Philemon vss 15-17To: Philemon Main MenuTo: Grace Notes Home Page By Dr. Randall E. Radic, Pastor First Congregational Church 100 N. Acacia Avenue Ripon, California 95336 Internet: drradic@sprynet.com Philemon 15"Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good --"Paul suggests that Onesimus was "separated," which is a tactful way of stating the reality: Onesimus stole, betrayed a trust, and fled as a fugitive. And the "reason?" The antecedent of "reason" is 'the good' in the previous verse; so the reason was because of grace and was to the 'advantage' of all that were involved, namely, Onesimus, Paul, and Philemon. Onesimus was led to the Lord and grew to spiritual maturity, Paul was served by a ministry of refreshment while in prison, and Philemon now has the opportunity to advance his own spiritual maturity through spiritual testing. The temporal phrase "for a little while" is an example of synecdoche of the part; here, part is put for the whole. And the whole in this instance was approximately two years, and the part is, literally in the Greek "for an hour." So an hour is put for two years. Why? For two reasons: 1) Paul continues his extraordinary syntactical syllogism which he started with the partitive genitive (part/whole), because again he puts a part (two years) for the whole (God's eternal plan of salvation); 2) "Time is short when the results are positive." [32] In other words, no matter what the time span, if just one person was saved by the Grace of God and the work of Christ, then the passage of time is irrelevant and inconsequential. And the term "forever," sustains this interpretation; for the Plan of God and salvation affects each believer 'for eternity.' And one hour is just a drop in the ocean of forever. The word "reason" in verse 15 has one other connotation, and that is the concept of "crisis evangelism," i.e., Onesimus was of such a personality that he would never accept the gracious work of Christ until he was faced with utter desperation. "True wisdom is to know what is 'a broken heart' and 'a contrite spirit.' Until man knows this he cannot know either God or himself. To teach Job this important lesson is the 'end' of all that we read in this book. All that is done and all that is said is intended to do for Job What the mighty famine did for the lost son, Luke xv. What another famine did for Joseph's brethren, Gen. xliv. 16. What Nathan's parable did for David, 2 Sam. xii. 1-13. What a wondrous miracle did for Peter, Luke v. 1-8. As Isaiah confessed, 'I am undone.....unclean;' so must Job be brought to say, 'I am vile,' chapter xl. 4. 'I abhor myself,' 'I repent in dust and ashes,' chapter xlii. 6." [33] And just as with Job (although Job's testing was designed to promote spiritual growth through testing) , Onesimus, to come to the point of salvation, had to know hopelessness. The spiritual principle is this: Some unbelievers will not respond to the gospel or grace until challenged by an harrowing situation. [34] Philemon 16"No longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord."The author offers an altered and expanded translation based upon the remarks of A.T. Robertson: "No longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a respected fellow believer; especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord." [35] In verse 16, Paul acknowledges the spiritual maturity of Philemon, but also recognizes that Onesimus, although now a great believer, is still a slave and is still subject to Philemon's authority and the laws of Rome. This explains Paul's use of "in the flesh," and "in the Lord." In the flesh, Onesimus is a slave; in the Lord, Onesimus is a member of the Royal Family of God, and is an ambassador for Christ. Here is the puzzle as Paul presents it: both Philemon and Onesimus, master and slave, are spiritually mature. And whether a slave or a freeman, Onesimus is spiritually mature. Additionally, Paul respects and loves both Philemon and Onesimus; both have been a 'ministry of refreshment' to Paul. And because Paul respects Onesimus, he wants Philemon to respect Onesimus also. Further complicating the pieces of the puzzle is this fact: spiritual salvation does not alter the legal, endowed institutional relationship of the two men; one remains the master, the other remains the slave. The concept of authority abides, as it must. For if authority is abrogated, then the Sovereignty of God is rescinded and His Plan is not effectual. Change, though, has taken place; it has occurred inside the souls of men. And this underscores the notion that authority and free-will travel together; one cannot exist without the other. For if God has no authority, then mankind has no free-will with which to accept salvation. Philemon 17"So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me."Here, by his use of the word "associate, fellow-believer," Paul refers Philemon back to verse 6, where he wrote, "our association with your faith/doctrine;" thus, Paul is saying, if you consider me to be a fellow-participant in the saving work of the blood of Christ (and he is, is the statement of the conditional clause), then welcome Onesimus, who also resides under the blood of Christ, as you would welcome me. So, salvation, the Royal Family of God, and ambassadorship are all hinted at by this one word, KOINONON. Note bene: status, whether we like it or not, is a key factor in human interrelations. And royalty acknowledges royalty. [32] Thieme, Robert. Colossians (Philemon); from notes taken in 1979. [33] Bullinger, E.W. The Book of Job; page 4-5. [34] Thieme, Robert. Paraphrase of a principle propounded by Robert Thieme, Study in Colossians (Philemon). [35] Bible Works CD: Hermeneutika; A.T. Robertson's GNT Word Pictures. CD donated to the author by Hermeneutika. There is no charge for Grace Notes Materials. You can help further this work by your prayer and by sending a contribution to: Grace Notes 1705 Aggie Lane Austin, Texas 78757 Warren Doud, Director wdoud@bga.com Grace Notes Web site: http://www.realtime.net/~wdoud/ Anonymous FTP site: ftp://ftp.bga.com/vendors/wdoud/ Grace Notes is a ministry of Village Missions International. |
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