seemed to come from the Holy Spirit was that it would be good to write this truth in a way that young people could understand.  As I pondered this, it seemed that I would need help from a young person who would know the right way to express certain things.  In short, I needed a young editor.  When I began to imagine who might help me in such an undertaking, a startling revelation hit me:  “Wait, I have one of those living in my house!”  It was suddenly clear to me to have my own daughter help in the editing of this book.  In talking this over with my wife, and then with my children, it seemed clear to us that Jesus had brought this about.  Among other things, we felt that it was a great opportunity for me to disciple Chaili and mentor her.  Who knows what Jesus will do in her life through all of this?  We can only assume that she will outlive me, and perhaps this is a way she can carry on the work of the kingdom beyond my lifetime.  In any case, it is a joy to work alongside of not only my precious and beloved daughter, but also a wonderful young lady who will grow to be my sister in Christ and partner in the gospel.

All of this constantly reminds me that the call of Christianity is always to make disciples.  Robert Coleman’s questions continue to echo for me.  “One must decide where he wants his ministry to count --- in the momentary applause of popular recognition or in the reproduction of his life in a few chosen men who will carry on his work after he has gone.  Really it is a question of which generation we are living for.”  This urges us to ask the question as to how we are going to make disciples.  How will we accomplish it?  How do I disciple my son, my daughter, and the others whom God will bring to my life?  The answer of the New Testament is simple.  They only real way to make disciples is to be one myself.  It is my true call to seek after Jesus and respond to Him in my own life.  As I do this I will grow in Him.  It is this kind of seeking, responding, and growth in Him that is true discipleship.  As this happens in my life, it will be what affects those around me.  As my son and daughter experience me growing in Jesus, this will affect them and invite them to the same.  Discipleship does not work as a program, with me telling someone else what to do.  It is a living thing.  It is the actual Spirit of Jesus Christ at work in me, changing and transforming me.  That is discipleship, and others will be drawn to it when it is happening in me.

This can be an encouragement to every parent and child of any age.  Many parents are yet interceding for children who have not yet come to know Jesus Christ, or who have walked away from Him.  Likewise, many children are interceding for parents who have not yet come to know Jesus, or who have walked away from Him.  The good news of the gospel is that it is never too late.  No one is beyond the reach of the grace of God.  Furthermore, it seems that God has built something special and mystical into these relationships between parents and children.  Many parents feel that it is “too late” and they lost their opportunity to win their children to Christ long ago because they are grown.  These grown children may be many miles away.  Perhaps, they are just far away from God or even bitter toward the things of God.  But there is a boundless spiritual reach from the life of a parent who is seeking, responding to Jesus, and growing in Him.  It may not involve conversation, and perhaps there is not contact at all --- except in the heavenly realms.  The Holy Spirit can and will touch the life of that child through the heavenly realms because of the life of Jesus at work in the parent.  The same is true in reverse for a parent who is lost being touched by child who is alive in Christ.  What an encouragement this is.  God is never finished, and no one is beyond His reach, regardless of how it may appear.  Discipleship is the long obedience in the same direction.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       How has my life been affected by someone older in the faith who not only helped to raise me as a child of God, but also helped lead me to be a “partner”?

2.       Who is being affected in this way by my life?

3.       What am I doing to make disciples?  In other words, what is the level of seeking, responding to Jesus, and growth in Him that is taking place in my life, which will in turn affect others?

Terms of Endearment

Philemon 1-2

A culture of affection

One of the features that stands out most in Paul’s letter to Philemon is the use of what we might call “terms of endearment” --- the way in which he naturally expresses his love and care for people.  While it might be easy to gloss over these terms with a quick reading of the letter, their use genuinely reflect how Paul thinks and feels about these people to whom he is writing.  When we begin to really notice these terms of endearment in Philemon, we also begin to realize the use of similar language in all of Paul’s epistles.  It is no “fluke” or “put-on” for the Apostle Paul.  What we see in his choice of words in addressing these friends is a reflection of what is truly in his heart.  Consider briefly just the terms of endearment used in this letter to Philemon:

·         “Partner”

·         “Brother”

·         “Beloved friend”

·         “Fellow laborer”

·         “Beloved”

·         “Fellow soldier”

·         “My own heart” (in reference to Onesimus)

·         “Beloved brother”

Personally, I am moved and overwhelmed by the use of these terms.  As we shared earlier, it is quite shocking to my North American culture and mindset.  Not very frequently do we use such terms of endearment with one another in my culture, not even in the church.  This is especially true among men!   When Trina and I traveled to South America in our very early years of ministry, we were amazed at and touched by the affection of the people.  A kiss on the cheek was not uncommon --- something to get used to for North Americans!

However, Paul does not keep any safe “buffer zone” between himself and his friends in the churches.  The terms of endearment tell us at least a couple of things about his relationship with them.  First, it speaks of an ongoing relationship with these people.  The use of terms of affection in addressing someone normally suggests that it is someone we have known and with whom we have built some degree of relationship.  Many of us never use such affectionate words like those that Paul uses toward people.  We especially would never use them with people we have just met or do not know very well.  One would imagine that this is true, to a great degree, even for Paul.  He had ongoing relationship with the churches and the people in the churches.  This is a hallmark of Paul’s ministry.  He is no “hit and run” apostle.  For Paul, it is not merely about delivering a message.  It is about living out that message in real life and discipling others who can live out and proclaim that message.  Paul knew what He was learning from His Lord, Jesus Christ:  That discipleship and lasting faith take place only in the context of ongoing relationship.  This is why Paul writes such things as 1 Thessalonians 2:8:  “So affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives because you had become dear to us.”  Paul’s warm references to these brothers and sisters indicate a commitment to long term relationship with them.  Paul writes in other epistles about running a race.  He certainly views the race as something that they are running together.

The second thing these words indicate, which has already been alluded to, is that Paul really knows these people and their circumstances.  He is willing to get involved in their lives and in the middle of their situations.  This letter to Philemon is the best demonstration of that point.  Paul could have stayed at a safe distance in this very complicated and potentially difficult situation involving Onesimus, a runaway slave.  However, instead of “playing it safe,” Paul essentially takes Onesimus by the arm and wades right into the situation.  In writing this letter, Paul is up to his neck in something that could be messy.  How different this is from how I have often operated.  It has been much easier for me to put people on my “prayer list.”  This is not to criticize such lists or the people who make them, and it is something that I have done.  The point is that Paul cannot be content with only praying for this situation.  His prayer for them has propelled him to involvement with them.  Paul cannot help himself because of his deep and passionate care for them --- the very heart of Jesus within him.  This is why Paul’s use of the terms of endearment is no “put-on.”  It reflects a culture or atmosphere of affection that existed between Paul and his friends in the churches.

Where did Paul learn such a culture?  This culture of affection was something Paul was learning because it is what he was born into in Jesus Christ --- or what was born into him!  It is the culture of the Trinity itself --- the atmosphere that exists between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  If language is the clear indication of this, then we clearly see it in the way in which Jesus and the Father speak to and of one another.  Consider the following verses of scripture:

·         “And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My BELOVED Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17).’”

·         “Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen, My BELOVED in whom my soul is well pleased (Matthew 12:18)!”

·         “While He was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is my BELOVED Son, in whom I am well pleased.  Hear Him (Matthew 17:5)!’”

·         “And He said, ‘ABBA [term of great affection], Father, all things are possible for You (Mark 14:36).’”

What we see in these verses is a language of affection that expresses an incomprehensible love between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  The three members of the Trinity have a deep and tender care for one another, and it cannot help but come out in the language that they utilize in speaking.  This love and care is not something that they “do,” but what they “are.”  The language merely gives us a glimpse into the very atmosphere and culture that exists in and around God.  This is the single reason we see it in the life and language of the Apostle Paul.  In Jesus Christ, Paul now lives in this atmosphere and it exists in him.  For Paul it is not effort at “saying the right things.”  The words are more of a natural response to what is inside --- a revealing of how he really feels.  Certainly there is a process by which this takes place in a person’s life as he or she responds to the indwelling Jesus.  Yet, whatever or however long the process is, we see the reality of this culture of affection --- straight from the heart of God --- in the life of the Apostle Paul.

How God feels about us

When we consider all the terms of endearment that Paul uses in just this letter to Philemon, there is something striking about it.  It is not only how Paul feels about the people in Colossae and how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit feel about one another.  We find, as we read the New Testament, that this is how God feels about us!  To God, we are:

·         Beloved sons and daughters of God

·         Brothers and sisters of Jesus, the Firstborn, and joint heirs with Him

·         Friends of God

·         Fellow laborers and soldiers in His kingdom

·         His own heart

It is amazing and moving to consider that this is how God sees and feels about us when we are born again and adopted into His family.  What would this do to my esteem, sense of value, and sense of belonging if I could become constantly aware of this reality?  God made us to live and breathe in the atmosphere of His love for us.  This is why Paul prays in Ephesians 3:17-19, “that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height --- to know the love of Christ that passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

To live securely in this kind of love is how we were made to live.  Who of us cannot testify that it is the deep desire of our hearts to be loved and to belong?  As long as I can remember, I always wanted to be a part of a team --- a “band of brothers.”  The joy of team sports was the relationships and the togetherness.  It was not just about what happened on the field or court of competition.  It was the countless hours of practice, traveling on the bus, hanging around together in our spare time.  We were family (dysfunctional most of the time!).  It was there that we had “community” together.  While not everyone has participated in team sports, the same longing can be seen in every aspect of human life, including family, work, neighborhoods, and church, among others.

When I was in junior high school, there were two guys that I considered best friends.  I had a genuine love for them, as much as a junior high boy from a broken home can realize.  We all played together on a team, spent spare time together, and talked often.  When my grandmother got free tickets to the Chicago Bears game from her workplace, these were the guys I invited to come with me.  I’ll never forget sitting at Soldier Field with the wind whipping off of Lake Michigan on a sub-freezing day in December.  The seats were terrible, and our feet were numb.  But it didn’t matter, because we were together.  During Christmas time in 8th grade I bought matching Notre Dame shirts (a matter of loyalty for many young men in the Chicagoland area --- just watch the movie, “Rudy”) for all three of us, and had our names put on the backs:  Jeff, Jim, and John.  We wore them proudly.

I have realized more and more that all of these desires and needs to belong, to love and be loved, were designed into me and into each of us. God made us this way, for we were made in His image.  Best of all, as Paul points out in Colossians 1:16, “All things were created through Him and for Him.”  The clear message of the gospel is that Jesus is the fulfillment of all of these things in our lives.  He made us with these longings, and He Himself is the fulfillment of these longings.  God made us for His “team,” and then lovingly invites us into the affection, love and intimacy of the Trinity.  Jesus comes to live in us, and gives us a new heart and a new sense of belonging.  In Him and in this relationship with God is the only place we will ever know true belonging.  What would it do in my life if I could become constantly aware of the reality that God considers me His beloved child, a sibling and joint heir with Christ, His friend, and a fellow laborer and soldier in His kingdom?

Two things would certainly result.  First, the love of God in and toward me would certainly flow back to Him.  His love in me would give me a growing love for Him.  I could also, with Jesus, now say, “Abba, Father (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6).”  It would not be a forced love or something that I tried hard to do out of fear.  Instead, it would be a genuine and freeing love for God, because it would actually be His love flowing in and through me.  Secondly, such a secure love and sense of belonging – that for which I was designed --- surely results in the flow of this love toward others.  This is what we see through the Apostle Paul and his use of the terms of endearment in this letter and in all of his letters.  He has a genuine, supernatural love pouring out of him toward others, and it cannot help but be reflected in the way he speaks to them.  It is not Paul’s love, but the love of Jesus through Paul that has taken hold of him.  Again, there is nothing forced or contrived in this.  Paul is not “trying” to love Philemon.  Paul just does love Philemon, among others, and Paul cannot help it.  It is the overflow of his life.

The overflow life

This life of “overflow” and the joy of it are the marks of true Christianity.  Furthermore, this is why Christianity is not simply one more “religion.”  Every religion ever known to man prescribes certain behaviors, rules, customs, or practices in order to gain some benefit or favor.  Christianity is not a prescription of what we are to do, but the promise of what God will do in us through Jesus Christ.  The promise of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that we are not only forgiven, but that Jesus also comes to live inside of us, through His Holy Spirit, and do in us what cannot be done by us.  This is the message of the New Testament.  “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).”  We are no longer bound to try to please God, gain His favor, live for Him, serve Him, or accomplish anything for Him.  He has come to live in us and to be and do everything in us which needs to be done.  He will work through us to accomplish everything that He desires.  There is not a list of responsibilities to which we are duty-bound, including going to church, praying, giving our money, reading His Word, serving in the church, and loving others, among the dozens or even hundreds of things which we could imagine to be on our shoulders.  The beauty and power of what Jesus does in us is the overflow.  Things which before could have been viewed as requirements to be lived out in our power become responses from the heart when living in the power of Jesus.  Instead of trying to squeeze out of our weary flesh what is needed, we can live in an overflow of what He is doing in us.  Imagine the joy of this overflow life.  We go to church and worship not of requirement, duty, or guilt, but because we would not rather be anywhere else --- genuinely.  We give not to buy favor for ourselves from God or anyone else, but we give out of the kind of overflow joy that the New Testament describes.  We serve somewhere in ministry to others not from duty or earning anything, but because of the overflow of what God is doing in our lives and because we cannot help ourselves and would feel the loss of not doing so.  These things give just a shadow of description of the overflow life --- what Jesus does in the life of a person.  Imagine what this does in our love for others.  Loving others is not an “ought to,” “have to,” or “should.”  Imagine the love of Jesus so at work in our lives --- so living in the atmosphere of the love and affection of God --- that there is a love for others that bursts forth.

This is surely what we see in the life of Paul, and in the writing of this simple letter to Philemon.  Out of the dozens or more letters that the Apostle Paul must have written, this was just one.  It is a simple letter written to one man in his life about a situation that few knew about.  But in this random snapshot of the life of Paul, we see the love and affection for this man coming through in terms of endearment.  It was nothing forced or required.   There was no one to impress.  It was just the overflow of Jesus in his life.  He could not help himself.  Is that happening in me?

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       What terms of endearment do I use with those close to me, and how do I feel about those people?

2.       How has the longing for love and belonging been evidenced in my life (such as seen in the life of a junior high boy)?

3.       How have I seen the overflow of Jesus in my life?  How would I like to?  What is He speaking to me about right now?

Please Pass the Salt

Philemon 3

After indentifying himself and those receiving this letter at the beginning of Philemon, Paul goes on to give what is his typical greeting in verse 3.  “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”  This greeting is so normal for Paul that a close form of it is used in nearly all his letters that we have recorded in the New Testament.  We are told by scholars that a greeting was a normal part of a letter written in this day.  Something of a prayer, blessing or wish for well-being was common for people to express at the beginning of their letters.  Christian people, of course, took opportunity to “Christianize” this form when they wrote to one another by using statements such as the one Paul uses here in Philemon.  This has raised an extremely important question for me.  Is Paul merely just participating in the social conventions of his day, or is there something truly powerful and effective behind these words of blessing with which He begins the letter to Philemon?  Two options seem to exist when reading these words.  The first is that there was something extraordinary that happened in the lives of Philemon, his family and the church when they read this, and that the same is true for us because it is the inspired Word of God.  This option would say that God worked through these words in a powerful and supernatural way as they were spoken or read.  The second option is that Paul was merely just writing in the way that was typically expected.  He was, in effect, just doing the polite thing and offering the normal greeting that was the cultural norm.  Of course, he “Christianized” the greeting.  Whereas a normal Roman or Greek might have said something like “Good luck!” (if they said that kind of thing in their day), Paul gave a spiritual version of “Good luck!” by saying, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”  The basic question is whether the words really accomplish anything or if they are just a spiritual way of being polite.

This question is of the utmost importance to me personally.  I ache for a Christianity that is more than words, but has a reality behind the words.  We have more words now than at any time in history, thanks to the age of communications.  Communication flies back and forth through every electronic means available.  There is no shortage of Christian material in printed, video or audio form.  I do not wish to disparage any of it, for God can use it all.  But there is just a cry in my heart to know the reality behind the words.  Some of the Christian writers of previous centuries, called the “mystics,” speak of a level of knowing of Jesus that is deeper than words.  That is what I want.  I don’t want to merely speak words or hear words, but know the reality of Jesus Christ.  I know all too well that our days can be filled with words without knowing Him.  My earnest prayer and desire is for His reality, and that any words spoken or heard will be the expression of that reality.  Was Paul just being polite --- saying more words --- or was and is there something really happening in what he said because Jesus was and is doing something through it?

Origin

One way to begin to get down to the answer to that question is to see exactly what Paul meant by the actual words that he says when he wrote to Philemon.  “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”  First of all, “grace” and “peace” are words full of meaning used frequently in the scripture, yet their meanings do not necessarily go much beyond what is normally understood in the English translations of them.  “Grace” carries with it the concept of God’s favor or kindness.  “Peace” has a variety of uses including tranquility, harmony, wholeness, and the opposite of war, among others.  Again the English words fairly well carry the suggestion of what the words mean in the original Greek that Paul was using when he wrote.  Secondly, it is interesting to note that there are no verbs at all in this phrase --- only nouns, pronouns, conjunctions and prepositions.  Someone may well be asking, “So what?”  Having no verb seems to suggest something that is so definite that you don’t even need a verb to express it.  It just is!  Thirdly, note that this grace and peace (that just is!) is from both God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  There was no need for Paul to distinguish between them.  Perhaps the even greater message of that is what we discuss next:  that God is the origin and source of all grace and peace.  It is His nature and what He cannot help but give.

This seems to be stated by Paul in the way he expresses the phrase in the original language of Greek.  When he says, “Grace to you and peace FROM God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,” he uses the preposition apo, which is translated “from.”  One of the meanings of the word apo is the suggestion of origin.  It can mean one or more of several things having to do with origin.

1.       That something is descended or birthed “from”

2.       That something is the means or instrument “from” which something comes

3.       That something is the cause or occasion “from” which something comes

4.       That something is the material “from” which something is made

One could easily make a case that any or all of these are in use here when Paul says “Grace to you and peace FROM God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”  He is the Father of all grace and peace.  He is the means through which all grace and peace comes (see John 1:14).  He is the cause and the occasion for all grace and peace.  Grace and peace is the substance of who He is.  The point of it all is that HE is the origin and source of all grace and peace.  There is no way that grace and peace takes place in my life or that of anyone else except through Him.  Do I need grace and peace in my life?  He is the source of all grace and peace.  And not only is He the origin and source of it all, it is just the way it is with Him.  Because of who He is, He is going to dispense His grace and peace.  It is not something one has to beg Him to do.  It is just who He is and what He does.  That is why, for Paul, it seems to be more of a statement of fact than even a wish or a prayer (though it is a prayer and blessing).  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  He is the source of it all and it is coming your way (to those who are in Christ and responding to Him)!

The graceful mundane

The truth of God being the origin of all grace and peace and that it is coming our way partly helps to answer the original question I had:  Was Paul merely being polite or was there something effectively happening in the speaking of these words?  What we see in the use of the grammar is that God definitely is going to pour out His grace and peace on those who are His.  The only question is to what extent He does that in the actual speaking of words, such as the words the Apostle Paul uses here.  Is the grace and peace of God, which is coming our way because God can’t help Himself, poured out through a simple social custom like this?  After all, this was just a simple greeting in a personal letter to some guy and his family who lived in the city of Colossae in the region of Phrygia.  It was not some high, theological statement.  While we have dissected it some here to try to understand it in its original form, it was really a rather common statement from Paul that he used to open his letters to people and churches.  There was nothing too very formal about it, as the entire tone of Philemon is obviously pretty informal.  Are we to believe that such a simple, normal, perhaps even “mundane” statement really carried in it the grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ?  How can something so common, so routine, so regular be filled with the actual grace and peace of God?  Does God really work through such ordinary things?

Is that not, however, the entire point of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ?  John writes it so plainly:  “And the Word became flesh and lived for a while among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. . . .  For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:14, 17).”  In the Incarnation, Jesus came to us where we were.  He did not come in the great or grand things of this world, but in the common and ordinary.  He was born in a feed trough, raised in a second class village in the middle of nowhere, and was executed as a criminal.  The point is that Jesus came and became flesh and lived among us in every possible way.  He did not invent new customs or social conventions, but came to where we are and, where appropriate, functioned within our customs and social conventions.  It may be too simplistic to say it this way, but Jesus came and dressed like us, ate our kind of food, and listened to our kind of music.  In Jesus, we saw God --- the Truth, the gospel --- right where we live in the normal things of life.  This is always the case with the ministry of the gospel, as Paul so passionately explains in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23.  “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.”  However, while Jesus came to the ordinary and common, there was and is nothing ordinary about Him.  He cannot be missed.  Jesus came into the “normal” and demonstrated in His very person the dynamic life and power of God.  While Jesus lived in the “mundane,” there was and is never anything common about Him.  His life is glaringly evident.  He shines and brings life, power, and vibrancy into the most routine or commonplace things.  Imagine the power and grace that were so near and obvious as Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount.  His presence shone like the sun in that common setting.  It was not a cathedral, but a grassy hillside.  But His life and vibrancy rang out unmistakable in every syllable, without exception.  But He does not change from moment to moment.  Ministry was no “performance” for Jesus.  He did not have to get Himself “pumped up” and dressed up for the performance, only to have to go back to His dressing room and be something different afterward, like so many entertainers.  Jesus was the same walking to the mount where He preached the sermon as He was preaching the Sermon on the Mount!  There was no change in Him afterward.  The same “grace and truth” that came through Him would have been evident in any situation.  I believe that the power and grace of God would have been just as evident in Jesus when He said “Please pass the salt” at dinner time as when He preached the Sermon on the Mount.  His grace and peace were and are in and through the mundane.  In fact, with Jesus, there is nothing mundane.  He can fill our lives to give purpose and meaning to everything.

Please pass the salt

Is this not the real meaning and purpose of Paul’s blessing at the beginning of Philemon and all his letters?  “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”  This may be a “normal” kind of greeting for their day, but Paul believed that the Presence of Jesus could actually pour His grace and peace through these very words.  Paul knew this grace and peace in Jesus Christ in his own life, and wanted to dispense it to everyone with whom he had contact.  The New Testament teaches that Jesus Christ comes to live in us and to be a part of our entire lives.  There is no separation between the spiritual and the physical, the special and the ordinary, the holy and the secular.  We are the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in us (1 Cor. 6:19)!  That means that He is in every part, and that every element or part of our lives is the place for Him to act.  There is no part of my life that is too “ordinary” or “common” for God; He works in all of it.  In fact, perhaps it is in the common and ordinary things of life where He wants to most demonstrate Himself.  In this way, my whole life becomes holy, special, and full of His life.  We all know that there are things in life that we don’t prefer or would wish to avoid.  But what if these “common” things could become the place of God’s working in us?  What if in every part of my life, and even in the most routine of things, we could “shine as lights in the world (Philippians 2:15)”?

Paul was so convinced of this that he wrote extensively of the use of our words as the means of God’s presence and grace.  The Bible is full of the description of the effects of curses and blessings in our lives.  The emphasis is that our words matter, and carry with them a spiritual effect.  This was Paul’s message when he wrote also in Colossians.  After several references to our speaking and instructions regarding this in chapter 3, Paul says in Colossians 4:6:  “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer one another.”  By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul was teaching that those who are indwelt by Christ have a power and opportunity to let their words be the very means of His grace.  Jesus can and will actually touch people through our words!  Imagine the possibility and the calling of allowing Jesus to touch people through my words in every situation!

We were discussing this concept among a group of guys who were studying Philemon together at church.  One man in that group, Lee, had served as a missionary to Papua New Guinea.  As I shared the idea of Jesus saying, “Please pass the salt,” Lee was reminded of his grandfather.  His grandfather was a godly and gracious man who really demonstrated Jesus to the children.  Lee remembers one of the “standard” things that his grandfather would say at the dinner table.  “I would thank you if you would please pass the salt.”  Lee speaks of the graciousness and Christlikeness evident in the life of his grandfather even in something as common and ordinary as asking for the salt at dinner.

Is the same true in my life?  How many times have I spoken sharply or unkindly to my children, family members or anyone else, unaware or uncaring of the effect of my words?  How many times have I been impatient with someone when I wasn’t feeling well?  “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt.”  Surely this is not possible for a person to simply determine to do.  The Apostle Paul could dispense the real grace and peace of Jesus Christ in his life only because he was a prisoner of Jesus Christ, bound to Him.  Lord Jesus, I pray that you will do something in my life also that is real, makes me ever mindful, and allows me to dispense your grace and peace through all the ordinary moments of my life.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       Who or what have I looked to as the source of grace and peace in my life?  Have I tried to find peace or favor anywhere else besides in Jesus?

2.       Is there any part of my life where God is raising the awareness that it is a place of opportunity for His grace and working?

3.       Who are the people that God most desires to touch by His words through my life right now?

4.       What is the way this is going to happen in my life?

Refreshing

Philemon 7

Summary statements

What could be said to be a summary statement of my life?  What would be a key, summarizing, “linchpin” statement to which everything points, and which always points the way for me?  In the flow of this very personal letter, verse 7 seems to stand out as a key or “hinge” of what Paul is expressing to Philemon.  “For we have great joy and consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.”  In many ways it is a hub of this letter.  We see two reasons for this in the grammar which surrounds verse 7.

First of all, the verse begins with the conjunction “for.”  We remember from our days in school that the purpose of conjunctions is to connect words, phrases or clauses.  In this case, by beginning verse 7 with a conjunction, Paul is clearly trying to tie it back to what has been already said.  This would particularly mean that Paul is tying this verse back to the “long sentence” of the prayer in verses 4-6.  This particular conjunction, “for,” is a coordinating explanatory conjunction.  It means that it is going to further explain or define what Paul has just said in the prayer.  In other words, this is the summary of what has been said.  If you want a brief statement of why Paul is thanking God regarding Philemon, verse 7 is it.  In verse 7 we can see the core and basic report of what is happening in the life of Philemon.  Someone who knows Philemon and hears about him from others is stating the bottom line of this man’s life.  We have gotten down to the bottom of who Philemon is --- not just in the “good” moments, but in the day-to-day activities of life.  We are seeing him as he is.  What could be said of me in this same regard?  What would be a “bottom line,” summary, linchpin statement of my life?   What would happen if someone asked those who know me the best?  I can easily portray an image in public or with those whom I only see on occasion.  But what am I really in the everyday of life?  Beyond the gloss of the portrait pose, what do I look like in the snapshots of life when things are the way they really are?  That is what Paul is seeing and saying about Philemon by beginning verse 7 with “for.”

