Philemon 10-11 Devotional:Transforming Power of the Gospel0

Devotional Sharing, Submitted by Michelle Sun, Gracepoint Berkeley.

vs. 8-9 Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I appeal to you on the basis of love…Apostle Paul says on the basis of love, I appeal to you.  On a practical level there are a lot of things that do not make sense to do, that people who are motivated by love would end up doing.  Apostle Paul appeals on the basis of love because love does not stop at just mere human duty or obligation.  Love’s scope is much wider and it actually brings one to think about what i the best thing for that person, without first considering one’s inconvenience or one’s cost of having to carry out that act of love.  On the basis of love the past wrongs and hurts can be healed.  On the basis of love, one can do even something difficult to do, in this case Philemon accepting Onesimus, his runaway slave, back as a brother in Christ. Of course, when we talk about love, we have to follow the standard of love set by our LORD Jesus who loved us unto his death on the cross.  My life and my action need to be motivated by love and therefore I can evaluate every situation on the basis of love.  This is a radically opposite way of thinking as most of the times my first thought is “What does this mean for me?”  I need to develop a discipline of love’s way of thinking.

Devotion Questions:

“The word achrestos (“useless”) and achristos (“Christless”) would have been pronounced exactly the same. Onesimus was not useful before because he was without Christ! When he became a Christian, however, he became useful, euchrestos. Onesimus was not useful before because he was without Christ. But now that he is in Christ, he has become truly Onesimus, useful. Philemon’s slave returns as the slave of Christ, having found his true identity.”[1]

• In what ways has Christ transformed my life to be useful?
• List all the ways in which Paul, Philemon and Onesimus were different from each other.
• What do the relationships between Paul, Philemon, and Onesimus demonstrate about the gospel’s transcendence of human barriers?  How have I experienced this breaking of human barriers by the gospel?

Commentary:

vv.8-10 The situation of both Paul and Onesimus is all-important to the understanding of this section of the Epistle. Paul’s circumstances are just as significant as those of Onesimus–a fact often overlooked by commentators. Because he is in prison, he cannot do the things a free man might do to help the slave. He can do little more than write a letter asking for clemency for his new-found brother and he can suggest that he hopes to visit the Lycus Valley soon to put additional pressure on Philemon. Under more usual circumstances, a free man could have assumed custody of a runaway slave after he had given guarantees of his return to the public officials, and he could have suggested that the slave be formally assigned to him for a time. This was not uncommon. […]

Onesimus’s status was the lowest that one could reach in the ancient world. Because he was a runaway slave, he was protected by no laws and he was subject to all manner of abuse. Fugitive slaves usually went to large cities, remote parts of the Roman state, or into unsettled areas. At this time, their capture and return was largely an informal arrangement between the owner and a provincial administrator. They were frequently beaten unmercifully or put to tasks in which their life expectancy was very short. […]

Paul must have put Philemon in a precarious position indeed. In pleading for forgiveness and restitution for Onesimus without a punishment that was obvious to all, he was confronting the social and economic order head on. While he does not ask for manumission, even his request for clemency for Onesimus and hint of his assignment to Paul defied Roman tradition. By this plea Paul is also giving new dignity to the slave class. [1]