We started this series last week on Paul’s letter to Philemon. Philemon is a neglected section of Scripture. It’s so short, just one chapter. But Philemon’s influence in the history of the church has been disproportionate to its size. In a mere 25 verses, Philemon is a beautiful showcase of relationships, the sacred fellowship, and the power of Jesus Christ unleashed into the world through his life, death, and resurrection.
And today we explore the key issue at stake in this letter: that is, reconciliation. This is why our series is entitled: “Reconciled: Between Two Worlds.” Today we’re going to see that Relational barriers come down in Christ.
So let me start with a question: Have you ever been in conflict with somebody else? Maybe when you think of conflict, you think yelling or physical fighting. So let me put this differently, have you ever been blocked by somebody, preventing you from getting what YOU want?
Your boss? Who won’t let you take time off to see your kid’s dance recital. Your spouse? Who doesn’t give you the date nights you had before you were married. Your child or children? Who keep you from having the career you missed out on. Your parents? Who think dedicating 2 hours of Minecraft a day to make your name in e-sports is horrible. Is it a sibling or an in-law that you have coldness toward.
Sometimes there is some real conflict and other times this conflict is in your mind because of your past experiences. Whether the conflict is real or not, you act differently when you come into contact with this person or people you are in conflict with. But regardless of whether the conflict is real or not, it creates a me vs you relationship.
This also happens at the group level.
- For example, we could say that some republicans blame the country’s evils on those liberal democrats. At the same time we could say that some democrats likewise demonize Republicans.
- The rich and poor (yellow vest protests in paris).
- race relations.
- Anywhere in the Middle East (Yemen, Syria, Israel, Iran, Saudia Arabia) people are at war, killing each other
- US vs China
The world doesn’t have to try to be in conflict; it breeds conflict. Wherever humans go, they will sow discord. So if these divisions exist, the question we want to answer is: How can we overcome relational divisions (at the personal or group level)?
You see Philemon gives us a clear pathway to overcome the constant divisions we face and are a part of in our lives.
However, to understand what Paul is doing in Philemon, we need to understand his doctrine of reconciliation, which is best expressed in the letter to the Ephesians.
Ephesians 2:13–18
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
Let me break this passage down. Paul is alluding to the hostility between Jews and Gentiles (anyone who was not a Jew). They did not like each other. They kept throwing bricks at each other, and the divide between the two groups grew bigger and kept them separated and angry. But then he explains how Jesus, by his death on the cross brought together Jew and Gentile and made them one.
When Jews and Romans, representing all the peoples of the world, turned their hostility toward Christ and nailed him to the cross, Jesus, by that one action, broke down the wall that divided them. In other words, the anger between these peoples, the hostility among these peoples had to go somewhere. It had to be dealt with, absorbed and demolished. And the only one who could do that was Jesus Christ.
Jesus came to reconcile, that is, to bring together. He brought together parties that were formerly hostile to one another and united them in sacred harmony. He did that between God and man, and between man and man. This is Paul’s doctrine of reconciliation—that in the Messiah, God was uniting God to man, and man to man.
So now that we understand this doctrine, we can go to Philemon and see the first way Paul argues that relational barriers come down in Jesus Christ. They come down when we:
Seek reconciliation
If you remember from last week, Philemon is a letter Paul is writing to his friend Philemon (both of them are Christians), and he’s asking him to receive Onesimus, who was Philemon’s slave and had gotten in some kind of trouble with his master. So Paul is trying to break up a fight, and asking these men to be reconciled to each other.
Philemon 1:17 – So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me.
Paul asks Philemon to receive Onesimus as he would Paul, a beloved brother. He’s sending Onesimus to face his master, and he’s asking Philemon to receive Onesimus, but to receive him like he would receive Paul himself, who was very dear to Philemon.
Philemon 1:15–16 – For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, 16 no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother– especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
Paul is saying: Because we’re all in the Lord, and we understand that Jesus by his death has broken down the hostility from man to man, you can receive Onesimus as a beloved brother. And he knows Philemon can do this because the three of them share a common bond of faith in Jesus Christ, their Lord.
There is a legal relationship between Philemon and Onesimus, that of master and slave. But Paul is saying that there is now a spiritual relationship that supersedes, though not necessarily abolish, the legal relationship. And the obligation of the spiritual relationship is that Philemon receive Onesimus, not as a slave, but as a “beloved brother.”
Now, here we need to understand a few things about slavery in the first century Roman world because people have often asked: Why does the New Testament not condemn slavery in stronger terms?
Slavery was part of the economic fabric of the first century like electricity is part of our daily lives today.[1] We can’t imagine our lives without going to the walls and flipping a switch on or off, and neither could they imagine in the Roman world life without slavery. Historians say that up to a third of the population in Colossae were slaves. And that percentage is even higher in other parts of the Roman Empire. The occupations of slaves were diverse: mine workers, gladiators, actors, musicians, business managers, nannies, nurses, barbers, teachers, and physicians. Many slaves were treated horribly while others were treated with great honor and respect.