There is second reason that verse 7 is a hub of the letter to Philemon.  Not only does the verse point back to the previous verses and summarize them, but it also lays the groundwork for the remainder of the letter.  In fact, there is indication that everything that follows will look back to and build on verse 7.  We see this in the fact that verse 8 begins with “therefore.”  This is the only time that the conjunction “therefore” is used in Philemon.  This is it --- the springboard into the remainder of the letter and what Paul wants to say to Philemon.  In this verse 7 he has given the summary statement of what is happening in Philemon’s life (and also how it has affected Paul personally).  Beginning in verse 8 Paul will now present to Philemon the next level or new step to which Philemon is being invited.  In short, verse 7 summarizes where Philemon is; verse 8 and following invites Philemon to where God is calling him next.  Is this not the way it always is with us in our relationship with God?  When God moves in our lives and when we respond to Him, the fruit is beautiful and glorious, as it has been with Philemon.  But God never leaves us where we are.  He is always calling us higher and further along in Christ.  The excitement of being a Christian is the continued response to Jesus and where that takes us as we are continually transformed more into His image.  He who began a good work in us will complete it.  This invitation to further growth is a key point for understanding the letter to Philemon and what God wants to do in our own lives.

Refreshing

In summarizing in verse 7 what is happening in Philemon’s life, Paul uses stunningly descriptive language to paint the picture:  “because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.”  There are two main parts to this phrase, including a subject and a verb (or action).  The subject is “the hearts of the saints.”  It is good to note what “saints” means in the original language.  It literally means “holy ones.”  It is those who have received Jesus Christ into their lives, have been born again and received His nature, which is holiness.  We have sometimes pictured “saints” as those who have been around the church the longest.  However, from the standpoint of the original Greek and how Paul uses the word, “saints” includes anyone who has received Jesus.  This means that someone could have received Jesus yesterday and can still be considered a “saint.”  Anyone with the vilest background becomes a saint the moment he or she receives Jesus.  In this particular verse, Paul is talking about the “hearts” of the saints.  The Greek word translated heart is a very vivid word which describes a particular part of the human anatomy.  If this Greek word were translated very literally, it would mean, “inward parts,” including the heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys.  In a metaphorical sense, it is sometimes used to refer to the heart or seat of the emotions in human beings.  By using this word, Paul is really referring to the insides of the saints --- what is happening inside of them and what they are feeling.  What is happening in Philemon’s life is affecting the people around them on their insides --- at the deepest level.  Is this not always true with each of us?  My life and actions are not without consequence and “ripples.”  Who I am and what is taking place in my life is affecting everyone around me.  How many times have we experienced someone affecting an entire gathering either positively or negatively?  Is this not true of me all the time?

Paul is saying that the insides of those around Philemon “have been refreshed” by what is happening in Philemon’s life.  One thing we immediately learn about this verb is that it is in the perfect tense.  The perfect tense indicates that an action has taken place in the past, but has ongoing results (“have been refreshed”).  This means that the insides of the people around Philemon have been almost permanently affected by what is going on Philemon’s life.  It was not merely a quick result in the past.  Their lives have been deeply affected in a lasting way.  How have they been affected and what has happened to them?  The translation “refreshed” comes from a compound Greek verb, anapauo.  The root word is the verb pauo, which means “to make to cease or make to rest.”  The prefix ana serves to increase, strengthen or make complete the meaning of the root.  Therefore, the literal meaning of this word, anapauo, is to give a complete and absolute rest.  When it is in the passive voice, which it is in this case, it has the idea of “to take one’s rest, sleep, or regain strength.”  It all paints the picture of an absolute rest --- almost like totally shutting down or even taking a nap!  This is the same word that is used to describe the Sabbath rest that God instructs for His people in Exodus 23:12 and Deuteronomy 5:14.  Furthermore, it is the very word that Jesus uses in Matthew 11:28-29 when He says:  “Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you REST.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find REST for your souls.”  This is the very word and concept that Paul is using to describe what has resulted on the insides of those surrounding Philemon.  Paul uses the Greek preposition dia, to indicate that Philemon is the instrument or means through which this is taking place.  Their insides have been put at complete rest.  It is the kind of rest that comes when one is able to shut down --- like the Sabbath rest that God described for the Jews.  It is the kind of perfect rest, peace, and regaining of strength that comes only from Jesus.  No wonder that it is translated as “refreshed,” like how one feels after a really good night of peaceful sleep when there is no care in the world.  This is how the people around Philemon have been made to feel.  It is like they have let out a “sigh” of relief, let their weight down, totally relaxed, and probably even laughed.  Is this the effect on people that happens through my life?  Are their insides put at ease and refreshed?  We know from Matthew 11 that Jesus is the only source of such a rest.  It is not the skill or personality of Philemon who has done this, but the presence of Jesus through Him.  This is always the result of the presence of Jesus in the lives of the saints --- those who are responding to Him.  Would I be the willing vehicle of this as was Philemon?

Foundations

As we have seen, in the second half of verse 7 Paul has described what is happening in Philemon’s life and the effect on those around him.  In the first half of the verse, Paul expresses the impact of all of this on his own life.  “For we have great joy and consolation in your love.”  It is good to note at first that, in the original Greek language, the verb “have” is in the first person singular instead of the first person plural.  In other words, the best translation is really “I have great joy and consolation in your love.”  Paul is really giving his own personal testimony of how this has touched him.  It is also good to note what Paul means by “love” at the end of this phrase.  It is the Greek word agape, which we know is the concept of a selfless and sacrificial kind of love.  Paul attaches this part of the verse (“for we have great joy and consolation in your love”) to the last half of the verse (“the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother”) by using the Greek conjunction oti (pronounced “hoti”).  This conjunction is normally translated either “because” (to give the cause of what has just been said) or “that” (to give a demonstration of what has just been said).  The end result of either seems to be that the last part of the verse (hearts of the saints being refreshed through Philemon) IS the love of which Paul is speaking.  What a powerful definition of love this would be, especially of agape.  We have known that agape is about a selfless love that has concern only for the other.  This flow of Jesus to completely put the hearts of others at rest is the perfect demonstration of what this love is about.  The love of God is always offering the perfect rest and refreshing of Jesus Christ to those around us.  It is the natural flow of what His presence does in and through us.

Paul says that he has GREAT joy and consolation in all this which is happening through Philemon.  First of all, his joy is “great.”  The Greek word translated “great” can mean great in number, size, degree, force, value, worth, space, or time.  Which of these applies to the joy that Paul has from all this?  I would contend that it is all of the above.  There is something overwhelming and inexpressible that Paul has in his life as the result of this.  Over what do I have that in my life, and what is happening in my life that causes that in others?  Paul also says that he has “consolation” in this love that is happening through Philemon.  The translation “consolation” comes from the Greek word paraklesis, which comes from the Greek verb parakaleo.  It literally means to call out to one from alongside.  This will come up again in the next chapter as well, but my favorite image of this is of two runners in a race together.  One is running right alongside the other and calling out to him to encourage him and urge him onward.  Paul is saying that this is what Philemon’s life has done for him personally.  By seeing the love and reality of Jesus toward others that is coming from Philemon’s life, it has served to encourage Paul and urge him forward in the race.   What a picture this is of Christianity!

There is one more part of this phrase that has great meaning.  Paul says that “We have great joy and consolation IN your love.”  The actual Greek preposition Paul uses here (translated “in”) is the word epi.  This preposition in normally translated “upon.”  The imagery here is that the joy and encouragement that Paul has is built upon the love and flow of Jesus seen in Philemon’s life.  It seems to be the case that Philemon’s life --- the Jesus in Philemon --- has served as a foundation for others.  It has brought great rest and refreshing to others and has been a source of God’s work in their lives.  What will God do in their lives to build upon this foundation?  Paul also expresses that God has worked through Philemon’s life to build up Paul’s own life.  What will God do further in Paul’s life because of this?  St. Augustine once said that every generation stands on the shoulders of those who have gone before and reaches higher.  It is the New Testament concept that we are a body . . . the building or temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:9-17; Eph. 2:19-22).  There is a building up of others that takes place as we allow Jesus to work through our lives, demonstrating Himself to be the only true and reliable foundation that He is.  Does my life demonstrate and present this foundation, pointing others to Him?  Does my life serve as a foundation (something that brings stability in Christ upon which others can build) or sinkhole (creating pitfalls for others)?  Does my life bring others rest and refreshing or exhaustion?  Does my life bring joy and encouragement or despair and negativity?  Only Jesus can be all that is good in a person’s life.  He is the only foundation (1 Cor. 3:11).  He is the only rest (Matt. 11:28-29).  He is the only joy and encouragement.  And it is encouraging to see and know that it can really happen in the life of a person just like us.  That is why Paul was so moved by what he saw and heard in Philemon.  Will we allow it to happen in us as well?  What is the summary statement of my life, and what does God want to do in me next?  Whose life may be touched as a result?

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       Would I consider asking for thoughts or insight from some of those who know me best?

2.       Describe a time when my insides were put at rest and refreshed by someone just showing up and being there.

3.       Am I willing for Jesus to make my life a foundation upon which others’ lives are built up in Jesus Christ?  What might this mean for me?

The Urging of Love

Philemon 8-10

After giving the summary statement of Philemon’s life in verse 7, including what Jesus is doing through him in the lives of others and how all of that is also affecting Paul himself, verses 8-10 now begin the heart of Paul’s appeal to Philemon.  I believe it is important to note that everything up to this point (and beyond) in the letter has been absolutely sincere and from Paul’s heart.  There is no intent from Paul to manipulate Philemon.  For, that is not the nature of Jesus at all, and Paul is a “prisoner of Christ Jesus.”  I would completely disagree with some who have suggested that Paul writes in an especially relational way in the early part of the letter only to persuade or soften up Philemon for the “big blow” that is about to strike.  I firmly believe that Paul writes in such a relational and affectionate way throughout the letter because he cannot help himself.  This is how he truly feels about Philemon because of the heart of Jesus within Paul.

As Paul begins this appeal, he initiates it with what could seem to be simply a contrast of two possible approaches to Philemon.  “Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting, yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you --- being such a one as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ (Philemon 8-9).”  I believe what is really happening here is that Paul is testifying of how God is moving in his life to produce in him a new approach: from the way he might have tended to be (verse 8) to higher level in Jesus and His way of  loving people (verse 9).  I believe we are seeing an elevation of approach.  It is not that the first approach in verse 8 is wrong in any way, as we will see.  It would have been a legitimate way for Paul to address Philemon.  However, I believe Paul is expressing how the love of Jesus in his own life is driving him to something further, and that is what he now desires to pass along to Philemon.  This is further reinforced by something that is clear in the original Greek of verses 8 and 9.  In the grammar, verse 8 cannot stand on its own.  Instead, all of verse 8 (“though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting”) actually hangs on or depends on the main verb, “I appeal,” in verse 9.  This means that what is said in verse 8 is really pointing to what is said in verse 9.  Everything points to an emphasis or shift in focus to this urging that Paul is expressing.  In order to understand this shift, it is helpful to look at these two approaches and how they are described in verses 8 and 9.  One approach is what we are calling “Bold to Command (verse 8),” and the other we are calling “The Urging of Love (verse 9).”  There are three elements in each of these two approaches that help us to see the elevation or shift in Paul from “bold to command” to the “urging of love.”  It is no put-on for him, but is a reality of what is taking place in his own life.  This is a “snap-shot” of who he really is and is becoming.

From “having” to “more”

One shift we see from verse 8 to verse 9 --- from “bold to command” to the “urging of love” --- is in the elevation from “having” to “more.”  In our translation of verse 8, we see Paul saying, “though I might be very bold in Christ.”  In the original language of Greek, there is a verb that is not showing up in this translation.  It is the verb “to have,” and it is in a participle form.  A participle is a verb that acts like an adverb or adjective in describing something else.  The reason this verb is in participle form is because it is not the main idea of the verses, but is hanging on and pointing to the main idea of “I urge” later in verse 9.  A literal translation of this phrase would be something like, “HAVING much boldness in Christ.”  Essentially in verse 8 Paul is telling something about where he is.  It is similar to what he does in 1 Corinthians 9:1-14 when he describes his position, authority, and “rights” as an apostle.  There is certainly nothing bad or wrong about this.  In 1 Corinthians 9:1-15, as in all Paul’s writings, we see that all of the authority and “rights” he has as an apostle is given by God.  Paul is clearly an “apostle OF Jesus Christ.”  When Paul speaks, he is not speaking on his own authority.  The very definition of the Greek word, apostolos, tells us that the apostle is one who is sent with authority.  Paul clearly makes it known in all his writings that he is only the spokesperson or channel through which the Lord Jesus Christ may speak.  May it be so with us!  I believe Paul is doing something similar with Philemon here in verse 8 and in the letter as a whole.  Paul gently reminds Philemon of his place in Philemon’s life (see also verse 19, for example).  Paul certainly HAS a great deal, including authority, position, and rights, among many other things.  It is where he is and it is what has been legitimately given to him by God.

However, in verse 9 we see an elevation.  Paul goes from “having” in verse 8 to “more” in verse 9.  In this translation of verse 9 we see it as the word “rather.”  In the original Greek, this word is mala, which is a comparative adverb.  It literally means “more,” indicating increase.  This is a very important word in these two verses as Paul addresses Philemon.  It tells us that verse 9 is not merely a replacement of verse 8.  It tells us that everything in verse 8 is right and acceptable, but that verse 9 is an expansion or elevation of verse 8.  It is a new step.  It is further growth.  It is a higher level.  Again, Paul had legitimately been given many things by God, including the right and authority to speak to Philemon (we do not altogether know the relationship between Paul and Philemon, but the tone of the letter is that Philemon was certainly under the influence or spiritual authority of the Apostle Paul).  Yet, Paul is not content to rest in what he “has.”  What the verses together indicate is Paul being led or compelled to a new level.  Instead of simply speaking from what he HAS (“having”), he desires to speak from and operate in the MORE.  Note that this is what he also did in 1 Corinthians 9.  After spending 14 long verses describing his rights as an apostle (only to highlight how small were the rights to which the selfish Corinthian leaders were clinging), he begins the next verse by saying, “But I have used none of these things.”  Paul was always being led by Jesus into something “more.”

Is this not the tone and picture of the life of the Apostle Paul?  How much more clear can he be than what he says in Philippians 3?  After outlining his pedigree in verses 3-6, he goes on to say how he has counted all these things as loss.  He powerfully states in Philippians 3:12-14:

“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me.  Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

The focus of the Apostle Paul is never about remaining where he is or “having” what he already has, but in responding to the new moving of Jesus in his life that will take him to new places in Christ.  This is one key factor in the elevation we see in verses 8 and 9.  Am I willing to be on the same perpetual journey in Christ in my own life?

Boldness in love

When Paul speaks “having” in verse 8, it is boldness that he describes himself as possessing.  A literal translation of this word “bold” from the original Greek would be “free-spokenness, openness, or frankness.”  It is actually made up of two words in Greek put together.  One means “all,” and the other means “words.”  In combination these would literally say “all words,” from which we get the concept of boldness or being free-spoken.  One does not have to look too much in either Paul’s letters or in the book of Acts to see how he indeed does have this!  He gives two adjectives in verse 8 to further describe his boldness.  The first is “much” or “very.”  The second is a prepositional phrase, “in Christ.”  This says some very important things about Paul’s boldness.  As was discussed in the last section, everything Paul has received has been from Jesus.  All of his rights, authority, and position are from Jesus.  If Paul has any boldness at all, it is not something he has in and of himself.  It is IN CHRIST.  Paul himself is in Christ and Christ is in Him.  It is no longer Paul who lives, but Christ who lives in Him (Galatians 2:20).  Therefore, this is not a man speaking on his own authority, or even with his own boldness.  This is a man whose boldness is in and from Christ.  This is important to say again because nothing Paul describes himself as currently “having” is bad or wrong.  Everything he has, including his boldness and right to speak, is legitimate.  It is all from Jesus.  The important point is this: what Paul has is not wrong or bad in any way, but there is something more to which he is compelled.  It is again the sense of elevation.

When Paul describes the “more” in verse 9, he gives a prepositional phrase that describes the cause, reason, or purpose for the elevated manner he will go on to state.  In the Greek, this prepositional phrase appears at the beginning of verse 9.  The English translation is “for love’s sake.”  In the Greek, it would literally read, “because of love.”  The preposition, dia, conveys the idea of cause, reason, or purpose.  Paul is explaining what is behind this elevated manner of living.  What is driving him?  It is “love.”  We are not surprised, of course, to learn that the Greek word for “love” here is agape.  It describes a selfless kind of love that gives preference to and uplifts another.  This is the entire motivation for the entire elevated manner of living to which Paul feels compelled.  This is the “more”!

It is especially important here to see that the elevated manner is not a replacement of something bad or wrong.  Boldness cannot be seen as wrong.  In fact, we see in the New Testament that this same word for “boldness” used by Paul here is also used to describe Jesus Himself and the manner in which He spoke (John 16:29, for example).  It is also used to describe the boldness of New Testament Christians in several respects.  The life of Jesus, the New Testament, and Paul’s testimony help us to understand the character, nature and spirit which God wants to produce in our boldness.  It is one thing to be bold.  It is another thing to have the atmosphere and tone of His agape love being conveyed through the boldness.  Consider how easy it is for us to be “bold.”  I know how to “tell people like it is.”  In many cases, or maybe even most of the time, I am right in what I am saying.  Like Paul is expressing in verse 8, there is something very legitimate in the boldness.  I can be totally “legal” and within every right and custom and speak boldly on something.  However, it has been my experience at times that I was totally right in what I was saying and yet seemed to fall short in some way.  This points to the elevated manner to which Paul feels compelled.  He can speak to Philemon very legitimately and boldly.  But Paul is compelled that everything that comes from him must be in the tone of love.  This is the higher level.  Perhaps it does not change the fact of the boldness, but instead transforms the tone and atmosphere of the boldness.  What if all my boldness was only in a tone and atmosphere of love?  This can only be true if love is the motive instead of “being right.”  Imagine this being how I speak to my children or my wife, not to mention just about anyone else.  This kind of love can only come from Jesus and in Him.  He is the source of all love.  That is why Paul is a prisoner of Jesus Christ. It is in being bound to Him that we begin to “know the love of Christ which passes knowledge (Eph. 3:19).”  As we respond to Him, He will more and more fill us with this love so that it will be what overflows to those around us, through our actions and our words.

From command to urging

The clearest demonstration of this elevation in manner comes through looking at the verbs in verses 8 and 9.  As Paul describes the boldness that he “has” in verse 8, he says that it is a boldness “to command you what is fitting.”  This phrase is loaded with meaning.  The first word, “command,” carries a heavy emphasis on military tone and is made up of two words put together.  The root word in Greek is tasso.  Its essential meaning is to arrange things for battle, especially including the placement of troops.  From this and as a part of it is the concept of appointing people or giving orders.  There is also a prefix here attached to this word, which is the preposition epi, making the full word epitasso.  The preposition epi normally means “upon.”  The full emphasis of the word, here translated as “command,” is the concept of “placing orders upon.”  There is no question that it produces images of a military system in which a leader with authority is giving orders to a subordinate.  As discussed earlier, Paul has certainly been given authority as an Apostle in Jesus Christ and has the right to speak with that authority.  Paul goes on to say that he has boldness to command “what is fitting.”  This comes from a seldom used word in Greek which has the sense of reaching up to meet a standard.  In all, the picture is that Paul is within every legitimate right and expectation that he should be able to boldly hand down an order to Philemon of what would be the right thing to do in this situation.  There is a standard of Christian behavior that should direct Philemon in this situation.  It is very clear to Paul and it should be very clear to Philemon.  Paul is saying in verse 8 that, in some ways, it would be “normal” for him to spell out these standards for Philemon and “hand down the order” in a very clear and bold manner.  However, Paul feels compelled to something higher.

The elevated manner comes to its full and bright reality in verse 9.  “Yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you --- being such a one as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.”  The main and central verb of verse 9, upon which these verses hang, is the word “appeal.”  It is a powerful Greek word used frequently in the New Testament and often in Paul’s letters.  It goes by several different translations, including:  urge, exhort, beseech, and comfort.  It is another compound word in Greek (made up of more than one word).  The root word is the verb kaleo, which means “to call out.”  The preposition placed on the front of the word is para, which most often means “beside.”  The full meaning, then, of parakaleo is generally “to call out alongside.”  The graphic picture is of one who is calling out to another person from alongside of him or her in exhortation and/or encouragement.  It is worth noting that the noun form of this word, parakletos, is most often translated “comforter” in the New Testament and is the word used by Jesus to describe the Holy Spirit in John 16:7.  This gives even more meaning to this word being used by Paul, realizing that this kind of “appeal,” urging or encouragement is the very nature of God as demonstrated through the Holy Spirit.  When Paul uses this word here, it is in the present tense, which indicates an action that is continually taking place.  This is the elevated manner for Paul.  Instead of boldly handing down an order for Philemon to live up to a certain expected standard, Paul is urging him.  It is the picture of one person standing beside another and exhorting them or appealing to them --- quite different from the picture of someone standing over another.

When I was younger and competed in long distance running as a part of team, we learned the value of this kind of manner.  When one of the guys was having a hard day out on the long run (some days it was me!), the other guys got alongside of him and exhorted him on.  We see this dynamic at all kinds of athletic events.  There is a crowd that is cheering on the team.  I can speak from personal experience that there is no substitute for having someone run alongside you in the race to cheer you on and encourage you along the way.  This is the position Paul is taking with Philemon.  Instead of ordering him to do what is right, Paul is running alongside Philemon in the race and urging him on.  This idea is so emphatic and so central in this letter that Paul repeats the word again at the beginning of verse 10.  The importance of this idea in the letter to Philemon cannot be overemphasized.  But there is even more in the imagery as we read on in verse 9.

In the remainder of verse 9, Paul says about himself:  “being such a one as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.”  The word “aged,” by most accounts, refers to an “old man.”  Some believe that this word in Greek is used for the second oldest age group.  In other words, Paul is not among the oldest of men, but the age group just younger than that.  In addition to this, he reminds Philemon again that he is a prisoner of Jesus Christ.  It would certainly seem that Paul goes out of his way to avoid the image or tone of a “commander.”  He paints himself as quite the opposite.  He is the “old man” who is a prisoner of Jesus Christ.  This is the one who is urging Philemon.  In fact, the picture is quite gripping.  It is the picture of the old man running alongside the younger man in the race.  The aged Paul is running alongside, calling out to the younger Philemon and urging him forward in the race.  Is this not what the older men are always called to?  Is this not what we are all called to?  We are to make disciples.  Those who are older in age or older in the faith are to disciple and mentor those who are younger in age or younger in the faith.  It is part of the beauty of God’s design.  It is “more” than handing down orders about what standards need to be met and how Christianity needs to be lived.  It is a living and running alongside, calling out and encouraging.  That is discipleship.

What would it be like for that elevation to happen in my own life?  Am I running alongside my children, calling out to them instead of merely handing down standards?  Do I run alongside of my wife and encourage her instead of merely telling her the way she should have done things?  Who are the younger ones in my life whom I can run alongside and to whom I can just be the “old man” and prisoner of Jesus Christ?

How can I have that kind of heart?  It is no put-on or “pose.”  It is the heart and mind of Jesus Christ in Paul that we see in this snapshot.  While we may all have different physical appearances, there is a common “resemblance” for anyone who is indwelt and filled with Him.  The snapshots will all have a remarkably similar look.  Let’s respond to Jesus and be bound to Him with all our hearts.  He will produce the same “elevation” in our lives that He did in Paul, and we will find ourselves being the “old man” to those alongside of us needing His love and encouragement.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       What do I “have” in my life right now that has legitimately been done by God, and yet God seems to be calling me to a higher level?

2.       What “boldness” in my life does God want to begin to temper with the manner and atmosphere of His love?

3.       Who am I running alongside of in these days?  Take a careful inventory of how my life is affecting my children, spouse, co-workers, fellow church members, and friends.  Do I tend to hand out standards, or run alongside?  Ask Jesus to give me His heart and mind in this --- that the Holy Spirit (parakletos) would flow His life through me.

Causes

Philemon 10-11

Philemon verses 10 and 11 begin a fascinating section of this letter that continues to reveal a great deal about relationships in Christ.  The entire letter really points toward the direct appeal that Paul makes to Philemon in verses 17-20.  As Paul begins this section (verses 10-16) giving the subject of the appeal, he uses very vivid language to describe Onesimus and his own relationship with this slave who is now a brother in Christ.  From this relationship, we see a reflection of the very heart of God and how He is toward us.  Paul is a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and it is the demonstration of Jesus that we are seeing in his life.  By looking at these elements of the relationship between Paul and Onesimus, and by seeing in this the heart of God Himself toward us, we can understand the heart that He desires to produce in us toward others.  We will take an in-depth look at three powerful aspects of relationship between Paul and Onesimus in verses 10-11 and how these reflect what God offers to us as well.

Child

We first note the “parental” type language that pours from Paul as he writes about Onesimus in verse 10.  “I appeal to you for my son, Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains.”  There are several aspects of this which stand out in the original Greek and shout about relationship, which, again, is the entire basis of this letter.  First of all, Paul calls Onesimus his “son.”  In the Greek, the word is actually better translated “child.”  While “son” certainly conveys the idea of relationship, there is something that is also strongly communicated by the word “child.”  Perhaps it is something about dependency as this word sometimes carries the sense of someone young.  And it certainly ties in with the idea of “begotten,” which strongly tells Philemon about how Paul has been a spiritual father to Onesimus and that the life of Jesus has been poured from Paul into this man.  It is similar to the kind of relationship that Paul describes with the Corinthians in 1 Cor. 4:14-16.  He is a spiritual father to these beloved children.  It is a powerful statement.  Also note that Paul is so careful to express the personal connection through the use of “my.”  Paul writes that Onesimus is “my son.”  It all points to a very strong relationship and connection with Onesimus as Paul’s child.

