Philemon

Amen.

We start our meetings of an evening, or normally we start this week, we read it at the end,

by reading a chapter of the Westminster Confession of Faith.

And we're up to chapter 30, which is a chapter of Church Discipline.

And we read it in our meeting this week.

And I know the Westminster Confession quite well, and yet I was incredibly struck by the words of that chapter.

In fact, I spent the rest of the weekend reading around it.

And I feel convicted that maybe we as a church, and certainly I have not taught you as a congregation on church discipline,

as we should have.

And it is a remarkable chapter, I'm not going to tell you about it, I want you to go home and read about it.

But it is an incredible chapter, which I think is very, very helpful to the church in this country.

One of the problems with church discipline in the UK is if somebody is put under church discipline,

and they disagree with it and don't like it, what happens?

Well, they normally, ordinarily go to the church five minutes down the road.

The church sometimes, occasionally, gives me a ring or checks, but very often more than often doesn't.

And so actually, church discipline has become, not impossible, but very, very difficult.

So churches like ours, I think, have thought well, bury it.

And that is to the detriment of the church.

It's to the detriment of the church because the church is a remarkable thing.

And I think Philemon teaches us that maybe in a way that no other book does.

Because it teaches us about our fellowship in the faith.

It teaches us about our participation in the faith.

Your sharing in the faith that it may become effective.

That's what Paul's prayer for the Philemon's was.

As we saw last time in verse 6 of this letter, his prayer for Philemon, his dear friend,

and the host of the gathering of the church in Colossae,

he prays that the effectiveness of the fellowship of the believers,

the fellowship, partnership that the believers share, would be seen.

And I would argue that the fellowship that the believers share is seen most clearly in difficult situations.

Where this fellowship changes things in unexpected ways.

There is, the background to this letter, a very difficult situation in the Colossian church.

And on the day that this letter to Philemon was read out before the believers gathered in his house,

it's still a running sore.

We fear that Philemon's confidence, or Paul's confidence,

that Philemon's participation in the faith would be effective

because of Philemon's track record in the fellowship of the believers.

Look at verse 7.

For I have derived much comfort and much joy from your love, my brother,

because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.

Philemon was a man who cared for his fellow Christians,

and he cared deeply in his words and his acts, and I have no doubt in his prayers.

He cared about other people's welfare, especially their faith in the Lord Jesus,

their love for one another, their hope.

And Paul had little doubt that Philemon's fellowship of the faith would be effective

in this difficult matter that the letter was now going to raise with him.

How does this work?

How does the fellowship of believers,

the fellowship of believers in the faith,

how does this fellowship become effective,

particularly in difficult situations?

By difficult situations, I mean,

if it were not for the fellowship of believers,

things would be really different.

We do not see the power of the fellowship of believers

simply when like-minded people share a great deal in common,

and they enjoy one another's company and friendship.

Now, there's nothing wrong with that.

There is nothing wrong with like-minded people

who share a great deal in common, enjoying each other's company.

But I want to argue that isn't really what the biblical idea of fellowship is about.

That will always be part of fellowship, won't it?

But the fellowship of the faith, fellowship in the faith,

in Christ, is much more powerful than that.

It's more than new mates, it's more than new friends I make at church.

And I want us to see, and I want us to know,

the power of the fellowship in difficult situations.

The situation in Colossae on that day,

when this letter was being read out,

was at the extreme end of difficulty.

We heard the story last time, two weeks ago.

Philemon was the man from Colossae,

who the Apostle Paul had led to faith,

some years earlier in Ephesus.

Paul is now at the house arrest in Rome,

where he'd met Anasimus.

The slave who'd run away from Philemon's household.

And we learn a little bit more about the difficulties

between Anasimus and Philemon in a few moments.

But Paul has now led Anasimus

to the same faith in Christ Jesus as Philemon had.

These three men are all believers in Christ Jesus.

These three men are in the fellowship of the faith.

And how is the fellowship of the faith going to be effective among them?

The Apostle, the slave, and the master.

Now let's take up the letter where we left it,

remembering two things.

We are to imagine that it's being read out aloud

before the whole gathering of believers in Philemon's home.

We saw that.

