PHILEMON

ISSUE NO. 1BOB.WANGWENYI@GMAIL.COM

I M M E R S I O N B I B L E P R O J E C T

JUNE 2016, NANJING

This is a study on the book of Philemon fromthe angle of Onesimus, the run-away salve.

This is a study on the book of Philemonfrom the Angle of Apostle Paul.

FROM A SLAVETO A BROTHER

RECONCILED IN CHRIST

FOR THIS PERHAPS IS WHY HE

WAS PARTED FROM YOU FOR A

WHILE, THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE

HIM BACK FOREVER, NO

LONGER AS A SLAVE BUT MORE

THAN A SLAVE, AS A BELOVED

BROTHER—ESPECIALLY TO ME,

BUT HOW MUCH MORE TO

YOU, BOTH IN THE FLESH AND

IN THE LORD.

PAUL:

Philemon 1:15-16

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A SLAVE 

A BROTHER 

F R O M

T O

Onesimus comes off in thebook as a runaway slave. In theancient Roman culture, a run-

away slave was a huge betrayalto his master, and according tothe Roman legal system, arunaway slave should be sentto his master and his mastercan legally kill him. In manycases, many owners did this.

It is worth mentioning that Paulwas the person who ledPhilemon to Christ, and morethan likely Onesimus knew Paulor Knew things about Paul atthat time.

We can also assume that heknew the consequences hewould get if he ran away fromhis master. So, why did he runaway from Philemon? Why toRome? Did he make a plan tovisit Paul or was it a total“coincidence” that he wasplanning on doing somethingelse and ended up meetingPaul in prison?

These questions can not beanswered due to the lack ofhistorical evidence. All weknow is that he met Paul whowas in prison which openeddoors for his transformation,and he became a brother inChrist. We also know that heserved Paul when this letterwas written and by the wayPaul vouched for him, Paul wassure that he was saved byChrist.

Paul decided to send Onesimusback to his master Philemon,not because he did not wantOnesimus’ service, but becausehe thought reconciliation wasmore important: He wantedPhilemon to not punish him butforgive him, not only forgivehim but also accept him, notjust accept him as a slave whocan only obey and be seen as aproperty, but also as a brotherin Christ who will share the joyof eternity in Heaven one day.

F R O M A S L A V E T O A B R O T H E R | 2

Ed i t ed By By ron Wong

Onesimus, whose name literally means “useful,beneficial” , before he accepted Christ, was“not useful, not beneficial” as a slave beforehe accepted Christ. After he accepted Christ, heis beneficial to both Paul and Philemon, not as aslave or a servant, but as a genuine faithfulbrother in Christ.

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IMMERSION BIBLE PROJECT | ISSUE NO. 1 PHILEMON

Because of a culturally incorrect action, Onesimus wasin deep trouble. He deserved to be punished, and heknew it, until Paul wrote this “crazy letter”.

God shows up in a merciful way, doesn’t he?

We all have had experiences running away from our“master”— people who led us and sometimes hadauthority on us, at some point in our lives. We becamedisappointers that made others feel betrayed and wefelt extremely guilty because of it, leading us to acceptserious consequences because of it.

When that happens, we know that we deservedpunishment.

And because this is a valley in our lives, it often comeswith confusion, guilt, shame and desperation.That is when we realize that we need resolution, eitherwe resolve these problems by ourselves, or ask otherpeople to resolve these problems for us. Many timeswe cannot resolve problems by ourselves.

It is like the lost son knowing he needed to come back tohis father, but seriously worried about the consequenceshe needs to accept. It is like Peter weeping bitterly afterrealizing he did deny Jesus 3 times just how Jesusanticipated this. It is also like the criminal beating hischest crying and begging for God’s mercy.

Real humility often comes from a place like that, a placewhere people know how messed up their life is and howsinful we are.

When we really understand sin by being brokenourselves, we truly bow down to seek help. This is whenGod’s gentle and beautiful touch heals and restores us.God allows things to happen in our lives because evenwhen it happens, God can still use this as a greatopportunity to shine in our lives.

