Articles
Philemon 15-18
Paul had many people help him in his service to Christ and one of them was Onesimus. Paul referred to Onesimus as his son (in the faith) and his very own heart. While Paul had great care for Onesimus and knew Onesimus was a great aid in the service to Christ, Paul also knew Onesimus needed to go back and face a portion of his past. Onesimus was a run-away slave and ran away from his master Philemon. Philemon was a godly man but for a reason we don’t know, Onesimus ran away. While Onesimus ran away, he became a Christian after meeting Paul, but this didn’t mean there wasn’t an obligation to go back to his earthly master.
In verse 15, we see a spiritual concept known as providence. Providence is a word that ap-pears 1 time in the Bible but is seen a few times in the Scriptures and is even seen today. God’s providence deserves more study than what we will talk about in this article, as our focus is on the letter of Philemon. In short, God’s providence is God’s care and provision in the lives of his people. So, in verse 15 of Philemon, Paul says, “For perhaps it was for this reason that he was separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever,” We see providence in the phrase “For perhaps it was for this reason.” Paul doesn’t know for sure that Onesimus was separated from Philemon for a time to be back with him forever. What Paul is saying is that it’s possible that this was God’s will. That Onesi-mus would run away and become a Christian and would go back to Philemon, not just as a slave, but as a brother in Christ.
Philemon faced a difficult situation. Onesimus was a worker for Phile-mon and as anyone who has been in charge of an activity or job knows, when one person that is expected to carry out a job is missing, the whole group suffers. Onesimus hadn’t been there for some time and whatever Onesimus job was, had either been neglected complete-ly or delegated to others. It simply would’ve hurt the efficiency of whatever Philemon was seeking to accomplish. Perhaps when Onesi-mus fled from Philemon, he had great anger towards this situation. Perhaps Philemon was struggling with bitterness as time went on, as unchecked anger will turn into bitterness. We don’t know for sure how Philemon felt, but we can certainly see how this had the potential to be extremely tough on Philemon. The key change that has taken place though and something that should change the relationship between Philemon and Onesimus forever is that they are now brothers in Christ. In Ephesians 6:5-9, we see Paul is giving the church instruction on the master and slave relationship. Slaves were to be obedient to their earthly masters and were to do so as slaves of Christ, doing God’s will. They were to do their work for God and not for people, as every-one is (Colossians 3:17). Masters receive instruction in verse 9, that they aren’t to threaten their slaves, because both the earthly master and slave shared the fact that God was the Master over them both. Both the master and the slaves were to be living for God and treating others as God treats them. Philemon now has this responsibility. With Philemon being a godly man, he likely was treating others as Christ would, whether they wronged him or not, just as Jesus said we are to do in Matthew 5:44. He has a specific opportunity to exercise his love for someone who may have wronged him here with Onesimus. Onesi-mus was his brother in Christ now. They were of the same body in which Christ is head (Colossians 1:18).
Paul says Onesimus is his beloved brother and more so for Philemon.
They were brethren now and that’s something that should bring any Christian joy. In verse 17, Paul adds another powerful statement that would surely give Philemon motivation to accept Onesimus back if this was something that Philemon was going to struggle with. Paul says that if Philemon regards Paul as a partner, then Philemon would accept Onesimus as he would Paul. As seen in verse 19, Paul had a great impact on Philemon’s life, and it more than certainly appears Philemon would have great respect and care for Paul. So, if this was going to be a strug-gle for Philemon, would reading this text not help? He could’ve had a thought process like “I obviously care for and have regard for Paul as a partner, and to show that I do, I am going to accept back Onesimus.” That is certainly a wise statement used by Paul and a truthful one. Paul knew the character of Philemon and knows how he will act (v21) but this is still a powerful statement. Again, in verse 18, we see another statement of Paul’s care of Onesimus. Paul says that if Onesimus wronged him in any way or owes him anything, that it would be charged to Paul. Did Paul do anything to Philemon? Did Paul run away from Phi-lemon? No! Yet, Paul loved Onesimus and wanted this relationship to be one of brothers in Christ and not one of envy and division. This reminds me of parable of the Good Samaritan told in Luke 10:30-37. The Samari-tan found this man who had been stripped and beaten by robbers. The Samaritan bandaged his wounds, poured oil and wine on them and brought him to an inn to take care of him. The Samaritan paid for his care and told the innkeeper that if he were to spend more than he was given, the Samaritan would repay that amount. The Samaritan wasn’t responsible for the man getting beaten up, this man wasn’t related to or friends with the Samaritan, yet the Samaritan showed love being willing to pay for something he didn’t have to. Paul shows that similar idea here in Philemon, in that he didn’t do anything to Philemon but was willing to pay for whatever was done because of his love for Philemon and Onesi-mus. He wanted their relationship to be right in the sight of God. That also sounds quite similar to the One who was perfect and innocent and yet was the One who paid the price we couldn’t pay, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