We alluded to that from verse 2,

and from verse 8 onwards,

down at least verse 21.

The person being addressed there is Philemon,

in the singular.

So I'm taking it up from verse 8.

Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ

to command you to do what is required,

yet for love's sake I prefer to appeal to you.

I, Paul, an old man, and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus,

I appeal to you for my child Anasimus,

whose father I became in my imprisonment.

Formerly, when he was with you before,

Anasimus was useless.

But now he is indeed useful to you and to me,

and I am sending him back to you,

sending my very heart.

I would have been glad to keep him with me,

in order that he might serve me on your behalf,

doing my imprisonment for the gospel.

But I prefer to do nothing without your consent,

in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion,

but of your own accord.

For this reason, perhaps,

is why he was parted from you for a little while,

that you might have him back forever.

No longer as a bondservant,

but more than a bondservant,

as a beloved brother.

Especially to me.

But how much more to you,

both in the flesh,

and in the Lord.

Those who share faith in Christ Jesus,

I hope that's you tonight,

are brought into a very remarkable relationship,

with one another.

It is not a little thing,

to be a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ,

and to be in the fellowship of faith.

And to witness this particular example,

of the fellowship of faith at work,

and becoming effective,

we need to see the various relationships involved.

So first of all,

look with me on Paul's relationship to Philemon.

And Paul draws two aspects of that friendship.

Firstly, in verse 8,

accordingly,

he's drawing a conclusion,

from what we saw last time,

which is Paul's prayer in verse 6,

and his confidence in verse 7.

Verse 8,

accordingly,

though I am bold enough in Christ,

to command you to do what is required.

Paul is the apostle.

That is of course how he introduced himself,

isn't it?

In the book of Colossians.

He is moreover the person who brought

Christ to Philemon,

and Philemon to Christ.

And as an apostle of Christ Jesus,

by the will of God,

Paul was never timid,

was he of unchanging instructions,

and warnings,

and rebukes,

and even commands,

when the occasion warranted it.

And this occasion did warrant some of those things.

But one of the marvels of this little letter,

is how Paul holds back.

He holds back from explicitly telling Philemon

what he should do.

He refers to this point,

doesn't he,

to what is required.

What is fitting.

What is proper.

He doesn't actually indicate clearly,

just what that is.

He simply indicates,

doesn't it,

clearly,

that there is something he's hoping,

and he's expecting Philemon will do.

And we might feel it might be a lot easier,

for all concerned,

if Paul had just come out and told Philemon

what he expects of him.

But he doesn't.

It certainly makes life a lot easier

for preachers and commentators,

and PhD students.

There's a lot of speculation,

and a lot of guesswork,

and papers and books have been written,

trying to work out in verse 8,

what is required,

what that means at the end.

I think in some ways,

that's one of the keys to the letter.

Because Paul had good reason

for not simply telling Philemon what to do.

Though he could have done that,

look at verse 9.

Yet for love's sake,

I prefer to appeal to you.

He's a brother, isn't he?

I, Paul, an old man,

and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus.

You see, our fellowship in the faith

does not become effective through commands.

That's not to say there's no place for commands

in church life and in the Christian fellowship.

But in the Christian fellowship,

there is something better than commands.

There's something bigger than commands.

There's something more powerful than commands.

I appeal, says Paul.

I appeal.

I encourage.

I exhort.

And the reason is for love's sake.

Because of love.

Philemon's love for God's people,

he's already spoken about that in

verse 5 and in verse 7.

And Paul's love for Philemon

is mentioned in verse 1, isn't it?

Our beloved fellow worker.

It's implied in verse 7.

My brother.

Those who share faith in Christ

know the love of God.

And so they are to love one another.

Paul and Philemon did

because of love, says Paul.

I prefer to appeal to you.

And so to underline the lack of coercion.

He answers in verse 9,

I, Paul, an old man,

am now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus.

It's the second time he refers to his imprisonment.

And he answers age.

He is not coming down

on Philemon

with a heavy hand.

This is an old man speaking

and an old man in chains.

And just by the way, isn't it,

for those of us who are elders,

there's only three of us here tonight.

Hopefully a few more in the future.

We are significantly less important

than the Apostle Paul, aren't we?

And we are much less in a position

than to be given commands.