Perhaps the greatest indication, however, of the strength and depth of the relationship between Paul and Onesimus is the position in which Paul places the name in the sentence.  While it may read differently in the English translation, the name Onesimus is actually the very last word in verse 10 in the original Greek.  If the verse were translated very literally, it might read something like:  “I appeal to you for my child, whom I begot in chains, Onesimus.”  Just by the word order, we find the relationship to be so strong that the name could be almost optional at the end of the statement.  It could almost seem like an “add-on.”  Paul’s relationship with Onesimus is so deep that it has gone far beyond a first name basis.  Paul can refer to him in these deep relational terms with or without calling him by name.  This is true in my own life with those closest to me.  The people whom I know very well are those with whom I am on a first name basis.  When I can freely refer to someone by his or her first name, it indicates a level of comfort and closer relationship.  However, there are some people that I can refer to without even mentioning their name.  That is because they are more than close to me:  I am in very deep relationships with those people.  When referring to my wife, I sometimes refer to her as Trina, which is her name.  But, far more often (as I just did!), I call her by the relationship that I have with her or even by some other nickname.  She is more than a name to me, and she is far more than someone with whom I am very friendly.  She is the closest person in this world to me.  That is something of the kind of relationship Paul is expressing about Onesimus, who has come to be in the very inner circle of Paul’s life.

Where did Paul get this kind of heart from?  He obviously feels very deeply about Onesimus.  How did he come to feel this way and have this kind of relationship?  We are reminded throughout the letter Paul is a prisoner of Christ Jesus.  The heart that is seen in Paul is the very heart of Jesus Himself.  We could go on at great length discussing the heart that God has toward us.  But it cannot be overstated that part of the message of the New Testament is that we have been adopted as heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.  We are His children.  “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are CHILDREN of God.”  Paul uses the same word in Romans 8:16 to describe our relationship with God as he does in Philemon to describe his own relationship with Onesimus.  What an astounding truth it is that we are loved by Him and that we are His children.  I must recognize this truth to be fact in my life, because it is reality!  This is the value of being immersed in His Word, letting Jesus permeate my consciousness through His Spirit, and choosing to live in truth.  I am more than a name to Him.  He knows my name, and has brought me into His family and kingdom.  But even more than this, I am in the inner circle of God.  I am someone that He calls not only by name, but by the relationship with Him.  He talks about me as “My child,” or “My son.”  That is who I am in Christ Jesus.  That is who I am to Him.

If it is this heart that Jesus brought about in the Apostle Paul, would He not bring about the same kind of heart in me toward people?  If God feels this way about me, and He feels this way about others, would I not begin to feel what He feels toward them as well?  What a thing it would be in my life to be so caught up into Jesus that I would be overwhelmed with His love not only for me, but for others.  Again, no wonder we see Paul’s prayer for the church in Ephesians 3:14-21:  “. . . That you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height --- to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge.”  If we could truly know this in the way Paul prays, it would produce an urgent love overflowing in my heart for people that came from Him in a supernatural way.  It was not Paul’s natural inclination to have that, but it became the natural flow of Jesus in his life.  It is the promise and guarantee of the New Testament that He can do the same in me.  It may not happen overnight, but it will be sure and steady as I keep responding to Him.  Would I allow Jesus to so love people through me that they are brought into my inner circle?

Cause

Because of Paul’s great love for Onesimus and because Onesimus was his spiritual child, this also became Paul’s “cause” in writing this letter.  He begins verse 10 by saying, “I appeal.”  Some have asked, “What exactly is Paul appealing for?”  That is really the question that is answered in verses 10-16 --- the subject of the appeal.  What is the subject of the appeal?  It is Onesimus himself!  This is very clear in the grammar in the Greek when Paul says that He is appealing “for” or “regarding” Onesimus.  That preposition, normally translated in one of those two ways, can also be translated with the idea of “contending” for something.  In short, Paul is “fighting for a cause” in writing this letter.  And Onesimus is the cause!  In reality, we know from all his writings (and from his reminder here that he is a prisoner of Jesus Christ) that Jesus is really the great cause of Paul’s life.  His entire life is about Jesus, being known by Him, filled with Him, and being the vessel for His life to be demonstrated.  As we have seen in this letter, Paul is bound to Jesus.  And as we learned in the last section regarding the “child” relationship, the heart of Jesus has taken hold in Paul.  Because of this, not only is Jesus the “cause” of Paul’s life, but Paul is also taking on Jesus’ own “cause,” which is people!  It is for this reason that Paul is willing to get involved in this kind of mess with Onesimus and Philemon.  Paul does not know what else to do but to throw his entire life into this and put everything on the line.  He finds himself wading into this situation and is “neck-deep” in the entire thing.  It would have been easier to just pray for this situation from a distance, but Paul cannot.  He is compelled.  Jesus is Paul’s life, and this is what Jesus is doing in him.  Relationship is Paul’s cause --- with Jesus and with others!

I am learning much more in these days about what it means that we are Jesus’ cause.  The word that Paul uses for “appeal” is the Greek word parakaleo, from which we also get the Greek word parakletos.  It literally means “to call out alongside of,” which is why it is often translated as “encourage, exhort, appeal, etc.”  It is also used sometimes as a legal term, as for someone who is advocating for another.  The word parakletos is the word used to describe Jesus in 1 John 2:1.  “We have an ADVOCATE with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”  This idea of Jesus as our Advocate or Intercessor is throughout the New Testament, in verses such as Romans 8:34; 1 Timothy 2:5; and Hebrews 7:25 and 9:24.  The message is that God is FOR us (Romans 8:31ff.)!  The picture is that Jesus is continually interceding for us with the Father.  It is something that consumes Him at all times.  He is so into the heart of the Father and so full of the love and life of the Father, that He has taken on the cause of the Father, which is us.  This paints an entirely different picture of intercession for us.  It is not that the Father has reservations regarding us and that Jesus is pleading with Him to be for us.  It is that there is an intense relationship going on in the heavenly realms with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and Jesus is constantly seeking and in the presence of the Father that we may be partakers of the same thing with them.  Jesus’ intercession is not to convince the Father to give us what we need, but to make the way for us to have all that the Father has for us in Jesus.  That is the cause that He is after.

What happens when the Spirit of Christ Jesus comes to live in us?  Do we not begin to have a heart for the same cause?  We are wrapped up in the intense and intimate relationship with Him.  And because of this, do we not take on the same heart that is consumed with the passion for others to have this same thing?  “. . . That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3).”  Our cause is relationship with Him and the extension of that life to others.  I am bombarded by causes in my world.  Even church itself has all kinds of good “causes” and ministries to which I can give my life.  There is always an opportunity to take on a cause and to “fight” for something good and legitimate.  But what if relationship with Jesus and sharing Him with others was my only cause?  What if the outflow of His dynamic life to and for every individual became the only thing that really mattered in every situation, big or small?  The more I respond to Jesus, the more I grow to have an overwhelming love for people, for this is how He feels about them at this very moment.  He is interceding to the Father at this very moment that we all might know and experience Him, and that we may find in Him all the answers for our lives.  And this drives us to be into the mess of life with people --- those that God puts before us.  We want to be where people are and walk right alongside of them.  What we have to offer them is Jesus: the only hope for us all.  As we respond to Him and make ourselves available to Him, He will place us where He wants us and will demonstrate Himself through us to the people that He puts before us.  He is our only plan in every situation.  As it was with Paul, it is always about being bound to Him in relationship and allowing others to experience Him through us.  That is the cause.

Cherished

After giving some of the picture of the close relationship and then explaining his “cause” in verse 10, Paul makes a curious statement in verse 11 that could almost seem to be “out of the blue”:  “. . . who [Onesimus] once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me.”  Two things in the Greek make this statement far more understandable.  First of all, remember that, in the original Greek, the name Onesimus is the last word in verse 10.  Paul did not intend verse 11 to be a new thought, but rather a continuation of verse 11.  Remember also that there was really no punctuation in the original Greek.  This means that the word, “Onesimus,” could be considered not only the last word in verse 10, but also something of the first word in verse 11.  The second item which helps us to understand verse 11 is the literal meaning of the word “Onesimus.”  The word literally means “profitable” or “useful.”  While it may be difficult to grasp all the way, Paul is doing something that was common in Greek writings.  It was something of a pun or a lighthearted joke (it tells something about the relationship between Paul and Philemon that he can add something of a joke into this very weighty letter).  Perhaps an illustration might help bring this to light.  My name is John, which literally means, “Gift from God.”  It would be like Paul saying something like, “I realize John has not been much of a ‘gift” to you before, but he is a real ‘gift’ to you and me now (incidentally, my mother used to say things like this about me all the time!).”  Paul is using the name in a lighthearted way to make a point.  Onesimus may not have been very “profitable” or “useful” to Philemon before for whatever reason (maybe because he ran away or something else), but he is going to be of great use now!  Onesimus is now a new creature in Christ and things are not going to be the same.  He is coming back to Philemon as a new man, and it will be evident.  There will be a brand new “usefulness” to his life.  Watch and see, Philemon.  You will be amazed.

What does Paul mean by “profitable”?  How will Onesimus now be useful to Philemon?  Will he work twice as hard?  Probably. Will he help Philemon make more money?  Maybe.  Will he be a good example to the rest of Philemon’s slaves?  Definitely.  But there has to be something more than this.  The entire tone of this letter suggests that there is a whole different value system at work.  The basis of this appeal is relationship.  Thus, the value of Onesimus is not going to be merely about his usefulness as a “tool.”  The value to Philemon --- the real value --- will be in the new relationship he will find in this newborn Onesimus.  Philemon now has “more than a slave (v. 16).”  He now has a beloved brother in Christ, which is worth more than anything.  What would you give for that?  Onesimus will be something that Philemon has never had before. This is a brand new Onesimus that will be the vessel for the life of Jesus back into Philemon’s life, home, and church.  Onesimus is not a tool to be used.  He is a cherished, beloved brother in Christ.  His value is in who he is in Christ Jesus.

This is how God feels about us!  We are His beloved.  Jesus died, rose again, and has come to live in us by His Spirit because God loves us and wants us with Him.  He did not do all of this because of what we can “do for Him.”  The humbling truth is that we cannot do a thing for God.  We are infinitely incapable.  The Scriptures make this point very clear.  Our best efforts are humiliatingly inadequate.  All of our righteousness is like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).  He just desires us.  He longs for the relationship with us.  He is all about relationship!  Our value to Him is just because He loves us.  How radically different that is from the way it is in our world.  In our world, our value is in what we can do, perform, contribute, or how much we can make.  In the world, it is always about how useful we are to some other end.  In the world, we are means to an end.  This is not what we are to God.  We are not a means to an end with God.  Relationship with Him through Jesus is the means and the end and everything in between.  That is why He is interceding for us constantly, and why we are forever dependent upon Him.  He is the way.  That is all there is to God.  He just longs for the embrace.  This is why Paul prayed that the Ephesians might “be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height --- to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge . . . (Eph. 3:18-19).”  No wonder the songwriter, Charles Wesley, called it, “Amazing Love!”

What would happen in our lives if we got into this embrace with Him and had this heart?  We would also begin to see Him in the same way.  Jesus would be no means to an end for us. We are not after something else, such as health, success, blessing, or heaven.  He is the means and the end.  He is the reward.  And in this heart and relationship with Him, we would see and feel the same about others.  Others would no longer be tools for us.  People are not means to an end.  Their value is in Him and in His love for them.  Their value is not in what they can do for me, how good they make me look, or how they can further my plans.  Their value and “usefulness” is in Him.  I am willing to get into their mess with nothing in it for me.  It is the powerful message of agape love in the New Testament.  This is not some special level of love for a certain class of Christians.  It is the hallmark and primary characteristic of those in whom Jesus lives.  It is what He will pour out in the heart of everyone who is open and willing.  It is the kind of love that cherishes others in the same way He cherishes us.  And it is this love that will win the world.

The most amazing thing about this picture in the letter to Philemon is that it is a snapshot of the life of Paul.  The love for a child; the cause; the cherishing.  This is not normal stuff for our world.  It looks quite strange, to be honest.  But it is the normal of what happens in the life of one who is a prisoner of Jesus Christ.  Get bound to Jesus and this is what you get.  No effort, no straining, no trying.  It is just a pure flow that comes out even in the most difficult of times.  What would you give to have that?  He has already given it.  Would I let this be the “cause” of my life?

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       What does the Word say about God’s love for me and who I am to Him?  Find some verses that I can keep with me at all times and repeat often so that I can be constantly be aware of who I am in Christ.

2.       What “causes” have I given my life for and how might this truth reshape me in that?

3.       Has Jesus been my “means” to any other “end”?  In a very practical way, what would it mean for me to let relationship with Him be all that matters?

Connections

Philemon 12-13

The further Paul goes with this letter, the deeper he goes in the relationship, both with Onesimus and Philemon.  Is this not the natural progression of true relationship in Christ Jesus, with Him and others?  It is not possible to stay in the same place; the only place to go is deeper.  In verses 12 and 13 Paul gives an even more in-depth description of his relationship with Onesimus (if this is possible after the very vivid description in verses 10 and 11).  In the original Greek, verse 12 and following is a natural continuation of verse 11 as Paul begins verse 12 with a word that would be translated in English “whom.”  In fact, Paul begins verse 13 with the same word again: “whom.”  The emphasis is that he is still talking about the same person, yet going more in-depth with the portrayal of the relationship.  Yet, this is not just about Paul and Onesimus.  It is also about Paul and Philemon.  Before Paul is finished with verse 13 and his picture of relationship with Onesimus, he has somehow gotten around to talking about Philemon as well.  In all, Paul assumes some very powerful things about relationship in this picture that he paints.  Of course, we are talking about the relationship that happens between people when they are in Christ --- when each person is bound to Jesus.  Humans may imitate relationship and try their best to have some resemblance of it.  However, true and real relationship happens only in Jesus Christ and as His Spirit works a miraculous dynamic between people.  This is what we see in the letter to Philemon.  We learn some particular things about this dynamic in verse 12 and 13.  One thing we learn is that there is both a physical connection and a spiritual connection between people in Christ Jesus.  Note that later in verse 16 Paul speaks of Philemon receiving Onesimus as a beloved brother, “both in the flesh [physical] and in the Lord [spiritual].”  Verses 12 and 13 give more description of each of these, and are a striking part of the picture of what relationship looks like in the body of Christ.

Physical connection

In verses 12 and 13, Paul places an undeniable emphasis on the physical connection of his relationship with Onesimus.  “I am sending him back.  You therefore receive him, that is, my own heart, whom I wished to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel.”  When Paul says, “I am sending him back,” one word in the original Greek of this phrase sometimes is not revealed in the English translation.  It is a word that literally means, “himself.”  Another way to translate this would “in person.”  A literal reading of this portion of verse 12 would be, “I am sending him back in person.”  Paul’s emphasis is that he is sending back the actual Philemon in person --- actually there in the body.  This seems to be a very important point for Paul, because relationship happens in person --- in the body.  Paul had growing relationship with Onesimus as they were together in the physical, and he is sending him back physically because the healing and relationship between Onesimus and Philemon will need to take place also in person --- in the body.

One can hear in Paul’s tone in these verses how precious was this physical presence and connection that he had with Onesimus over these past months.  Verse 13 is especially vivid in this.  Paul says, “whom I wished to keep with me.”  The verb “I wished” is a strong word that has to do with one’s will.  This is something Paul really felt.  It is in the imperfect tense in Greek, which indicates something that was ongoing.  Paul is describing a desire or act of his will that went on and on.  The verb “to keep” is an even stronger word that has the sense of “hanging on” to something.  It is in the present tense, which indicates a continuous action.  The sense in this entire phrase is that Paul wished and wished and wished that he could have just hung on forever to that young man!  He knew that it was time for Onesimus to go to Philemon, but Paul had developed a strong connection to even his physical presence.

Does this not reflect something at the very heart of creation, Christianity, and the Incarnation?  God created us as physical beings.  Far from the physical or the body being something bad, shameful, or even “lower” in some way (as the Greeks believed), God created us with bodies and saw that “indeed it was very good (Genesis 1:31).”  In our need for salvation and redemption, God did not carry out some plan from afar.  How easily (it seems to my small mind) He could have just done something with His almighty power that would have removed sin and saved us from the power of it.  He did not even need to “soil” Himself with this world, but could have stayed far away from it all.  But something in Him --- in the very nature and heart of who He is --- would not let Him stay at any safe distance.  God came near.  One of the most beautiful verses in all of scripture is John 1:14:  “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”  He entered into our situation; came to us on our turf.  John describes it even further in his first epistle, where he writes: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life (1 John 1:1).”  It is a mystery that is yet beyond our comprehension, perhaps until we reach heaven, or perhaps for all eternity --- that Jesus came in the flesh to have relationship with us.  There is something essential about the physical that is non-negotiable to God in relationship. Therefore, Jesus came to us right where we are, on our turf, and in a physical body!  To connect with us in the physical is at the heart of who He is.

But there is a cost to it.  It was the greatest of costs --- more than we can comprehend --- for our Lord to come to us where we were and suffer for our ransom, so that we might know Him in restored relationship.  Yet, as we have already noted, He cannot help Himself.  The Incarnation is His manner, and there is always a cost to it.  It is costly when He comes to live in us and desires to reach others in the same way --- to go to them where they are, on their turf.  It is what Paul describes in such a compelling way in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, becoming “all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.”  In every instance in those verses in 1 Corinthians, Paul is describing the incarnational manner of getting involved in people’s lives in the physical.  The gospel happens in physical connection.  How much easier it would seem to just keep a safe distance from people and “send” the gospel to them in some way.  Maybe a nice postcard would do.  It would certainly be less complicated, less costly, and less messy.  But this is not the way of the gospel.  There is a cost in the getting into the physical and being the gospel.  There is always a surrender --- a cost.  There certainly was for Paul.  He would have rather kept Onesimus with him as it would have been a comfort.  But Paul had to release something dear to himself in order for the gospel to go forward.  What is the cost in my life?  What is the surrender, so that the gospel can go forth?  When I come home from a long trip, my body tells me that it is time to shut down.  I don’t feel like doing anything.  However, many times, my little boy is waiting for me with a board game all set up.  What cost is worth Jesus being known?

One final and very simple truth about the physical connection of relationship stands out clearly in these verses.  It is simply that there was a strong desire in the heart of Paul to just be together!  Paul’s phrase in verse 13 expresses a deep attachment to and longing for just the physical presence of Onesimus.  Yet, this is nothing unusual throughout the writings of the Apostle.  Several verses later in this very same letter, he writes, “But meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be granted to you (v. 22).”  Paul has an inner longing to come to Colossae not only to follow up on this situation, but just to be with Philemon, Onesimus, and the people there.  This same deep desire is expressed elsewhere.  He writes to the Romans, “Having great desire these many years to come to you (Rom. 15:23).”  There may be no more beautiful expression of this feeling that in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians.

“But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire (1 Thess. 2:17).”

“. . . night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face . . . (1 Thess. 3:10).”

This kind of longing and desire to be together in physical presence with beloved brothers and sisters in Christ is far from strange.  While it may certainly be different from certain more formal cultures (especially in the western world) and may not be what is commonly experienced in some churches, it is certainly the normal environment of God’s kingdom.  Certainly one glimpse into heaven would reveal this kind of affection.  This is one of the powerful truths regarding the letter to Philemon, all of Paul’s letters, and the entire New Testament: it is a snapshot of what Christianity really is like in everyday life.  In his book, Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer comments on the normality of Christian affection and the longing to be with others in the Body of Christ.

“The believer feels no shame, as though he were still living too much in the flesh, when he yearns for the physical presence of other Christians.  Man was created a body, the Son of God appears on earth in the body, he was raised in the body, in the sacrament the believer receives the Lord Christ in the body, and the resurrection of the dead will bring about the perfected fellowship of God’s spiritual-physical creatures.  The believer therefore lauds the Creator, the Redeemer, God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for the bodily presence of a brother. . . .  But if there is so much blessing and joy even in a single encounter of a brother with brother, how inexhaustible are the riches that open up for those who by God’s will are privileged to live in the daily fellowship of life with other Christians!”

Spiritual connection

In addition to the strong sense of physical connection Paul expresses in verses 12 and 13, there is a powerful expression of spiritual connection in relationship.  He uses extremely vivid language to communicate that there is something happening beyond the physical.  Our first indication of this is when he states, “I am sending him back.”  In the original Greek, there are two verbs commonly used which are both translated, “to send.”  The first is one with which many are familiar: apostello.  It literally carries the idea of sending someone with authority, or to send or dispatch someone on official business.  This was important in the ancient day when messengers, for example, would carry the message of the king across long distances.  This is the very word from which derived the Greek word, apostolos, or “apostle” in English.  The apostles, such as Paul, were ones sent with authority.  When Paul speaks of his apostleship, he was saying that he was sent with a message from the king.  The apostle is nothing in himself and has no authority of his own, but only the carrier of the message on official business!  What a picture this is of the apostle!

However, it is the other Greek word commonly translated “send” which is the one used by Paul here in verse 12.  It is the Greek verb, pempo.  This word still carries the idea of sending or dispatching someone.  However, it carried an extra emphasis that is not contained in apostello.  One aspect of pempo is “to convoy, attend, escort, or conduct.”  This further accent provides a marvelous picture.  In addition to someone being sent, the word pempo conveys the further idea of escorting that person.  In other words, it is not merely sending someone on a mission but actually going with him or her!

This is the word that Paul particularly chooses to use here when he states that he is “sending” Onesimus to Philemon.  The strong suggestion is that Paul is not merely sending Onesimus, but that Paul is coming with him also (escorting him)!  That natural question is, “What does he mean by this?”  Obviously, Paul is not going anywhere as he under Roman guard on a continual basis.  The remainder of verse 12 seems to give us something of an answer.  “I am sending him back.  You therefore receive him, THAT IS MY OWN HEART.”  The Greek word which is here translated “heart” is used from time to time in the New Testament and  is a difficult word to spell and even more difficult to pronounce!  We saw the same word back in verse 7 and it literally means “inward parts,” including the heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys.  In a metaphorical sense, it is sometimes used to refer to the heart or seat of the emotions in human beings.  That is why it is normally translated “heart” or “affection.”  In its most basic sense, it refers to the innermost part of a human being.  Paul is, therefore, making a most interesting statement in verse 12.  He is says, in essence, that he will be coming with Onesimus.  Yet, while he may not be accompanying Onesimus physically, Paul will be sending his “insides” with Onesimus.  In other words, there is such a strong connection between Paul and Onesimus that “a part of Paul” will quite literally be going with Onesimus.  Beyond the physical connection that they share, and which we discussed earlier, this seems to point to spiritual connection between them.  Paul seems to allude to this kind of spiritual connection in the next verse as he speaks of Onesimus being with Paul “on your [Philemon’s] behalf.”  It all speaks of an underlying spiritual connection that is between Paul, Onesimus, and Philemon.  Is this not true of us as well in the body of Christ?

To be quite honest, this whole matter of spiritual connection in this way is somewhat new to me and not something that I feel that I understand very well.  It can seem almost frightening or “over the edge.”  I do know this however:  that such connection only takes place in Jesus.  It is not something that we can create or do --- no matter how much time we spend together or how much we have in common.  It is something that naturally happens between us when we are each “bound to Jesus.”  That is the underlying message of this letter.  While I understand that part, I seem to struggle to understand what the application of it is for us and how it is lived out.  The comforting thing is that it is not something we need to figure out.  The spiritual connection between believers, again, is something that He does in us as we just respond to Jesus.  So we can relax!  In light of that and in looking at some of the characteristics of spiritual connection between people in the New Testament, there seem to be at least a few things we can expect will happen between us as believers running together in Christ.

Same mind

One of the beautiful facets of Christianity described in the New Testament is the single focus and unity in thought that takes place between believers.  While this is something that we tend to fear and shy away from in the western world, it is indisputably a mark of the spiritual connection between those who are together in Christ.  Paul is quite bold in writing about this.  Consider what he says to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 1:10:  “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”  This is an awesome and overwhelming calling.  How could it happen, as it did in the early church (as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles), among a group of people so diverse as us?  Yet, Paul states this call clearly and forcibly to each of us again in Philippians 2:1-4:

“Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.  Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.  Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”

How can such a miracle take place?  Paul goes on in the following verses to explain it:

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross (Philippians 2:5-8).”

This is the only way such single-mindedness takes place in us.  “Let this mind be in you.”  It is not anything we can produce or do.  It is the natural product of who He is in us.  It is clear in the New Testament that such focus and unity will naturally be a part of the spiritual connection that occurs between us as we respond to Jesus.  We may have different preferences or tastes, but there will be a like-mindedness that overrides it all.  Would it be OK with us if God even began to give us the same preferences?

Body function and ministry

Another part of this spiritual connection between us in Christ is the approach and view of how we operate together in the Body of Christ.  This is something else that is foreign to the thinking of our world, including the type of “individualist” thinking that is prevalent in our western world.  In such individualistic thinking, the focus tends to be on me and what my role is.  While the New Testament certainly does discuss and point out that each individual has a role as a part of the body, the focus seems to be on something much bigger.  The New Testament focus tends to be on the function of the body as a whole and how glory is brought to the Head of the Body:  Jesus Christ.  Simply put, it is not about me in particular, but about what Jesus is doing through His body.  And because there is a spiritual connection between us, and because we are one in Him, there is the sense in which each of us is participating in some way in every function of the body even though we may not be the ones involved particularly in that activity --- or at least it appears that we are not.  A simple, yet profound, illustration of this in my own life is in preaching.  Not only do I have a call to preach, but I have a love for preaching and it is what I have done for my entire adult life.  Along with that passion may come an unhealthy obsession if I am not focused on Jesus alone.  Such an unhealthy obsession could produce a spirit that is not right when I am preaching.  Furthermore, however, it could produce a wrong spirit when I am not preaching.  What happens when I am not the one preaching?  For example, what is my attitude and spirit when I am sitting in the service when our pastor or someone else is preaching?  A tendency could be to be consumed with thoughts like, “I wish it was me up there.”  One could imagine how this attitude could cause me to miss the entire truth of the message for me and what Jesus is trying to do in my life and in that service!

Yet, what if I am up there preaching even when someone else is up there physically because there is a spiritual connection between us in the Body? What a blessing this has been for me to realize.  I do not need to feel that I am missing out or not participating.  I am involved because the one preaching and I are one in Jesus Christ.  What a beautiful thing this is and it is revolutionizing my view of ministry.  I can be a complete supporter to the one in the more visible role even and especially when I am not the one in the visible role.  Consider the significance this gives to missions work.  I may not be the one out on the field somewhere, but I am truly with them in the Spirit because we are spiritually connected and one in Christ.  Consider also the perspective this gives to intercessory prayer.  I may not be there with a person physically, but I can be right beside him or her, agonizing with them as I pray with them in the Spirit.  What a captivating loveliness there is to the Body of Christ.

