Philemon 17-25

¹⁷ If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself. ¹⁸ If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account; ¹⁹ I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides. ²⁰ Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord. ²¹ Having confidence in thy obedience I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say. ²² But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you. ²³ There salute thee Epaphras, my fellowprisoner in Christ Jesus; ²⁴ Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellowlabourers. ²⁵ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Many years ago, one of the early church fathers named Clement of Alexandria wrote these words, “For the sake of each of us He laid down his life–worth no less than the universe. He demands of us in return our lives for the sake of each other.” The gulf that was crossed when God sent His Son to die in the place of sinners on the cross cannot be fathomed by us. The infinitely valuable, eternal God took on human flesh and subjected Himself to suffer for our sin. He did this, demonstrating His remarkable love for us, all so that He might forgive and reconcile us to Himself. The short letter of Philemon is a letter about what it looks like for that greatest of truths to be lived out in the relationships of those who profess to believe it. The name Philemon means “loving” and the letter bearing his name teaches us what it means to love like Christ loved us. In four sections of the letter, Paul and Philemon teach us four components of that love: serving as He serves (v. 1-3); caring as He cares (v. 4-7); forgiving as He forgives (v. 8-16); and receiving as He receives (v. 17-25). It is to that last section that we come this week. Not only has Christ served us, cared for us, and offers forgiveness through what He has done on the cross, He did all of this so that He might receive us by reconciling us to Himself (Romans 5:10) and adopting us into His family (Romans 8:14-16). His reception of us is total, complete, and secure. He calls us to “receive one another” (Romans 15:7). What does that look like? How do we do that? In this final portion of Philemon’s letter, there are three priorities we can draw out that we must remember in order to receive as He receives.

First, we must remember the priority of the gospel. The basis on which you and I are to act toward one another and treat one another as believers is the gospel. It is the ultimate standard by which we measure everything. How we handle sin, how we forgive, how we love, etc., are all defined according to what God has done and calls us to in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul wrote to the Philippian church saying, “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27). Here, Paul called on Philemon to “receive” Onesimus as he would Paul, as a brother in Christ and then proceeded to absorb any wrongs, debts, or damages done by Onesimus against his master as his own. To receive, in this case, was for Philemon to treat Onesimus as if Onesimus were Paul, a dear friend who had made a powerful impact on his life, instead of a runaway slave who had wronged him. Paul presents to us a beautiful picture of what God has done for us in Christ. When all of us had sinned against Him, God sent His Son to take the punishment and wrath for our sin on Himself. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” Paul would also write in Galatians 3:13, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” It is because Christ has paid the debt for our sin and suffered the wrath of God for us that you and I can be reconciled to God and adopted into His family (Galatians 4:4-6; Romans 8:16). When you and I interact with one another in the body of Christ and with the lost world, we must always allow the gospel to dictate our motives and actions. Under the gospel, life no longer becomes about getting what we want, putting other people in their place, or getting even with anyone. It becomes about demonstrating the love of Christ to others in how we treat them. Such grace models the gospel for a lost world to see.

Next, we must remember the priority of obedience. Here, Paul called on Philemon to “refresh” his “bowels in the Lord.” Philemon had opportunity to bring Paul joy by acting in love and forgiveness toward a person (Onesimus) that Paul greatly valued and loved. Based upon Philemon’s character, Paul had “confidence in” his “obedience.” While Paul’s call here was for Philemon to do what Paul asked of him, it certainly applies to us in that we are called to obey the Word of God in our relationships with others. When the Bible calls for, “Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another (Colossians 3:13), it is not an optional thing. It is a command. Love is the great commandment (John 13:34-35), not because it negates the others or outranks them but because it defines them. Romans 13:8 tells us, “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law” and Romans 13:10 says, “Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” Our ultimate pursuit in life is to glorify God and His Son Jesus Christ by living as He would have us to live. We must remember the priority of obedience.

Lastly, we must remember the priority of fellowship. In the final four verses of the letter, Paul concluded with some greetings for other brothers in Christ and requested that Philemon prepare him a place to stay for his future planned visit. By finishing the letter with a group of fellow workers in the gospel sending greetings, Paul emphasizes the importance of accountability and partnership in the body of Christ. Philemon’s actions carried so much more weight than just the relationship between he and Onesimus. This was about so much more than the injustice that he had suffered. The testimony of the gospel and the fellowship of the body of Christ were at stake. So many people are so driven by selfishness that they will allow personal wrongs done against them by other Christians, or perhaps those outside the church, to affect their testimony, the testimony of their local church, and their partnership with others in the gospel. Many personal “falling-out’s” have led to people leaving ministries or churches and gospel work being hindered in the lives of others. We would always be better to suffer wrong than to allow our desire for personal vindication to be a stumbling block to anyone else knowing and growing in Christ, including those who have wronged us. The Corinthian church was guilty of taking each other to court in lawsuits over disagreements. Who was right and wrong in the matters was irrelevant to Paul. He was concerned about the church’s testimony and their hearts towards one another as believers. He wrote, “Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?” (1 Corinthians 6:7). It is in those times where suffering loss or allowing ourselves to be wronged furthers the gospel in the world, that we find out what our true priorities are. Are our lives really lived for God’s glory or for our own selfish desires?  We must remember the priority of our mutual commitment to one another in the body of Christ in fellowship.

What does it mean to receive like Christ has received us? There are three priorities that we must make in order to live this out in our lives. We must prioritize the gospel in how we treat others. We must prioritize obedience to love one another. We must prioritize the fellowship and partnership of the body of Christ to vindicating ourselves and getting our way. To love like Christ loved us, we must receive as He receives. We must avoid getting caught up in our own world and being driven by what we want. Instead, we must relinquish all rights to ourselves and live our lives for the One who gave Himself for us and in accordance with what He has done for us. In concluding our series on the letter to Philemon, let us learn to serve, care, forgive, and receive like God has done for us through His Son Jesus Christ.