And we would do well

to take note of Paul's manner

at this point.

There is,

and there may well be a time

and a place to wield authority,

but that was never

Paul's preferred way.

And it should never be

our preferred way either.

Because of love,

verse 9,

for love's sake,

I prefer to appeal to you.

And still we wait

for exactly what he wanted

Philemon to do.

The first hint comes in verse 10,

where Paul speaks

of a second relationship.

I appeal to you

for my child Onesimus,

whose father I became

in my imprisonment.

So let's see Paul's relationship

with Onesimus.

In the original,

he doesn't actually

mention the name

until the very end

of the sentence.

So he says,

I appeal to you

for my child,

whose father I became

in my imprisonment,

Onesimus.

But I can't imagine

the awkward silence

in the church fellowship

and the mention

of that name.

Everyone knew,

everybody.

Everyone knew,

no doubt,

of the escape

from Philemon's household

and perhaps

of the robbery.

And his presence

with Paul's envoy,

Tychicus,

must have caused

quite a stir,

wasn't it,

when the two of them

arrived in Colossae.

There must have been

some tension

and some difficulty

with Onesimus' presence

in the gathering

when that first letter

was read out.

You can imagine

the nudges

and the whispers

and the wide eyes,

the wonders

on people's face.

The look of utter

bewilderment

on those people

who'd never even

heard of Onesimus

and who've come

to the church recently.

They hear

Paul had written

with Tychicus,

I have sent you

Onesimus,

our faithful

and beloved

brother,

who is one of you.

But whatever people

may or may not

have guessed

about Paul's

letter to Philemon,

this now is the

first hint

that it has to do

with Onesimus.

But not to put

a too fine

point on it,

Onesimus represents

a very difficult

situation.

What Paul wants

to underline

about Onesimus

at this point

is that Paul

had brought him

to faith in Christ,

to new birth.

He is therefore

Paul's child

in his imprisonment

and Paul had

become his father

by being instrumental

in him receiving

new life.

He had left

Colossae as a criminal.

and he was

returning

a different man.

Just notice

how he's described.

It goes on

in verse 11

doesn't it,

to say formerly

he was useless

to you,

but now he is

indeed useful

to you and to me.

His name is

Onesimus

which means

literally

useful

or profitable.

It's a common

name for slaves

in those days.

It was probably

given to them

by their masters

in the hope

that they'd make

some money

in the hope

that they would

live up to it.

But apparently

this Onesimus

had not

lived up to his name.

And here's just

a little glimpse

isn't it

into Onesimus'

life before

he was a Christian.

Into the earlier

relationship there was

between this slave

and his master.

He was useless.

Perhaps he was

a troublemaker,

perhaps he was lazy,

perhaps he was

insolent,

perhaps he was

dishonest.

perhaps he was

all those things.

We have every

reason to think

that Philemon

certainly after

his conversion

he would be

a fair and

a just master.

He would know

very well

that he had

a master in

heaven before

whom he should

give account to.

But apparently

Onesimus was

a very

unsatisfactory

slave.

It is possible

isn't it

that Philemon

would not have

been very

distressed

when he ran

away.

I don't know

whether you've

got work

colleagues like

that.

I haven't got

work colleagues

like that.

But you know

how it is in the

office.

When somebody

is just better

when they don't

turn up.

The office is a

much happier

place when

they're not

around.

And maybe it

was like that

for Philemon

because previously

he was

useless.

But Paul

insists that

the man

returning to

Colossae is a

different man.

Now he is

useful.

Both to you

and to me.

More about his

usefulness in a

minute.

Now I know

we have some

difficulties with

this because of

the serious

problem that we

have with

slavery.

And we give

some thought to

those issues

when we look

to Colossae

chapter 3.

I'm not going

to revisit

that tonight.

You can get

the sermon

and listen

to that again.

But I do

think this

issue,

issue raised

by slavery

makes Philemon

a really

powerful case

study.

A powerful

case study

in the power

of the

Christian

fellowship.

Because here

we see two

men who have

not just

become Christians

but two

men who have

a very

difficult

history.

The useless

slave and

his master

are they

are now

both believers

in Jesus.

And how

will the

fellowship of

faith work?

