15Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good— 16no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.
17So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. 19I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self. 20I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. 21Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.
22And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers.
23Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. 24And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.
25The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Dig Deeper
Before becoming a Christian, I began studying the Bible with some men who were gracious enough to share the gospel of Jesus and the grace of God with me. It took me a while to fully grasp what they were showing me, but I was stunned when I eventually realized what God had done. He had made available to me, and anyone else who was willing, the gift of the life of Christ. He had, in essence, rewarded me for doing nothing except being a sinner. There was nothing I could do to deserve the treatment that He was giving me, all because of my association with Jesus. This is such a monumental gift that it is difficult to grasp, even after years of being a Christian. Just recently, a dear Christian friend of mine, who entered into the life of Christ many years ago, mentioned that they still felt like it was too good to be true. In a sense, it is too good, but of course, that doesn’t mean it’s not true.
All that Onesimus had done for Philemon is to run away and quite likely steal a few things on the way out. Now Paul is asking Philemon to do something that is almost beyond human comprehension, something that, at least from Onesimus’ point of view, was too good to be true. Paul wanted him to complete forgive and reconcile with Onesimus, despite the fact that he deserved severe punishment, if not death. What if word of this got around? Was Paul actually asking Philemon to reward Onesimus for running away and being dishonest? That’s certainly what it would have looked like to the world at large. To some it would have even made Philemon look foolish. That’s the way it is, though, with the way of the cross; it seems foolish to the world. What Philemon would actually have been doing is acting out on a small scale what God, through Jesus, has done for each one of us. Paul was asking him to treat Onesimus with an incredible act of love and grace based solely on his relationship to Paul and ultimately Christ. Rather than being an act of foolishness, it was an act that both signified that Philemon understood what God had done for him, and spoke to the world around them, in a very tangible way, the life of reconciliation that was available to those who would have faith in the life of Christ.
There was potential for Philemon to see nothing good about this situation, but that would be to miss the point altogether. Perhaps (Paul won’t be so bold as to intimate that he absolutely knows the mind of God, so he leaves this as a possibility, but obviously he personally felt this was likely the case) the cause of this was God himself. Paul wants Philemon to look at this, not from a worldly point of view, but from a godly perspective. Onesimus acted in sinful ways but that didn’t take him out from under God’s sovereignty; the God who is more than capable of using negative situations to reveal His glory. Our failures are often the very points of God’s biggest victories. In that scenario, Paul says, God has reversed everything. He left useless, but has returned extremely useful. He left for a little while, but now has come back for good. He left a slave but has returned as a man and as a brother. All of this, of course, has happened in Christ. Onesimus was a slave, but now as a Christian, he is not a slave, regardless of the position he is in during this present age because he is free in Christ.
The point of verse 17 is that Paul considers Onesimus a useful brother in Christ, his partner in the faith. If Paul is partners with Onesimus, and Paul is partners with Philemon, then Paul’s point becomes clear. Onesimus and Philemon are partners as surely as Paul and Philemon are. And now is the time to finally come out with the request that has been lingering in the background throughout the letter. Paul wants Philemon to welcome Onesimus in the same way that he would welcome him. The point behind that request is a major point of understanding in the life of Christ and should not be missed. If we treated people based on what they deserved, we would be just like the world around us. If we treat every single Christian the way we would our dearest friend or Christ himself, then we are finally starting to understand. In Christ, everyone is the same, and the way we treat every single Christian should not be contingent on their actions or worth but solely on their status in Christ. How we treat other Christians, after all, is a clear demonstration of how we feel about God (Matt. 25:34-45; John 13:34-35; John 21:15-17; 1 John 4:20).
Paul doesn’t just call Philemon to actions consistent with the life of Christ, but sets the same standard for himself. If Philemon thinks that there are any just reparations that should be made to him before he can truly do what Paul has asked, then he should charge Onesimus’ debt directly to Paul. Of course, Paul does remind him tactfully that Philemon owes Paul a great debt, because Paul is the one who shared the gospel with Philemon. Paul is not just, as it might at first glance appear, trying to get out of picking up Onesimus’ debt. Rather, he is, once again, calling Philemon to the standard of the life of Christ. In one of his parables, Jesus criticized a man who would not forgive a small debt even though he had been forgiven a huge debt (Matt. 18:21-35). In the same vein, Paul has asked Philemon to do no less. The forgiveness of Christ that was brought to him through Paul’s ministry should now be passed on to Onesimus. It is seeing his fellow brothers truly living out the life of Christ in a manner such as this that would truly refresh Paul’s heart.
Paul knows the kind of man that Philemon is, though (vv. 4-7), and is confident that he will obey, not Paul because no command has been given, but that he will obey the life of Christ that is at work in him. Paul, in fact, is so convinced of the type of transformed Christian that Philemon is that he is sure that he will do even more than he asks. Paul can only be referring to giving Onesimus his freedom. He has not specifically asked for that but he doesn’t have to. If Philemon truly does what Paul has called him to which includes welcoming Onesimus as a brother, loving him as he would Paul, and treating him the way Christ treated Philemon, then no request for freedom needs to be overtly made; there would be no other possible conclusion. That’s what the life of Christ is like. It gives undeserved freedom. This principle goes far beyond slavery, though, and extends to those who have mistreated us in a number of ways and need the freeing grace of being truly forgiven.
As the letter comes to a close, Paul continues his hopeful attitude. He has seen God work providentially in the lives of Philemon and his brother in Christ, Onesimus, now he hopes that God will work in his own life and allow him to be released from prison so that he can come to Colosse and enjoy some time in Philemon’s guest room.
Paul’s final greetings from verses 23-24 are virtually the same list as from Colossians, which makes sense since they were written at the same time. Paul wishes that the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with their spirit. The word "your" in verse 25 is plural, indicating that Paul intended this letter specifically for Philemon, but also intended for it to be read, understood, embraced, and its principles lived by the entire congregation. Surely the principles of this short and often overlooked letter are so profound and so powerful in their potential to redefine relationships and transform societies that it is worth going back and reading a few more times.
Devotional Thought
Is there anyone in your life that needs to feel the undeserved grace, kindness, love, and forgiveness which Paul asked Philemon to show Onesimus? What would it take for you to do that? Perhaps it would help to follow Paul’s prompting and spend some time thinking about the grace that God has lavished on you when you deserved it least.
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