Bible Study: Philemon
by Scott Prewitt

The following is a transcript of a talk given by Scott at the 1997 British Spring Conference.

I’d like to start with a brief overview of the New Testament. The New Testament is divided into four major parts–the gospels, Acts, the epistles, and Revelation. The gospels tell the story of the life of Christ, but each from the perspective of the four different authors. Next is the book of Acts which lays the foundation for the early church. Here we learn about the "acts" of the apostles as they continue to evangelize the world after Christ returns to heaven. Then we move on to the epistles. An epistle is a letter–most Biblical epistles were written by other authors. Then finally the New Testament ends with Revelation, which is the New Testament book of prophecy.

Paul communicated with the early church mainly in the form of letters (epistles). Thirteen of those are included in the New Testament. The longest epistle of Paul and the one we are perhaps most familiar with is Romans. The shortest is Philemon–only 25 verses–and because many of us are unfamiliar with this one, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to it.

One of the best orators of the faith in modern day that I have heard is Chuck Swindoll. He has put together a study guide that he calls "Postcards from the New Testament." He equates the book of Philemon to a postcard. It’s a very personal postcard, written on behalf of Onesimus, a slave, to the slave’s owner, Philemon. Even today, it is a very practical book that can be taken on several different levels. We will try to take a look at all of these levels.

In the way Paul writes this epistle, you really have to study it, follow the sequence, and figure out what Paul is saying there. Paul is, by the Spirit, smart and crafty (not in a bad way) in how he’s going to appeal to Philemon and secure the freedom of the slave, Onesimus. Researchers, historians, and archeologists have come to the conclusion that one of the reasons the Roman Empire was so strong is because the Romans had 60 million slaves to shoulder all of the heavy labor. But slaves were not treated well. The commentator William Barkley describes some of the inhumanities they endured: A slave was not a person; he was a living tool. A master had absolute power over his slaves. He could box their can or condemn them to hard labor. He could make them, for instance, work in chains upon his lands or in the country or in a prison factory. Or he may punish them with blows of the rod, a lash, or a knot. He could brand them upon the forehead if they were thieves or runaways, or in the end if they prove irreclaimable, he could crucify them.’ So a slave had absolutely no rights to anything, no say so, no freedom, no protection. They were absolutely the tools of their master. So it was not an enviable thing to be a slave, obviously. Although this treatment of another human may be unthinkable to us today, Paul did respect the laws of the times. He thought it was important to tell the slaves to obey their masters. At the same time, he was saying to the masters how they should treat their slaves.

Before getting into the book itself, I think some background information is critical. First, we must recognize that there are three players here: Paul, the letter writer; Philemon, a slave owner and recipient of the letter; and Onesimus, a slave and the subject of the letter.Then, if we look back to Acts 28:16-31 we can see the historical background. Here, we learn that at the time he wrote to Philemon, Paul is in chains under house arrest. He, like the slaves, is not physically free at this time, so he could relate to Onesimus in this way.

It’s interesting to look at how Paul constructs his epistles. Short or long, they always seem to have the same tenor, the same outline. His letters seem to have the same beginning. This one begins, "Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy, our brother." (Timothy is like Paul’s apprentice, and Timothy actually penned many of Paul’s letters.) He goes on,"Unto Philemon, our dearly beloved and fellow laborer and to our beloved Apphia and Archippus our fellow soldier and to the church in thy house, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" Paul here unpretentiously refers to himself as a prisoner rather than an apostle. He knows that he owes his life to Christ, and that Philemon was apparently one of Paul’s converts living in Colosse (In the Colossians letter, Onesimus was referred to there as ‘one of you to the Colossians). Philemon must be a well-to-do person in Colosse. He has a house, and at least one slave. In the second verse, we learn that his house is big enough to house some form of a church. So Philemon is wealthy, but at the same time, he is a Christian and must operate by a different set of rules than the Romans who use their wealth to get whatever they want, own whatever they want, etc.

Starting with verse 4, Paul takes up 4 verses here to "set up" Philemon for what he’s going to ask him. "I thank my God always making mention of you in my prayers because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have towards the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints. And I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ’s sake. For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother." People may think that Paul is a flatterer, but his flattery is not without foundation. It is not a bad idea to build a rapport with someone with whom you are about to conduct business. Paul is about to conduct business with Philemon about a matter which probably weighs heavy on Philemon and could potentially make him angry. Paul, through the Spirit, is no dummy." He doesn’t come out and ask Philemon to free Onesimus without a preparation to that request. Paul keeps hearing words back about Philemon, good words, it seems. So Paul, wisely, reminds Philemon of his dedication to minister to the saints. He also describes what love looks like and then reminds him that God’s law and standards are very different from Roman law.

After setting his foundation, Paul then turns to his real purpose in writing his letter-the heart of the issue. In verse 8-10: "Therefore, though I have enough confidence in Christ to order you to do that which is proper, yet for love’s sake, I would rather appeal to you since I am such a person, as Paul, the agent and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus, I appeal to you for my child who I have begotten in my imprisonment, Onesimus." It seems that Paul is starting out saying, Philemon, frankly, I would feel comfortable, if I felt led to do so, to just come out and tell you to free Onesimus. Somehow, Onesimus had fled from Colosse to Rome, and God led him to Paul who led him to Christ. Onesimus was running for freedom, but hanging over his head was the possibility that he would be caught and branded, or killed. Paul is taking this very seriously and pulls out all the stops. He even goes so far as to appeal on the behalf of his child."