Reciprocity

Lastly, if there is a spiritual connection between us in the body of Christ, this means that there is a very real “reciprocity” between us.  In other words, there is a constant give and take between us.  This has two aspects. First of all, it is crucially important for us to realize that what is happening in our lives is affecting one another.  What is happening in my life spiritually and what I am doing affects you, and what is going on in your life spiritually and what you are doing affects me.  It is a ridiculously absurd and unacceptable for any Christian to state that what is happening in my life and what I am doing is “my business” only.  We do not have time here to go into the extensive way in which the Word of God contradicts that absurd philosophy.  Just reading Paul’s epistles tells us that what is going in our personal lives is critically important, and it is the business of others in the Body of Christ!

Secondly, as was alluded to earlier, there is a certain beauty to this reciprocity.  When there is a give and take in the Body of Christ, there is nothing more appealing.  The New Testament paints the picture of a group of people who come from different backgrounds and have different preferences, but have a deep love for and are truly sharing their lives with one another.  Any differences are all drowned in the flood of Jesus’ presence and life flowing in and through them to one another.

I have often wondered what would catch the attention of our world in this day.  The early church saw mighty miracles of people being healed and raised from the dead, for example.  Some people have claimed that these kind of miracles need to happen in our day in order for the church to win a hearing for the gospel in these times.  However, I am not so sure that these would be the miracles that would gain the greatest attention from our world.  Yet, I am convinced of at least one miracle in our day that would win the world around us:  a true, genuine, Christ-like love among those who are Christians.  “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:35).”

How can any of this happen among people like us?  How could we be so spiritually connected that we would be of the same mind?  How could we truly operate as a body?  How could we live in such reciprocity and love that it won over a skeptical world?  The simple and underlying message of this letter is that everything we need is the natural product of being bound to Jesus.  Such a dynamic between people cannot be created or coerced.  It is the normal flow of Jesus in the lives of people when they respond to Him. While that may seem a ridiculous prospect in the view of the world, it is the expectation and anticipation of what is ordinary in the kingdom.  Such connection between people is not a studio pose for the cameras, but is the snapshot of what everyday life looks like in Christ Jesus.  That is the tone of Paul’s life, and it is why he writes this letter to Philemon with such a tone of urging and expectation of the same.  And, if it is for Philemon, why not also for us?

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       As I am seeking after Jesus and being bound to Him (the only way true connection happens)?  For whom in particular is He giving me an overwhelming love?  What will the cost be in my life of loving them and being connected to them?

2.       Has He been giving me a single-mindedness with others who are seeking Him also?  What is He saying to me about this?

3.       What is He is saying to me about ministry and my role in His Body?  Is there a peace in my heart in whatever role He is placing me in at this time?

4.       Am I willing to be bound to Jesus and so spiritually connected with others in Him that there is accountability and sharing of life with them?  Who are the people with whom, perhaps, God is creating this kind of connection in my life?  What is He saying to me about this?

Symptoms of Relationship

Philemon 14

After expressing the depth of his connection with Onesimus --- both physically and spiritually --- in verses 12 and 13, Paul now provides in verse 14 an even further picture of how biblical relationship functions.  In verse 14 we see how this same kind of connection between Paul and Philemon guides Paul is his treatment of him.  This is yet another remarkable representation of the way in which biblical relationship is lived out together among those who are responding to Jesus.  It is vitally important to see that this is actually a description more than a prescription.  In other words, what we are seeing is just a simple snapshot of the way Paul is because of Jesus in his life.  In looking at this verse, then, we are seeing symptoms of relationship.  A “symptom” is the visible or detectable evidence of some condition in a person’s life.  As we see these symptoms of relationship in Paul’s life through this verse, it is a good opportunity for a “check-up” in our own lives.  Are my relationships characteristic of the nature and Person of Jesus Christ?

After expressing in verse 13 his deep desire to keep Onesimus with him, Paul then adds in verse 14:  “But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary.”  In order to see and understand the symptoms of relationship here, it is helpful to see how the elements of relationship contrast with what is not relationship.  It is a contrast between the agape love of God in Jesus Christ and idolatry.  While agape is the selfless and true love which flows from God and has complete regard for someone else, idolatry is the self-centered approach of looking to people for what can be gained from them.  Agape means that I find all I need in Jesus; idolatry means that I am trying to find what I need in people and things --- with constant frustration as the result.  We see this contrast in three elements in the verse.

From the heart

When Paul writes that he “wanted TO DO nothing” without Philemon’s consent, he uses one of the most vivid words, I believe, in the Greek language.  Over the years it has become not only my favorite word in the language, but also such an important key in the unfolding of the New Testament message.  Two different verbs in the Greek language are mostly translated “do” English.  We will discuss the second one in a moment.  The first and more common one, which is used here in verse 14, is the Greek verb poieo.  In its essential meaning, as used in the common Greek world of the 1st century, this word alludes to the activity of an artist.  This word drips with creative, productive, artistic nuance.  In the estimation of this Bible student, the translation “do” does not quite capture the depth of the meaning and can lead one to missing the true emphasis of the word.  To understand this, consider that saying that the artist “does” his or her artwork does not quite describe the process of how a piece of art comes to be.  The artist does not “do” art as just another activity.  For the artist, the artwork is the creative expression of who he or she is inside.  Some call it “inspiration” or “vision.”  Whatever you call it, the artist has something happening inside that must be expressed, and this is what the artwork is.  It really has more to do with what the artist IS than what he or she DOES.

It is a deep inside dynamic that Paul is attempting to describe in verse 14 when he says that he “wanted TO DO nothing” without Philemon’s consent.  In addition to using the word poieo, Paul also uses a word that speaks of his will or desire when he writes about what he “wanted.”  All of this together really points to something going on Paul’s heart.  This is no mere activity for him.  It is something that is coming from within --- like the artwork from the insides of an artist --- and it is what he really desires.  Paul is not just doing something.  He is expressing what he IS at the heart.   He cannot help himself and this just has to come out.  His considerate treatment of Philemon is not a requirement for him; for he is compelled from within.

Contrast this notion to the other word Paul could have used here that is commonly translated “do.”  The Greek word prasso carries the emphasis of accomplishing or achieving something.  In the Greek world of the 1st century it was used, for example, in matters of business or trade.  In this way, prasso refers not so much to the inside state of a person as much as the end result of getting something done.  It is, simply put, the doing more than the being.  Paul did NOT choose this word to describe his manner and approach to Philemon.  That is because Paul’s conduct toward Philemon here was not merely about getting something done.  Paul was not checking off a checklist, trying to “close a deal,” or just getting some task “out of the way.”  What Paul was wanting to “do” toward Philemon was straight from the depths of his heart.  No one was telling him or forcing him to do it.  He was not following a manual.  It was a complete response from inside --- out of the overflow of the love of Jesus within him.

Is this not a symptom of real relationship?  Who of us does not desire this kind of response from those closest to us?  Any wife, for example, could give her husband a list of exactly what she wants done for her birthday.  The husband could dutifully go down the list, checking off one thing after another.  Right gift (just what she told me to get): check.  Cake made to specifications (from her): check.  Put on the clothes she told me to wear: check.  Read her the script that she wrote for me to say about how much I love and appreciate her: check.  “I did everything you told me, honey.”  Yet, what wife would not desire far more something from the heart?  What would she give for her husband to just respond from the overflow of love from his heart and creatively come up with his own loving expression of his feelings toward her?  Even if is not perfect, it would be from his heart!

That is the kind of love Paul is expressing here toward Philemon.  It is not a list to accomplish.  It is an expression of who he is deep from the heart.  What he does is a demonstration of who he is.  This is without doubt a symptom of relationship.

It’s about the person!

Paul begins verse 14 with the phrase, “But without your consent (I wanted to do nothing).”  First of all, it is good to note the meaning of the word “nothing.”  We often joke about this word.  “Do you know what the word translated ‘nothing’ literally means in Greek?”  “It means ‘nothing.’”  Actually, the word literally means “not one thing.”  It is really a strong word here to suggest that Paul does not want to do one single thing apart from Philemon’s consent.  That brings us to the word translated “consent.”  It refers to the mind, will, and purpose of a person.  Paul would be saying that he does not want to do one single thing apart from Philemon’s mind, will, and purpose.  When we are speaking about a person’s mind and will, we are really talking about the very core of who a person is.  It is his or her identity; it is that which defines the person.  In essence, Paul is deeply concerned about Philemon as a person.  He is going to treat Philemon as a person, with great care, respect, and consideration.

What might be the alternative to this?  Clearly, if treating someone with respect as a person is one alternative, then the other is to not treat someone as a person --- or to view people as “things.”  We do not have to go far in our world to see this dynamic at work.  Almost anywhere we look, we can see individuals being treated as things rather than people.  People can be treated as a means to an end, as “cogs in a wheel,” or just as numbers.  It happens any time that any one, any group, or any institution is more concerned with the “end” and a certain agenda more than the people themselves.  This is the essence of idolatry:  when people become a means to my end.  In idolatry, people only mean something to me for what they can give me.  In idolatry, I have no concern for people when they no longer serve my purposes or satisfy my need.  In this way, people become faceless and nameless things: mere numbers in a vast “pool” of potential resources for what I need to accomplish.  We are all susceptible to this.  As a church, we are certainly vulnerable to treating people in this way when some of our biggest concerns become “How many did we have last Sunday?” or “What was our attendance average last year?”  I am vulnerable to this any time my eyes are on something bigger and better for me instead of on Jesus and on the ones for whom He gave His life.

But Paul knows only one way to be.  In this snapshot of who he really is, we find him deeply concerned about Philemon as a person.  It is not about Paul’s agenda, dream, or plans.  Paul cannot bring himself to disregard the person.  The agape love of Jesus within him will not allow him to be any other way.  Paul will not treat him as a thing or means to and end.  He is consumed with this love and care for the person, and he will not do one single thing that violates that.  It is surely a symptom of relationship.

Voluntary

Finally, one more symptom of relationship is revealed at the end of the verse when Paul expresses his desire “that your good deed might not be by COMPULSION, as it were, but VOLUNTARY.”  These highlighted words present a powerful contrast between how agape love and idolatry operate.

The Greek word here translated “voluntary” is extremely rare.  In fact, this is the only time it is used in the entire New Testament.  When a word is used so rarely, it is sometimes difficult to get a fuller sense of what it means and how it is used.  However, this same word is used several times in the Old Testament to describe one of the special offerings.  This special offering was called the “freewill offering (Ex. 35:29; Lev. 7:16; 22:23; Num. 15:3; 29:39; Deut. 12:6; Ezra 3:5; Psalm 118:108).”  Easton’s Bible Dictionary defines the freewill offering in this way:  “a spontaneous gift, a voluntary sacrifice, as opposed to one in consequence of a vow, or in expiation of some offense.”  There is no pressure, compulsion, or requirement to this offering.  It was a “get to” instead of a “have to.”  The only time anyone gave this kind of offering was when it was a “just because.”  When someone might ask them, “Why did you do it?”, the reply would be something like, “I don’t know --- I just felt like it.”  There is complete freedom and joy in this --- thus, the name, freewill offering.  Paul is expressing that this is what he desires in relationship between himself and Philemon --- that there would be this kind of freedom and joy in everything that is done.

Perhaps this freedom and joy of the “voluntary” can only be understood in light of its opposite which Paul expresses in this verse: “compulsion.”  In its basic meaning, this word has to do with “force, constraint, or necessity.”  In other words, it conveys the idea of pressure.  This word is derived from another word which literally means, “to compress or press tight, especially the throat; to strangle, throttle, choke.”  That gives us a better idea of the kind of pressure of which we may be talking about.  It is the kind of pressure that is intended to coerce someone into doing something.  In his book, The Mind Changers: The Art of Christian Persuasion, Em Griffin provides a cartoon that really portrays this concept.  Sitting on a horse with a spear in his hand is a Christian crusader from sometime in the middle ages, dressed in his armor complete with the cross on his chest.  On the ground before the crusader, lying on his back, is an “infidel” --- someone of a different “religion” that would be in need of “converting.”  The end of the crusader’s spear is pointed squarely at the throat of the infidel, who is saying, “Tell me more about this Christianity of yours.  I’m terribly interested.”  The simple message of this cartoon is evident to anyone who sees it.  It is about someone being forced to do something.  It is coercing someone through compulsion --- force, constraint, or necessity.  They are made to feel that someone has them “by the throat.”

This approach of “compulsion” is at the heart of idolatry.  When I am attempting to get something I need from people, I use whatever “carving tools (for more on this, see Norm Wakefield, Equipped to Love)” that are at my disposal to “carve” on those people in order to get them to be what I want them to be or do what I want them to do.  Without a doubt, we can all recall a time when we carved on someone to get him or her do something that we wanted.  We knew just the thing we could do or say that would “get them.”  We may not have had a physical spear in our hands that was pointing at someone’s physical throat, but we made someone to feel as though we had him or her by the throat.  It was an intended pressure or coercion.  Furthermore, we can all recall a time when we were made to feel this way by someone else --- when we were the ones being carved on!

Paul is stating quite plainly, in very strong contrast, that he will not do this to Philemon.  Paul wants nothing to do with idolatry, coercion, pressure, or anything that in any way causes Philemon to feel that Paul has him “by the throat.”  Paul is only interested in caring for Philemon with the agape love of Jesus.  Such love does not apply pressure, but gives freedom.  It opens the way for the other person to respond simply from free will --- “just because.”  That natural risk with this is that the other person may not do what I would want him or her to do.  But that is the risk of grace and love.  It cannot be forced; it can only be chosen out of free will.  God takes that risk with us.  Paul took that risk with Philemon.  It is a crucial and vital symptom of any true relationship.

To become like this

First, as I look at these symptoms of relationship, I have a deep desire to be like what I see in this letter.  One of the inclinations we have is to ask “How?”  The simple truth is that it is not really about “how,” but more about “Who.”  The only way for such relationship to take place in my life with others is for me to have relationship with Jesus.  The enduring emphasis of this letter is that, like Paul, we must be bound to Jesus.  In reality, Paul does not really teach in much detail about his personal relationship with Jesus when writing this letter to Philemon.  It is as if it is assumed that this is just the way things go with those who are in Christ.  When we look back to the letter to the Colossians --- the companion letter to Philemon --- and all of Paul’s other epistles in the New Testament, we see the teaching and truth that is being lived out before our eyes in the letter to Philemon.  What we are witnessing here --- this kind of relationship --- is the very heart and nature of God Himself.  This is who He is toward us, and so it does not surprise us at all when we see it coming from Paul because Jesus lives in him.  The beauty of the gospel is the continuation and extension of the love of God in Christ.  As we know this kind of love and relationship with Him, these symptoms just begin to show up in us toward others; and as it shows up in others, it will show them the love of Jesus also so that they may know him and so forth.  Sons and daughters of God seem to beget more sons and daughters of God in spiritual discipleship, while those who are slaves to idolatry only seem to beget more slaves.  How often have we seen the continuation of a negative and destructive chain among people as they seek the answers in everything but Jesus?  But what a beautiful thing for there to be a transformational succession of spiritual generations who know Jesus because of how the symptoms of relationship showed up in our lives.  My family really enjoys hearing Dave Ramsey on the radio, especially the part when he says, “That’s the sound of a family tree changing.”

Secondly, when I consider the desire to be this way, it is important to note that this is the message of the New Testament and it is to be communicated through our lives!  As I expressed earlier, I have a call to and love for preaching. I am a firm believer in the uniqueness and necessity of preaching --- that something happens in the public preaching of the Word among us that happens in no other way.  There is a distinct spiritual dynamic in the gathering of the body of Christ that does not take place anywhere else.  However, far be it from me to say that our worship services and gatherings are the only places the message is communicated.  We must ALWAYS be conveying the Word, and the message is Jesus.  This understanding of the message is absolutely crucial. Sometimes the message is preached from a podium in a worship service or from a leader in a small group or house church meeting.  Other times this message is proclaimed through the way we live our lives, in the details of daily existence.  It has been commonly believed to have been St. Francis of Assisi (though historians have more commonly attributed the quote to an anonymous author) who made the famous quote:  “Preach the gospel at all times; when necessary, use words.”  In other words, our lives are the message at all times.  Our actions and how we live speak a message along with our words, and those actions either reinforce or discredit the gospel that we speak with our mouths.  Will people see the symptoms in our lives of a relationship with Jesus?

Thirdly, one of the most wonderful aspects of Paul’s letter to Philemon is that it is not a command to do something, but an appeal to a brother.  In essence, by offering this “snapshot” of his own life and sharing what God is doing in his own heart, Paul is inviting Philemon to the same thing that he is experiencing in Jesus.  Part of the beauty of this invitation is the reality of the situation in which it is presented.  Paul is not merely extending an invitation in the midst of some easy, clean, simple situation.  The invitation is given in the midst of the mess.   The invitation says, “Will you also let Jesus do something in your heart in the midst of this mess?”

Is my life such an invitation to people?  As they see the snapshots of my life here and there in the midst of real life, do they see something that is appealing?  Does it offer them hope and real answers in the midst of the real messes of life?  Am I willing to be out there IN the real messes with them and allow my life to be the invitation THERE?  As we discussed the particular symptom of “voluntary” as opposed to “compulsion” (as illustrated in that cartoon with the crusader), it occurred to me that evangelism and being a missionary of the gospel, wherever we are, is never about command or force.  It is always an invitation.  In some ways, maybe we don’t even need to be the ones who begin the conversation.  What if the Holy Spirit was so at work in us that those around us began to ask the question to which Jesus is the only answer?

How can I be like this in my life?  As with Paul --- over the course of two to three decades --- it is more of a becoming than anything.  And the only way it happens is to be bound to Jesus, for all of these characteristics we have discussed are merely the symptoms of who He is in a person’s life.  Will I be bound to Him right now?

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       Is my relationship with Jesus from the heart or is it a “doing” thing?  What about my relationship with the people closest to me?  From the heart or “doing”?

2.       Do I treat those around me as real people, caring about the person, or are people around me means to some end?

3.       Do I try to “force” people in relationship or do I allow them their free will?

4.       Will I be bound to Jesus right now, let Him work in my heart in a new way, and let Him make my life an invitation to people in the midst of real life messes?

The Long View

Philemon 15-16

As Paul’s letter goes further and further into the depth of true relationship, he approaches the very core issues of the letter and entire situation in verses 15 and 16.  These matters are not easy to understand or dissect, for they touch on the very deepest issues of heart and life.  I must testify that these verses have been very timely in my life and that Jesus has truly spoken to me through the inspired truth written here by the Apostle Paul.  It is always amazing to me how timeless God’s Word is.  People may be different in culture or even in the era of time in which they have lived.  Yet, we all are the same in the things that matter, which is a further testimony to the fact that we have all been made in His image.  Paul writes to Philemon in these verses:  “For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that  you might receive him forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave --- a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.”

Purpose

One thing that Paul expresses in these very thoughtful and heartfelt words to Philemon is that God has a purpose in everything that has happened in this situation.  There are a few elements in the grammar of verse 15, particularly, that communicate this overarching plan and purpose of God.  The verse begins with the word, “for.”  Whenever we see this word at a beginning of a sentence, we know what follows is a further explanation of what has preceded it.  In this case, what Paul is saying in verse 15 and following is going to shed more light on what he has said leading up to verse 15.  Since verse 10 especially, Paul has been describing the current situation with Onesimus.  Now, by starting verse 15 with the word “for,” Paul is stepping back to help Philemon to understand the bigger picture.  How much I need this in my own life!  The tendency can be to so focus in the immediate situation that we miss what is really going on --- that all of this is a part of the bigger plan of God.

To further reinforce this truth that there is a bigger picture to be seen here, Paul specifically uses the phrase, “for this purpose.”  The phrase literally means, “with a view to, on account of, for the sake of, or by reason of” something.  The unmistakable message is that there is a greater plan unfolding and that God has a purpose.  This is especially important to see in the context of this passage and situation.  This is an unpleasant circumstance that is full of upheaval.  This is somewhat communicated by the word “departed.”  A more literal translation of this word would be “separated,” and it is sometimes used for the “departure” or “separation” that takes place in a marriage.  “So then they are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate (Matt. 19:6).”  Anyone whose lives have been touched in any way by a broken marriage can relate to the upheaval of the situation.  This is what it must have felt like to Philemon to at least some degree.  His slave had run away, and we can only wonder what that must have done to the entire household in those months following the unexpected “departure” of Onesimus.  The point of the verse, however, is that God’s bigger purpose and plan is taking place in the midst of the upheaval.  Far from being some kind of interruption to the plan of God, the upheaval is the arena in which the purpose is taking place --- the stage upon which it is being enacted.  What if I could view every upheaval in my life in this way?

Yet, there seems to be even more here on this point.  The word “departed” in verse 15 is in the passive voice.  The passive voice indicates that the subject of the verb is not doing the actions, but is actually receiving the action.  Perhaps this comes out more clearly in the NASB translation:  “Perhaps this is the reason HE WAS SEPARATED from you for a while . . . .”  The indication of the passive voice, as reflected in the NASB translation, is that Onesimus was somehow the recipient of the action in all of this.  There can be no doubt that Onesimus ran away from Philemon of his own free will.  It was his decision to do so, and he was not “kidnapped” or any such thing.  However, the grammar of this word tells us that it was not simply Onesimus acting on his own.  There was a higher power or purpose at work, and God was above the circumstances orchestrating matters for His glory, for the good of all involved, and for redemption.  This is what He is always doing, even when we cannot see it or understand it.  While this may seem like a radical notion, it is not strange at all in the scriptures.  One of the best illustrations of this is with Joseph in the book of Genesis.  At the approximate age of 17, Joseph was “separated” from his brothers when they plotted against him and sold him into slavery, which resulted in him being brought to Egypt.  Clearly, it would seem, all of this was the result of the plotting and actions of the brothers.  However, at the end of Genesis, when the family is reunited and redemption takes place, Joseph makes some startling statements to his brothers.

“And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.  So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, the lord of all his house, and a ruler through all the land of Egypt (Gen. 45:7-8).”

“But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive (Gen. 50:20).”

The message of this is indisputable.  Not only does God have a purpose in the upheaval, but the indication is that God is orchestrating all things in our lives for good.  Romans 8:28 states:  “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”  Everything He does is with redemption in mind.  His purposes in and for us are always good and gracious.  While this may raise more questions than we can answer here, it does give us a new focus in all of the upheaval of my life.  Can I trust that God has a purpose?  Can I trust that He is orchestrating things even when I cannot see?

Timing

If I cannot always see or understand this purpose and orchestration of God, part of that certainly may be the timing of God, which is another component of this verse.  Paul suggests that, perhaps, Onesimus was separated FOR A WHILE for this purpose, in order that Philemon may receive him FOREVER.  The emphasis on timing in the verse is clear.  The principle Paul is communicating seems to be that God is doing something in a particular time or season for the purpose of what He desires to do forever.  Everything being done in the temporary is a part of the eternal plan.  One thing this says is that it is not always, if ever, possible to understand God’s purpose based on what we know in a particular time or season.  We understand that God’s overall purpose and character never change --- He is always about redemption and bringing us to know Him and have relationship with Him in Jesus Christ.  Yet, the particulars of “how” He does this seem to be so unique and creative.  We may see bits of what He is doing in a season or period of time, but we may not understand how He is going to work it all together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

In short, God’s purposes must be seen with a long view.  In each of the examples mentioned in this particular study, we see this dynamic at work.  It is easy for me to look at the life of the Apostle Paul, his ministry, and even the Christlike character demonstrated through this letter, and wonder how this could happen to a man.  Could a person like me also be bound to Jesus and filled with His love for others like this?  Yet, in the long view, we realize that Paul has been in a process in his own life for nearly three decades.  That is the amount of time that has elapsed from his conversion on the Damascus Road (Acts 9) and his writing of the Prison Epistles, including this letter to Philemon.  Much has taken place in Paul’s life.  As Eugene Peterson writes, there is nothing “instant” about discipleship, but it is “a long obedience in the same direction.”  Paul has been walking that road with Christ for many years, and what we are seeing in this letter is the fruit of Jesus’ life in him.  Christian growth and maturity develops over time as we continue to respond to Him.  It is like one of my college professors told me:  “You can’t put a forty-year-old head on a twenty-year-old body.”  I did not like hearing that at the time, but he was right.  Discipleship is a long obedience in the same direction.

This circumstance with Philemon certainly says that it was necessary to see things in the long view.  We can only imagine the agony and inconvenience experienced by Philemon and his family over the weeks and months after the “departure” of Onesimus.  Could it have even been years?  It is impossible for us to know the exact length of this time of separation.  Yet, indeed, we know there was something that God did in this relationship over time as Onesimus returned.  The fact that we have this letter in the New Testament is strong evidence of that, as may be the fact that fifty years after this there was a bishop of Ephesus names Onesimus.  While no one can prove that this was the same Onesimus, neither is there proof it was not him.  In any case, we can know that God’s redemption happened in this situation with Philemon, and that it happened in the long view.

The account of Joseph in Genesis may be the most powerful illustration of the long view.  As mentioned earlier, Joseph was only 17 when he was sold into slavery by his brothers.  He was thirty years old when he interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams and then was put into charge as the “second in command” in Egypt (Gen. 41:46).  After seven years of plenty in Egypt, the time of famine began.  It was approximately two years into the famine that Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt seeking to buy food and, eventually discovered his identity, and the relationship was redeemed.  This would put Joseph’s approximate age at thirty-nine at the time of the reunion with his brothers.  That is twenty-two years after they sold him into slavery!  Twenty-two years is a long time by any account.  Let us especially consider the importance of the long view in this.  God worked over the span of twenty-two years to bring about redemption in this relationship.  There were no short-cuts, indeed.

What could happen in my own life if Jesus could root this perspective in my thinking?  My tendency is to view everything in the short term or in the “now.”  I seek after an explanation of everything right now.  I seek resolution to any problem or conflict right now.  I seek immediate relief from anything uncomfortable.  In short, I really desire for everything to be fixed right now!  It is most interesting to write these things and recognize how I deal with the same kinds of things with my children.  I find myself trying to explain to them that, sometimes, things take a while to work out or understand and that we have to just trust.  I often ask them to just trust me.  In the meantime, God is having the same conversation with me as His son.  He is asking me to just trust Him and what He is doing in the long view, even when I cannot see or understand things in the short term.  It would change my entire life if I could just trust Him in this.

