Paul was the author of this
biblical book to Philemon about his runaway slave, Onesimus.[i]
1 Paul, a prisoner of Jesus the Anointed One, with our brother
Timothy, to you, beloved Philemon, our fellow worker; and 2 to
Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church that
gathers in your house. 3 May grace and peace from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus the Anointed surround you.
4 I am constantly thanking God for you in my prayers 5 because
I keep hearing about your love and faith toward our Lord Jesus and all those
set apart for His purposes. Here’s
what I’ve been praying on your behalf:
6 Thank You, Father,
for Philemon. I pray that as he
goes and tells his story of faith, he
would tell everyone so that they will know for certain all the good that
comes to those who put their trust
in the Anointed One.
7 My brother, because you are out there encouraging and
reviving the hearts of fellow saints with such love, this brings great joy and
comfort to me.
8 Although I am bold enough in the Anointed, our Liberating King, to insist you do
the right thing, 9 instead I choose to appeal to you on account
of love. I do this for my own sake since I, Paul, am an old man and am held
prisoner because of my service to
Jesus the Anointed. 10 I make this request on behalf of my
child, Onesimus,[a]
whom I brought to faith during my time in prison. 11 Before, he
was useless to you; but now he is useful to both you and me. 12 Listen,
I am sending my heart back to you as I send him to stand before you, although truly 13 I
wished to keep him at my side to take your place as my helper while I am bound
for the good news. 14 But I didn’t want to make this decision
without asking for your
permission. This way, any goodwill on your part wouldn’t be seen as forced, but as your true and free desire.
15 Maybe this is the reason why he was supposed to be away from
you for this time: so that now you will have him back forever— 16 no
longer as a slave, but as more than a slave—as a dear brother. Yes, he is dear
to me, but I suspect he will come to mean even more to you, both in the flesh as a servant and in the Lord as a brother.
17 So if you look upon me as your partner in this mission, then I ask you to
open your heart to him as you would welcome me. 18 And if he
has wronged you or owes you anything, charge it to me. 19 Look, I’ll put it here in my own
handwriting: I, Paul, promise to repay you everything. (Should I remind you
that you owe me your life?) 20 Indeed, brother, I want you to
do me this favor out of obedience to our Lord. It will refresh my heart in Him.
21 This letter comes, written with the confidence that you will
not only do what I ask, but will also go beyond all I have asked.
22 One more thing: you should get a room ready for me as I hope
to be released to you soon in answer to your prayers. 23 Epaphras
(my fellow prisoner in Jesus, the Anointed One) greets you, 24 as
well as my fellow workers Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke.
25 May the grace of the Lord Jesus the Anointed be with your
spirit. (Philemon,
VOICE)[ii]
How does long-lasting,
radical life change happen in your life?
Face your sin.
See Philemon 1:12 above
Doesn’t it make sense that if you sign yourself over as a slave, you will
have to obey your master? The question before
you is, What will be your
master? Will it be sin—which will lead to certain death—or
obedience—which will lead to a right and
reconciled life? (Romans 6:16, VOICE)
Put
your faith in Jesus.
See Philemon 1:10 above
When do these two things
happen?
You have a new identity.
3 It is like that with us; there was a time
when we were like children held under the elemental powers of this world. 4 When
the right time arrived, God sent His Son into this world (born of a woman,
subject to the law) 5 to free those who, just like Him, were subject to the
law. Ultimately He wanted us all to be adopted as sons and daughters. 6 Because
you are now part of God’s family, He sent the Spirit of His Son into our
hearts; and the Spirit calls
out, “Abba, Father.” 7 You no longer have to live as a slave
because you are a child of God.
And since you are His child, God guarantees an inheritance is waiting for you. (Galatians 4:3-7, VOICE)
You
have a new purpose.
See Philemon 1:11, 13 above
Therefore,
if anyone is united with the Anointed One, that person is a new creation. The
old life is gone and see a new life has begun. (2 Corinthians 5:17, VOICE)
”Life is about change. Sometimes it’s painful. Sometimes it’s beautiful.
But most the time it’s both.”(Lana Lang)[iii]
[i] During Roman times, the runaway Onesimus was
considered stolen property from his owner, Philemon. Punishment included
immediate death upon returning (via crucifixion) or scourging (beyond
recognition) and branding of the letter “f” on the forehead of the runaway,
which meant “fugitive.”
[ii] According to ancient traditions,
Onesimus went from being a slave to Bishop of Ephesus having been ordained by
the apostles. Because of his newfound Christian faith, he was arrested in Rome
and sentenced to death after preaching about celibacy. He was cruelly tortured
and then beaten to death.
Onesimus (whose name means
“useful” or “profitable”) is also mentioned in Colossians 4:9, which may be
proof that he did what was asked of him by Paul. As to whether a repentant
Onesimus ever went back to Philemon (knowing what could happen to him), consider
this: If Philemon rejected Paul’s
request to accept Onesimus back as a brother (even if he didn’t grant him full
emancipation), would this scripture still exist?
[iii] Inspired by the sermon “Now a New Person: Runaway
Grace, “(installment one) Sunday July 21,
2019, Pastor Dave Jansen, CenterPoint Gahanna Church Gahanna, OH.
Sources
used:
·
“Slavery in the Roman Empire” by Spartacus Educational
·
“Whatever
happened to Onesimus, the slave mentioned by St. Paul?” By Philip Kosloski
·
“What Happened
to Onesimus?” by Danny
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