Freedom from slavery was not the obvious good that it is for us in the twenty-first century. When we think of slavery today, we primarily think of the forced subjugation of African-Americans in the south. But slavery was not based on race in the first century. While some people were forced into slavery, others voluntarily sold themselves into slavery. The Christian writer Clement, at the end of the first century, writes about Christians who sold themselves into slavery in order to pay for food for others. Many slaves could buy their freedom within seven years, but not everyone desired to do this. The provision and protection of good masters was important to many slaves.
Every culture has systemic blind spots. Issues that the general population doesn’t speak against, but are inconsistent with the kingdom of God. We are no different. Whether it is the evils that result from a market economy or the continued animosity of one group of people against another, as a church we must be willing to take a real hard look at where we are blind by comparing our actions and attitudes with those of the kingdom.
The early Christians understood their calling in terms of personal transformation. Paul’s approach, is not to make a frontal attack on a culturally pervasive institution, but to exhort slave owners to treat their slaves justly and fairly, without threatening them, knowing that they too have a master in heaven who shows no partiality.
Paul is after the transformation of the way Christ-followers treat one another, whether Jew or Gentile, male or female, master or slave. He knows the social structures that exist are all tainted with sin and will endure until the return of Christ, but he also knows that Jesus changes everything—so that those who are free are slaves of Christ, and those who are slaves are free in Christ.[2]
This is what’s happening here in Philemon. Paul is saying to a Christian slave owner that this slave is a beloved brother in Jesus who is redeemed by the same God in Heaven that redeems them both and as such, should not be a slave. Everyone who fully embraces the truth of the gospel in time will walk away from human slavery. One commentator says, “What this letter does is to bring us into an atmosphere in which the institution [of slavery] could only wilt and die.”[3]
For those who are in Christ, overcoming hostility toward one another is more important than overcoming our circumstances. If Philemon had set Onesimus free but remained hostile toward him, so that they had a new legal relationship but their spiritual relationship remained broken, Paul would’ve considered it a failure.
In your life, seek reconciliation. When you experience friction or hostility with others, your natural impulse will be either flight or fight, both of which, make the divide larger. Resist that impulse. Know that through Jesus we have the spiritual resources to make peace with one another.
The second way relational barriers come down is when we:
Draw on the power of our fellowship in Christ.
Paul knows that in Christ, reconciliation is possible between God and people, and person to person. But he knows that seeking reconciliation is so foreign to the human spirit that he expounds on the principle, the power, that is now ours in Christ enables us to seek and experience reconciliation.
Let’s go to Philemon 1:4–6 – 4I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, 5 because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, 6 and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.
Verse 6 is a difficult verse to interpret in the letter, and we could get lost in the details, so here’s the big picture:
The key phrase in this verse is “the sharing of your faith,” which many take to mean: Make sure you’re evangelizing. But that is a very unlikely interpretation because that is not how the word “sharing” is used by Paul elsewhere.[4]
“Sharing” in Greek is the word koinonia, which is a rich word for Paul. Koinonia is usually translated as “fellowship,” and it refers to the enjoyment of Christian friendship, the sharing of material things, the bond and partnership that we have mutually in Christ. But it goes beyond a common bond to a mutual identification.
This is how Paul is able to tell Philemon: Receive Onesimus as you would receive me. If he owes you anything, charge it to my account. In fact, right before Paul makes the request for Philemon to receive Onesimus, he begins by saying: If you consider me your partner. “Partner” there translates koinonos, the noun form of koinonia.
Paul is saying: If we are really in this partnership of the faith together, if I’m really a partner with you, then let me take Onesimus’ place. This goes far beyond saying: We’re golf buddies. We have common interests! This is Paul, saying: I’ll take his place. I’ll pay his debt because he understand what Jesus Christ did for him on the cross.
So in Jesus we share mutual benefits and responsibilities. And what Paul is praying for Philemon is that that fellowship will become effective in deepening his knowledge of every good thing they share for the sake of Christ.
The fellowship can become effective in every area of life, or it can misfire. There can be places, relationships where the bond in Christ is severed—for example, when we are hurt or wronged by someone, as in the case of Philemon and Onesimus.If Philemon receives Onesimus as a beloved brother, as he would receive Paul, then the fellowship is effective for him in that specific area of conflict. If he doesn’t receive him, then the common bond in Christ misfired and remains ineffective.
Christian fellowship, this deep bond of benefits and responsibilities that we share with one another, is very fragile and dynamic. And we have to do the hard work of actively seeing that the bond of our faith is effective in the areas where it’s most likely to misfire, to have no power.
Who’s a person in your life where your interactions are not governed by the peace and love of Jesus? It could be with your spouse, your teenager, your parent; it could be a relationship from your past. Whoever it is, when you relate to them you tense up, or around them you act the way you used to be before you knew Christ.