Invitation

Even as I trust Him, is it fair to ask what IS His purpose in all this?  We see some of the answer as we look backward in the letter to Philemon.  Because Paul clearly expresses purpose in verse 15, we have to look back toward the earlier verses to see what it is that this explains.  In verses 4-7, Paul is giving thanks and expressing great joy over what Jesus is already doing in Philemon’s life.  This is no exaggeration or manipulation from Paul, but is a genuine praise to God for what is happening in the life of his brother.  Paul builds on this as he heads into verse 8 and the remainder of the letter.  Verses 8 and following are now an invitation for Philemon to allow Jesus to do even more in his life.  Even as Jesus clearly has been working in Philemon’s heart and life, He is now providing Philemon an “opportunity” for even more growth and to know Jesus more.  Is this not the constant call of Christianity?  It is always to know Him more and to experience further growth in Him.  This is His purpose.

How does God bring us closer to Himself and bring about new growth in my life?  The answer from the Word of God seems clear.  It is always through suffering, pain, upheaval, discomfort, or inconvenience --- or any combination of those!  Even as I write that, it is not an answer that I desire to hear.  However, even the reality of Philemon’s situation provides a demonstration of this.  This “opportunity” for Philemon’s further growth was filled with upheaval, which we already discussed.  The simple truth is that God works through the upheaval to bring me to a new level.  A group named “Selah” sings a beautiful song that has touched our lives.  The song is titled, “Bless the Broken Road,” and the chorus reads as follows:

Every long lost dream led me to where you are,

Others who broke my heart

They were like northern stars,

Pointing me on my way

Into Your loving arms,

This much I know is true,

That God blessed the broken road,

That led me straight to You.

One amazing thing about God’s purpose and what He accomplishes in the long view is the completeness of what He does.  God works through the brokenness and pain, but we are seeing in the Word how He brings it all around in a complete redemption, as we believe happened in the relationship between Philemon and Onesimus.  Yet, it is even better than before as Onesimus is now no longer a slave, but a beloved brother!  Imagine the beauty of this new relationship and what it must have meant for this entire household.  The same dynamic is seen in the Joseph account.  God works through the brokenness and twenty-two years of separation to bring about a marvelous and beautiful redemption in relationship, and it ends up being more than anyone could have imagined.  We can be assured that this is how God always works.  He is loving and caring, and does not leave us alone in our upheaval.  He is with us and carrying us through these times.  While we may not be able to see much in these dark hours, and may not be able to feel the presence of Jesus in us, we can trust in Him.  Through it all we will end up knowing Him in a deeper way and there will be a growth in us that could not have happened any other way.

And, yet, I am still wanting to ask, “How does He do all that?”  “How does it work?”  There is a word in the Greek that Paul uses at the very beginning of verse 15 to answer these questions of mine.  It is the Greek word taxa, and it is translated “perhaps.”  Why does Paul use the word “perhaps” at the beginning of this discussion about God’s timing and purpose?  He does so because, in the end, none of us is in the place to definitely state what God is up to.  Using the word “perhaps” is one way of Paul saying, “It is none of your business.”  It is really not my business to figure out the purpose, plans, or timing of God.    My only real business is knowing Jesus and being bound to Him.  It is amazing how simple that makes things for me.  I don’t need to know anything but Him.  I can just fully give myself to Him and the relationship.  Oswald Chambers wrote:

“We do not know what God is after, but we have to maintain our relationship with Him whatever happens. We must never allow anything to injure our relationship with God; if it does get injured we must take time and get it put right. The main thing about Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the atmosphere produced by that relationship. That is all God asks us to look after, and it is the one thing that is being continually assailed (My Utmost for His Highest, August 4).”

My only call is to stay in relationship with Jesus and to respond to Him.  To what am I supposed to respond?  That is part of the beauty of the letter to Philemon.  It tells us that you don’t have to look very far to know that to which God is asking you to respond.  I will not be able to miss it.  We can only imagine that one day Philemon was going about his regular daily business and activities when there was an unexpected knock at the door.  Imagine his surprise to open the door and see Onesimus standing there, with this letter in his hand.  Philemon did not have to go looking for the call of God in that moment; it came to him.  God will always bring the next step to us or make it abundantly clear.  We will find it on our doorstep.  Know that He has a purpose; accept His long view of things; receive His invitation to allow Him to do something new in my life.  How do I do all this?  Respond to Jesus this moment with whatever He has brought to my life and watch Him work.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       What is the suffering, pain, upheaval, discomfort, or inconvenience through which God wants to work in my life right now?

2.       What are the questions I have about it all?  Can I state those questions to Him from my heart and then surrender to Him for the answers in His timing? Even possibly twenty-two years?

3.       Will I respond to Him in this moment, allowing Him and my relationship with Him to be my “business” and what I totally give my heart to in these days?

Forever

Philemon 15-16

As Paul continues deeper into the very core issue of this letter --- Philemon receiving Onesimus back --- verses 15-16 turn toward the full extent of this invitation to Philemon. In beautiful and powerful language, Paul describes what kind of relationship God purposes for Philemon to have with Onesimus.  God will not force anything, and Paul’s approach in this letter mirrors that (see verses 8-9).  Yet, is not what God offers us always more wonderful than anything we can ask for or imagine, even if we cannot see it at the moment?  So often we only witness the miracle of God’s awesome power when we respond in obedience before we can see it.  Here Paul is painting a picture for Philemon of what this relationship will be in the power of God’s grace.  What is beautiful about this picture is that it is a reflection of the heart of God Himself, and it is how He is toward us.  The words in these two verses are the strokes that create this portrait on the canvas.  “For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that  you might receive him forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave --- a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.”

Receive

The word translated “receive” is quite a unique word in the Greek.  It is made up of two words, one literally meaning “from” and one literally meaning “to have.”  While it is not the easiest word to translate or understand, one meaning can be “to have in full.”  It is the same word that is used by Paul in Philippians 4:18:  “Indeed, I HAVE all and abound.  I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.”  Paul uses this word here in a context in which he is communicating full contentment.  He does not need anything else.  Even the desire for other things seems to have faded in the light of the satisfaction that he feels.  There is a completeness and a wholeness about what Paul is experiencing and through what is communicated through this word.  This is the word that Paul uses in Philemon 15 when describing how Philemon may “receive” or “have back” Onesimus.  There is a completeness and wholeness about the relationship.  While there will certainly be room for growth together and the need to work out issues at times, there is something full and healthy about the relationship that Philemon and Onesimus are to have.  There will not be a lingering suspicion.  There will not be reservation.  There will be no manipulation of hanging the past over anyone’s head.  It will have all been redeemed in Jesus.  Things will be whole, complete, and right.  It will be better than anyone could have ever imagined.  This is a reflection of how relationship works in Jesus Christ.  It is how He receives us back in full.  We belong to Him, and there is no reservation, suspicion, or torment over the past.  In Him everything is complete, whole, and healthy.  What a wonderful thing that He receives us this way, and then through us receives others in this same way.  There is something exponential about the love and grace of God.  When we experience Him in this way, it comes out toward others.  This is the invitation to Philemon.  What will it look like?

Forever

After saying, “that you might receive him,” the remainder of verses 15 and 16 are a description of that receiving --- what it looks like.  The first part of the description comes through the word “forever.”  This may be the most significant piece of the description because of where it is placed in the word order.  In Greek, word order is important because it shows emphasis.  When any word is placed before the verb, it is intended to show emphasis.  That is the case here with the word “forever,” which is actually placed before “him” and “receive” in the Greek.  The phrase might literally read, “in order that forever him you may have in full [receive].”  The concept of “forever” is, then, really important in the sentence.  This powerful word is the same one that is translated “eternal” or “everlasting” throughout the New Testament (John 3:16, for example).  While one definition of this word in Greek can mean, “lifetime” or “a long span of time,” we are hard pressed to find the word used this way in the New Testament.  The overwhelming tone and use of the word in the New Testament is in describing what is “forever,” “eternal,” or “everlasting.”  It is beyond the time of this world and this lifetime.  It points us to the unseen realm, where God is operating above the timeline.  It points to that quality of something that is of the very essence of God Himself.  This is the weight of what this word, “forever,” means in the New Testament.

It is a powerful statement, then, in verse 15 to attach this word as a description of how Philemon is to receive Onesimus.  He will receive Onesimus forever.  This puts the relationship on an entirely different plane, perhaps more so than I have ever realized about relationship.  Of course we understand this relationship between Philemon and Onesimus will be redeemed, and that it will be better than ever as brothers in the Lord.  However, this extra emphasis of “forever” takes it far beyond that.  There will be something heavenly about this relationship.  It will have the very essence of God Himself about it.  Furthermore, if we take the word as it is truly used throughout the New Testament, this relationship is now above the timeline and will go beyond this lifetime.  Philemon is truly to receive Onesimus forever.

I am staggered to consider the impact of this on my life and how I view people and relationships.  In the previous study we discussed having God’s “long view” in regard to our circumstances.  This goes even a step further to realizing that our bond in relationship with others in Christ is “forever.”  This indicates that I am not “done” with people at the grave.  We, of course, realize that there is to be a strong spiritual and physical connection between us in the body of Christ in this lifetime, as we also discussed in a previous study.  I will confess that I have not fully understood or realized the dynamic and reality of this connection with others.  It is like there is a new world of relationship with others in Jesus that I had never seen or knew that existed.  This further truth now indicates that this bond with others is not only for this lifetime --- it is forever!  The indication is that the bond in Christ Jesus in this lifetime is a step toward or stage of the bond in Him that we will have forever!  In short, I am not getting rid of you anytime soon, nor are you getting rid of me!

What would it do in my heart and life to begin to see others in my life with “forever” eyes?  How would it cause me to approach them, treat them, and speak to them if I had the perspective of eternity?  I really have been pondering this for my life and trying to understand some practical application.  One thing that came to mind is grandparents.  One joke around our house is how our parents have changed their “rules” since they became grandparents.  Our children (the grandchildren) get away with things that we never got away with!  It is like people lose their will to “fight” when they become grandparents!  Or, maybe it is just perspective.  I can’t tell you how many grandparents and older people have said the same thing to us:  “Enjoy them while you can” and “Don’t sweat the small stuff.”  I really need to hear that, because I do sweat a lot of small stuff with my kids.  I am embarrassed to say that I scolded my son pretty hard recently because he had not closed the shower curtain tight enough, resulting in water getting out onto the bathroom floor.  What would the response of his grandparents have been to that situation?  “It’s no big deal, honey!”  While it may sound silly to someone else, I grieved at this event and apologized to my son, convicted by my lack of “grandparent eyes.”  In the end, some water on the bathroom floor amounts to less than nothing in eternity.  What really matters is that little boy’s heart.  I began asking God if he could give me “grandparent eyes.”  Could Jesus work in me to see my kids --- and everyone else --- with eternal eyes, caring about what matters forever?  Those kids and I will be bound together in Jesus forever.  This truth is shaping everything about how I live in these relationships, because this bond in Him goes far beyond the grave . . . and way, way past a Saturday night shower.

Divine bias

In verse 16 Paul touches on a second description of what Philemon’s receiving of Onesimus is to be like.  “. . . no longer as a slave, but MORE THAN a slave --- a beloved brother . . . .”  There is no way for us to definitively know whether or not Onesimus remained in the legal status of a slave when he returned home to Philemon.  It is certainly possible that Philemon emancipated him, while it is also completely possible that Onesimus legally remained a slave.  This point can be debated and discussed, but one thing that is abundantly clear is that things were not going to be the same when Onesimus came back.  This is strongly spoken by the conjunction “but” in the midst of this verse.  It is the strongest possible word for “but” in the Greek, indicating a strong contrast.  Something is different!  Onesimus is not the same person, whether he legally remains a slave or not.  Most of all, these verses seem to have more to do with the heart, attitude, and approach of Philemon toward Onesimus.  This is about how Philemon is going to receive him.

One of the ways Philemon is going to receive Onesimus is “as . . . MORE THAN a slave.”   Our English translation “more than” comes from the Greek preposition (h)uper.  It is the word from which we drive the English word “super.”  It literally means “over, above, or beyond.”  In a literal sense, Paul is saying that Philemon will receive Onesimus as “over, above, or beyond” a slave.  It is that Philemon will no longer relate to him on the same level as before.  There is a higher principle at work --- something above.  It is similar to the “forever eyes” that we discussed in the last section, and yet described even further here.  Philemon is receiving and treating Onesimus with an approach that is above the ways of this world.  It is on a higher plane.  He is not treating him or viewing him any longer as this world defines him or even for what he may be in this world.  There is something above it all that is dictating how Philemon treats him.

Is that not what “bias” or “prejudice” really is?  I have some principle or view that overrides everything else and dictates my approach to people.  Let’s imagine, as a silly example, that my bias or prejudice is that I don’t like people who whistle when they work.  It doesn’t make sense, but it is just the way I have always felt.  It just really annoys me.  That is how my father felt and also his father before him.  We just don’t like people who whistle when they work.  Period.  It does not matter how nice the person is.  It does not matter how hard he or she works.  It does not matter how well the work turns out.  It does not matter how hard he or she may try.  The fact that the person whistles while he or she works overrides everything else.

This is something of what Paul is describing for Philemon’s approach to Onesimus.  Philemon is going to have a view and heart for Onesimus that is going to override everything.  It is going to be “above” everything he has been and is.  Philemon is going to have Onesimus as a beloved brother.  The strength of this statement is overwhelming and the depth of it can hardly be comprehended fully.  It expresses a deep and affectionate love for this brother.  It is the closest possible family tie.  It is the sharing of everything with no walls or hesitation.  Philemon is going to have an outpouring of affectionate love for this brother of his --- and he will not be able to help it.  And that love is going to override everything else.  It will be Philemon’s bias --- his “prejudice,” if you will.  Nothing Onesimus has done or is can affect it.  This heart will forever dominate how Philemon receives, views, and treats this man.

How will Philemon have a heart like this?  How does Paul have it?  It is the very heart of Jesus Himself.  God has a divine bias toward us.  He loves us, and there is nothing we can do to change that.  We did not do anything to cause Him to love us, and we cannot do anything to make Him stop.  It is who He is.  It is how He sees us all the time.  He has an affectionate, overwhelming love for us.  That is what is happening in the life of Paul and it is the invitation to Philemon.  Would I allow His divine, eternal bias in me toward people?  Do I have His overwhelming, affectionate love for people?  Is it something that is so strong in me that it overrides everything else?  What is the overriding principle at work in me and how does it dictate how I view and treat people?

Received again

It bears repeating over and over again that having this divine bias in me toward people and seeing them with “forever” eyes is beyond human ability.  It is not possible for me to simply decide to be this way and then just “get on with it.”  This is one strong caution we must have in the study of this letter to Philemon and actually in all of Paul’s letters.  Paul is not a “motivational speaker.”  The appeal of this letter and all of the New Testament is NOT to try harder to be the right kind of person.  The New Testament is not “prescriptive” (telling us what to do) but “descriptive” (painting us a picture of something).  The New Testament paints a picture of what a Christian looks like --- what happens when Jesus comes to live inside a person through His Spirit --- the Holy Spirit --- and begins to live through that person, transforming him or her into His image.  Paul’s letter to Philemon is not a set of marching orders.  It is a picture of what Jesus is doing in Paul’s life and of what Jesus wants to do in Philemon’s life.  It is a really a picture for all of us because it just a picture of the way Jesus is.  That is why being bound to Jesus in a love relationship with Him is the focus.  If we will get into that --- just immersed in Him and responding to Him --- we will see this same picture taking shape on the canvas of our lives.  Consider that the companion letter to Philemon, the letter to the Colossians, talks at length about the greatness of who Jesus is and all He does in our lives.  The truth of that letter is really the backdrop or foundation of all that Paul says in this letter.  Maybe we should read the letter to Colossians first and then read Philemon to understand the message behind Philemon.

It brings us back in this study to the word “receive” in verse 15.  Philemon can receive Onesimus because Jesus has received Philemon and Onesimus.  It is really Jesus doing the receiving through Philemon.  There is such an overflow of love from Philemon’s life because of Jesus.  It has caused Philemon to have room in his heart for Onesimus.  It is the same for all of us.  Jesus receiving us leads to us receiving others because of the overflow of love in our hearts.  Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:14 that “the love of Christ compels us.”

It was suggested at the beginning of this chapter that all of this --- this letter to Philemon --- is really a reflection of who God is.  When we stand back and look at the letter, it is quite an amazing mirror of the whole grace and redemption that God offers through Jesus Christ.  Every beautiful and appealing thing we see in this letter is really Jesus.  The wonderful and miraculous thing about Christianity is that God can come and live inside of a human being and reproduce His nature.  Any man or woman can actually be the demonstration of the actual life of Jesus in our day because He lives in us.  That’s why this letter is not a set of marching orders or a “to-do” list or an admonition to just try harder.  This is about what a person cannot help but be and what overflows in his life ---- not what he can “squeeze” out.   This is simply a snapshot of what Jesus looks like in the life of a human being like Paul, and an invitation for Philemon to know even more of the same in his own life.  We are receiving the same invitation.  We have already been received by Him.  Will we receive all that He desires to be in us --- complete with His forever eyes, divine bias, and overwhelming love for others?  Am I willing to be so full of Him and so close with Him that my life is the “welcome” to Him to which others can respond?

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       Who could be affected differently today if Jesus could give me His “forever eyes?”  How might it affect them?

2.       Do I have any “bias” other than His in my thinking?  Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any unrealized prejudice.

3.       We can all relate to visiting places that made us either want to stay longer or get out as quickly as possible.  How does my life either “welcome” people to Jesus or tell them to get away as quickly as possible?

4.       Will I choose Jesus as the beloved of my life and let Him cause me to feel His love toward others?

Pass It On

Philemon 15-16

As we have seen, Philemon verses 15 and 16 are possibly the central verses of the letter, for they really express the essence of what is being asked of Philemon.  They are not “marching orders” or a command, but an invitation to participate in the heart of God and to allow this manner of Jesus to be reflected through Philemon’s life --- for Philemon’s life to be a welcome to Jesus.   Before moving on to something of a new section beginning in verse 17, where Paul will provide a portrait of partnership between himself and Philemon, it seems important to observe one more dynamic that is revealed in verses 15 and 16.  It is the concept of what some have called “facilitation.”  The term “facilitating” suggests the idea of one person helping or assisting another person in something.  The “facilitator” is not the main person, but is in a support role so that something may take place among others.  Interestingly, this is something of what we see happening through Paul in this circumstance with Onesimus and Philemon.  While Paul certainly has strong connection with each of them, his role in this letter is clearly to be a part of the facilitating of relationship between the two.  A closer look at the letter provides us with an even clearer picture of what facilitating looks like in the kingdom --- how it is demonstrated through Paul and how Jesus would do the same through us.  It is important to remember that even something seemingly as good as “helping” or “assisting” others ---- “facilitating” people --- cannot be what we merely decide to do and carry out through our own wisdom and human resource.  The message of the letter to Philemon is not something like:  “See how Paul facilitates people?  Now you go and do likewise.”  What we are seeing here through Paul is merely the fruit or by-product of his own intimate relationship with Jesus as Paul continually responds to Him.  (See his letter to the Colossians and other epistles for a fuller description of what this is all about.)  It is only when we respond to Him in an intimate relationship that we can expect the same thing to naturally unfold in us.  Remember John chapter 15.  He is the vine, and we are the branches.  Our function is to abide, and He will produce the fruit.  Perhaps for our purposes, when reading the letter to Philemon, we should include the warning: “Don’t try this at home.”  Just respond to Jesus and be amazed at what we see happening in our lives.

Stepping back without stepping out

A couple of elements in verses 15 and 16 have really shed new light on what it means to truly facilitate someone.  One is a seeming play on words that Paul makes in verse 15 when compared back to verse 13.  Paul had expressed in verse 12 and 13 some very deep feelings about Onesimus, including the desire to “keep” Onesimus with him.  The Greek word translated “keep” is the word katexo (long “o” sound on the end).  It is a compound word, made up of the verb exo with the preposition kata added on the beginning.  The verb exo normally means “to have, and the preposition kata, when in composition like this, can often mean either “against” or at least a very strong form of the verb.  Smoothly translated, katexo often comes out as “hold back, restrain, detain, possess, control, occupy” and many others.  As one can see, it is a very strong word that indicates hanging on to something strongly.  We certainly don’t believe that Paul wanted to restrain or possess Onesimus, almost holding him as a captive.  However, what this strong word does indicate is the depth of Paul’s feeling for Onesimus.  This slave had become so close to Paul in Christ (“my own heart”) that Paul just longed inside to hang onto him --- to have Onesimus with him.  Onesimus had become precious to him --- more precious than anything Paul could imagine.  We all can relate to someone or something being so precious that we just wanted to hang on as tightly as we could.

It is interesting then, that Paul uses a different form of exo in verse 15 when he writes that all of this took place in order that Philemon might “receive” Onesimus forever.  The word translated “receive” is another compound word, made up of the verb exo with the preposition apo added on to the beginning.  The best translation of the preposition apo, when used in composition like this, is “finishing off or completing.”  Therefore, a smooth translation of apexo would be “to have completely” or “to have in full.”  It is a beautiful word to describe the kind of relationship with Onesimus that is being offered to Philemon.  He is being invited to “have him completely.” In other words, as was discussed in a previous chapter, there is going to be a wholeness to the relationship.  The relationship between these men will be whole, complete, right, and healthy.

Consider the relationship between these two words in the context.  Paul has a deep desire to hang on (katexo) to Onesimus, but instead sends him back so that Philemon may “have him completely” (apexo).  Could it be that the only way that the relationship between Onesimus and Philemon was going to be whole was if Paul “let go” of his own desires?  In this there is a very real surrender and a very real cost to face.  Any of us can stand back and think lightly of this Bible “story.”  It could easily seem like “no big deal” as we do a surface reading of the letter to Philemon and perhaps catch this little footnote that Paul released Onesimus to go back to his master so that relationship could be restored there.  However, if we put ourselves into the scene or try to relate to it from our own lives, we can feel the cost ourselves.  How easy is it for us to let go of things that are important to us?  How much more difficult is it for us to release people?  Our lifetimes are full of goodbyes, both temporary and permanent:  the ends of visits; children growing up and leaving home; family or friends moving away; weddings; funeral services.  If we put ourselves in Paul’s place, we can feel the depth of the sacrifice of letting go when you really desire to hang on.  Yet, Paul’s release of Onesimus was for a purpose in the kingdom.  Paul was willing to take a step into the background so that God could do something in the lives of Onesimus and Philemon.  There is something here that is extremely important to understand about facilitating others.  Facilitating means that we don’t have to be in the middle of it or the “main” person.  It is a stepping back.

The more we look at verses 15 and 16, the more we see the truth of this playing out in Paul’s life.  He makes a curious statement toward the end of verse 16 in reference to Onesimus as “beloved brother.”  Paul says, “especially to me but how much more to you.”  In the Greek Paul is using increasing superlatives.  A superlative is a way of stating something so strongly that is almost can’t be topped (like “That’s awesome!” or “You’re the greatest!”).  Paul uses the highest possible language to describe what Onesimus means to him personally, but then goes even above that to describe what Onesimus will mean to Philemon when he returns. The word, “especially,” referring to what Onesimus means to Paul, literally means “most of all.”  Paul’s heart is coming out again here.  He loves Onesimus so much that he cannot imagine Onesimus being more beloved by or to anyone else.  After all, it is Paul who calls him “my son” in verse 10 and then refers to him as “my own heart” in verse 12.  However, Paul goes on in verse 16 to acknowledging in a further superlative that Onesimus will be or is beloved “how much more” to Philemon, which “tops” what Onesimus means to Paul.  Once again, Paul is willing to take a step back in order that something may take place between these two men that only God can do.  Paul is releasing so that God may work, and that may mean that he is not in the middle of it.

Yet, one point lingers about this “stepping back.”  While Paul steps back in order that God may work, he certainly does not step “out.”  He is going to maintain contact and connection with these men.  In fact, this is what we read for the remainder of the letter from verse 17 on.  Paul is personally going to take responsibility for any debts or losses that were created by Onesimus, and he is going to come for a visit.  So, while Paul is stepping back, he is not leaving or becoming detached.  He is “stepping back” without “stepping out.”  This seems to be an important point in the understanding of what it means to facilitate.  It is one thing to take a step back or be on the sidelines.  It is quite another thing to remain involved and in a support role from the back or from the side.  For example, if the coach pulls me off the field or the court and replaces me with another player, I have two choices.  One choice is to just leave the game.  “Why should I stay?  They don’t need me anymore.  And, besides, I came to play, not to watch.”  The other choice is to stay on the sidelines as an active member of the team --- watching, learning, supporting, encouraging, doing any small thing I can find to do that will help the team.  That is facilitating!  It is a stepping back without stepping out.  It is a dying to my own desires and my own pride.  Don’t believe for a minute that this is not a very real issue for us in the body of Christ.  For a preacher, such as myself, it hits as close to home as to anyone.  When I am not the one preaching, what will I choose to do?  Will I be a support and part of the team in the kingdom, or leave the game and only play when I can be the one up front?

Someone suggested to me that, instead of the term “facilitating,” perhaps a good phrase to describe this whole manner of the kingdom is “pass it on.”  Maybe that is what facilitating and the kingdom are all about.  God can do whatever He desires to do in my life so that someone else may have Him work in theirs.  Paul gives a beautiful description of it in 2 Corinthians 4:7-12.  He concludes it by saying, “For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.  So then death is working in us, but life in you.”  It’s not about us.  It is about passing it on.  One of my favorite quotes is from Robert Coleman in The Master Plan of Evangelism:

“Here is where we must begin just like Jesus.  It will be slow, tedious, painful and probably unnoticed by men at first, but the end result will be glorious, even if we don’t live to see it.  Seen in this way, though, it becomes a big decision in the ministry.  One must decide where he wants his ministry to count --- in the momentary applause of popular recognition or in the reproduction of a few chosen men who will carry on his work after he has gone.  Really it is a question of which generation we are living for.”

Pass it on.

God’s economy

While there certainly was a cost or sacrifice for Paul in “passing it on,” there is something supernatural that takes place through release in God’s economy.  In the principles and operation of this world, release means losing out.  Release means having less.  In the economy of this world, there is a limited amount of something, and you either have or you don’t.  To give it away or to release means that you will not have.  Period.

