Philemon And The Profitable Brother

Feature 3 – November 2019 – Grace & Truth Magazine

Philemon And The Profitable Brother “That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.” —John 17:21 KJV

The book of Philemon sets before us the proper way for Christians to conduct themselves in their relationship with other believers. I often see believers struggling in their relationships with each other. The teachings from this one-chapter book show to us how to have peace and confidence as we interact with all of the Lord’s people. This is especially true when working with those with whom we have struggled. Once we learn and practice these truths, we can rise above the various personality quirks that often hinder our fellowship. In the Bible we find that the people who had their hearts filled with our Savior’s love were those who cared most for His people.

As we contemplate lessons from Philemon, we should recall the first lesson that the Lord taught Moses. God’s friend, Moses, had left Egypt and was led to the backside, or far side, of a desert. There, the LORD began to teach him about Himself. In that empty and desolate place, separated from distraction, God showed His friend (Ex. 33:11) a burning bush (3:2). Moses turned aside to understand why the bush was not consumed. We realize God in the midst of His people is marvelous, and it is a wonder that we are not consumed by His holiness. This was the first lesson taught to Moses by the hand of God, and it would characterize him for the rest of his life. I believe that one of the grand lessons in the Bible is that as a Christian I am to pray for and bear the burdens of God’s chosen people. It should be our mission to always value the wonder of our God among His people.

The apostle Paul, perhaps the most well-known believer in the New Testament, had a daily and consistent walk with his Savior. This was a man who was full of hatred and resentment before the Lord appeared to him. In Acts 8:1-3 we see how he had treated God’s chosen few. When the Lord saved Saul on the road to Damascus, He said to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (9:4 ESV). Just as with Moses, the first lesson taught to the apostle Paul connected the character of God with His chosen people.

The Holy Spirit, through the book of Philemon, uses the slavery practiced at that time in the Roman Empire and a set of heartrending circumstances to speak to our hearts and consciences. The book details for us how to stay close to our God and have a sense of His presence in our daily walk. It shows how the apostle Paul acted in a manner that revealed his God-given desire to see other Christians blessed as he had been. The Lord worked in Paul this care for other believers, which I believe is the source for his close walk with Christ. May the Lord work in each of us an abiding desire to see our fellow believers blessed – to see them make progress and grow in God’s grace.

As we consider the lessons in the book of Philemon, may the Lord give us a Christ based desire to let go of all human demands that we place on our fellow believers. Let us keep in mind what is revealed in Proverbs 6: “There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to Him” (v.16). The seventh item on that list is: “one who sows discord among brothers” (v.19).

Philemon 1-3: Opening Statements
Regarding Scripture, Paul told Timothy to “meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all” (1 Tim. 4:15 KJV). Therefore, it is good to meditate on the opening statements of Philemon. The apostle was a prisoner, unjustly, of the cruel Roman Empire, and this was the only time in all of Paul’s letters when he opened by saying he was a prisoner. Being a prisoner was perhaps the only place lower than a slave. Paul was a prisoner of Rome, by the hands of Jewish leaders, and facing possible crucifixion.

When we face the most trying of circumstances, the practical way to rise above the situation is shown in Philippians 1:28. The verse says, “Not frightened in anything by the opposers, which is to them a demonstration of destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God” (JND). The Lord gave Paul the grace needed to face what was ahead, and imprisonment gave him an opportunity to write several books of the New Testament, including the Epistle to Philemon.

This letter is addressed to a family: Philemon the father, Apphia the wife and Archippus their son, plus the church – the believers in the area – that met in their home. The apostle mentioned Timothy in the greeting, Paul’s son in the faith (v.1; 1 Tim. 1:2), so we are drawn to consider how Paul loved him and saw himself as an older Christian helping this young man spiritually. Seeing that this letter is addressed to a family, we are reminded to think of the Lord’s people as the family of God. This allows the Holy Spirit to touch our hearts and arouse our affections for His own. The salutation in verse 3 does not contain the word “mercy” since this letter is also addressed to the assembly, which is responsible to maintain order and deal with sin as needed.

Philemon 4-7: A Kindhearted Greeting
In verses 4-7 Paul spoke in a manner that revealed what Christianity should be in practical terms. He mentioned other believers to his God in prayer “always.” The apostle was able to draw attention to Philemon’s love and faith toward others and prayed that as Philemon moved among believers there would be effective knowledge of all the good God was working among them. He then wrote of the joy and comfort he received from the knowledge of Philemon’s love. Christianity at such a spiritual level is open to all believers. May the Lord enrich our hearts to love Him and His people.