Well Paul's

appeal is not

finished.

He clearly

wants

Philemon

to be under

no misapprehensions

about his,

that is Paul's

relationship with

Onesimus.

You see verse

12, I am

sending him

back to you.

Sending

my very

heart.

That is the

fellowship of

the faith at

work already.

Let's put the

difficulties between

Philemon and Onesimus

to one side for a

woman and let's

consider Paul and

Onesimus.

Consider the

improbability of

the Jewish

prisoner from

Rome and the

fugitive Gentile

on the run.

The slave

and the Jewish

prisoner finding

anything at all

in common and

yet Paul says

he is my

very heart.

The affection

of Paul the

apostle for

Onesimus the

slave was deep

and strong and

that is the

fellowship of the

faith at work.

And further

verse 13 he

says I would

have been glad

to keep him.

I would have been

glad to keep him

with me in order

that he might

serve me on your

behalf during my

imprisonment for

the gospel.

Paul was

certainly not

sending Onesimus

back to Philemon

because he

wanted to.

If it were a

matter of Paul's

preference he

would have kept

Onesimus with

him.

He'd been caring

for Paul in some

way during his

imprisonment but

more likely given

the words that

Paul actually

uses here Onesimus

was helping Paul

in gospel work.

Can you see that?

During his

confinement in Rome

they were

working together.

They were

laboring together

in the gospel.

And they were

working together

well.

Onesimus was

indeed useful to

Paul in the

sense he was

standing in for

Philemon so to

speak.

Because you

remember that

Philemon in all

probability had

served like this

with Paul in

Ephesus.

So let's

thirdly see Paul

and Philemon's

relationship

concerning

Onesimus.

Paul's

relationship to

Onesimus was

not the only

reality of the

fellowship of the

faith.

We've already

seen something of

Paul's relationship

to Philemon and

his relationship

to Onesimus

that is of

consequences.

So Paul

continues in

verse 14.

But I

prefer to do

nothing without

your consent

in order that

your goodness

might not be

by compulsion

but of your

own accord.

Or back when

we started

on again in

verses 8 and

9.

Paul did not

want Philemon's

hand to be

forced either

by apostolic

command,

verse 8,

or by an

apostolic

pre-emptive

action,

verse 4,

14.

What Philemon

did,

literally the

good thing,

was to come

from his

heart,

not from

forced

necessity.

Now I

wonder whether

you're beginning

to see how

the fellowship

of the faith

becomes effective.

It's being

effective,

being gradually

filled in for

us.

We still

haven't heard

exactly what

Paul expects

or wants

Philemon to

do.

He just

calls it

in verse 14

that good

thing.

Which may

well remind

us of verse

6,

where the

fellowship

of the faith

becomes

effective in

the knowledge

of every

good thing

that is

in us

with a

view of

Christ.

That might

remind us

of the

prayer in

Paul's

other letters

that believers

would be

filled with

the knowledge

of God's

will so

that they

would bear

fruit.

In every

good word.

But we

still don't

know.

We still

don't know

precisely what

it was that

Paul was

expecting

Philemon to

do.

The point

however is

that the

good thing,

whatever it

might be,

must come

from Philemon's

believing

hearts.

Can you

see that?

Not by

believing

compulsion

if it's

going to

be for

the

fellowship

of the

faith

to become

effective.

It must

be of

his own

accord.

Now before

Paul actually

tells Philemon

what he

expects of

him,

and he

actually

will

before

the

day

is

out,

let's

see

Paul

Philemon

and

Anasimus

and the

Lord.

He's

got one

more

observation.

Anasimus

may well

have been

useless

previously.

He may

well have

caused

some

difficulty

for Philemon

by his

running

away.

He may

well have

stolen

him.

And all

of these

actions

were wrong,

but Paul

knew who

it was

that rules

over the

affairs of

men and

women.

We cannot

infallibly

discern his

purpose,

particularly

with events

that are

involved in

wrong human

actions.

We can't

discern.

Sometimes,

and especially

with the benefit

of hindsight,

we can't

guess what

God's purpose

was for us

in the hard

situations that

life brings.