Yet, in God’s economy --- in the principle and operation of the kingdom --- everything is reversed.  “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it (Matt. 16:25).”  The message throughout the New Testament is about a kingdom economy that is reversed.  It is always about the last being first and first being last.  God never ceases to surprise and amaze us in how He does something out of what seems (in the eyes of the world) to be nothing.  The King of the kingdom was miraculously born among us in the lowest of circumstances.  He released His life, died on a cross, and was raised from the dead.  He is the One who is highly exalted, seated above everything and everyone, and we are more than conquerors in Him!  Yet, His principle and economy have not changed.  He continues to work through everything that the world sees as weak and lowly in order to demonstrate His power and accomplish His good purpose.  “We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us (2 Cor. 2:7).”  It is continually though His death that his life is seen and experienced.  “Always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh (2 Cor. 4:10).”  We can in no way even begin to measure, predict, or evaluate the abundance of how God works through death and release.  We can only know this for certain:  in His kingdom and in this life of His which we know in Christ Jesus, one cannot lose through release.  There may be pain, difficulty, and sorrow, as illustrated throughout the Bible.  But through these things, in surrender and release, God does immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine.  It is no gimmick or trick that we play with God.  We cannot “give” in order to “get,” as some false and so-called “Christian” teachers and preachers have suggested.  However, in surrender and release to Him of whatever is precious to us, we find more than we could have ever imagined.  It is no guarantee of that thing or person coming back or of some financial/material windfall.  It is a guarantee that we will know the Lord Jesus and experience His grace in a new way as never before.  Perhaps it will be in a flood all at once, or perhaps in a steady stream that continually showers us like a gentle rain.  In whatever way or form it comes, God has a guarantee and surety built into His economy.  He will not let the one who releases everything to Him go empty.  That person will be surprised with more than he or she could have imagined.

This must have been what Paul knew in his own heart as he released Onesimus to go back to Philemon.  While Paul’s heart longed to hang on to this precious, beloved brother, he trusted the Lord Jesus for all things, knowing that He would do far more than Paul could ask or imagine.  While we don’t have any exact record of what happened in the months and years to follow, we can almost picture the joyful reunion that could have taken place if and when Paul got to visit Colossae as he promised in verse 22.  Imagine the joy that would have overflowed if these three brothers in Christ would have had opportunity to fellowship and to celebrate together all that the Lord Jesus had done.  It is a wonderful and beautiful thing when there is fellowship between two individuals in Christ.  Yet, is there not something exponential that happens when two or three --- or more --- are gathered together in His name?  This is the power of His presence that takes place through the body of Christ when we gather together --- a power that cannot be replicated or imitated.

Yet even before any joyful reunion in Colossae, we know that this man who remained in prison in Rome for a time had a sweet fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ, even as he dearly missed his brother Onesimus.  As he said repeatedly, he is a prisoner of Christ Jesus, bound to Him in love.  Through his release, even in possible pain and sorrow, Paul experienced Jesus in a new and deeper way in the days to follow.  How do we know?  It is the guarantee of God’s economy.

Idolatry

This brings us back to a truth in 1 Corinthians chapter 10.  In the first part of that chapter, Paul brings a strong warning to the Corinthian church regarding idolatry by giving the example of the Israelites --- their (and ours as well) spiritual “forefathers.”  The Corinthians had a sense of spiritual superiority about themselves and believed they were above many of the spiritual temptations faced by those who have gone before them.  Paul’s point was that the Corinthians (as well as we ourselves) were just the same as the Israelites and needed to realize their own susceptibility to idolatry.  The passage presents the concept that idolatry is looking to anything or anyone other than Jesus to meet a need in our lives.  He Himself is the overwhelming provision of everything we need.  As Paul writes in Colossians 1:16, all things were made through Him and for Him!  It is no “cop-out” or gimmick to say that Jesus is the answer.  He really is the answer for everything in our lives.  He is more than a saying.  He is a real Person who comes to actually live and function inside of us through the Holy Spirit.  By the very design of God, Jesus is the supply for every need, question, longing, and desire that I face in my life.

Idolatry is when I choose to turn to something or someone else instead of Him to find the supply for that need.  Instead of willingly accepting the abundance of all that He is and giving myself to Him, I hang on tightly to some thing or attempt to squeeze what I need out of some other person --- someone who is undoubtedly facing needs of his or her own.  The results of this endeavor --- idolatry --- are predictable and always the same.  No thing or person outside of Jesus can satisfy the needs of my life.  When people and things fail me, as they always will, I grow bitter toward them.  We go from one thing to another or one person to another in our futile quest for satisfaction, becoming more angry, bitter, and despairing in the process.

Perhaps Paul faced the temptation to “hang on” to Onesimus.  Yet, in the face of deep affection and love for his friend, finding great comfort from his presence, Paul knew that Onesimus was not the answer to his needs.  Paul knew that Jesus was his comfort, peace, and companionship, and that every good thing that Paul experienced with Onesimus was really an experience with Jesus’ life in Onesimus.  While there must have been sorrow and a sense of loss in the release of Onesimus, Paul also knew the provision of Jesus in an even deeper way in the days that followed.  Perhaps his words to the Corinthians came to mind in the process as the decision to release Onesimus approached:  “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it (1 Cor. 10:13).”  This verse has often been applied to the temptation to what some people consider the most “grievous” or the “worst” sins.  Yet, is not idolatry, in some form, a temptation for each of us?  Who of us has not been tempted to hang tightly to someone or some relationship, hoping and trying to get that person to be what we need and expect?  Who of us has not become so attached to something, whether it be a material thing, reputation, physical appearance, or career, that we hesitate to let go?  Who of us has not sought the answers to life from someone close to us, when all the time Jesus is our only answer?  But Jesus is our deliverer.  As we respond and say “yes” to Him, He is able to creatively and victoriously make the way for us in some surprisingly unexpected manner.  The wonder of being a Christian is that, while He may not remove us from difficult circumstances, He is our answer and our “ability to bear it” in the midst of anything.

What is the situation that Jesus has brought or allowed in my life at this time that is an opportunity for release?  It is not something I discover or find, but just a response to what He is bringing to my life right now.  I will not be able to miss it.  Instead of hanging on to what is precious to me (in whatever form I do that), will I cling to Him as my only answer and my complete supply for everything?  It is no guarantee that I will get anything back.  But it is a guarantee and promise that He will work in my life as never before.  And His life will be passed on to others through the process.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       What situation is Jesus clearly bringing or allowing in my life right now that is an opportunity for release?  What is the surrender?

2.       What might I be tempted to believe I can get from that person or thing?  Will I instead turn fully to Him as my answer and supply for whatever need I have?

3.       Who else’s life might be affected through my release to Jesus?

4.       Thank Him and share about a previous time He has been my answer and supply to my need.

Divine Capacity

Philemon 17

In verses 17-22, Paul now speaks very directly to his partner, Philemon.  He begins very clearly with the central and basic purpose of this letter: “If then you count me as a partner, RECEIVE HIM AS YOU WOULD ME.”  While Paul is certainly still talking about Onesimus to some degree in these verses, the big emphasis of this section is the relationship between Paul and Philemon, and how this partnership is going to be lived out in this very real situation.  In this way, verses 17-22 give us a picture of what partnership is like in the body of Christ.  As Paul speaks to Philemon as a partner, we see several sides of what this kind of partnership involves.  In looking at this partnership, we learn that it is to be the norm in the body of Christ rather than the exception.  For, what we see at work in this situation looks startlingly similar to God’s love and redemption toward us.  This is no surprise since Paul is a “prisoner of Jesus Christ,” and since it is Jesus at work through him.  It emphasizes to us yet one more time that Christianity is not merely an attempt to improve our behavior, be better people, or be like Jesus as best as we can.  Christianity is actually having Jesus Christ live in us and be in us what He is.  Verses 17-22, and this entire letter, are a picture of that to be sure.

Partnership defined

A couple of elements in verse 17, at the very beginning of this section, begin to give us some idea of the depth of this partnership between Paul and Philemon.  “If you then count me as a partner.”  The Greek word translated “partner” may be familiar to some who have been in the church for a number of years and heard teaching on it before.  It is the word, koinonos (first “o” is long sound).  From this word we get the more common word, koinonia, which is commonly translated “fellowship.”  The root word of both of these, koinos, has the idea of “common” or “sharing in common.”   We can see how the idea of PARTERNSHIP comes from this.  A partnership is formed when two people come together and agree to share all things in common.  Perhaps the example of this which first comes to mind is the business partnership.  Two or more people may decide to “go into business together.”  It is no small or casual thing to take such a step.  It is nothing to hurry into or take lightly.  When two or more people agree to a partnership in business, each person has committed to be “all in.”  It means that each person is putting in his or her money.  It is no longer “my” money and “your” money; it is “OUR” money.  Each person has a part in and ownership in the business plan.  It is no longer “my” plan and “your” plan; it is “OUR” plan.  All the people involved in this agreement understand that they will be giving their time, energy, and focus to the business.  One of the greatest causes of conflict in a business partnership is when one “partner” is not fully participating and joining in with the other partners (which was the agreement), and yet expects to receive his or her share of the profit.

Perhaps the other image of this kind of partnership that naturally comes to mind is that of marriage.  It is interesting that Paul uses the Greek word exo (long “o” sound) in verse 17.  While it is translated “count” in the New King James translation, the most common translation of exo is “to have.”  This verb is in the present tense, which means that it is an ongoing and continuing action.  Therefore, the translation might read, “If you have (and continue to have) me as a partner.”  It is the kind of “having” that goes on and on.  In fact, the two main ways for exo to be translated are “to have” and “to hold.”  Many of us have heard these words in our lifetime, and many of us have spoken them!  When a man and woman stand before the congregation and before God to take their wedding vows, they are entering into a special partnership.  They are making a contract or agreement before God.

I,                        , take you,                         , to be my wedded husband/wife, TO HAVE AND TO HOLD from this day forward, for better---for worse, for richer---for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part.

These words are not merely something to fill up a 30-minute ceremony so that we can get on to the reception afterward!  They express a depth of commitment --- an “all-in” mentality--- that is built into marriage.  Marriage is the ultimate example of partnership in this world.  It is no longer “my” money and “your” money; it is “our” money.  It is no longer “my” home and “your” home; it is “our” home.”  It is not “my” children and “your” children (yours especially when they are misbehaving!); it is “our” children.”  In marriage, I choose to share all things in common and share in all things with my wife.

At the very least, Paul’s language of “having” Philemon as a “partner” expresses his seriousness about relationships in the body of Christ.  When, as individuals, we respond to Jesus and become bound to Him, we then begin to experience a bond with others who are in Him.  It is, in some ways, a natural agreement and commitment to one another --- not one that is forced, but one in which we find ourselves because it is just the way Jesus works in us.  It becomes less and less about “I” and more about “we.”  This is the koinonia fellowship/partnership of the body of Christ.  What does this partnership look like?  Verse 17 provides some further parts of the picture.

Internal compulsion

Further light on how this partnership works comes from the sentence structure of verse 17.  Paul uses a manner of speaking that was a common rhetorical device (a certain form of communication that says something just by the way it is structured) from his day.  This particular structure uses logic to get a point across.  The second statement or second part of the verse is a logical conclusion of the first statement or first part of the verse.  In other words, the first statement presents a point or truth, and the second statement answers that point.  In this case, Paul begins with his first statement by saying, “If you then count me as a partner.”  Even though our English translation can sound like this fact is not entirely certain or is only a possibility (because it uses “if”), it comes across in the Greek that Paul is stating this as a fact.  This comes across most strongly because Paul uses the indicative mood of verb (“you count”), which means that it is a statement of fact.  In Greek, it could come across something like: “If you have me as a partner (and you do!)”  Paul states it this way because he does not wonder about his relationship with Philemon.  They are each in Christ, and they are brothers in Christ, and Paul does not question this in any way.  It is an assumed fact.  This helps us know some of the way in which Paul approaches his relationship with Philemon, and how relationships work in the body of Christ.  Paul is not interested in “dangling” relationship in front of Philemon as something that is conditional.  In other words, Paul is not interested in manipulating Philemon by saying something like, “We can have relationship (“you have me as a partner”) as long as you do what I ask --- or else!”  Paul deeply loves his brother Philemon, counts him as a dear brother and partner, and wants to establish that clearly in this first statement.

The second statement is then the logical answer or conclusion to the first statement.  If Philemon has Paul as a brother, then Paul urges him to receive Onesimus just as he would receive Paul.  In fact, this urging is so strong, the verb “receive” is in the imperative mood, which is the “command” form in Greek.  From one view (if all we could see was the second part of verse 17), it could look like Paul is merely commanding Philemon what to do.  As the spiritual leader or “superior,” it would be like Paul “pulling rank” on Philemon and just handing down an order.  However, as we learned in verses 8 and 9, this is not at all Paul’s manner or approach.  Rather than being the military commander who is handing down an order (even if the order would be the right thing for Philemon to do), Paul is instead being the brother in Christ --- the “old man”--- who is running alongside of Philemon and cheering him as Philemon responds to this new thing that Jesus has for him.  Paul has not changed his approach between verses 9 and 17, so we must see the same thing at work here in verse 17.  Rather than giving an outright command in the second part of verse 17 (“RECEIVE him as you would me”), Paul is spelling out the logical conclusion or natural outcome of the first part of the verse (“If you have me as a partner [and you do!]”).  It is like the second thing will automatically follow the first.  The reason Paul puts it in the imperative mood (command form) is that it is assumed that Philemon will feel the same compulsion about it that Paul feels --- because they are partners!  Paul assumes that he is not urging Philemon to do something that will be a drudgery, a “have to,” or something which Philemon will go and do “kicking and screaming.”  Paul assumes that, since they are partners, Philemon will feel the same inside “must” that Paul feels about this matter.

Because these verses (17-22) are a picture of partnership, this point alone says something important about how partnership works in the body of Christ.  In love and partnership in the body of Christ, it is an internal compulsion that drives us.  The Old Testament prophets foretold of a transition that would happen from the external law to the internal law.  “I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts (Jeremiah 31:33).”  Jesus later said that He “did not come to destroy but to fulfill” the Law and the Prophets (Matt. 5:17).  Something miraculous happens when a person receives Jesus Christ and then walks in continued response to His moving.  The law and “right thing to do” which used to be an external command becomes something that lives inside.  What used to require outside pressure, threat, or command now has become an inside “must.”  Instead of “having” to do the will of God, a man or woman responding to an indwelling Jesus now “gets” to do the will of God and finds an “I can’t help myself” dynamic at work.  “I must.”  Since at least half of God’s Law of the Old Testament had to do with relationships and how we live toward others, this new inside “must” of Christianity shapes all of our relationships.  A husband used to help with household responsibilities because he was afraid what would happen if he didn’t (“When momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!”).  Now he increasingly finds himself looking for ways to help just because there is a love inside that drives him to see where he can make her day easier.  It is an inside “must.”  Children who used to obey only for fear of punishment or being grounded now increasingly seek how they may please or submit to their parents without even being asked.  “Honor your father and mother” is becoming an inside “must.”  It is this kind of thing that Paul is describing with Philemon.  When we are partners --- brothers and sisters --- in the body of Christ, we share more than just our food at a potluck.  As we seek Him together, your cares become mine and mine become yours.  Your family becomes like mine and mine becomes like yours.  Paul just knew that asking Philemon to receive Onesimus back would not be a “have to,” but would be an inside “must.”

Divine capacity

Even more about partnership in the body of Christ is revealed though the word Paul uses for “receive.”  “RECEIVE him as you would me.”  The Greek word translated “receive” is proslambano.  It is made up of the verb lambano (“o” is long sound) and the prefix pros.  Lambano has the basic meaning of, “to take or receive.”  Pros is a preposition, and one of its meanings when used as a prefix in this way is “in addition to” or “besides.”  Therefore, the fuller meaning of proslambano is “to receive in addition to.”  It is more than just receiving something.  It is the idea of receiving something with or as a BONUS.  Paul is saying that by having him as partner, Philemon is now receiving a BONUS, and that bonus is Onesimus!

This also says a couple of amazing things about relationships in the body of Christ.  One is that we are always being surprised with some BONUS in the body of Christ.  There is an old saying about something being “more than the sum of the parts.”  It the idea that something is taking place that is greater, richer, or fuller than what seems to be there.  It is like taking something apart and putting it back together and finding there is more there at the end than what you began with.  It is like going to your bank account, taking out all the money, counting it cent by cent, and then going back the next day to do the same and finding there is more there than before.  There is something like this that takes place between those in the body of Christ.  We can look at the people who are there; we can count up all their money; we can count up all of their “abilities”; we can measure all of the resources that they have available to them, and we can come up with some bottom line of what seems to be there.  Yet, consistently, in the body of Christ, something happens in and through that group of people that is more than we expected.  Keep in mind that this only happens when the Holy Spirit is at work through a group that is truly filled with Him and responding to Jesus in their lives.  The body of Christ is more than just a gathering of people.  No number of bodies meeting at some particular time or place guarantees it being the body of Christ.  The body of Christ is made up of those who are indwelt by Him, responding to Him, and who are linked to one another in Him.

One other aspect of this bonus dynamic in the body of Christ is who can be included in this.  In our own human ability and resource, we have a limited CAPACITY for relationship.  In other words, we can only hold or take so much!  While some people may tend to be outgoing and are “energized” from being around people, most of us can tend to have a limit to the number of people with whom we become really close and can love.  After all, I can only love so many people!  Yet, while we will always have some human limitations while we live in this world, there is another bonus that happens in the body of Christ.  When Jesus comes to live within us, and as we continue responding to Him, He begins to replace our capacity to love with HIS CAPACTIY to love.  We no longer have to attempt to love with the exhausted resource of what we can muster toward people, but can learn to live in the flow of His supernatural love toward people through us.  One thing this results in is a love that seems to continually expand out toward more people --- sometimes in surprising ways.  Jesus certainly did spend concentrated time alone with His twelve disciples, and He also sometimes just needed time all alone so that He could focus and hear from His Father.  However, while we sometimes see this concentrated focus of how Jesus needs to operate with people (He could not spend with the multitudes the same kind of time He spent with the disciples --- He only had so many hours in a day just as I do!), we never find a limit to His love.  The kindness and love is for everyone, even those who opposed Him.  God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.  If we continue responding to Jesus in our own lives and letting Him turn this love loose in us, we are sure to be surprised and amazed by the people we find ourselves loving.

In regard to this entire picture of partnership in the body of Christ, two points speak to us forcefully.  First, not a single part of this is possible by human effort, will, or intelligence.  No one can produce the body of Christ and the atmosphere that truly exists within it.  This can only take place through and by the Head of the Body: Jesus Christ Himself.  Christianity is not a religion, but a miracle.  It is something supernatural that takes place in the life of any man or woman who allows Jesus to come and live within, and who will then live in response to His indwelling presence.  When two or more people begin to have relationship in Him as they respond to Him together, they are the body of Christ.  There will always be something supernatural that is evident about such body --- especially in the way in which they love.  While we are still very human and have our share of human limitations, it is God’s manner and pleasure to demonstrate something through such regular people (the body of Christ) that makes the world stand back and say, “Wow.”  God may or may not choose to perform miraculous physical healings or other such notable wonders among us.  Yet, which is the greater miracle: a physical healing, or someone empowered to truly love people like never before?  When we look back over this letter to Philemon, we realize that this is the very thing which Paul was praying for Philemon back in verses 4-6: “. . . that the sharing [koinonia] of your faith may become effective [energized!] . . . .”  Paul was thanking God for all that Jesus was doing in Philemon’s life and was praying for an even greater overflow of the supernatural!

It will be this overflow --- the “wow” factor --- that wins the world to Jesus Christ.  This is what our families need, and what our world needs to see.  Some people call it “revival.”  Some call it “an unusual moving of God.”  Yet, when we look at the New Testament, there was nothing unusual about it.  It was the USUAL moving of God.  Regular people were full of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.  They were giving their entire lives to Him and for His purpose.  They were coming together for this calling as His body and He was doing something through them that was “more than the sum of the parts.”  The unexplainable was happening through them, and all they could do was to point to Him.  Children were growing up seeing it.  Neighbors, friends, and co-workers were being swept into it.  It was not an attraction to a state-of-the-art building, to a multi-media worship experience, or to top notch programs.  People were being drawn in by the supernatural moving of God through a bunch of people who were the body of Jesus Christ in their world.  There may be some who think that this is an unrealistic ideal that could never happen in our day.  However, when we look back through church history across the centuries, we catch glimpses of times when it has happened again.  And it is always the same --- just regular people seeking and responding to Jesus together.  Again, this moving of God may not be something flashy or glamorous.  But it will be something that is beyond what human beings can do.  Paul was inviting Philemon into it even further.  Jesus is inviting us today.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       Who is the body of Christ with whom He has seemed to place me?

2.       What things have been a “have to” which I would like to ask Jesus to make a “must” from inside of me?

3.       Is there a place I seem to most need His capacity for love right now?

4.       Will I ask Him for His supernatural moving to become the norm of my life, no matter what that looks like?  Will I give my life for this?

Debtors

Philemon 18-19

I spent a great deal of time in these verses to get to understand Paul’s aim and what the Holy Spirit intended to say through them.  “But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account.  I, Paul, am writing with my own hand.  I will repay --- not to mention that you owe me even your own self besides.”  Perhaps the longer time needed here is for a variety of reasons.  First, I am finding an increased joy and relaxation in just taking time in being immersed in His Word.  There is no hurry or pressure --- because it is all about just knowing Jesus.  Secondly, I am discovering more and more that there is an incredible depth to the relationships taking place here between Paul, Philemon, and Onesimus.  I am finding that is the normal way that relationships take place in Christ.  Finally, however, I believe there is something very personal for my own life that is being addressed in these verses.  I see some tendencies in myself exposed through the truth in these verses.  Is this not the way it always is with the Word?  We must come willing to be exposed and for the patterns of our life to be revealed so that Jesus may create His own patterns within us.  Make it so Lord Jesus!

Observations

In being immersed in the Word, the first and most important step (as well as the one which takes the greatest amount of time) is to simply observe what is there.  We cannot move to understanding the truth or applying it until we first see what the Word is actually saying.  Observing verses 18 and 19 uncovers at least two very striking things.  First, we note in verse 18 that Paul does not try to dismiss or push aside the fact that Onesimus may actually owe something to Philemon or may have actually wronged him (most commentators believe that the very fact it is mentioned means that it is so indeed).  It is believed by many that Onesimus stole something when he ran away from his master.  Because of the long distance of travel from Colossae to Rome, it is most likely that it would have been money that was stolen (easier for Onesimus to carry over a long distance).  What is striking here is that Paul does not “sugar coat” the reality of the offense.  He makes no attempt to tell Philemon that it is “no big deal.”  Paul brings it right out into the open and acknowledges the offense.  Perhaps there is something we learn from this about biblical relationships in Christ.  There is something healthy about “speaking the truth in love” as opposed to brushing things under the carpet or trying to pretend that no problem exists.

A second striking element in observation is the kind of wording used in verses 18 and 19.  Paul very purposefully chooses to use words that are commonly used in the financial realm: “owes;” “put that on my account;” “repay.”  In addition to this, Paul uses a phrase in verse 19 that would have communicated something very strongly in their culture.  He says, “I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand.  I will repay . . . .”   There is extremely strong emphasis in the grammar on the fact of Paul writing this with his own hand.  This would be equal to Paul putting his “signature” on this letter.  That is especially important because he follows that by saying, “I will repay.”  By doing this, Paul is giving this letter as something that is like a promissory note.  A promissory note is an official document used as a promise to pay an amount of money to someone.  It is like Paul is signing a contract stating that he will pay back whatever Onesimus owes.  What stands out about it is that Paul leaves the amount up to Philemon.  It is like Paul is signing the check and letting Philemon fill in the amount.  One thing this says again is that Paul is willing to get completely involved in this situation.  He is not interested in keeping a safe distance from people and just adding them to his prayer list.  Paul is wading into this situation all the way.  He is in it up to his ears and now his wallet is going to get wet!

While these truths seems very good and right to me, I find myself still asking, “So what?”  “What does it all mean?”  There must be something more to this passage than just good “tidbits” of good advice for relationships.  There must be a bigger picture and something that is being said.  What is it all about?  That is the second step of Bible study.  After observing and seeing what it says, we can then allow the Holy Spirit to begin to put pieces together and show us what it means.  What is the message?  In spending time in these verses and staring at these observations and elements for quite some time, there is an attitude of the kingdom that Paul really seems to be addressing here.  This attitude is at work in his own life, and he is now inviting Philemon to allow the same attitude to take place in him also.  What is this attitude?  I believe it is most helpful to see this attitude in three steps and how it contrasts with what the opposite would be.

God-sourced versus self-made

One of the main points of the letter to Philemon is to demonstrate what it looks like to be God-sourced.  Paul credits Jesus for everything, and is careful to always point to Jesus as the source for all things.  He is a “prisoner of Christ Jesus (verses 1, 9).”  Grace and peace are “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (v. 3).”  He points to “every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus (v. 6).”  Paul is bold “in Christ (v. 8).”  This is all consistent with the message of every letter of Paul and the entire New Testament.  Jesus is the source for all things.  Jesus is everything.  He is the Vine and we are the branches.  There is no life apart from Him.  Being a Christian is not a commitment to a new lifestyle or an attempt to be a better person.  It is far more radical than that.  The clear message of the New Testament is that being a Christian is all about being indwelt by Jesus and letting Him be the source of our lives.  We are no longer the ones responsible for our own lives.  He is in control not only of His plan for us and our destiny in Him, but also for all the details along the way and how to carry it out.  Every detail of our lives is about Him, and we have everything we need in and from Him.  Not only this, but the One living in us shapes us and lives through us so that He is seen in our lives.  We are surrendering our lives to Him so that He can live His life through us.  “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me (Gal. 2:20).”  The result of a person’s life is no longer the product of what he or she can provide or accomplish, but it is the product of the powerful and living presence of Jesus Christ inside of that individual.  We are not responsible to figure anything out or to make anything happen.  Our call is to respond to Him within us and to watch in amazement what He does.