RECONCILEDIN CHRIST

61-62ADTHE BOOK OF PHILEMON

WAS WRITTEN IN

AT THE SAME TIME OFTHE BOOK OFCOLOSSIANS

THE BOOK OF PHILEMON WAS WRITTEN IN THE YEAR 60-62AD, DURING APOSTLEPAUL’S FIRST IMPRISONMENT. I AM FASCINATED BY THE FACT THAT IN THE END OFTHE BOOK, PAUL INTENTIONALLY MENTIONED MARK AS ONE OF HIS ΣΥΝΕΡΓΌΣ(SUNERGOS). ΣΥΝΕΡΓΌΣ IS THE GREEK WORD FOR” FELLOW WORKERS”. THIS ISTHE SAME MARK WHO HAD CHOSEN TO WITHDRAW FROM HIM AND BARNABAS INPAMPHYLIA, THE SAME MARK WHO CAUSED A SHARP DISAGREEMENT BETWEENTHE TWO CLOSE BROTHERS IN CHRIST AND EVENTUALLY CAUSED THE SPLIT OFPAUL AND BARNABAS’S MINISTRY IN THE YEAR OF 49AD.

EDITTED BY

PHILEMON

49 AD

THE TIME PAUL ANDBARNABAS SPLIT

FROM PAUL'S PERSPECTIVE

Reconciled in Christ

'06 '16

June 2016Immersion Bible Project

oreover, in the book of Colossians which waswritten basically at the same time, Paul specificallytold Christians in Colossae to welcome Mark if hecomes to them, because Mark was one of the “onlymen of the circumcision among my fellow workersfor the kingdom of God” and he has been “acomfort” to Paul. Later in 64-66AD, he wrote in 2Timthy 4;11: “Get mark and bring him with you, forhe is very useful to me in the ministry”. The word“useful”-- εὔχρηστον-- is the same word heused in the book of Philemon 1:11, when he said“now he is indeed useful to you and to me”.

Later, we all know that Mark became theauthor of the gospel of Mark.It is clear to me that the Book of Philemonwas not only about reconciliation betweenOnesimus and Philemon but it alsoindirectly tells us a story about thereconciliation between Paul and Mark. Itmakes Paul not only was the mediatorbetween Onesimus and Philemon, but alsoa person concerned in the reconciliationstory between him and Mark.In this short, one chapter book, there aretwo stories that both talked about the sametheme: reconciliation.

M

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In Colossians 3:14, Paulwrote, “and above allthese put on love,which binds everythingtogether in perfectharmony.” I think thisverse is the best wayto conclude this partof the reflection.

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Reconciliation requires risk-taking and maturityover personal emotions.Paul could have chosen the “safe way” to keepOnesimus with him, instead of sending onesimus backto his master and putting his life in jeopardy; Paul alsocould have chosen to keep blaming John Mark forbeing the cause of dividing him and Barnabas, isolatehim in his ministry and make him taste his ownmedicine.But he did not do either one of these. On one hand, hesent Onesimus back, and it was not because he doesnot care for his life. On the contrary, he lovesOnesimus so much that he believes it is worthwhile forOnesimus to take the risk and make things right withPhilemon who was his master but now a brother inChrist. On the other hand, Paul trusted Philemon totake his words seriously and will receive Onesimus asa brother in Christ with joy. To him, the fact that theyare all brothers in Christ is more important than certaincultural norms and personal conflicts. To be able tosee that gives them a chance to reconcile with eachother.

Reconciliation also requires humility, and many timesthat means we are willing to let go of the power wehave, and choose to be vulnerable in front of otherpeople. I believe Paul were respected by Philemon as a spiritualauthority, even maybe as a father figure, but Paul chose tolet that power go and instead, he took the vulnerableposition as “an old man” and “a prisoner for Christ Jesus”

to appeal to Philemon. God reconciled with us bysending His Son down to the earth as a vulnerable babyform, and Jesus the King of Kings washed his disciples’

feet as a servent… All these prove that God reaches out tous to make things right by being extremely humble andvulnerable. He wants us who believe in Him to do thesame when we deal with others.

Through humility he shows us how to love others, andthis love calls us to reconcile with our brothers andsisters, so that we can glorify Him as we take up thecross of making things right and choosing to be morelike Him.“For love’s sake,” Paul said. The love that makes Paulwrote not from an authoritarian point of view but exactlythe opposite, which Paul believes is also in Philemon,makes Paul feel confident that Philemon will receiveOnesimus in Christ with joy. Same can be said about Pauland Mark’s situation. Paul’s love for Christ allows him toenvision beyond the conflict between him and Mark. Andon the other side Mark’s love for Christ makes thereconciliation fruitful as he grew to be the person whoGod designed him to be.

FROM PAUL'SPERSPECTIVE