Philemon vss 18-25To: 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 18, 19"If he has done you any wrong (and he has) or owes you anything (and he does), charge it to me. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back -- not to mention that you owe me your very self."First, Paul admits by his use of the first class conditional clauses, that Onesimus has wronged Philemon, and could never pay back the large sum of money he stole. Then Paul makes a remarkable statement, he gives Philemon his personal IOU. Paul states that he will pay back the sum; Paul says charge it to my account, send me the bill. Well, what is Paul's account, his credit with Philemon? 1) Paul led Philemon to the Lord; 2) Paul taught Philemon God's Word to the point of spiritual maturity; 3) God has blessed Philemon because of this spiritual maturity with: health, family, love, a ministry of refreshment, and great personal wealth to the point of being a millionaire. Paul will repay the stolen money. In other words, Paul says this: "if you have been blessed by grace, then you should bless others in grace. And hopeless situations (the fact that Onesimus could never pay back the money) are only solved by grace." [36] And note Paul's noisy finesse; he uses apophasis or insinuation, which is when professing not to mention certain matters, the speaker then proceeds to do so. [37] In other words, Paul says, I won't even mention the fact that you owe me your own salvation and present happiness, but in not mentioning it he has mentioned it. But note that Paul does not press it any further. The mere hint should be more than enough for a man of Philemon's astuteness. And also note that Paul will personally repay the stolen monies rather than crudely remind Philemon of what he has just delicately insinuated. Paul is indeed a scholar and a gentleman. Philemon 20"I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ."In verse 20 Paul uses both the voluntative optative and the imperative of entreaty; and both of these grammatical constructions allow Philemon his free-will -- there is no demand, no coercion. But Paul uses two Greek words that suggest a deep wisdom beyond imagination. The first is the verbal form (voluntative optative) of Onesimus' own name. Thus, Paul is saying, now that profit (Onesimus) has come back to you (the slave is back and Paul will repay the monies and the slave is also a great believer), let me receive some profit from you for having led you, too, to the Lord. And second, what profit does Paul want? The answer is found in the words "refresh my affections [for you] in Christ." Again, Paul uses the term for the 'ministry of refreshment;' so the profit he asks in return from Philemon is that which Philemon has received by the Grace of God, the 'ministry of refreshment.' Paul requests, then, that Philemon continue to do and to be that which he already does and is, reflect the image of Christ to everyone. To some commentators this is an example of paronomasia, to others it is an actual pun; but it is more, it is an example of literary beauty that conceals another quality, a prize too precious to sell, the concept of grace ... just as a woman's beauty camouflages her more abstract virtues. [38] Philemon 21-25"Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask. And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers. Epaphras, my fellow prisoner for Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit."As he closes the letter, Paul states that he has confidence in Philemon's obedience, not to Paul's demand, but to his own faith, knowledge of God's Word, virtue-love, and grace attitude toward other believers. And Paul anticipates that Philemon will not only forgive and welcome Onesimus, but free him from his status of slave. And remember, that this solution is found only in Philemon's spiritual free-will. If Paul commanded that it be done, Onesimus would be physically free, but Philemon would be a spiritual slave; and that is much worse than being a physical slave. Paul also anticipates his release from prison in Rome. He requests that Philemon prepare him a guest room, so that the might visit Colossae as soon as he is released. And finally, in verse 25, Paul formally declares the solution to all problems, "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ." Appendix: Why examine the Greek words, the syntactical and grammatical structures, the figures of speech, and change the translation? The best and most eloquent answer is found in the words of Christopher Lasch, "With the collapse of religion, biblical references, which formerly penetrated deep into everyday awareness, have become incomprehensible, and the same thing is now happening to the literature and mythology of antiquity -- indeed to the entire literary tradition of the West, which has always drawn so heavily on biblical and classical sources. In the space of two or three generations, enormous stretches of the 'Judaeo-Christian tradition,' so often invoked by educators but so seldom taught in any form, have passed into oblivion. The effective loss of cultural traditions on such a scale makes talk of a new Dark Age far from frivolous. Yet this loss coincides with an information glut, with the recovery of the past by specialists, and with an unprecedented explosion of knowledge -- none of which, however, impinges on everyday experience or shapes popular culture." [39] [36] Thieme, Robert. Quote from Robert Thieme's Study in Colossians (Philemon). [37] Bullinger, E.W. Figures of Speech Used in the Bible; page 486. [38] Vance, Jack. The author has paraphrased Jack Vance; source unknown; taken from notes. [39] Lasch, Christopher. The Culture of Narcissism; page 260-261. 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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