While this sounds quite radical and almost unbelievable to human logic, how else can we explain the Apostle Paul?  Here is a man who used to be among the hardest and most violent among his peers (Acts 9:1-2).  To say the least, Saul was not a “warm, fuzzy” type of person!  Yet, something has happened to this man.  This man who used to breathe threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord is now the one overflowing with love for them.  His language in this letter to Philemon would be considered almost “over the top” in our day.  It expresses the deepest of love and affection for both Onesimus and Philemon.  I thoroughly believe this is not some attempt to “butter up” Philemon so that he will comply with Paul’s request.  This is simply a revealing of what is in Paul’s heart.  He loves these people beyond what he can say.  How did this happen to the man who used to breathe threats and murder?  What “sensitivity training” class did he attend?  The answer is that this is the product of Jesus, who now lives within Paul through the Holy Spirit.  This is not the ability or accomplishment.  He is being sourced by Jesus, and we are seeing the overflow of that resourcing in Paul’s life.  Indeed, we are really seeing the Lord Jesus Himself living through Paul.

There is one more evidence of God’s resourcing in Paul’s life demonstrated in these verses.  Remember that Paul tells Philemon to put anything owed “on my account,” and then promises that he will repay.  We keep in mind also the legally binding nature of these words.  For Paul, this was like signing a contract promising to pay an amount that is not yet known.  One question that comes to mind with this is:  “Where would Paul get this kind of money?”  It is believed by many that the Apostle Paul lived a simple existence --- that he was a not a man who had much money or resources.  We know that he worked for a living in the places where he went to share the Word and teach the people.  In The Titus Diary (“First Century Diaries” series), Gene Edwards provides a vivid and gripping picture of how the Apostle Paul and those travelling with him lived day to day in complete trust in God for every single need.  How would such a man --- living day to day and trusting God for every need --- be able to promise to pay what could end up to be a large amount of money?  The only answer is the sourcing of God.  Paul was depending on Jesus for EVERYTHING.

Paul is now inviting Philemon to depend on this Jesus-sourcing at a whole new level.  How will Philemon possibly be able to receive Onesimus back?  How can everything be made right again?  How will Philemon even know how to act or what to say?  The answer is the sourcing of Jesus.  The Jesus who is within him will be everything Philemon needs for the situation.  If Philemon will allow it, Jesus will act through him and show something through Philemon that he has never seen before.  In fact, the indication of the letter is that this situation has been orchestrated by God so that Philemon will have the opportunity to experience this --- that he may know “every good thing which in is in you in Christ Jesus (v. 6).”

What has God been orchestrating in my life to bring me to the opportunity for God-sourcing?  What is it in my life that is impossible, unless God does it?  We have the opportunity to let Jesus do the same in us as we see in His Word.  What is the alternative?  If I am not God-sourced, then I am self-made.  I attempt to handle my own situations.  I take care of things myself.  I am in charge.  I carry with me a “can-do” attitude.  “Stand back and watch me ---- someone who knows what he is doing.”  Which approach will I take to the situation God has brought me to this day?  Will I surrender to be sourced by Jesus alone, or will I attempt to be a self-made person?

“Debtor” versus arrogance

Each of these two approaches to sourcing --- being either God-sourced or self-made --- will naturally lead to a general attitude in our lives.  It is obvious that viewing myself as self-made results in an attitude of arrogance.  I have the idea that I have accomplished everything because of my own intelligence and ability.  It has been all thanks to me.  What develops in this is the thought of how superior I am to everyone else and how I don’t need anyone else.  I become bigger and bigger in my own mind (and assume, of course, that everyone else sees me in this way as well) while other people become less and less in my view.  Paul deals with the problem of arrogance or pride repeatedly in his first letter to the Corinthians (for example, see 4:6-7, 18; 5:2).  The word that he uses for “arrogant” can be literally translated as “puffed up.”  It is the picture of a person who keeps “inflating” himself or herself --- but is really just full of hot air!  Where does such an arrogant and inflated ego come from?  It is natural for anyone who thinks of himself as self-made.

Contrast this to the attitude that we see so much in Paul’s letter to Philemon --- and all his letters for that matter!  There can be no question that Paul never sees himself as self-made.  One of the clearest examples of this in what he writes to Timothy in 1:12-17.  In this passage, we see plainly how Paul sees himself as God-sourced.  Far from producing arrogance or pride in his life, it gives him the tone and attitude of one who is a debtor.  Paul realizes at all times he owes his very life and everything he is to the Lord Jesus.  Paul is one who simply has received!  This is the tone and attitude to which Paul is inviting Philemon in the entire letter, but especially in verses 18-19.  The play on words is striking.  In verse 18, Paul speaks very openly about the fact that Onesimus might “owe” something to Philemon (because he stole), and that Paul will pay it back.  Paul then says in verse 19, “not to mention that you owe me even your own self besides.”  It makes us wonder how or what Philemon would owe Paul.  It is mostly believed that Paul was a spiritual mentor in some way to Philemon --- and that Philemon met Jesus through Paul or at least through Paul’s influence.  There is also the suggestion through the letter that they had some kind of ongoing relationship and that Paul must have continued to be an influence in Philemon’s life.  Some people might be under the impression that it was a very arrogant or “bullying” thing for Paul to bring this up to Philemon.  However, two things say that Paul had only pure intentions in this.  First, if Paul is “calling in a favor” from Philemon here by bringing up the past, notice that he is not calling in a favor for himself but more for the benefit of someone else (Onesimus).  Secondly, the first few words of the statement tell us that it was not Paul’s main purpose or intention to bring up the past or what Philemon owed him.  The King James Version reads, “albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides.”  The biggest point seems to be not about what Philemon owes Paul, but just about the fact that Philemon is a debtor also!  Through verses 18 and 19, Paul seems to be pointing out to Philemon something like: “Onesimus is a debtor, but so are you brother!”  Again, this is not Paul highlighting this in some arrogant way, but as one who is a debtor also --- who is a prisoner of Christ Jesus.  This is an invitation to Philemon to be God-sourced in his entire life --- to let Jesus work in his life and to depend on Jesus for all things --- and to allow that to give him the attitude of a debtor.  Would Philemon look to Jesus in this very difficult situation with Onesimus, allow Jesus to work in his own heart, and have the attitude as of a debtor instead of arrogance?

It is amazing how this question applies to my own life.  Where in my life am I prideful and arrogant, or tend to look down on people?  How does it point to the areas in my life where I have thought myself to be self-made, maybe without realizing it?  What would it do in my life if I would allow Jesus to give me the attitude of a debtor?  I have received so much.  What if I even began to ask God to reveal to me the areas of my life where I am a debtor, and how much I have received from others?  What would it do in my life, and the lives of others, if I could begin being thankful for what I have received and how much of a debtor I am?  It would almost seem that with every problem person in my life, or with every problem situation, God could somehow reveal how I could be thankful.  What would happen if I began going to the problem people of my life and thanking them, or telling others how God has used them in my life?  There is nothing to lose, for I am a debtor, and everything I am and have is from Him.

“Give it away” versus entitlement

When I view myself as self-made, and when I become puffed up in my idea of myself, I also end up having the thought that everyone owes me something.  Some people might call it an “entitlement” mentality.  It is basically the attitude that I deserve something from just about everyone.  No matter who I meet or who is near me at the present moment, this mentality leads me to think of something that he or she owes me.  With an “entitlement” outlook, I can even imagine that people should feel privileged for just having me around!

Yet, contrast this again to the outflow from a person’s life who is God-sourced and who views himself or herself as a debtor.  What was the natural outcome that Paul anticipated if Philemon would be sourced by Jesus and would view himself as a debtor?  Naturally, it would be that he would pass along to Onesimus that same grace that he had received.  It is the approach of “pass it on” or “pay it forward.”  Philemon would have the opportunity to be the agent or avenue of God’s grace and love to Onesimus.  What an awesome calling, privilege and opportunity this would be.

Second Corinthians 5:14-21 is a great portrait of this at work in the life of the Apostle Paul.  “Now then, we are AMBASSADORS of Christ, as though God were pleading through us:  we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:20).”  The Jesus who is sourcing us from within, to Whom we owe everything, desires to pour out of our life to those around us so that they can experience the same.  We have the awesome opportunity to be the actual dispensers (like a soap dispenser on my bathroom counter) of the grace and love of the Lord Jesus to those around us all the time, wherever and whoever they may be.  It is not simply us telling people about Him, but them actually experiencing Him and His grace --- a touch from heaven in this dark world.  An embassy is one government’s literal representation on the actual soil of another country.  In a way, someone could be in a foreign country, but when he or she steps inside our embassy in that country, it is like being “home.”  We get to be His “ambassadors.” In us, they can actually know His touch and receive an invitation “home” to Him.

Philemon was going to have the chance to be the touch of heaven --- the grace and love of our Lord Jesus --- in the life of Onesimus.  I will have that same chance soon, if it is not before me at this very moment.   It will in no way come from anything I can do or say.  It will be only through His complete sourcing in me --- for Jesus to actually pour through my life.  It will come through the humility of one who is a debtor.  Will I be a debtor?  Better yet, will I acknowledge the reality of my indebtedness and complete dependence upon Him?

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       Are there any areas of my life where God is exposing that I think of myself as self-made?  What has He brought to my life today that needs His sourcing?  Will I be sourced by Jesus and Him alone, surrendering all I know that I am currently attempting to do out of my own ability (what He reveals to me)?

2.       Where or to whom am I a debtor?  Begin naming or writing down, as the Holy Spirit brings to mind, all that I have received, from God directly and through others.  Perhaps allow Him to especially bring this to mind for “problem people” in my life.

3.       What have I thought of myself as entitled to or deserving?  Who are the people around me that need an ambassador of Christ --- a touch of heaven --- today?

Expectations

Philemon 20-21

Expectations

As Paul begins to wrap up this section revealing the partner relationship he has with Philemon, he makes what could seem to be a very bold, demanding statement.  This can often be the case when we read the writings of the Apostle Paul.  There is no doubt that he had a strong personality (people might call it “type A”).  However, we see his real heart and the intent of his words by seeing them in the CONTEXT of the entire letter.  There is no substitute for context in our study of God’s Word.  Without seeing things in context, we can often misinterpret something or not understand its true intent and the spirit in which it was written.  When we look at the context of the entire letter to Philemon, we realize that Paul is not a demanding “drill sergeant.”  He writes as a friend and “beloved brother.”  This is the tone and heart beneath and behind everything that he says, and we must allow that to guide us in how we read particular parts of the letter which could otherwise seem hard or demanding in any way.

This is nowhere more important than in verse 20 and 21, where Paul writes:  “Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in the Lord.  Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.”  A quick reading of these verses alone, apart from the rest of the letter, could appear to be demanding on Paul’s part.  It could sound like Paul is very focused on himself and is looking for what he can get from Philemon.  Furthermore, it could sound like Paul is simply standing over Philemon and giving him commands as to what to do.  However two important things tell us otherwise.  First, the tone of the entire letter is agape love.  It is not about what Paul can get, but about his love and care for both Onesimus and Philemon, and all that Jesus will do through them and in their relationship.  The way Paul carries himself in this letter is not as a military commander, but as a fellow runner in the race who is encouraging these guys along.  Secondly, some important things in Paul’s grammar tell us that this is not about demand or command as much as it is about expectation.

When Paul writes, “let me have joy from you,” he uses a form of verb that is not very common, called the optative mood.  While this mood is often used strongly as something of a command, its even more basic or original use is to communicate a wish or desire.  That is even more the case with this particular verb, “to have profit, advantage, benefit, enjoyment, or delight” when used in the tense that it is here.  It is the strong expression of a wish or desire to have enjoyment or delight.  Instead of this being something Paul is demanding or commanding from Philemon (“You had better give me some joy right now --- or else!”), it is something Paul is expressing a real desire for.

Next, when Paul writes, “refresh my heart,” this could also be something that sounds like a command.  As a matter of fact, it is in the imperative mood, which is normally the command form.  However, one use of the imperative is the “hypothetical imperative,” which may be used in assumptions.  That seems to be what is in use here.  Instead of this being a command coming down from the military officer (“You had better refresh my heart right now --- or else!”), it is something that Paul assumes will happen.  It is an expectation.  Paul can state it almost as a command because he knows it is something that Philemon will be doing (or what to do) anyway and he would be completely surprised if it didn’t!  It would be like a man saying to his wife, “Kiss me!” in the imperative mood (maybe he got that line from watching one of those old Hollywood movies).  He is not handing that down as an order for her to carry out, but he is boldly stating his assumption of what he believes she would want to do anyway (he hopes)!  My kids are always embarrassed when I use that illustration, so I had to come up with a different one.  It is similar to the imperative statement we might use when family or friends are heading to Disney World for their vacation.   We might say to them something like, “Have a good time at Disney World!”  If you listen to the grammar of that statement, it is spoken in the imperative mood.  However, what we are really expressing is that we are assuming that they will want to have a good time at Disney.  It is not a command or threat, as if to say, “You had better have a good time at Disney World, or else when you get back here you are in big trouble!”  It is an assumption or expectation that they will have a good time, and that we would be shocked if they did not!  What else would we expect?  This is the same tone in Paul’s statement to Philemon:  “Refresh my heart.”  The tone of it is not heavy or burdensome, as we might assume if we thought Paul was handing down orders.  It is light, easy, and full of joy, just like “Kiss me!” or “Have a good time at Disney World!”

The nature of these verses, then, is that they are a statement of Paul’s great desire and expectation of what He will be receiving from Philemon.  He uses the optative and imperative moods to say how strongly he assumes this will be coming from Philemon’s life.  This strong statement is really topped off by the first words of verse 20.  “Yes, brother . . . .”  These words act as an exclamation --- almost like they are a joyful shout.  “YES, brother!”  It has the feel of a slap on the back, a high five, or a fist bump.  It is the kind of shout that one player would give to another in the heat of a game.

All of this says how strong these words are from the Apostle Paul.  He has every expectation and assumption that he will be receiving joy and experiencing a refreshing from and through Philemon.  It is not a question of “if” at all.  Paul sees it, treats it, and speaks of it as a sure thing.  It is almost as if there can be no doubt of it.  How can Paul treat it in this way?  Does this not put a lot of pressure on Philemon?

Source, abundance, overflow

There are a number of pieces in verses 20 and 21 that plainly tell us that there is no pressure on Philemon at all.  The reason for this is that this expectation is not an expectation of Philemon.  It is not something that is up to Philemon to create within himself.  We need to look no further than the two prepositional phrases in verse 20 that tell us more about the “let me have joy from you” and the “refresh my heart” statements.  Please notice that after “let me have joy from you” comes the phrase “IN the Lord.”  Then, after the “refresh my heart” comes the phrase “IN the Lord.”  In the original Greek writing, which is reflected in other English translations, the second phrase actually says, “IN Christ.”  What is common and obvious from these two phrases is the preposition “in” (actually en in Greek).  This preposition, en, can mean different things.  One of those meanings is “location” (“I am IN my office”).  This is certainly part of what Paul is saying to Philemon, which is a great part of his message in the New Testament --- that we are IN Christ and it is IN Him that we find everything we need  Another meaning of this preposition, en, is the “instrument or means” by which something takes place.  It is communicating how something takes place or what is its source.  This is the most important thing that Paul is saying about his expectations of Philemon.  Paul’s assumption of receiving joy and refreshing is not because he believes in the great ability or talent of Philemon.  It is because Paul is endlessly confident in the SOURCE that will work through Philemon, and that is “the Lord” or “Christ.”  Paul can expect this joy and refreshing as a sure thing because Jesus never fails in this, and these things are always found in Him.  As Philemon responds to Him, Jesus will cause joy and refreshing in the lives of others --- and this will happen with as great a certainty as any mathematical fact.

Paul is so sure of what this sourcing of Jesus can produce that he can speak in terms of abundance and overflow.  In verse 21 he writes, “knowing that you will do EVEN MORE than I say.”  The phrase “even more” is a translation of two Greek words.  One is word (h)uper, which normally means “above.”  It is obvious that we get our English word “super” from this.  It has the idea of over and above, or more than something else.  I always liked (and still do) “super” heroes when I was growing up.  They are characters who have “supernatural” abilities.  In using uper, Paul is communicating the idea of something supernatural in the life of Philemon (not that he will be wearing a cape, but the idea that there is something over and above taking place in him).  Paul pairs the word uper in this verse with the word kai, which normally means “and” or “also.”  This is yet another way of saying “more.”  By combing these two words in this sentence, Paul really paints the picture of something that is over and above.  He already has strong expectations for Philemon, but now those expectations are OVER THE TOP.  Why not?  It is not an expectation of Philemon himself, but of what Jesus will do through Philemon.  Why would we not expect it to be over the top since it is coming from Him?

No wonder, then, that Paul uses a particular Greek word, which is here translated as “do,” when he writes:  “. . . knowing that you will DO even more than I say.”  The Greek verb poieo is all about overflow and something that comes from within.  The original way this word was used was in reference to the activity of an artist.  He or she is involved in a creative process.  For the artist, his or her artwork is not just a chore to be done --- like marking off a checklist.  Artwork is something that comes from within.  The artist dreams and envisions something inside, and then allows that to be expressed on a canvas, through clay, through music, through the words of poetry, or some other means.  It is the process of something that is inside now coming to be expressed outside.  It is an overflow of what is happening in the life of that person.  It is no chore or task.  There is something that is enjoyable or even fun in this.  It is not a strain, but instead there is something natural about it.  It can almost seem effortless.  We know there is work involved, but it does not seem to be a strain for the artist.  It just happens.

This is what Paul is expecting to see in the life of Philemon.  Paul assumes that there will be a joy and refreshing that others experience through Philemon’s life, and that it will be something natural and seemingly effortless for him.  We would expect strain, burden, effort, and even failure if it was up to Philemon.  However, because it is “en Christ,” we can expect an overflow and abundance to flow from Philemon.  Jesus will pour this joy and refreshing out of Philemon into the life of others.  It is something that we can expect and assume with complete certainty, because He is the source of it.

Track record

One more element in these verses reveals why Paul can have such expectations of what Jesus will do through Philemon.  Not only has Paul seen Jesus work over and over again, but Paul has seen Jesus work repeatedly in Philemon’s life.  If we look back to verse 7, we find Paul saying, “For we have great joy and consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you brother.”  What Paul is expecting out of Philemon in verses 20-21 is more of the same of what Paul has seen before in Philemon.  Why would Paul not expect this?  That is why Paul writes with such confidence to Philemon.  Again, we can see it as demand if we look at only these verses, but in seeing the entire letter we realize that there is a track record that Philemon has with Paul.  For this reason, Paul can write, “HAVING CONFIDENCE in your obedience, I wrote to you, KNOWING that you will do even more than I say.”  Both of the highlighted verbs in this verse are in the perfect tense.  The perfect tense usually means that there is a past or completed action that is having continuing results.  Think of that in terms of these two verbs.  Paul has had confidence in Philemon in the past --- a complete confidence, if you will.  However, that confidence is continuing into the present.  Paul has a track record of confidence with Philemon because of what he has continued to see and hear from Philemon’s life.  The verb “knowing” is also in the perfect tense.  This word is very special, because it tells us quite a bit more.  There are several words in Greek that can be translated “to know.”  This particular one is a knowing that is based on seeing.  In other words, I know something because I have seen it!  How can Paul know (and have known) what Philemon will do?  How can Paul have such a confidence and expectation?  That answer is that Paul has already seen it in the life of Philemon before.  They have a track record together.  It is a Jesus track record.  The overflow of Jesus in his life has become Philemon’s track record.  It is what he is known for.

What is my track record?  What is it that I am known for and that people have come to expect from me?  Would I be willing to have HIS track record, and to allow the overflow of Jesus’ joy and refreshing to become the normal of what comes out of my life?  What “old” track record does Jesus want to replace in my life?  No matter what it has been, He can change us and make something joyful and refreshing of our lives!

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       What is my track record?  What is it that that I am known for (by people closest to me), and what have people come to expect from me (for better or worse)?

2.       Am I willing to have Jesus’ track record, and will I allow the overflow of who He is to become the normal of what comes out of me?

3.       What would that cost me?  What “old” track record would I need to be willing to part with?

LifeMessage

Philemon 22

In Paul’s final remarks of this letter we may learn the most of all about his heart, life, and message.  Perhaps it is this way with all of us.  What are we like in what we might consider to be the “throw-away” moments of life?  Those are the moments when you have to say something in passing, and when it does not seem really important exactly what you say --- just as long as you say something.  It is what I say to the cashier at the store or to the server at the restaurant.  It is what I say to people when departing from them.  It is what I tag on to the end of a letter.  It really does not seem to matter that much what I say.  It is just words --- just a formality.  They are throw-away moments.

But the New Testament seems to have no such moments.  Words matter.  In fact, we find that every word matters.  When we read these letters of the Apostle Paul, we find great care and purpose in the words.  But why would it not be this way if Jesus lives in us?  If He is in our lives and desiring to demonstrate Himself through us (which is the picture of what this letter is about), why would He not desire to do that through every word and at every moment?  Jesus is not “on vacation” at times or wanting to take a “time out” from my life at certain moments, as if some moments matter and others do not.  They all matter to Him because He wants to be Lord in, over, and through all.

That is what is so striking about verse 22.  After Paul seems to have completed his “business” (they are partners) with Philemon in verse 21, he then makes this statement:  “But, meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be granted to you.”  In some ways, this one simple verse captures the entire, powerful message of Philemon and the whole New Testament.

LifeMessage

It is in the first words of the verse that Paul makes a connection to everything that has been said previously.  Previous to this, he has expressed the depth of his connection to Philemon and the church there.  He has poured out his heart regarding Onesimus.  He made the appeal to Philemon regarding Onesimus, inviting him to and stating his anticipation of how Jesus will work in a new way in Philemon’s life.  In some ways, the letter could have ended here.  Yet, Paul begins verse 22 with some carefully chosen words.  In the Greek, the first word in the verse is the one which is translated “meanwhile.”  It essentially means this very thing --- “at the same time.”  In other words, what Paul is talking about in this verse is to be happening at the same time that Philemon is responding to the truth that Paul has already written.  What is spoken in verse 22 could seem like an “extra,” but it is not intended to be.  It is a part of the entire response.  It is a part of the overflow -- another part of what Paul expects to naturally take place.  This is why Paul can again use the imperative mood here (“PREPARE a guest room for me”), as he did in verse 20.  It is not a command to “do this, or else.”  He just expects it to be a natural part of the whole thing.

This is further indicated by two more words at the beginning of verse 22.  The words “but” and “also” additionally communicate the idea of continuation here.  The word translated “but” (de) normally means a change in direction, but not necessarily a strong contrast.  The word translated “and” (kai) can mean “also” as well.  When we put these two words together at the beginning of a sentence, we get the idea that there is a slight change in subject, but that it is really a continuation of what has gone before.

That is the message that Paul strongly wanted to communicate with this statement in verse 22.  It is no “throw-away” line.  The fact of Paul’s coming and visiting with them in person, and their preparation and participation in that, is not separate from the message that he has just shared with Philemon.  For Paul, it is not acceptable or normal in any way to preach a message and then just go on to something else.  The gospel demands a living out of the message.  This “demand” is not something that God “enforces” on Paul or requires of him with the threat of consequence.  This “demand” of the gospel is something that comes from within.  It is something Paul cannot help but “be,” because it is the nature of the gospel itself.  Paul does not have to remind himself, “Now, I must live out what I just preached.”  That would be a strange thought to him.  The message and the living out of that message are two sides of the same coin.  The two are so intertwined that you cannot separate them.  When Jesus comes to live inside, His message becomes my life and my life becomes His message.  In his book, Communication Theory for Christian Witness, Charles Kraft writes:

“The basic implication of the nature of the Christian message is, then, that the Christian message is a life message, not simply a word message.  I believe this fact has high significance for us who seek to transmit God’s message to others.  For if the message is life, only life is an adequate vehicle for its transmission.  If the message is merely words conveying information, then words are adequate vehicles.  It is worth asking, What happens to a life message if it is reduced to mere words conveying mere information?  Is not the message itself changed?”

This is why Paul writes such words as 1 Thessalonians 2:8:  “So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but our own lives, because you had become dear to us.”  To get a better sense of this, it would be helpful to read all of chapter 2 in order to see Paul’s expression of affection for the Thessalonians and how that is showing up in his life.  But the significance is clear.  The message is not only through words, but through our lives.  It is when those two things come together that there is a powerful demonstration of the gospel --- of Jesus speaking and living through me.  It is the same thing here with Philemon.  Paul has written a deeply heart-felt appeal to Philemon (the message of the gospel), but now it must be lived out.  And Paul cannot help but want to come to him for a visit so that it can be lived out together.  It is a life message.

How is this message taking place through my life?  We know and understand that we are all still growing in Christ, and that while we may be perfect in our hearts, we still may have human limitations present in our lives.  Yet, the promise of the gospel is that Jesus can live in us and make such a difference in our lives that it is going to “show up.”  It is not something a person must rehearse or force (“Now, I must live out what I just preached.”).  It is the natural result of what Jesus does in our lives, even through our human limitations and growth.  If we will respond to Him, and continue responding to Him, He will naturally be our message through words and through life.  His message will be our lives and our lives will be His message.  It is a life message.

In the physical

As Paul continues with verse 22, we can see two ways in which the message is lived out in relationship together.  There can be no question that I have an individual response to and relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  No one can be “grandfathered” into the kingdom, nor can it be simply through “osmosis” by being a part of a group of people who knows Him.  It is true for eternity that I must have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus.  It is also clear from the New Testament and from this letter to Philemon that this life of the gospel is not lived out in isolation.  It is lived out in relationship with others.  The letter to Philemon is a powerful demonstration of how this is so, and verse 22 only continues that thought.  One of the ways verse 22 demonstrates this is to point to the physical reality of living the message together.  It is striking throughout all of Paul’s letters to see how much he loves the people and longs to be with them.

“But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire (1 Thess. 2:17).”

“For what thanks can we render to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice for your sake before our God, night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face . . . (1 Thess. 3:9-10).”

Paul shares this same feeling with Philemon here in this letter.  It is as if it is not enough for Paul to write the letter, even though it was written in a very heartfelt manner.  But Paul also feels compelled to go and be physically present with Philemon and the people.  There is something about being together in physical presence and allowing Jesus to do something in the midst of that.  It is the same reason we gather for worship as the body of Christ.  We have individual relationship with Him, but there is something that happens as we physically gather together as His body.

