Journey Through Philemon

It only takes up one page in our New Testament, yet it is quite a story. In our journey through Scripture, we come now to the letter of Philemon. It only has 25 verses, containing 445 words. It is the shortest letter the Apostle Paul ever wrote, and it has been called a model letter written by a master of letter writing.

Listen: Journeying through Philemon

Summary of Philemon

Philemon is an interesting letter with a unique background. Philemon is the story of a slave, a man who was so disgruntled with life and with his lot in life that he thought, “If I could just get away, if I could just escape…” Do you ever feel that way? Consider the words of the psalmist when he said, “…Oh that I had wings like a dove! For then I would fly away, and be at rest.” (Psalm 55:6) The truth of the matter is, most people do not need a geographical change. They need a spiritual change. It is not a change of scenery or surroundings, it is a change of heart.

Onesimus – The Slave

That was the case in the life of this servant by the name of Onesimus. He runs away from home. He steals from his master, who happens to be a believer. A man by the name of Philemon, who knew the Apostle Paul. Onesimus runs away to a huge metropolitan area called Rome. I am sure he thought he could get lost there. Could I remind you that you cannot escape God, that you cannot run from the Lord? The same psalmist said, “If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, And thy right hand shall hold me” (Psalm 139:8-10).

That is exactly what happened with Onesimus. Because when he gets to Rome, he crosses paths in the good providence of God with the Apostle Paul. That is an amazing demonstration of the grace of God! Paul gives him the gospel, telling him about the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not just a matter of him going home. It is a matter of him coming home to God. Onesimus becomes a follower of Jesus Christ. This is a man who deserved punishment, who deserved to pay the penalty. As a matter of fact, a slave in that day and culture was not even allowed to travel without a letter from his master. He could have been arrested or even put to death.

Philemon – The Master

When Onesimus gets saved, the Apostle Paul finds out that his master is an old friend by the name of Philemon. So Paul sits down and writes a letter to Philemon. He sends Onesimus home with that letter. Now imagine Onesimus going back to Philemon, but now as a different man. Now he returns with a letter of pardon in his hand.

Oh, my friend, did you know every person goes into eternity with one of two letters? Your letter either says payment required or your letter says paid in full. Philemon opens the letter and reads a most amazing tender account of the change that has happened in the life of Onesimus, and a plea from the Apostle Paul to receive him not as a slave, not as a servant, but now as a fellow member of the family of God.

Outline of Philemon

There is an interesting the progression in this letter. You could read it in just a few moments for yourself.

• The first seven verses are praise for Philemon. Philemon was a true Christian man. Paul knew that an appeal to the fact that he had been forgiven now meant that he should forgive others.
• In verses eight through eighteen, there is a plea for honest sinners.
• Then, in verses nineteen through twenty-five, there is a promise of Paul. Paul’s promise is very simple. It is this: whatever this man owes you, I will pay in full. In other words, put that on my account.

Key Verse of Philemon

The key verse of the book is verse eleven, where Paul writes concerning this new believer, and he says, “which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me:” (Philemon 1:11). I love that word, “now profitable to thee.” We all have a past. Paul said, in time past he was unprofitable. That is the story of every sinner, the story of someone who deserved to die, the story of someone who was guilty and deserved to be punished. Unprofitable.

That is our story before we met Jesus Christ. But if you know Jesus, the Bible says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:1).

Overview of Philemon

From Unprofitable to Profitable

Did you know that Onesimus’s name actually means profitable? There is a little play on words here. The Apostle Paul uses the meaning of his name, and he says, Mr. Profitable is actually unprofitable. Even your blessings are a curse apart from God, Even your abilities are a debt apart from God. But when you come to meet the Lord Jesus Christ and He makes you whole, now He takes a life that is unprofitable and makes it profitable.

How did Onesimus go from being unprofitable to profitable? There are several key things revealed in this letter. It is an amazing illustration of salvation. For example, in verse nine, somebody loved him. The apostle Paul writes and says, “…for love’s sake I rather beseech thee…” (Philemon 1:9) Friend, someone loved you. His name is Jesus. Onesimus deserved to die but was given a new start.

Look at the wording in Philemon 1:10, “I beseech thee for my son Onesiumus, whom I have begotten in my bonds:” Notice that Onesimus went from being a slave to a son. That is a word of birth. That is a word of new life. When you come to know the Lord Jesus who loves you, you are begotten, born again. You enter into new life, and then the mediator intervenes on your behalf.

Paid in Full

It is no longer you trying to appeal for mercy. Instead, it is mercy because of a mediator. Look at Philemon 1:17-18. Paul says to Philemon, “If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself. If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account;” Verse 19 begins, “I Paul have written it with my own hand, I will repay it…”

Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. The very same thing that happened on the day that Onesimus came to know the Lord Jesus, happens to all those who believe on Christ. On that day, all of your demerit was placed on Jesus Christ. That actually happened at the cross. He took your sin and paid for them in full. But on the day you came to know the Lord Jesus, not only did He take your demerit on that day, you take all of His merit. Think of this. He takes all of your sin and you take all of His salvation.

You may say, “That does not sound like a very fair trade.” No, it is not fair at all. It is mercy, it is forgiveness, and it is salvation. It is the beautiful miracle of taking a person who is unprofitable and making them profitable. The Apostle Paul says, “I will pay it all.” Jesus cried from the cross, “It is finished.”  (John 19:30) Literally, the word that he cried from the cross is the Greek word tetelestai, which was the same word used in the marketplace of the day for paid in full.

Profitable in Jesus Christ

If you have come to know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, you no longer carry that terrible guilt and debt hanging over you. Now you have been saved, you have been forgiven, and you are now profitable in Jesus Christ. You were a servant of sin. You were a slave, but now you are a member of the family, and you are free in Jesus Christ.

Paul says in Philemon 1:15, “Perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldst receive him forever.” When Jesus changes you, He changes you forever. It is eternal life.

Acts of Love – Forgiveness and Adoption

The key word of this book is the little word love. It is an illustration of Christ’s love first, but it is also an illustration of Christian love.

We have been forgiven, and now we must forgive. What is the basis for all forgiveness? The love of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul was the mediator for Onesimus, but we have a greater mediator. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”. (1 Timothy 2:5) The Lord Jesus Christ is pleading your case before the father at this present hour.

A slave could only be freed by adoption into the owner’s family. All who are in Christ are freed because they are adopted into the family of God. It is not through anything you and I have done. It is all through Jesus Christ. He alone takes us from unprofitable to profitable.

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About Scott Pauley

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