Do you know what’s happening there? The bond of the faith has not become effective in that relationship. Enlist the help of friends to pray for you about this. Paul is telling Philemon: I know this thing with Onesimus is hard for you. So I’m praying that the bond we have in Christ might become true for you in this relationship, and you might able to receive him with love.
You have to understand that the reason we have groups is for this purpose. To ensure we can draw on the power of our fellowship in Christ. That is why you meet with one another multiple times a month. This is you constantly hear stories that people’s lives are being changed. Because in groups, the power of God is flowing through the fellowship you have with one another. If you’re not in a group, this is your time to get into one and draw on the fellowship we have in Jesus. Make sure you fill out the card in your bulletins and put in the basket at our connect desk.
Here’s the third way relational barriers come down, we need to:
Champion the cause of the voiceless
Today is the National Sanctity of Human Life Day, and it is a day in which millions of Americans advocate for the right to life of the unborn.
Tomorrow is Martin Luther King Day. On this day Americans celebrate “the life and legacy of a man who brought hope and healing to America” He was this country’s greatest champion of racial justice and equality, the leader who not only dreamed of a color-blind society, but who also led a movement that achieved historic reforms to help make it a reality.”[5] Let me tell you why a pastor, decided to preach a message of reconciliation and launch a movement that changed the face of this country. It’s because he believed that in the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
Those most disadvantaged in our society will always need an advocate to take up their cause. In America we pride ourselves in upward mobility. Anyone can grow up to be president, no matter how poor, what gender, what ethnicity. But things are not always that simple.
Two economists published a study over a decade ago where they analyzed what happened when the Harvard announced that they would give free tuition to any deserving student within a certain low economic bracket. Do you want to know how many more low-income students did Harvard accept after this announcement, out of a freshman class of 1600 students? About 15! Less than 1 percent. Why? Because the reality is that by the fourth grade, some of the brightest poor children get derailed by negative factors in their environment.[6] The point is that as great as the opportunity of a great college education seemed, it was still out of reach of those who could benefit because they lacked an advocate.
What’s needed in order to match opportunity with those in the lowest ranks of our society, those without a voice, those without resources, is an advocate. Mentors who would come alongside, step into the situation and do something about the situation. To offer tutoring, to offer support, to offer friendship and counsel.
For the Onesimuses of the world, to pull out of their place of destitution (economically, socially, spiritually) you need a Paul to take up their cause. This is what Paul is doing in this letter. Listen to how he advocates for the slave Onesimus.
Philemon 1:10–13 – I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. 11 (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) 12 I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. 13 I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel.
Paul calls Onesimus “his child.” He talks about how “useful” he is. He calls him “my very heart.” And then later on, Paul says he’s willing to pay Onesimus’ debt. Paul knows that Onesimus needs Paul’s connections and privilege if he’s going to have any chance at restarting his life, now as a Christian.
But Paul doesn’t spiritualize Onesimus’ plight. He doesn’t say: Be warm and well fed. I’ll pray for you. No. Paul puts his money where his mouth is. He says: If he owes you anything, I will pay it.
Do you champion the cause of the voiceless, the cause of the poor? Our heavenly Father champions the cause of the fatherless, the widow, the immigrant, the poor. And if we’re going to call ourselves followers of Jesus Christ, we must use our privilege to help pull others out of their destitute place in life. If you’re in a group, get your group working with an organization in city serve. We’re all over the city, working organizations, advocating, volunteering, going out of our way. In fact, yesterday, there were people from our church who went door to door helping people dig out of their homes who couldn’t do it otherwise.
Relational barriers come down in Christ. We need to be active in seeking reconciliation, drawing on the power of our fellowship in Christ, and championing the cause of the voiceless.
Let’s pray.
Lord, you give us the unwavering call to be reconciled by the
life, death, and resurrection of your son, Jesus Christ. You tell us to defend
the cause of the fatherless and the widow. To provide for the hungry, thirsty,
and naked. To love our enemies. But Lord, it is overwhelming and incredibly
difficult because there are too many things that divide us and keep us from
being reconciled to you and to each other. We need you to fill us with your
Spirit. Remind us that you loved us when we stood in enmity with your
righteousness. You chose us and love us. Help us be filled with that love and
take the call to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk with you and others. We
pray this in Jesus name. Amen
[1] This section on slavery draws on Douglas J. Moo, The Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon, PNTC (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008), 371–72, and Anthony Thiselton, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, NIGTC (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000), 562–65.
[2] Peter O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon, WBC (Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1982), 270, says, “Although Onesimus’ earthly freedom may be of positive value, finally it is of no ultimate significance to him as a Christian as to whether he is slave or free.”
[3] F. F. Bruce, Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977), 401.
[4] See Moo, Colossians and Philemon, 391.
[5] http://www.thekingcenter.org/meaning-king-holiday, accessed September 10, 2018.
[6] The story is found in Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast “Revisionist History” (season 1, episode 4: “Carlos Doesn’t Remember”): http://revisionisthistory.com/episodes/04-carlos-doesnt-remember, accessed September 10, 2018.
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