Paul’s language in this phrase, “prepare a guest room for me,” tells us even more about this physical reality of living out the gospel together.  The word “prepare” is in the present imperative, which means it is an ongoing action.  Paul expects that this preparation made by Philemon will not be something done quickly, but will be an ongoing and involved action.  The verb literally means to “get ready.”  Philemon will be continuing to “get ready” for Paul’s coming and the anticipation is that he will be in a state of readiness when Paul arrives.  The “guest room” of which Paul speaks literally means all that is involved in entertaining or receiving a guest.  It is interesting that this word translated “guest room” is the same word that is used in Acts 28:23 to describe where Paul is staying in Rome (his “lodging”) when he is under house arrest and when he is writing this very letter to Philemon.  It gives the sense that Paul intends or desires to come, and, in every way, stay with Philemon for a visit --- perhaps even an extended visit.  It definitely seems to convey the idea of living together.

I am quite overwhelmed with the concrete picture that is given in these few words.  Paul’s statement about coming to stay with Philemon is no passing (throw-away) comment.  It is not spoken lightly.  It has great heart and purpose behind it.  It says something like, “I have written to you and shared the gospel and my heart, but my desire is to come and be with you, brother, so we can live this out together in person.”  It is one thing to speak the gospel.  It is quite another thing to live with someone and live out that message --- to be the message.  This is a whole other level of involvement.  It is about being prepared, ready, and willing to be responsive to Jesus in real, concrete, everyday life.  It is allowing Him to get into the details of my life and my relationships with others.  It is saying to Him, “What do You desire to do in and through me right where I am?”  “How do You desire to be glorified in how Your gospel is lived out between me and the others here?”  For example, what would He speak to me about how I live in my own home today among those closest to me?  What about the attitude in which I come to church?  What details in my life and how I live is He gently speaking to me about?  What may He be bringing to light in me that is not, at this moment, the life message of the gospel?

In the spiritual

The other way in which we see the message lived out together in verse 22 is in the spiritual connection with one another.  Paul has already pointed to the spiritual connection he feels with Onesimus and Philemon back in verses 12 and 13.  He spoke of sending “my own heart” when he sent Onesimus back.  He had thought of keeping Onesimus with him so that Onesimus might minister there with Paul “on your [Philemon’s] behalf.”  Both of these statements --- and really the tone of the entire letter --- speak of the spiritual connection Paul feels and believes to be real between himself and these other believers.  When he wrote the letter to Colossians (the other letter besides this one that Onesimus was to hand deliver when he went back to Colossae), Paul said:  “For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit . . . .”  Those who are in Christ Jesus long to be together in the physical, and there is something powerful that happens in this physical unity and presence together.  We discussed this in the last section.  However, at all times there is a deep and real connection in the spiritual realm between those who are in Christ.  Paul gives further insight to this in his letter to the Ephesians (one of the other “prison epistles” written from Rome at this time), where he speaks more extensively about the “heavenly places” and how God has “raised us up together, and has made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:6).”  It is because we are seated together in Him and because His Spirit lives in each of us that this ongoing, eternal, spiritual connection exists between us.

This is the indication of Paul’s words in verse 22 when he says:  “For I trust that through your prayers I shall be granted to you.”  Paul expresses here that his desired visit to Philemon is not simply a matter of “just do it.”  Paul understands that everything is subject to God’s working and will.  Furthermore, Paul understands that Philemon and the Colossian believers --- because of their spiritual connection with Paul --- are involved in this.  This is no “one man show.”  In other words, this is not just about the Apostle Paul and what he does.  This is about the body of Christ and what He will do through them together.  In the body of Christ, it is not about one person.  It is about His working through the body together.  In this way, every member has a part in what is happening.  Paul wrote extensively about this in his letters to the Corinthians and touches on it in most all his letters, because it is such an important concept.  The invitation here, then, is that the Colossians would pray for Paul to be able to come.  One rhetorical question (we don’t know the answer for sure) would be:  “Would Paul’s visit be possible if the people did not pray?”  The indication of the statement in verse 22 --- which is God’s inspired Word --- is that the prayers of the people will play a vital role, even in the most basic things in life.  There is a spiritual connection between Paul and the people.  It is no one-man show, but it is the body of Christ.

It would be good for us to have this understanding of the body of Christ in our day.  What a difference it would make for the Sunday worship service alone (or whatever day you meet).  We have often treated this worship service as a “show.”  A church can be tempted to desire to put forth the most talented musicians.  People can go from church to church looking for the best “performance.”  This attitude carries over toward the preaching, where we especially view the preaching --- and the entire ministry of the church, for that matter --- as a one-man show.  We can easily view the performance of one man (or woman) while we casually sit back as the “audience.”  How easy it is to go home and critique the preaching and evaluate “the show.”  The truth is that the service was and is no one-man show.  If we are the body, then we are all responsible to some degree for what happens in that service.  We all affect the spiritual atmosphere by the condition of our hearts and the attitudes that we bring with us.  If we all had a visible “cartoon bubble” (the bubble above the heads of the characters in comic strips revealing what they were thinking) above our heads in the worship service, what kinds of thoughts would be revealed in our worship services?  What if we really understood the spiritual connection we all have in the body of Christ and in that worship service?  Instead of sitting back as the “audience,” I could understand myself to be a key part of what is happening.  Instead of being the critic of the pastor, I could see myself as his partner.  He is up there preaching in the physical, but I am right beside him, praying for him, and pulling for him in the spiritual --- because we are seated together in Christ.  I am as much a part of what is happening in that service as he or she is!

God’s gift

During my growing up years, I was always aware that my parents named me with some awareness of the meaning behind the name, and that “John” had something to do with “God’s gift.”  That can be a precious message and awareness to carry around in one’s life.  However, I realize it can also become an arrogant thing without Jesus.  Who of us has not known some individual who thought of himself or herself as “God’s gift” in an arrogant way?  I picture some self-absorbed man whose favorite pastime is looking at himself in the mirror and who considers himself “God’s gift to women.”  It is obvious from Paul’s letters that he does not have one ounce of this kind of thought about himself.  That helps us to realize more clearly what he means by using one of his final words in verse 22.  “For I trust that through your prayers I shall be GRANTED to you.”  This verb, “to grant,” in the Greek comes from the root word for “grace.”  When put into the verb (or action) form, it carries the idea of giving a gift to someone.  Our translation might even read:  “For I trust that through your prayers I shall be gifted to you.”  If Paul does not view himself as a “gift” in the arrogant way we discussed, what does he mean by speaking of possibly being “gifted” to the Colossians?

Paul understands that EVERYTHING --- including any possible visit to the people he loves --- is completely subject to the grace and working of God.  It is He who works “all things together for good to those who love God, who are the called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28).”  It is all about His plan and His purposes, and we know that all of these things are for our good.  Our job is not to figure out life, destiny, or our purpose.

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life I live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me (Gal. 2:20).”

“For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3).”

Our lives no longer belong to us, but to Him.  And we can trust in His infinite love, grace, and mercy to care for us and for Him to work all things together for good --- no matter what it may look like to us.  In a very practical sense, then, Paul knew that any possible visit to Colossae --- as much as he desperately longed to be there --- was subject to the grace of God.  In this statement, Paul was saying two things.  First, he was making it clear that his life is under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and His plans.  Secondly, Paul sees EVERYTHING as a gift from God.  It Paul would get to come to Colossae, it would be a gift to those people from God.

We don’t know if Paul ever made it to Colossae for this visit.  In fact, evidence points to the contrary.  After this two year imprisonment, Paul was released and visited a few other places over the course of a couple of years.  Indications are that Colossae was not one of the places he was able to get to before he was taken into custody again.  It was during this final custody --- a rougher imprisonment than the first --- when Paul was eventually put to death.  This only makes Paul’s point in verse 22 all the more clear:  everything from God is a gift.  Paul saw every day, every relationship, every person, every provision, every problem, every ailment (see 2 Cor. 12) as a gift from God.  Our pastor at the church we attend concludes the service the same way every Sunday.  In his mild southern voice he says, “Enjoy this day --- it’s the day the Lord made just for you.”

Do I view every day as His gift to me?  Do I see my family members each as a gift?  Do I see the relationships I have with other believers as a precious gift from Him?  I don’t really know how many days I have here in this world.  Truly, every moment and every single person is a gift from Him.  How would He treat them as such through me?  How will He demonstrate His life message through me to them?

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       Are there some moments in life that I tend to treat as “throw-away” (doesn’t matter what I say because I think it doesn’t matter) that Jesus is showing me DO matter?

2.       Are there any areas of my life where people might say that my life does not match the message?

3.       What will it change in my life this week (perhaps even going to worship service) to realize the spiritual connection in the body of Christ?

4.       Who and what are the precious gifts of God in my life?  What does He want to do in my heart and life toward these?  What if I only had a matter of days left in this world?

Band of Brothers

Philemon 23-24

In this closing “signature” of his letter in verses 23 and 24 Paul reveals one more truth about relationships in Christ by listing the men who are with him at the time of this writing.  “Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers.”  Through the listing of this “band of brothers,” and by the way in which Paul phrases this listing, we catch a final glimpse into what is in his heart and where this heart originates.  As we discussed from the beginning, the letter to Philemon is more of a “snapshot” than a studio pose.  Paul is being himself as he writes this letter to Philemon from his “imprisonment” (house arrest) in Rome sometime in the early 60’s AD.  As he writes and expresses great love and deep connection with Philemon and Onesimus, he, meanwhile, has the same kind of relationship with these other men who are with him in Rome.  What we are observing in the letter to Philemon is, as we shall see, the way Paul is in most or all relationships, because it is the heart of Jesus, of Whom he is a prisoner.

Each one matters

We find in the Apostle Paul’s letters that he is in the regular habit of calling people by name.  At least one thing that this speaks of is his extreme care and love for people.  It reveals that, to Paul, each person matters.  This same concept was evident earlier in verse 14 by the way in which Paul spoke to Philemon.  Paul was discussing his desire to have kept Onesimus with him, but instead was sending him back to Philemon.  Paul says that he did not want to do anything without Philemon’s “consent.”  In the Greek, this word literally means the “mind, will, and purpose.”  As we discussed earlier in “Symptoms of Relationship,” these elements are essential to how God designed us as human beings.  A person’s mind, will, and purpose are who he or she really is.  It is the core of the being --- what the person is all about.  To care about those things is to really care about the person.  This is Paul’s intent with that statement.  He cares deeply about Philemon as a person.  Philemon is not just another “thing” to be used; he is not another “number” in the system.  We can all relate to being “just a number” or something to be used for someone else’s benefit.  In those situations, all we amount to is one more face in a crowd. We are one more piece to keep something running or to make it look better.  Yet, Paul cannot treat Philemon that way.  Philemon is important to Paul, and so Paul cannot help but treat him as a person.

It is this same heart that compels Paul to call people by name.  People’s names matter to him because THEY matter to him.  Is this not true for all of us?  When someone really means something to us, is a vital part of our lives, or has really impacted us, do we not normally remember his or her name?  Imagine having a conversation in which I was describing a person who really meant a lot to me.  He had impacted my life greatly and I have never been the same since.  Because of all this I hold a very dear place for this person in my heart.  In this imaginary conversation, the other person asks me, “What is his name?”  Imagine me saying, “I can’t remember.”  That would be highly unusual.  It would even seem ridiculous to us.  If someone has had an impact on my life and really means something to me, surely I would remember his or her name!

One of the most striking examples of this in all the New Testament is in Romans chapter 16.  The first sixteen verses of this chapter might tend to be overlooked as something fairly “routine,” similar to the genealogies.  It lists the names of people to whom Paul is sending greetings.  The more I read these verses, the more I am overwhelmed by them.  They speak and reveal something clear and powerful.  These words overflow with the love and care Paul has for people.  How could he care for so many people in this way?  How can he possibly remember all their names?  He seems to go on and on.  It most certainly reveals that these people are not “numbers” for him on the attendance chart for the church in Rome.  He speaks regarding each person with specific attention and love.  Do I have this kind of love and attention toward people?  How could Paul have this toward so many?  It is the love of Jesus in him.  They mean something to Paul because they mean so much to Jesus.  Jesus knows us by name.

This is why Paul specifically names the men who are with him as he concludes this letter to Philemon.  It is no passing or insignificant thing.  It is a statement not only that they are with him, but that they matter immensely to him.  They are a part of him.  There is the sense that they are a “band of brothers” that cannot be separated.  They are bound together in life and death, and for eternity.  This binding only takes place in Jesus.  He is their bond.

In this together

In addition to revealing his care for and connection with this band of brothers, Paul expresses a depth of involvement that they have in one another’s lives.  Again, this is not passing or insignificant, but very purposeful on Paul’s part.  In verse 23 he refers to Epaphras as his “fellow prisoner.”  We learn that Epaphras is from Colossae and most likely a member of the church there or strongly connected with the churches there in the Lycus Valley:  Colossae, Laodicea, Hierapolis (Colossians 4:12-13).  We also learn that he may have served as something of a messenger back and forth between Paul and the Colossian church (Colossians 1:7-8).  It is quite possible that Epaphras was the “link” that brought Onesimus to Paul when Onesimus had come to Rome (perhaps Epaphras ran across him in Rome and would have known him from back in Colossae).  At the time of the writing of the letter to Philemon, it seems as if Epaphras has become more of a constant companion with Paul.  Something leads Paul to call him “fellow prisoner.”  The word “fellow prisoner” itself paints quite a picture.  It has the sense of the brutal manner (literally “at the end of a spear”) in which Romans take prisoners.  There is some speculation that Epaphras actually offered himself to be in custody with Paul at all times, taking on the same prisoner status as Paul.  Others believe that he was just such a constant companion that it was “like” he was in custody with Paul.  Whatever the case, there is a strong attachment between these men in this situation.  Add to this that Paul calls Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke his “fellow laborers.”  All of it points to a reality that these men had a deep involvement and were linked in this together.  Their names were not simply the names of some guys listed on the letterhead of a company --- guys with whom I just share office space and a coffeemaker with.  They were in every sense partners --- a band of brothers.

Perhaps there could be some question as to how much these brothers were in on the day-to-day details of Paul’s life.  Were they together all day or going about different things?  Did they give a full report of that day’s activities to each other at the end of the day?  Though I cannot prove it, my personal inclination would be to believe that they were keenly aware of and “up to speed” with all of what was happening in one another’s lives on a constant basis.  When we look at the picture of the early church that we see in the book of Acts, we observe a group of people that truly lived together and shared all things in common.  Surely that would have been the case with Paul and this band of brothers here in Rome.  There is no question that there was a spiritual connection between them in Jesus.  They were all so focused on Him and in love with Him that nothing else really mattered to them.  This is the picture of the books of Acts, isn’t it?  People living on the edge of life, not knowing for sure whether they may live or die --- but Jesus is everything to them.  The picture in Acts reveals that something happens between people who are in this focus together.  There is not only a spiritual connection, but there also comes to be a deep involvement in one another’s lives.  There is the constant sense that “we are in this together.”  Like soldiers on the front lines, not knowing if they might see another day or not, they have a special bond together.  Surely that is what was being experienced between Paul, Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, and don’t forget Timothy (verse 1)!  They were in this together because they were in Jesus together.  Is He bringing about that same kind of thing in my life with others?

“Greet” one another

One final element speaks of the atmosphere and relationship between this band of brothers.  It is the only verb in these two verses.  Paul says that this band of brothers “GREETS” you.  This is another of those common things that we find around Paul’s letters, especially at the end of those letters.  However, the more we explore its meaning --- and how he was about it --- the more we find how remarkable it is.  This Greek word is aspazomai, and its basic meaning is to “welcome kindly or greet.”  However, a further meaning of the word is “to embrace” or even to kiss.  What’s more, it is in the present tense, which means an ongoing action.  What this speaks of again is a very, very deep affection that is being passed along.  It is nothing like some impersonal closing that I might tack on to the end of a letter in our day.  Our e-mails, text messages, or even letters might end with something like “See ya’” or even “Later.”  Paul’s word here conveys much more than that.  It conveyed affection. It had the sense of, “I hope you feel our embrace as you receive this.”

Again, this is really common in Paul’s letters.  In Romans 16:3-16 alone, he uses this same word seventeen times.  One of those is his statement in verse 16:  “Greet one another with a holy kiss.”  It could cause one to ask, “Is this the same man that was persecuting Christians in Acts chapter 9?”  What happened to this man?  As we have seen, he is now a man that is ruled by the love of Jesus.  It is not Paul that we see, but the Jesus who lives within him.  That is why this is the tone of Paul’s “greeting” at the end of the letter, and why it is the tone of the entire letter itself.  In reality, we cannot find a place in any of Paul’s letters where this is not the tone.  Even in the moments where he must be more confrontational, it is always in a context of deep love and care for the people.  It is just who he is now in Jesus.  It is the very atmosphere of his life.  This was not something that Paul put on and took off at certain moments, like some jacket or hat.  If one were to be around him, this is what you would see and feel in any given moment, no matter the circumstance.  It is because of this we can believe that this was the atmosphere and relationship among and between this band of brothers.  They love everyone deeply, including each other.  They were not ashamed or embarrassed to have a deep love for one another --- even the kind where it would not be surprising to see them embrace or “greet one another with a holy kiss.”

Of course we have to be careful about appearances in our day and must always guard our hearts.  It is unwise for any Christian man or woman to be quick to “give a holy kiss” to members of the opposite sex (outside of his or her spouse!).  We can conduct ourselves in appropriate ways and there are ways to convey affection in a way that does not cross a line, make another person feel uncomfortable, or raise concerns of inappropriateness.  We must keep in mind also that Satan is vigilant in his accusations and attempts to discredit the gospel of Jesus Christ, and so we must respond to the Holy Spirit as He leads us to “abstain from every appearance of evil (1 Thess. 5:22, KJV).”  But in responding to Him together we find that there is a deep love that flows from those who have Jesus in their hearts.  There is an obvious embrace and affection not only toward fellow believers, but open arms to people that don’t yet know Him --- people that have been looking for that kind of embrace all their lives.  “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:35).”  It was this way among Paul and his band of brothers.  It was the way Paul was with every church, every letter, and every individual.  It was this way in the early church.  It will be this way with every individual and in every “band” of brothers or sisters that is responding to Jesus in every place and time.  What else will win the world to Him in our day?

It is great to recognize this truth of what was happening in the life of the Apostle Paul and his band of brothers --- that every person matters, that they were in this together, and that there was such an atmosphere of affection and embrace among them.  But, the question we must always face with God’s Word is, “How does this apply to me?” What does this mean for my life?  One thing this cannot be is simply a list of things that I must try harder to do.  “Ok, Ok.  I’ll try harder to remember people’s names.  I’ll try harder to be involved in people’s lives.  I’ll even try harder to give people a hug once in a while.  Gulp!”  Paul did not have to swallow hard to do any of these things --- because it was what he was inside.  It had become the normal, regular, everyday, “snapshot” manner of his life.

The reason that this had become so usual for Paul is because this is the normal atmosphere of the kingdom, of heaven, and of God Himself.  Everything we see about the reality of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit all clearly reveals this atmosphere among them.  While this would not be a very accurate theological portrayal, the three members of the Trinity are the original “band of brothers.”  As I said, this is full of theological problems, I am sure, and should not be taken too literally.  However, we see the whole spirit of it in the heart and operation of God – how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit function together and feel about one another.  Each one matters; they always in it together; there is such a deep affection and embrace.  Because it is the nature of who God is, it is this very nature that then comes to be in whoever accepts Jesus into his or her life.  God brings the atmosphere and nature of Himself and His kingdom to be present and fully operational inside that person.  Of course there is growth in this as I continue to respond to Jesus in my life and walk in Him, but it is this nature --- this love --- that becomes my new culture.  Just as Jesus came and lived among us and the reality of God was seen, so my life becomes the opportunity for my world to see who God is right here, right now, right where I live.

That is what can be seen in Paul and his band of brothers.  Would it be alright for Jesus to bring about the same in me?

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       What is the evidence in my life that people matter to me?  Is there anyone recently that I have not treated as a person?

2.       What is the evidence that I am “in this together” with some other people?  How are they really a part of my life and how am I really a part of theirs?

3.       What is the evidence that I really embrace people and have a love for them?  How about with those closest to me, such as my family?

4.       Will I allow Jesus to bring about His nature in me in order to produce these things?  What fear or reservation would hold me back?

Blessings

Philemon 25

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.  Amen.”

I have shared in a fair amount of written correspondence in my life, having written and received many letters, e-mails, and even text messages.  Most of the time (maybe less now with text messaging --- which I personally feel is a loss for our culture), part of the social convention or expectation of a letter is that we end it with some kind of “sign-off.”  It is the statement or the words just before our name that expresses some final thought, wish, or “blessing” if you will.  When I was growing up, it was taught that you begin a letter with “Dear [name of recipient here]” and conclude it with something like, “Sincerely, [my name here].”  People have, of course varied that adverb (“Sincerely” is an adverb) at the end to express various things or tones.  “Warmly” or “With regards” or “Yours truly” have been examples of that.  What all of them have in common is something of a purposeful expression about the tone, feeling, or intent of our writing.

Sometimes that has evolved into just saying something kind or expressing good wishes at the end of a letter.  I may have written something like “Take care” or “Good luck” at the end just before I signed my name.  One such expression that has seemed common in Christian circles has been the signature, “Blessings” (followed by a comma and then the person’s name).  The sentiment or thought behind it is to wish or pray God’s “blessings” on me as the recipient of the letter.  That really caused me to think a lot about how Paul ends his letter, what that says about him and what he believes, and what it says about how I communicate with people.  Possibly Paul’s final words to Philemon in this world (we believe that Paul never saw him again before he was executed) were:  “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.  Amen.”  Paul gives this kind of “sign-off” in some form to most every one of his letters that we have in the New Testament.  It is close to the same wording almost every time, with a little variation.  We can only assume that this is the way he signed nearly all of his written communication. As we conclude this study of Philemon, at least two things strike me about these final words.

First, Paul is quite specific about the blessing that he prays for Philemon.  Paul does not pray for his health, financial circumstances, business success, or any other specific aspect of Philemon’s physical.  Paul’s specific and final prayer is simply for the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in Philemon’s life.  I suppose that could sound simplistic to us.  “Well, yes, he needs that . . . but he needs a lot of help in other things too!”  May we never forget that Jesus Himself is the answer for everything.  He is the answer for Philemon’s health, finances, business, family, and everything else.  That is why Paul prayed in verse 6 for the knowledge of “every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.”  What are the blessings I pray for people and wish for them?  Good luck . . . with what?  The very best we can do --- not as a back-up plan, but as our first choice because it is His design for us --- is to go to the King of Kings with everything, and  to seek Him alone as the answer to all of life.  He is the purpose of all things.  The very best I can pray --- not as any kind of “consolation prize” when we did not get what we want, but because it is the best that He has for us --- is for Him and Him alone to be the answer in the lives of those I love, and for them to experience an outpouring of His grace.  That is the “blessing” that Paul prays for Philemon.

Secondly, I am reminded of something again that we discovered in “Please Pass the Salt.”  We found in the greeting in verse 3 that our words matter.  When Paul opens the letter with something of a standard greeting, he is not just filling space or fulfilling some social convention (“that’s just the appropriate thing to say”).  “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”  As Christians who are indwelt by Jesus Himself and have His Spirit flowing through us, our words mean something.  Words are not just for taking up space or getting on to the next thing.  We found that the Word of God itself is full of instruction about how we are to use our mouths and the significance of our words.  “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one (Colossians 4:6).”  Because He is at work through us by His Spirit, our words are actually a means or vehicle of His grace to people.  How often have we found this --- or the opposite --- to be true in the words that I have received from people?  Even in the most common things and moments of life – such as a greeting or sign-off of a letter --- Jesus wants to touch people with His grace.  Does God have moments in this life and eternity that He considers as disposable and don’t matter?  Does God take a break once in a while when He is not at work?  The Bible tells us much about Him and His working.  He is always at work, and wants to flow through us at all times and in everything.  For this reason, we see that our words always matter.  For Paul, this meant that even the greetings and sign-offs in his letters were the opportunity to share the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ with people.

Mostly certainly Philemon needed and was going to need this grace in his life.  He was facing new challenges in this situation with Onesimus, and God was using this to bring him to the cross in a deeper way.  Yet, this is the way it always is as we walk with Jesus.  As we respond to Him and say YES to what He does in our lives, He will always bring us to another even greater challenge through which He wants to do even more in us.  This is how growth happens.  And it does not happen as the result of anything that we do.  Growth and greater intimacy with Jesus takes place by His grace --- it is His moving in us as we respond to Him.  In His grace He takes us where we are, gently loves us, holds us, sustains us, carries us, and transforms us.  No wonder Paul’s final words to Philemon were, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”  Philemon was going to need God’s grace more than ever before!  What situation has God brought me into at this very moment which demands His grace more than ever before?  It is time to grow again, and to grow more intimate with Him.

The beauty of the portrait of this letter --- and of these final words --- is that Paul’s life was a means of this grace to Philemon.  Paul was a channel through whom Jesus was literally touching the life of Philemon, and so Paul’s words were an important part of this.  Paul’s words, even in something so seemingly “regular” as the sign-off at the end of a letter, were the grace of Jesus to a man who really needed it at this moment.  Christianity is a life message.  When a person accepts Jesus and begins to respond to Him with his or her complete being, that life becomes the message as Jesus flows through that individual.  In his book, Abandonment to Divine Providence, Jean-Pierre De Caussade wrote:

“. . . Those in whom God lives are often flung into a corner like a useless bit of broken pottery.  There they lie, forsaken by everyone, but yet enjoying God’s very real and active love and knowing they have to do nothing but stay in his hands and be used as he wishes.  Often they have no idea how they will be used, but he knows.  The world thinks them quite useless and it seems as if they are.  Yet it is quite certain that by various means and through hidden channels they pour out spiritual help on people who are often quite unaware of it and of whom they themselves never think.  For those who have surrendered themselves completely to God, all they are and do has power.  Their lives are sermons.  They are apostles.  God gives a special force to all they say and do, even to their silence, their tranquility and their detachment, which, quite unknown to them, profoundly influences other people.”

Who are the people around me who need the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ today?  The true answer is:  everyone --- even though I may or may not know the specifics.  Would I respond to Jesus and cling to Him with all my heart today?  If I will, then He will make my life His message.   I will have the awesome privilege to be the means of His grace in the simplest of things in this life, making every moment and every word significant.  Therefore, as you and I take the next step in Jesus and all that He has for us, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.  Amen.

Table of Contents

Copyright

Dedication

Preface

Introduction

Bound to Jesus

What’s He Doing Here?

Terms of Endearment

Please Pass the Salt

Refreshing

The Urging of Love

Causes

Connections

Symptoms of Relationship

The Long View

Forever

Pass It On

Divine Capacity

Debtors

Expectations

LifeMessage

Band of Brothers

Blessings