And so

Paul continues

in verse 15

for he says,

for this

perhaps is

why he

was parted

from you

for a

while,

that you

might have

him back

forever,

and no

longer as a

bond servant,

but more

than a bond

servant,

as a beloved

brother,

especially to

me, but how

much more to

you, both in

the flesh and

in the Lord.

It's an

extraordinary

thing that has

happened.

the useless

slave was

lost to

Philemon

for a

time.

It's not

at all

clear to

me that

Philemon

was particularly

anxious to

have him

back, but

God's

purpose in

this may

well have

been precisely

that Philemon

would have

Onesimus

back forever,

but not as

a slave.

That would

not be the

defining

relationship

between

these two

men.

That would

not be the

relationship that

would go on

forever.

The

relationship that

would go on

forever is

that they

would be

beloved

brothers,

just as

he had

become to

Paul.

A loved

brother in

the flesh

and in

the Lord.

And that

is not

just in the

spiritual

sense, but

in the

reality of

human

relationships.

These two

men were

now to be

loved

brothers to

one another.

And that

is the

fellowship of

the faith

at work.

So what

is it

exactly Paul

hoped Philemon

would do

with all

that preparation

he's now

about to

tell him.

And he

does so

from verse

17.

Now I

don't know

whether we're

going to

come back

to the

rest of

this

letter,

but I'm

going to

read it

to you

and you'll

get the

gist of it.

Verse 17.

So if you

consider me

your partner,

again that's the

fellowship word,

so keen to

Philemon,

receive him

as you

would receive

me.

That's

something,

isn't it?

If he's

wronged you

at all or

owes you

anything,

charge that

to my

account.

And I

think we're

all to

understand that

Onesimus has

wronged Philemon.

I, Paul,

write this with

my own

hand.

I will

repay it to

say nothing of

your owing me,

even your own

self.

Yes,

brother,

I want some

benefit from

you in the

Lord.

Refresh my

heart in

Christ Jesus.

Confident of

your obedience,

I write to

you,

knowing that

you will

do even

more than

I say,

at the same

time,

provide a

guest room

for me,

for I'm

hoping that

through your

prayers,

and now he

breaks back

into the

pruer,

and he's

got the

whole group

in mind,

through your

prayers,

I will be

graciously

given to

you.

The

path for

us,

my fellow

servant in

Christ Jesus

sends

feet into

you,

and so

does

Mark,

our

starkest

demons,

live to

my

fellow

workers.

The

grace of

the Lord

Jesus

Christ be

with your

spirit.

There is a

little footnote

to the story

that I want

to finish

with.

But I'm

pretty sure

that the

survival of

this letter

is evidence

enough that

Philemon

heeded the

appeal.

I don't

think we'd

have it if

Philemon

hadn't acted

on this.

And

indeed,

history has a

very tantalising

fact that we

cannot be

certain to

connect with

this.

But at the

beginning of

the second

century,

right at the

start of the

second century,

there was a

bishop of

Ephesus named

Onesimus.

And it

could be a

most remarkable

conclusion to

one of the

Bible's most

amazing stories.

But whether or

not the

Ephesus bishop

was Onesimus,

something remarkable

happened at

Colossae.

The

fellowship of

faith,

the

participation of

faith in

Christ Jesus,

sharing in

that most

profound of

all human

experience,

became

effective.

And once

we see

this,

we cannot

rest content

with our

fellowship in

the faith that

we have at

IBC just

being friendships

that may well

have happened

anyway for

like-minded

people with

much in

common enjoying

each other's

company.

That is not

church.

Of course,

there's nothing

wrong with

that.

But the

fact that

there are

no slave

masters

listening today

to my

knowledge,

and no

runaway

slaves,

and the

fact that

we feel

so removed

from the

particular

situation

represented

here in

this letter

does not

mean for a

moment that

we can

remain

unaffected

by this

word.

Because let

us see that

our fellowship

in the

faith at

work,

at work in

the difficult

situations

that life

brings along,

in the

relationships in

church life

that are to

say the

least awkward

between people,

people who have

good reasons

not to get

along,

people who you

might have an

unfortunate history

with.

Our fellowship

in the faith

has yet more

wonderful work

to accomplish

amongst us.

And let our

fellowship in

the faith

become more

and more

effective.

Let's pray.