But what is Philemon viewpoint on the issue of Onesimus and his freedom? We assume he would have very strong negative feelings about Onesimus–a runaway slave. Paul refers to Onesimus being in debt to Philemon; there is a good possibility that Onesimus confessed to Paul that he stole from Philemon. Obviously, Onesimus, and Paul, thought it necessary for Paul to write this letter to Philemon to appeal on the behalf of Onesimus before he goes back

Paul admonishes Philemon to turn his relationship with Onesimus from one of servant to master to one of brother to brother (in Christ). Verses 12-17: "So I have sent him back to you in person, that is, sending my very heart, whom I wish to keep with me, that in your behalf he might minister to me in my imprisonment for the gospel. But without your consent, I did not want to do anything, that your goodness should not be as it were by compulsion, but by your own free will. For perhaps he was for this reason parted from you for a we that you should have him back 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. If then you regard me as a partner, accept him as you would me."

In verse 17 Paul pleads with Philemon to accept Onesimus as a fellow brother in Christ. If Philemon looks to Onesimus as a brother, then even if Onesimus remains his slave, he will treat him differently. Paul tries to weave that together to Philemon to bring about an end. He presents this whole thing as an option. Paul does a fantastic job (still once again, not trying to circumvent or go outside the law) of presenting Onesimus to Philemon as more than a slave, a beloved brother, "a help to you." Paul hits hard. "If you then regard me as a partner, accept him as you would me." Paul ties himself into Onesimus and ties Philemon’s decision into his regard for PauL Paul is what we would call an advocate, an intercessor on behalf of Onesimus.

Paul puts a lot at stake here. He goes on to say, "If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul am writing this to you in my own hand; I will repay it. Lest I should mention to you that you owe to me even your own self as well." With this last statement, Paul uses a very effective psychological trick. He was saying he wasn’t going to mention Philemon’s debt to Paul, but in saying that, he was mentioning it! Paul is very clever in the way he brings all this about.

Philemon means "my friend" in the Greek. Onesimus means "profitable." Chuck Swindoll says, "Paul uses a subtle play on words in verse 20. Benefit in Greek is related to the root of Onesimus’ name which means profitable. Paul is saying, ‘I am sending Onesimus to you my friend, all debts paid. Now let me in return receive from you a touch of Onesimus (or a touch of benefit) through your willingness to forgive him.’"

In verses 21-24, Paul is basically closing the letter out, talking about "in confidence," which is in a right way putting the pressure back on Philemon. "Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask." To accept a fellow believer as a brother in Christ is absolutely the right thing to do; there-fore, Paul is sure that what he is asking of Philemon is the right thing for Philemon to do. To look at Onesimus as an equal brother in Christ, yet still his slave, is right.

In verse 22, Paul makes a strong statement of faith. He instructs Philemon to prepare a guest room for him because he is sure God will set him free soon. No matter how negative the circumstances look, Paul is ever faithful to acknowledge that it is God who has him imprisoned and God who will set him free. As Paul usually does, he ends his letter mentioning others, sending greetings from them. Also, he ends with a blessing in Christ.

What happens to Onesimus? We don’t see Philemon’s response back. There is one clue in some of the very early letters from the early church: "However, a church father named Ignacious, writing fifty years later in a letter to the Ephesians, addressed their wonderful minister, their bishop, named Onesimus. In this letter, according to William Barkley, Ignacious makes exactly the same pun as Paul made, ‘He is Onesimus by name and Onesimus, which means profitable by nature, the profitable one to Christ,’ it may well be that the runaway slave had become, with the passing years, the at bishop of Ephesus. If this is true, Bishop Onesimus of Ephesus may have played a large role in including his story in the New Testament Canon. It could be that he wanted the world to know how a useless runaway became useful through the transforming power of the cross."

Although Paul wrote the epistle to Philemon for the purpose of addressing the welfare of one man, it can easily be applied to the lives of man today. In its only 25 verses, we get a clear picture of sinful man needing salvation–needing an intercessor–and getting it. Onesimus was a fugitive who ran away from his master to find freedom. But what he thought would be freedom was not real freedom at all because he had to live constantly fearful that at any time he would be caught and either branded or killed. Satan fools us into believing we are free and doing our own thing. But we can never be free from God. Whether we like it or not, believe it or not, we will always be subject to God, His laws and His authority–no matter where we go and what we think. And our penalty for refusing to follow God’s laws is the same penalty Onesimus faced–death, separation from God forever.

But the good news is this: just as God provided Onesimus with an intercessor, He also provides us with an intercessor-someone who appeals to God on our behalf so that we might be spared the penalty we deserve and instead have eternal life. Our intercessor is Jesus Christ. He came as our advocate and says to God, as Paul said to Philemon, "Charge this to my account." He took all of our sins upon Himself and died on the cross for our sins. As a result, our master will accept us back and adopt us into his family. All we have to do is to accept Christ as our personal Saviour and repent from our sins.
 
Galations 4:4-7 says, "But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His son, born of a woman, born under the law in . order that He might redeem those that were under the law that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts crying, ‘Abba, Father.’ Therefore, you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God."