It is an encouraging and informative study to meditate on the introductory remarks in all of Paul’s letters. From Romans to Philemon we can witness the deep work of God in the apostle’s life and see his appreciation, as Moses had for the bush that burned not or was not consumed. In 2 Corinthians 11 the apostle said of the Lord’s people, “I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy” (v.2 KJV). Later in that chapter he detailed many of the things that he had suffered as a servant of Christ.

Philemon 8-13: Convenience Or For Love’s Sake
Onesimus – his name means “profitable” – was a useful person in the Lord’s work. Many of the slaves in the Roman Empire were people taken as captives from lands conquered by Roman soldiers. For example, do you remember the little Jewish maid of 2 Kings 5 who had been carried back to Syria after a raid on Israel? She told Naaman’s wife that he could be cured by accepting the reproach of Christ. He needed to go see Elisha, who told him to wash in the river Jordan, in Israel.

In the case of the slave Onesimus, it is possible that he was an educated man or perhaps a skilled craftsman. Whatever the case, he is presented to us as someone who was profitable. This causes us to remember that individuals were often forced to give up all that was their life when their country was conquered, and they were carried away to a foreign land. The memories of what was taken from him and then being forced to serve as a lowly slave would have been hard on Onesimus.

In this book of Philemon we see that the apostle Paul asked Onesimus to return to Philemon and resume his life as a slave. In my view, for Onesimus to fulfill the apostle’s request would have required him to accept the Lord’s will and to value the rights of others above his own wishes. Once he was led of the Holy Spirit to that frame of mind, he was then truly a profitable person.

Paul the Roman prisoner had reasons for wanting to keep Onesimus with him. He could have rightly told Philemon that such an arrangement was the good and wholesome thing to do. What would Philemon have done if he received a letter from the apostle Paul telling him of Onesimus’s conversion and informing him that he was staying with the apostle to help with the Lord’s work? It would be hard for Philemon to object once he had been so enjoined. Such is the reasoning of man, but it is not the way of a holy God among His people. One of the great Bible teachings is that we are to love one another. John 13:34 says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (ESV). Paul acted on that principle.

Philemon 14-19: Without Thy Mind
There is an expression in business that goes something like: “If you want to go fast then go by yourself, if you want to go far take others with you.” My experience tells me that going fast brings stress, while including other believers serves as a tool to keep a person’s heart in prayer. In this section of the book of Philemon we should be exercised and ask ourselves how much we value Christ’s work in our fellow believers. Consider the caring and respectful way the apostle Paul opened his letters in the New Testament. Paul knew how to view believers and see the gifts that God had given to them and the work of Christ in them.

Next, Paul offered to repay any debt that Onesimus had accrued or accumulated. The apostle was able to pay such a debt, but a slave was not. We may be reminded of the events outlined beginning in Matthew 18:23. There we read about a king and his servants. One servant owed more than he could possibly repay in a lifetime, which is the state of a sinner. The kind-hearted king forgave this man all his debt. This is similar to a sinner saved by grace, for the Lord has forgiven our debt that we could not pay! However, this servant then turned around and put a fellow servant into prison, one who owed him an amount roughly equal to a few days’ wages. This teaching should speak volumes to us: Do we harbor ill feelings and hold grudges against others “for whom Christ died” (Rom. 14:15).

Philemon 20-25: The Days Ahead, Acting In Grace
We can clearly see how it would be very difficult for Philemon and Onesimus to function as brothers in the Lord while one owned the other. Philemon needed to give up his supposed rights over this brother. We should follow his example and give up our attempts to control others, and as servants of the Lord seek to see them blessed.

The moral impact should speak volumes. How often do I act in a manner of self-will and agitate myself in the desire to maintain my rights in relation to other believers? When I have the need to control what others say or how they act, then I bring stress into my life and our relationship. If on the other hand my motives are to free these believers from such control, love them and seek their blessing, I will bring a prayerful spirit and a godly order into my thoughts. When I seek to see others blessed and help them make progress in the things of Christ, I may experience a time of testing but also of growth. I should remember 2 Thessalonians 3:13: “But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing” (KJV).

Paul said to Philemon, “Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say” (Phile. 21 esv). The relationship between the aged Paul and Philemon brings me to the conclusion that Philemon’s proper course of action would be to free this Christian brother from his human slavery.

By Scott Cassell

The epistle to Philemon ... contains no special revelation, but it shows the application by Paul and his companions of the exhortations contained in the epistles: “As the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering” (Col. 3:12 NKJV). —Jean Koechlin, Day By Day