Philemon 8-16

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, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment.  (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.). 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 during my imprisonment for the gospel, but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord.  For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a 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.

Transformation is the work of God in the hearts of people and is the story of every believer.  We are being changed by the power of the Gospel.  Philemon is a story of transformation and forgiveness.  Our need for forgiveness in evident by the need of transformation.  The life of Onesimus demonstrates the marvelous power of God to transform the lives of people.

FUGITIVE TO FAMILY: Onesimus is a runaway slave who somehow ends up with Paul who is in prison in Rome.  As a fugitive, he was always in danger of being caught and running the risk of facing a sentence of death.  However, when he met Christ, everything changed in his life.  Instead of being a fugitive from God and Philemon, he became a son of God, a spiritual child of Paul, and a brother in Christ to Philemon.  Paul is making an appeal to Philemon on behalf of Onesimus because he loves him and treats him like a member of his family.  Running from God is impossible; but we can become members of His family through faith in His Son Jesus.

USELESS TO USEFULL: The name Onesimus means useful, so Paul is using a play on words in this passage to make his point clear that there has been a massive change in the life of Onesimus.  A slave who runs away was not likely a very productive or useful member of the household to begin with.  Onesimus was a useless slaved who was named useful.  He didn’t live up to his name.  However, Christ has restored Onesimus to the reputation of the name he was given.  Sin will always destroy our identities, but salvation and the work of Christ will restore it.    

PRISON TO PARDON:  Sin always presents itself as some sort of liberty or freedom.  However, it always leads to enslavement.  In Christ we are set free from the power of sin by the power of the Holy Spirit who indwells us.  We are also forgiven of our sin and forever given freedom to love and follow the Lord as we were created to do.  We go from being slaves to sin to being freely forgiven in Christ.  Since we have been forgiven of so much; we should readily forgive one another.  Since God forgives those who repent and trust Christ; we should forgive them as well.  These are the arguments Paul is making to encourage Philemon to forgive Onesimus.

SINISTER TO MINISTER: The work of the Gospel goes beyond forgiveness and restoration of relationships.  Christ gives us an eternal purpose for which we can live and uses us in His plan of redemption to minister to and help other people.  Paul wants to keep Onesimus with him because he has become a source of help and encouragement to Paul.  However, for the good of Onesimus and the need to deal with his sinful past and for the good of Philemon and the need to prevent bitterness; Paul is sending Onesimus to bring healing and closure to the past.  The reason for all of this is so that both men can become more effective in ministry as brothers in Christ.

APPLICATION: Rejoice in the reality that we are members of the family of God and the body of Christ.  Seek for ways to be useful to others and serve faithfully at any tasks the Lord opens to us.  Enjoy the freedom and forgiveness that we have from sin to live a life of obedience to the Lord.  Minister to others and join in the mission of spreading the fame of Jesus and the worship of God to the nations.

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